Who would have guessed it? MasterCraft, famous for its inboard waterski and wakeboard boats, has built a 34-foot day yacht. Zenon Bilas heads to Florida to grab the UK exclusive . . .

Even for a boat of more than 33 feet in length, an 11-foot beam is astonishingly broad. In fact when you recall how MCs of old used to be, it seems even more surprising. But believe it or not, the start of MasterCraft’s metamorphosis goes back to the mid 90s when they introduced a line of V-drive boats for family skiing known as MariStar. Prior to that, MasterCraft had only made direct drive ski boats and they had long been the wakeboarder’s craft of choice.

But while initial response to the MariStar was lukewarm, the V-drive ski boat captured a big audience and, as a tow boat that offered more space and features for the family, the MariStar would come to dominate the V-drive segment.

The birth of boldness

MariStar success encouraged MasterCraft to expand its line, most notably in 2004, with the 28-foot X80 and 280. The 28-foot MasterCraft begat a saltwater version, and saltwater begat a twin-engine V-drive version - and from there, with the adding of more family amenities on bigger craft with saltwater capability, MasterCraft’s creative juices beagn to boil over . . .

The CSX emerged as an inboard centre-console for families who enjoyed the most versatile kind of sport. And again, MasterCraft pressed on, going after bigger waters with the centre-console theme, as they introduced the 26-foot 265 CSX with twin inboards.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Fast forward to the 2009 Miami International Boat Show, when MasterCraft pulled the huge black sheet off its newest member of the lineup and the MasterCraft 300, much bigger than expected, really did steal the show. The metal flake hull and deck sparkled. The pickle fork of the bow gave it a unique and progressive look. Though there were plenty of other American-manufactured day boats and cruisers, the 300 featured an overall boldness of design that gave this new member of the humble day yacht genre sex appeal on a par with a small Italian-built Pershing sports yacht.

For more, see the February 2010 issue of Sports Boat and RIB Magazine . . .