Comparing epic21 to any other ski boat questions. please help me decide

[tryme]

i am looking at a 1999 21.  it has around 180 hours and very clean.  he is asking 16000.  first of all does that should like it is a good buy?   secondly i have a questions about power.  all ski boats jump out of the water well without a load, but how does the epic 21 do with a 200 pound slalom skier?  does it pop him right out.  i just know that American V8 with 5.7 litres seems to be better than the 4.0 liter.  but i have never been in one or seen one in action so i am posting here and hope to hear a lot of responces.  i have a family of skiers and my brother is a competition level skier.  will he be disappointed with the wake compared to other mastercrafts and nautiques?  any info would be great

thanks

mike

[breakawaydaze]

The Epic 21 is an incredible water ski boat.  I know, I just sold mine and regret it all of the time!  You will have no pulling problems at all.  I weigh around 215, and have not ridden behind a more stronger and linear pulling boat ever. The value of the Toyota is the VVTI.  It changes the valve timing throughout the rpm range.  You have max. torque and pull regardless of RPM's.  Plus 32 valves and electronic fuel injection.  It really doesn't matter which American iron V8 you get, it's just not going to preform as well as the Toyota.  Not to mention the incredible fuel economy and bulletproof reliability.  I guarantee you that you will not find a better quality more reliable boat for 16K.  It is well worth it.  I have ridden behind them all, and there is a lot of great stuff out there!  Yes, the boat will "pop" you right out, and the wake is dead on, the boat is AWSA certified to pull slalom, and the wake is fantastic!  I sold my Epic 21 and bought a Toyota S22.  I doubt I will ever not own a Toyota boat, no one has matched their quality build.  Yes, I am partial, I did my research, and I am totally sold on the product line.  I have less concern about the longevity, performance and durability of this boat than any other Ski boat I have ever owned!

[skregs]

I just bought an x22 which is bigger and I assume probably heavier.  It will pull me right out of the water on a slalom ski without any hesitation.  You may have to rev the engine a little higher than a big block V8 but it is built for that and can handle it.  The power is there

[festivus]

also, if the higher rpm's bother you (like they do me) then switch out your prop.  I never go much over 4500 rpm.  The acme prop dude wanted to sell me a newer prop so that I could use the entire engine range, but I figure...why?  I tow a wakeboard at about 3300rpm and get up to 38mph at around 4800.  (load dependant, of course.)  I always figured that each engine has a predestined amount of revolutions when it rolls off of the factory, so I try and save them when I can.  Buy the boat, you won't regret it.

[Rambling Wreck]

I bought Breakawaydaze's E21 this summer and truly love it. It is a blast to drive. Do a search and read some other posts as there are some differences that you need to consider but you will like the powerplant on this boat - period. I have pulled a 6ft 4in guy weighing in around 200lb and could not tell the difference between him and my little 80lb featherweights. In fact, the best teenage slalomer (is that a word?) that I pull has me slow down as he doesn't like the "pop" I can give him. As Breakaway was saying, there is ample "pop" but there is a lot more to a good ski boat and the E21 addresses them all.

As to whether $16,000 is a good buy. Right off the bat it sounds like is is priced well but to "fine tune" it we, the people, need more details (Actually we just like the dirty little details!!!) Is it straight factory or does it have upgrades? If so, what type. The little goodies can really add up and this may make it even more of a good deal.

[Rambling Wreck]

Festivus makes a good point (stop there, please RW, don't mess it up).

I have a 4 blade prop but have no idea whether it was standard equipment. I don't feel that I have to run very high rpm's at all. I pull wakeboarders at about 2750 rpm (I don't pay much attention to the speedometers), skiers at 3,000-3200 and slalomers (there's that word again) at 3200-3400. I have had the boat at 5500 rpm and was going somewhere in the high 40s. I am not sure of the exact speed as I only opened my eyes once to glance at the GPS. I slowed down once the screams from the shore were loud enough to hear. Hey, I was a non-professional on an open course but still- don't try this at home.

[cyclone]

Wreck,

I used up a couple of your RPM's that one day! That thing jumps out of the water compared to my E22. Not that my boat is bad, but you can tell the difference in weight vs power.

[shawn]

Here is our X-22 @ 33MPH and i am 5-10, 180lb's.  This boats wake is pretty nice and i also have close to 1000lbs in stereo weight and i can't really complain.

[epic_toy]

What wake? 

[2 tall]

So did tryme buy the boat? I am very curious since I will soon be in the market for an epic 21, the one you mention sounds pretty good..

I am hoping to find that same price on the same boat.

Tryme, if you didn't buy it can you let me know where it was?

[tryme]

yeah i did buy the boat.  sad that i didnt get to ski behind it but i think i am going to change the prop.  i dont need that much speed i would rather have an even better hole shot.  i think i am really going to love it

good luck hunting

[2 tall]

Fantastic !!!   You are hooked up! If you think about it, get a picture or two up on the forum so I can drool over it....(I know I have a problem).  Is it in pretty good shape? When you said you didn't get to ski behind it you mean because it is winterized/winter?

How did you find it? (It seems like the internet can't be the only place to get a Toyota?) 

[tryme]

I'll get some pics of it posted tomarrow.  it is in great shape.  one speedo is giving me a little issues but i am going to wait until next year to diagnose it.  And yes it is ready for winter so patience for me over the winter.  Cant wait!!!!

[2 tall]

So how did you find your Epic? Local boat store?
I can't wait to see it...
If anyone else out there knows of other places to find Epic 21's let me know. Like I said, the internet can't be the only place to find Epics?

[cyclone]

Ebay, Flipsell, Boattrader and people on here that see them locally, those are the best ways to find them. You should be able to get an E21 cheap.