Miami, FL --- Choosing to go where no boat company has gone before, MasterCraft – the world leader in luxury performance inboards -- announces it is unveiling the CSX – a bold, new direction for boating – at the 2006 Miami International Boat Show. The CSX, or Cross Sport Xtreme, is a center console tour de force designed for the active, versatile boater and is aimed to successfully merge the diverse lifestyles of outdoor enthusiasts.
“Most boats have been designed to match very specific market needs such as fishing, cruising, skiing and so on,” says John Dorton, president and CEO of MasterCraft. “However, we are witnessing a trend of multiple activities in one family, which begs the question – what boat is the best fit for them? We believe we have come up with that answer. The CSX isn’t just a boat for boating’s sake, but a boat that encapsulates the desires of today’s dynamic, athletic outdoor enthusiasts. It is a do-everything craft for both saltwater and freshwater that will change the way we look at boating.”
Dorton continues, “Our excitement also stems from the fact that the NMMA is about to launch a new multi-million dollar advertising and marketing campaign for the Grow Boating initiative which will ultimately increase participation in the recreational marine industry. The multi-use capability of the CSX makes it a perfect fit for newcomers who want to engage in many land-based activities while incorporating boating.”
To that end, the 22-foot pickle fork CSX is ready for whatever is thrown its way. Equipped with Yakima racks for mountain bikes, wakeboards, skis, fishing gear and even a kayak, the CSX embodies versatility and durability. A direct-drive propulsion system means the engine is set amidship, much like MasterCraft’s tournament-bred ProStar series of boats, allowing for supreme pulling power, better balance and enhanced visibility due to lower bow-rise. As such, the CSX features a unique hull engineered to deliver a comfortable ride in big water while providing the superior wake characteristics watersports enthusiasts have come to expect and demand from MasterCraft.
Drivers are positioned in front of the engine in a center console environment, allowing for full walk-around to the elevated bow, where additional gear can be stored – snap in the bow cushion and the walk around quickly becomes the ultimate tanning bed.
In the center is a captain’s utopia. The dash has easy-to-read gauges and a large standard compass to help anyone navigate large water. Add in the optional, flush-mounted GPS system and “lost” will soon drop out most people’s vocabulary. Behind the driver and passenger sits an island that contains a convenient, teak-covered ice box and a generous sized sink with pullout sprayer. In the back, the rear seat flips forward for easy access from the water-level swimming platform.
As for its toughness, it is constructed in the same meticulous world record-setting heritage of every all-fiberglass MasterCraft, using an internal system of aluminum and high-density polyethylene backing plates for structural and cosmetic longevity – with a lifetime warranty. With its heavy-duty rubber hull guard and self-bailing cockpit with surrounding gutter system, the CSX can be taken anyplace at anytime --a favorite coastal beach for lunch or bike trailhead with limited road access. With its modified vee hull bottom and low-profile inboard drive train, the CSX can navigate both open water and shallows where I/Os fear to tread. And with its stain-proof upholstery and snap-on carpeting, cleanup is made simple—just one pass with a hose.
This breakthrough in boating will definitely raise eyebrows, but MasterCraft is unwavering. This is the same company that debuted a 22-foot pickle-fork wakeboard boat, which replaced its best-selling model of all time. It’s not a company afraid of innovation and leadership.
“It is part of our legendary DNA to think of ways to revolutionize the industry,” says Dorton. “It wasn’t that long ago we were considered out of touch by pursuing wakeboarding and creating a new niche with the first ever wakeboard boat. Now, 10 years later, every manufacturer is in that game. We believe the CSX will be much the same – we might appear too extreme but a decade from now, the market won’t know how we existed without this niche in boating.”
*The MasterCraft CSX can be seen at the Miami International Boat Show in booth # K-41
