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Note that the @shawndoggy voltage chart referenced by @Bozboat above is resting voltage. Fully charge the battery and let it rest for at least thirty minutes off the charger and then test the voltage. My vote is that the bendix is fine but the commutator is full of carbon from the brushes. The power of the starter is much less when the commutator resistance from pole to pole is not high enough. Of course, it is a great idea to lube the bendix while you have the starter out.

boom! thanks. I'd like to see someone do this on a more current hull design Malibu or Axis with full size gates. The poster there in WG (who I now really admire, btw) noted "I believe that a taller gate and/or more bow weight could help the wave in this configuration." His gates are quite a bit smaller than OEM surfgates. Takeaway there for me is there is NO way my wife would figure out all the buttons and inputs necessary to operate that setup.

Yea, Lake Elmo is about your only source for handle parts. I do about half the rope/handle building/maintenance for our show team. If you want good non/low-stretch rope for a reasonable price, then the TAC line Lake Elmo sells is the best bang for the buck (good stuff for basically everything but slalom). You can go Spectra too, but that gets pricy and not as easy to source. Slalom rope, however, is the only line I won't bother putting together. I like S-lines for that - high quality, reasonable price. If you're building handles for slalom, I've taken to tubing from the V to the loop (anywhere the ski can touch during a start) (good for barefoot ropes too - easier on the feet on starts). The top bevel on many of the newer carbon skis can be really sharp and damaging to a bare rope. For tubing, any old 3/8" vinyl (ID) from the hardware store is fine, capped with the tube ends that Lake Elmo sells, or buy a bag from McMaster and punch your own holes (McMaster vinyl caps). Aluminum knitting needles with the end cut off at a 45 make good fids for rope/handle building.

Probably not, but it's easy to check before you remove parts.

If the battery is not strong enough to spin the starter at the correct speed, the gear on the end of the starter might not engage the flywheel. Checking the battery is a way of ruling out that problem. It is more likely to be the starter bendix due to age or dirt/grease.

I'll bet you find a bad starter/solenoid/bendix

so a bad battery would give the symptoms of what I've got going on?? you can hear the starter turning freely, but not engaging when you hit the button, and all other electronics are working

It is my understanding that VS Marine Atascadero, is now our dealer ICBW If so, that is a wonderful thing. Kris and his crew are AWESOME!! They are worth the 3 three hour drive for me.

Check the voltage on the battery before charging and again a day or so after you charge them. If they are more than a few years old, you might take them to an auto parts store and have them load tested. Here is the @shawndoggy battery chart.

I would at least clean your existing carb or maybe rebuild it again before buying a new one. Poor idle could be just gunk in the throat near or on the butterfly, debris in a jet, a leaky bowl gasket, bad float valve, improper float level, etc. Carb rebuild is easily a DIY activity. I would buy a kit and a gallon can of carb dip and have an enjoyable evening. The can of dip works a whole lot better than the spray cans at removing gunk. Compressed air is a bonus too, but if you don't have that you can use the spray carb cleaner as a substitute after the dip.

Posting a photo of the parts you seek is a great idea. Yes, the site will let you post photos. See the post about posting photos.

So what is the Tommy’s business empire? From the above post much more than 16 Malibu dealerships.

Nobody posted a photo or even a sketch that shows roughly how they work. Are they acting in compression or retraction? Your description above indicates that the coils almost touch each other when at rest, so it seems they would have to be retraction springs. I would guess that the best answer is to remove your springs and compare the force to new ones. Springs can fatigue with use and provide less force over time. This would happen sooner if the tower is stored in the lowered position. I would think that a double spring solution would work better for this situation, where the original spring works as designed, then a second spring only adds force after the tower breaks over about 30 degrees or so. That way the force required to start tipping the tower would remain the same.

😳However, there are eight dealers listed in Texas under the View Dealer list tab.

Gen 1 LXI (03-06) is a very good slalom / barefoot boat. I ski behind one of those and a 92 PS 190. LXI wake is softer and similar flatness at 32 and shorter. Long line LXI has a larger hump. LXI is spray free so no short line BB’s. GM power so parts are plentiful. As mentioned, a really good boat and hard to beat the wake, right there with the good Prostar years and the CC 196. You will dip the bow, not if but how soon:-)

Just a slight clarification here for the OP. "By wire" is generally taken to mean electronically. This boat definitely has mechanical linkages for throttle and shift, so it is not "by wire".

https://www.wakegarage.com/projects-archive/diy-surf-devices/surf-tabs-and-gates-r323/

Same here.

thanks for the replies guys,, im sure hoping thats all it is, im going to pull the starter today and check it out. on the batteries, i havent thought about that,but havent had any issues, ill put them on charge today as well to check out.

2003-2006 of Response LXI were good models for barefooting. Friend has that same color scheme in a 2006. I take it out from time to time. Works very well. Trailer axle issue though. Common on all trailers with torsion axels.

Glad the install went well, it looks great! Thanks for the shoutout as well. To polish it up, get ahold of wetsounds and they can send you new amp logos to orient upright!

My point is, there used to be years with no changes whatsoever. No new models, perhaps a change from rotary switches to backlit toggles, maybe a new gel color, etc. and people were still upgrading and entering the market. I remember when the original MLS system came out, which was all a wake setter had for ballast, which was a 500# fat sac in the ski locker. I remember when the sun kicker came out, which was only a Sunsetter LX with a tower and MLS. My point being, inexplicable new entrants to wakeboats have come out of the woodwork for decades, and eventually that will resume.

I had an 05 r Lxi. Loved it. Only thing I would caution is that that era hammerhead was one of the more problematic engines Malibu put its name on. That’s not to say you won’t have great luck with it, but there were more problems with it than the monsoon. That’s for sure. That said, a new long block can be had for less than you would think.

Depends. I have to check my source.

Not so much "the market" as the players who keep things moving even if when don't have to. With money not being free, they don't have to. Wake boats are going to appeal to a much smaller percentage of boaters than pontoons, runabouts, cabin cruisers, etc....hence like The Hulk keeps saying, they are hurting the most. But it'll come back in time, it always does.