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Which VLX Hull


RIPP52VLX

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I am almost scared to bring it up after all my searching, but I (as many others) feel the choice is very subjective, so I will try to be very explicit as to our intended use.

We have been doing a lot of research and decided we wanted our VLX (looking for a used 06/07) with a Diamond hull. Of late, we have come across a very nice 07 VLX, but it has a V25 hull.

None of our skiers/riders are at an expert level in any aspect of water sports, so it is all in fun with the hope of just getting better as we go along. We do have an agressive group but as our summers are short in Canada, our on water time limits any great advancements in skill to occur.

We currently recreational slalom (open water) ski and wakeboard, but with this new boat are very interested in persuing surfing. (Bones are getting old) All previous sking/wakeboarding has been done behind 20' runabouts.

The confusion comes in as follows:

Diamond Hull - I know this would be better for slalom, but can it produce a good surf wake easy enough? I do not want to be having to add additional ballast beyond the stock 4 ballast tanks and wedge. I am thinking surfing may become a high priority as have only heard good things about it.

V25 Hull - With limiting the number of people on board and using the front ballast to help level the wake, can it produce a reasonable wake for slalom? We prefer not to be jumping the wake on a slalom ski.

Percentages of use would be:

Wake surf - 40%

Wakeboarding - 50%

Slalom sking - 10%

We don't have any unfrozen water at this time, so we won't be going for a pull anytime soon, so any suggestions would be appreciated. Would I be happy with the V25 hull? :unsure:

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As with most people, if you are only into recreational water sports, it would be very hard for you to tell the difference between these two hulls. It will usually take a little more than the recereational slalom pull to notice a great difference between the two. As for the surfability of the V25, you can get a great surf wake out it w/ the correct weight in the correct places.

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I agree with last post. I ski the course once in a while and opted for the Diamond hull on my 07VLX. For the most part the people skiing will not be able to notice the difference between the wake except when you add ballast and the wedge. The V25 should be fine for your applications.

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I was in a very similar situation a few months ago when we went from DD slalom boat to a V-drive Wakesetter with the V25 hull. My wife and I have been exclusive slalom skiers for years, but at age 36, our aggressive slalom days are on downward slope. We are hoping to surf more, thus we went with the V25 hull. We will continue to ski, but not as aggressive as we use to behind our old Prostar 190.

Unfortunately, our new ('05) has not been in the water yet, so I cannot tell you how the V25 hull is for slalom skiing. I am expecting a bump similar to a 20 ft I/O.

Diehard course slalom skiers all say the wakehull will kill you. Recreational open water skiers say the hull is fine.

I hope I get hit with the surf bug and loose all interest in slalom skiing, eventhough I love it. The double boot ejections don't feel as good anymore.

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We have an 05 with the wake hull and do a lot of slalom skiing. Probably 40% of our time on the water. The wake is better than our old I/O, but not what you get from a DD. I have not skied the diamond hull, so I cannot give you a comparison, but based on your breakdown I think you would be fine with the wake hull vs. the diamond.

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they are great boats and you will be happy with either the diamond or the wake hull.

Having said that, 90% of your useage calls for the wake hull and then make do for 10% of your useage, why buy a boat based on what will be 10% of your useage and then make do for 90% of the time when the wake hull is better.

I would and did buy the wake hull on a wakesetter vlx.

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With that division of time for each activity, the Wake Hull will definitely be adequate. If you were spending more than 40-50% of your time on a ski, then I would say get the Diamond hull, but for the small amount of time you spend on a ski, a VLX with a little weight in the front ballast will serve your needs just fine.

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We are in the same place as you. Our dealer talked up the Diamond hull, saying it is about the same for surfing, better for skiing, and only a big difference for the upper 5 percent of wakeboarders. They called back to the factory and ran this question around...they plan to do more testing this summer, but the factory had some hardcore Diamond (VLX) owners figuring they had the best hull. Sort of the old Chevy/Ford thing, but we were satisfied enough with our dealer's recommendation to take the Diamond hull as a little more manouverable and easier to plane. He's a big surfing freak and he feels the surf wake is very similar for both...still he notes that the Diamond isn't up to the V25 when it comes to hardcore pro-level wakeboarding. We had the ability to buy either hull and went with our dealer's recommendation on the Diamond...will let you know as my pal bought a LSV v25...they are obviously different boats, but maybe we can see some differences?

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Thanks for the excellent responses everyone :)

My thought was that the strong opinions that I have read about were from expert level skier / boarders who can appreciate the differences in minor wake changes.

If the wake is no larger than a 20' I/O this will definetly be suitable for our sking purpose, yet provide a great wake to hit the surf!

We'll let you know how it goes.

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Either one would fit your needs just fine. I would just see which one you find a good deal on with the colors and spec that you're looking for. If your a slalom skier looking to get into surfing your not going to "need" the world class wakeboarding wake of the "wake" hull and the lifting strakes of the Diamond hull will have minimal effect (if any) on the surf wake so...find one that fits your color/equipment needs and don't worry about which hull.

Good luck in your search and welcome to The Crew. Welcome.gif

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