Best Ski and Wake Boats for 2025
We take a look at six best ski and wake boats and six best for the money.
When it comes to ski and wake boats you’ll find some of the most specialized watercraft around. Some are designed purely to make the biggest wakes possible and sculpt them to your liking, while others put more emphasis on creature comforts and making your day on the water as relaxing as possible. Which is best for you depends on what you enjoy the most, but whatever strikes your fancy, you’ll have plenty of boats to choose from. Which ski and wake boats are the best? We’ll answer this somewhat subjective question by taking a look at six of the best on the water for the 2025 model year, as well as six that offer you the most bang for that hard-earned buck.
The Best Ski and Wake Boats
Centurion Ri265
With an LOA spanning 26’6”, a chart-topping ballast capacity of 5,850 pounds, and yacht-certified passenger capacity, the Centurion Ri265 is one big, bodacious wake boat that can create some monster waves. It also delivers big in the comfort department, with goodies like hinged shocked lounge seats, onboard wireless phone charging, flip-back seatbacks, transom stadium seats, and a customizable exterior with 37 different gel coat color choices. The boat’s interface comes via twin 12” touchscreens that give you finger-swipe-easy control of everything from ballast to RGB lighting to the Wet Sounds stereo system.
See Centurion Ri265 boats for sale on boats.com.
MasterCraft XStar 25
MasterCraft has reimagined their top offering with the 2025 XStar 25, a boat that claims to be the most powerful dedicated tow boat on the water thanks to the massive 630-hp V-8 Ilmor inside the enginebox. The new audio system is so advanced MasterCraft gave it a special name, the MAXX, featuring six subwoofers, 10 cockpit speakers, four tower speakers, and six transom speakers. In all it boasts 4,200 watts of combined peak power. The boat also boasts new transom loungers, a convertible seat/table aft of the helm, a new power-folding Z100 tower, and a new hull full of fast-fill/fast-empty ballast tanks.
See MasterCraft XStar 25 boats for sale on boats.com.
Malibu M230
The latest from longtime industry player Malibu, the M230 is designed to bring a heaping helping of luxury to your days on the water in a slightly smaller package than the M242 we featured in this roundup last year. Features like “Max Relax” sun loungers, sunpads that flip up on gas-assisted hinges to access stowage areas sized for boards, and optional transom misters will keep the comfort level dialed up to 10. When you’re ready for serious action, however, the boat is too. The M230 has Surf Gate Fusion and the Power Wedge III below the waterline to help craft the ideal wakes, and a G-10+ tower which has racks for eight boards along with the elevated towing point. Wait a sec — that tower adds a dash of luxury, too, thanks to integrated RGB lighting and optional integrated misters that will help you chillax on those sweltering summer days.
See Malibu M230 boats for sale on boats.com.
Nautique G25 Paragon
Nautique’s G25 Paragon, introduced just last year, sits at the very top of this builder’s lineup and has a redesigned hull made for developing sculpt-able wakes. The boat can carry 3,400 pounds of ballast, integrated Waveplate flow directors, a telescoping tower that rises and lowers at the press of a button, and a potent 630 horses under the engine box. One nifty perk is the Garmin Watch integration, which lets a rider change and tweak the wake, vary speed, shift the ballast, and even crank up the stereo as they surf. New for the 2025 model year, the G25 Paragon is available in the Centennial Edition in celebration of the company's 100th anniversary. This adds special badging with the Centennial logo plus an exclusive black metal flake gel coat color.
See Nautique G25 Paragon boats for sale on boats.com.
Supra SE
With the ability to hold a whopping 4,700 pounds of ballast, the Supra SE will make some of the biggest wakes around. It’ll allow you to sculpt them to fit individual riders, too, thanks to the Swell Surf 3.0 and Supra SmartPlate systems. It even offers AutoWake, an autopilot of sorts for waves which maintains the hull’s position in the water regardless of conditions and variables. That means the rider always has the curls and shape they expect when they choose a profile or preferred setting. This boat also enjoys a helm of luxury with features like heated seats, an all-new DSD audio system, and a Bimini top integrated into the tower.
See Supra SE boats for sale on boats.com.
Tigé Ultré ZX
When Tigé announced a new intro for the 2025 model year they rolled out not one but two new Ultré ZX models, the 23ZX and 25ZX. The idea was to set a new bar for the ultimate in luxury surf boats by adding just about every possible feature, including some new ones, to a boat equipped to create topnotch wave-making thrills. Some you expect, like the wireless charging phone holders, RGB lighting, and onboard high-pressure air pump. Others are eye-opening surprises, like the UltréChill integrated electric cooler and the Tigé Thruster, a stern thruster connected to the throttle which allows for easy dockside maneuvering. Whether the 23ZX or the 25ZX fits the bill for your needs, if you want the ultimate in wake boats the Ultré ZX line is a must-see.
See Tige Ultré 23ZX and Tigé Ultré 25ZX boats for sale on boats.com.
The Best Ski and Wake Boats for the Money
ATX 20 Type-S
With 20' of LOA the ATX Type-S is one of the most compact dedicated wake sports boats on the water, and it's the smallest to make this roundup. But don't let that fool you. It has seating for up to a dozen people, a 1,900-pound carrying capacity, and an Indmar Raptor 400 under the hood. It has the wake sports goods, to, including a Type-E powered folding tower, 2,750 pounds of ballast, the TAPS 3T wake tab system, and the GO system with touchscreen control including settings for cruise control, wake steepness, and more. Pricing tends to range within shooting distance of the $100K mark, though a well-outfitted boat will cost a bit more.
See ATX 20 Type-S boats for sale on boats.com.
Axis T220-R
It’s tough to find quality dedicated wake boats under the $100K mark, and it’s even tougher to find ones big enough to haul the extended family. But Axis comes in right around that price-point (depending on how it's outfitted) with the 21’11” LOA T220-R. Initially introduced just last year, this boat can carry a whopping load of up to 15 people, has gobs of seating ringing the cockpit, and a “playpen” style bow that’s padded 360-degrees around. It scores high in the wave-making department, too, with 1,145 pounds of factory installed ballast, the Axis Core dash with a seven-inch Garmin touchscreen interface, and a Wake Plus hull with Surf Gate.
See Axis T220-R boats for sale on boats.com.
Chaparral 21 Surf
If you’re hip to having a stern drive with Forward Drive, the Chaparral 21 Surf offers a deal you’ll want to check out. Advertised 2025 base pricing is a hair under $80,000 and that comes rigged with a 250-hp Volvo Penta V-6 2.0 EVC swinging those props well underneath of the boat courtesy of the Forward Drive. Unlike most ski and wake boats with the Forward Drive system, the 21 Surf also offers the wake-sculpting abilities of the Malibu Surf Gate. Additional watersports options include a folding Velocity arch tower, an extended swim platform, and you can even get an onboard air pump for days when the kids want to be pulled around on inflatable tow toys.
See Chaparral 21 Surf boats for sale on boats.com.
Heyday WT-2DC
For the 2025 model year the Heyday WT-2DC starts with an advertised price just under the $73,000 mark, yet you still get the Heyday goodies like a hull designed to maximize water displacement, the angled transom that adds curl to its wake, and options for additional ballast and wave-shaping tech. The stock boat has over 1,000 pounds of ballast capacity to start with, and unlike some manufacturers Heyday includes the tower and a tandem axel trailer with brakes as stock features. One unusual perk this boat delivers is a detachable swim platform for easier garage storage. Length overall is 20’6”, beam is 8’0”, and the base engine packs a healthy 320 horsepower.
See Heyday WT-2DC boats for sale on boats.com.
Moomba Mondo
With a cost right around the $100K mark (more or less depending on the add-ons you opt for) the Moomba Mondo is well equipped in stock form, making it a nice bargain. This gets you into a high-end, fully featured tow boat for significantly less than most competitors, with heavy-duty perks like 3,700 pounds of standard ballast, the wake-shaping Moomba SmartPlate, Flow 2.0/3.0 Surf Systems, and the exclusive AutoWake system which lets you set your wave shape and size at the touch of a button. It even utilizes sensors and algorithms to adjust for pitch and roll, while a predictive feature fills the ballast tanks to achieve the perfect amount of displacement for your desired surfing experience be it beginner, intermediate, or expert.
See Moomba Mondo boats for sale on boats.com.
Yamaha 222XE
With an advertised starting point of $85,999 for the 2025 model year, the Yamaha 222XE is a great pick for watersports fans who are also jet boat fans. This 22-footer packs a pair of 1.9L 1891cc high-output Yamaha engines spinning three-bladed stainless-steel impellers through 155mm high-pressure pumps, to blast across the water without a propeller. It provides an awesome bang for the buck, too, because it comes with a long list of standard features that make it a turn-key adventure from the moment you sign on the dotted line. A 12.3” Connext touchscreen, wireless charging, a nine-speaker sound system including two tower speakers, the tower itself, wakeboard racks, and an integrated ballast system with 1,100 pounds of capacity are all included on the standard features list.
See Yamaha 222XE boats for sale on boats.com.
You’re not sure if a ski and wakeboard boat will be the best pick for you and your watersports-loving family? No worries, there are lots of other options out there which might fit the bill. Check out our guide to all the different sorts of watersports boats.
Editor's Note: This article was last updated in May of 2025.
