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KristinAlthough crossover boats are the newest breed of inboard, they’ve grown to practically dominate the market. The reason? Most buyers are no longer satisfied with having a really good ski boat or a really good wakeboard boat; they want a boat that can do it all. Building a boat with such versatility doesn’t just happen overnight: Crossovers have slowly evolved over the past three decades – and they’re still evolving. Find out where crossovers came from, where they are now and where they’re going in the future.
How did crossovers get started, and how have they evolved to where they are today?
The very first crossovers appeared in the 1980s and combined skiing with more of a family boat. The boating industry wanted to allow more people in the boat to go out and have fun on the water, whether that’s skiing, swimming or picnicking. So we began to see the first open-bow ski boats, and those were the start of the crossover movement.
– Matt Brown, Product Development and Engineering Manager, Skier’s Choice
How do crossovers differ in design from traditional ski or wakeboard boats?
Crossovers are more family and creature-comfort oriented than traditional ski boats. They usually offer all of the features and options of a wakeboard boat, but they also have the ability to produce a very good ski wake. They’re mostly V-drives, which offer better cockpit layouts for space, storage and seating. They offer towers and multiple removable pylon towing positions for the best flexibility.
– Mike Myers, Senior Design Engineer, MasterCraft
Lately, just about every boat brand has put out a 20-foot crossover model. What makes 20-footers such a popular platform?
The 20-foot crossovers are popular because they keep the boat’s weight down for skiing, and the hulls aren’t dramatically different than traditional ski boats. The smaller boats tend to be more maneuverable as well. And for most customers, there’s just something hard about perceiving anything larger than a 20-foot boat as a good ski boat.
– Matt Mueller, Malibu dealer, Minnesota Inboard
Are crossovers popular across all customer demographics?
Most people want a boat that can do everything, and they don’t want to compromise, unless the boat buyer is a hard-core sport-specific enthusiast. But the hard-core enthusiasts are only 10 percent of the market, whether they’re skiers, wakeboarders or surfers. Together, these groups only make up 30 percent of the buying, and the rest of the market wants to do everything with their boats. So that’s 70 percent of the market, or at least 2 out of 3 people, who are buying crossovers.
– Dan Gutierrez, Director of Design and Marketing, Tigé
What can we expect from crossovers in the future?
I think there are better opportunities coming for wakesurfing. There are opportunities for crossovers to be even more high-end slalom and high-end wakeboarding. And there are more opportunities in hull design, especially for rough-water rides and comfort.
– Matt Brown, Product Development and Engineering Manager, Skier’s Choice
