Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Newer (Big) Tracking Fins on an Older VLX


trace

Recommended Posts

Has anyone installed the bigger newer (~'04+) tracking fins on an older ('96 to ~'03) VLX? Gorilla Fins, I think was the marketing name at the time. The typical questions... How much trouble? Where did you get them and how much? Make a big difference in handling?

Link to comment
The biggest issue is that the boat won't fit on your trailer anymore. The newer trailers put the boat higher up to clear the cross bars.

Cant you just put a spacer under the bunks?Or is there something bad about doing that?

Link to comment

skicrave,

Can you think of anyone that's done this mod? I sure can't.

The Gorilla Fins do make a significant difference/improvement in the handling of the boat. As far as what it takes to do the mod, as skicrave said it will be the trailer that would be your biggest problem. I would maybe start by contacting as many people that would know the difference between the 2 & go from there. A good starting point would be the trailer manufacturer & your Malibu dealer. Once you gain enough informtion, it may be something that you can have a local trailer shop take care of. In all reality it may be more cost effective to just upgrade to an '04, but that's hard to say.

Link to comment

Yeah, I don't know of anyone that has made the switch. I also don't know how much of a difference they actually make in handling, as I've never been out in identical boats back to back ('03 VLX vs. '04 VLX for example). I actually think it may be mostly marketing, but that's purely speculation.

If something happened and the tracking fins needed to be replaced anyway I might do the research on this, but purely as an upgrade project, I would probably skip it.

Link to comment

FWIW, I was thinking of doing it on my old 00 LSV and Malibu said they did not recommend it nor would they fit. Dontknow.gif

Edited by LS-One
Link to comment
Yeah, I don't know of anyone that has made the switch. I also don't know how much of a difference they actually make in handling, as I've never been out in identical boats back to back ('03 VLX vs. '04 VLX for example). I actually think it may be mostly marketing, but that's purely speculation.

If something happened and the tracking fins needed to be replaced anyway I might do the research on this, but purely as an upgrade project, I would probably skip it.

The difference could easily be the hull change as well - Didn't the VLX hull change in '04?

Link to comment

Thanks for the replies. I hadn't thought of the trailer bunk issue. That would probably amount to more work than just getting the fins on the hull.

The VLX hull changed in 05, and the old hull became the V-ride.

Edited by trace
Link to comment
Yeah, I don't know of anyone that has made the switch. I also don't know how much of a difference they actually make in handling, as I've never been out in identical boats back to back ('03 VLX vs. '04 VLX for example). I actually think it may be mostly marketing, but that's purely speculation.

If something happened and the tracking fins needed to be replaced anyway I might do the research on this, but purely as an upgrade project, I would probably skip it.

The difference could easily be the hull change as well - Didn't the VLX hull change in '04?

No, it was the same hull (along with the Vride as stated) which would indicate that in this case the hull isn't the determining factor. I can see how it may be a problem with the 23' LSV boats, since that hull changed in '04 along with the introduction of the Gorilla Fins, so there would be the chance that they wouldn't fit on that older hull.

Link to comment

I think what Malibu meant was they will not fit in the existing bolt hole pattern. The newer fins have a longer base.

I remember a bunch of talk about upgrading them back in 04 on MBO, but no one went through with it.

-Chris

Link to comment
I think what Malibu meant was they will not fit in the existing bolt hole pattern. The newer fins have a longer base.

I remember a bunch of talk about upgrading them back in 04 on MBO, but no one went through with it.

-Chris

I guess I just assumed that this would be the case. I don't look at drilling a few more holes as a big deal when looking at the potential upside of a mod like this.

Link to comment

Could someone post some rough dimensions of their Gorilla fins? Anyone know what they would cost from Malibu, or if they'll even sell them?

Link to comment

Cool, I've purchased ballast intakes from them in the past. Good company to deal with (in contrast to my experiences with my local dealer).

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...