The registry
Moomba Registry: Models, Builds & Photos
Moomba is the value priced towboat brand built by Skier's Choice of Maryville, Tennessee, the same company that builds Supra inboards. The brand was created in 1989 by Supra Sports Inc., the Tennessee builder of Supra, using hull tooling acquired from an Australian boat company, which is where the Australian name and model names like Boomerang and Outback come from. The pitch was simple from the first boats: real inboard ski performance at a sticker price well under the established tournament brands.
Pick your model
Where Moomba came from
Supra inboards date to 1981, when George Fowler founded the company in Greenback, Tennessee, a few miles from Maryville. In 1989 Supra Sports Inc. picked up hull molds from an Australian builder and used them to start a second, lower priced brand: Moomba. The name is an Australian Aboriginal word the company translates as "let's get together and have fun." Ownership shifted through the 1990s. Rick Tinker and his management team took over operations in 1996, and in 1999 a management buyout of the Supra and Moomba brands from United Marine of Tennessee created Skier's Choice, the privately held company that has built both lines in the same Maryville plant ever since.
The Boomerang, 1990-2000
The Boomerang was the boat that established the brand. It is a direct drive inboard of roughly 19 feet, sold new for under 20,000 dollars when comparable tournament boats cost considerably more. Production ended with the 2000 model year. Mechanically these are conventional boats: an Indmar small block V8 of 5.0 or 5.7 liters mated to a direct drive transmission, with the engine box amidships like any three event ski boat of the era. Gelcoat quality and interior materials were where the cost savings showed, not the running gear, so a Boomerang with a tired interior often still has a healthy drivetrain.
Outback, Mobius, and the wake era
The original Outback was in the line from the start, a direct drive skier's boat a size up from the Boomerang. Moomba redesigned it completely for 1997, and the name stayed in the catalog for more than two decades, adding the V drive Outback V in the mid 2000s. The Mobius showed up in the late 1990s as the brand's wakeboard platform, followed by the V drive Mobius V, the Mobius XLV in 2002, and the Mobius LSV in 2006, which carried Moomba through the rise of wakesurfing. In 2007 Moomba and Indmar put the first catalyzed engine in the tournament boat segment. Later introductions kept the same value formula against Supra's premium positioning: the Mojo in 2013, the Craz in 2014, the Helix in 2017, the Kaiyen in 2020, and the Max and Makai in the early 2020s.
Ownership realities
Moomba remains in production under Skier's Choice, so the brand is not defunct and factory support exists. Older boats run Indmar marinized GM small block V8s, which keeps parts cheap and any competent inboard shop useful. Current models use the Ford based Indmar Raptor 6.2 liter V8 in 400 and 450 horsepower ratings. Brand specific items like tower fittings, decals, and upholstery patterns for 1990s boats are the harder finds.
Asked all the time
What years was the Moomba Boomerang made?
The Moomba Boomerang ran from the brand's launch through the 2000 model year, when production ended. It was a direct drive inboard around 19 feet long, positioned as an affordable tournament ski boat, and it sold new for under 20,000 dollars.
Who builds Moomba boats and are they still in business?
Moomba is built by Skier's Choice in Maryville, Tennessee, the same company that builds Supra. The brand was created in 1989 by Supra Sports Inc., and Skier's Choice has owned both brands since a 1999 management buyout. Moomba is still in production, so factory parts and dealer support remain available.
What is the difference between Moomba and Supra?
Both come off the same Skier's Choice production line in Maryville, Tennessee. Moomba is the value brand, with simpler interiors, fewer standard features, and a lower price, while Supra is the premium line. Hull construction and drivetrains are comparable, which is why used Moomba boats hold up mechanically.
Are parts easy to find for older Moomba boats?
Drivetrain parts are easy. Older Moomba boats use Indmar marinized GM small block V8s shared across the inboard industry, and current models use the Ford based Indmar Raptor 6.2 liter V8. Moomba specific trim, decals, upholstery, and 1990s era tower hardware are harder, and owners typically go through Skier's Choice dealers or the used market.
Is an old Moomba Boomerang a good ski boat today?
A sound Moomba Boomerang still pulls a slalom skier well, since it uses a conventional direct drive layout with a flat ski wake. Inspect the stringers and floor for rot as with any 1990s inboard, and expect the interior materials to show more age than the running gear.
The wall
The most-documented Moomba vehicles in the registry, every photo by the owner.