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21 or 23 foot?


Schindawg

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The 'Crew was super helpful to me last fall when I nearly purchased a mistreated, repossessed '01 Sunsetter VLX. After seeing the marine inspection pics, it was quite obvious the boat needed more than a little TLC and so I backed out of the deal. So, I'm in the hunt again, and with current gas prices and economy, seeing quite a few Malibu's out there. Unfortunately, some sales look like they're due to financial hardship, but that does make it more of a buyer's market. I have four kids ages 12 down to 4 and intend on using the boat for an equal mix of tubing, skiing and boarding. As the kids grow, I'm sure they'll take more to boarding, so am looking for a wake hull, ballast, PP, tower, etc. I intend on keeping the boat a long time, but it seems resale would be better on a Wakesetter vs. Sunsetter/Sunscape. That said, and at the danger of rehashing an old topic, I'm torn between a 21' or 23' boat. I'm seeing prices out there between the $25-35k range for either, with similar options and low hours. Is it a case like TV's, bigger is always better? Does fuel economy play any role in this (yeah, I know, you don't buy a boat for its gas mileage)? Here's what I really want to know:

1.) For you existing 21' owners, if you had to do it all over again, would you go 23'? Why or why not?

2.) For you existing 23' owners, is 340hp Monsoon the min requirement? Are you glad you have a 23' or would you be happy in a 21'?

Being I have a family of six and intend on sharing my boat with other families for a day out on the lake, in your opinion, would 10-11 or 14 seat capacity be more appropriate. I read one thread that got me thinking.... with 14 on board, each person gets less time on the water! Hmmmm. Thanks in advance for any thoughtful comments!

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  • Schindawg

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Family of 6? Do you ski/board from a houseboat/dock or is everyone on board for the entire day? If it's the latter, get the 23. No question. If you're only taking out 3-4 people at a time and not with a full day's worth of gear for everyone, the 21 will fit. I see you're in central WI. I'm assuming you'll be using this in one of our northern lakes from a fixed location??? The 21 is more manageable if you're going to be using it on some of the ramps you're bound to encounter in northern WI.

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23 all the way. I have spent alot of time in both and cant imagine going smaller then a 23 from now on. The room is always nice, and if you have a family of 6 + friends you need the 23 or 24/7. The 340 is plenty of power and if you start to really get heavy then you can change your prop.

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I just bought a Wakesetter Lsv 23. I was looking for a Vlx 21'. The only reason I went with the 23' is because I found a good deal. Now I am so glad I bought the 23'. I love the room it has, and everything else about it. I am new to wakeboard boats, so I am probably not the guy to ask.

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I prefer the 21' due to the fact it takes less weight to get an awesome wake. Also I believe the wakesurf wake is better from what I hear. I'm learning with a big crew it means less time on the water for you. I would stick to the smaller boat and say to bad for the extra 2 or 3 people, I like to choose whoever is best at pitching in for gas.

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Yep - family of six. It's great! We've already upped from a minivan to a full size GMC Savana conversion, which will be our tow vehicle. I'm flexible on the dropping off vs. staying all together thing. We'll be using various Northern WI lakes, mostly in the Merrill, Tomahawk, Minocqua areas which are less than an hour from home. I definitely would envision at least my entire family of six all together for parts of the day, with some of the younger ones needing beach breaks, etc.

Family of 6? Do you ski/board from a houseboat/dock or is everyone on board for the entire day? If it's the latter, get the 23. No question. If you're only taking out 3-4 people at a time and not with a full day's worth of gear for everyone, the 21 will fit. I see you're in central WI. I'm assuming you'll be using this in one of our northern lakes from a fixed location??? The 21 is more manageable if you're going to be using it on some of the ramps you're bound to encounter in northern WI.
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We have a place near Crandon and a family of 5 plus a fiancee and a girlfriend who are usually along making 7. If we're out riding, we rarely have all those people on board, but it happens. The 21 is a little cramped for that, especially if it's cold and everyone wants to sit behind the windshield. We ski/board from our dock when the crew gets that big. If you're going to have that many aboard with gear regularly, you'll want to go with the 23 even though it doesn't have the performance or the more desirable wake characteristics of the 21. If you have a home base and won't have a big crowd in the boat all the time, the 21 would be preferable.

Edited by UWSkier
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Yep - family of six. It's great! We've already upped from a minivan to a full size GMC Savana conversion, which will be our tow vehicle. I'm flexible on the dropping off vs. staying all together thing. We'll be using various Northern WI lakes, mostly in the Merrill, Tomahawk, Minocqua areas which are less than an hour from home. I definitely would envision at least my entire family of six all together for parts of the day, with some of the younger ones needing beach breaks, etc.
Family of 6? Do you ski/board from a houseboat/dock or is everyone on board for the entire day? If it's the latter, get the 23. No question. If you're only taking out 3-4 people at a time and not with a full day's worth of gear for everyone, the 21 will fit. I see you're in central WI. I'm assuming you'll be using this in one of our northern lakes from a fixed location??? The 21 is more manageable if you're going to be using it on some of the ramps you're bound to encounter in northern WI.

We have a cabin in manotwish waters.... beautiful country up there ! and I would say def go with the 23 !!

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I have a VLX and love it, rode behing an LSV with stock ballast and 5 people in the boat and it was just as good, had to ride 5' shorter and a little faster. Both wakes are awesome, its all about crew size and storage of the boat in my eyes. If you have a large crew get the LSV, if not get the VLX. Both are great boats, I would go with the Monsoon in either boat and just make sure you prop it correctly.

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Family of 4 - ages 4 & 5 w/ 21 VLX. We generally have another family of 4 with us and it gets tight -- especially considering all the gear required to manage toddlers. From a pure space perspective, I should have went w/ a 23/24. Financial and spacial factors forced me to max out w/ the VLX. FWIW, the 24 aka LakeLimo has an incredible wake - much bigger than the 21VLX.

I'd say motor size is important, but if you end up needing more power in the long run, you can always reprop. I just put an ACME 1235 on my VLX and the hole shot is significantly improved over the stock 537 when weighted down.

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Ok... so I'm leaning 23' here. Thanks for all the replies so far. Anyone want to give an opinion on this boat I found on ebay? Less than 100 hrs, every option I want, and reserve is $35k including a 5,000 lb lift and only 3 hrs drive from me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...em=110256154414

Thanks again!

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by looking at the pics it looks as if the carpet is quite stained. I would really look it over. I would take better care of a 40k + boat than having stains in the carpet

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Ok... so I'm leaning 23' here. Thanks for all the replies so far. Anyone want to give an opinion on this boat I found on ebay? Less than 100 hrs, every option I want, and reserve is $35k including a 5,000 lb lift and only 3 hrs drive from me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...em=110256154414

Thanks again!

California registration on a WI boat? I would check to be sure it wasn't run in any salt water and look it over really well.

Any of our SE Wis area 'bucrewers know anything about this boat?

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I agree on the comments on the condition of the other boat. I would be very cautious of an Ebay Boat and the carpet looks filthy, like it was left for an extended period of time uncovered...and the trailer is VERY dirty. People who own, operate, and pay good money for these boats typically take VERY good care of them.

As for the 21 vs 23 debate...my vote is for the 23. We typically only have 4-5 people max, but have had 11-12 people without any problem at all. The added length is a great feature on our larger lake that can be rough at times, so the ride is significantly improved since the boat is 2' longer and nearly 1000# heavier. My boat is right at 4000# plus the fuel (400) and the crew (400) and batteries, accessories and gear....so that is about 5000# pushing thru the water and thats without any ballast, so it rides pretty nice, IMHO. The added storage, interior comfort of being able to spread out and have PLENTY of room is definitely appreciated by all who join us.

Can't go wrong with either. Everyone has there opinions and reasons for why they have what they have. I pretty much ruled out 21s based on MY research on this site, and have NEVER second guessed my getting the 23. With the crew numbers your talking about, I would go 23 all the way.

Best of luck in your search!

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I agree on the comments on the condition of the other boat. I would be very cautious of an Ebay Boat and the carpet looks filthy, like it was left for an extended period of time uncovered...and the trailer is VERY dirty. People who own, operate, and pay good money for these boats typically take VERY good care of them.

Best of luck in your search!

HA! As someone who has worked at a dealership for 5 years I would say the majority of people typically do not take very good care of them at all.

And $35k w/ a lift is a crazy good price on that boat. Just go look it over before hand. If you were considering a repo boat, looking at one that isn't 100% cosmetically should not be that much of a stretch.

-Chris

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I have a 21 LSV and looked at the 23. I came up from a 18 footer and when test driving the 21 and 23 the jump in size and weight was quite noticeable for me. We usually only boat with 7-8 people and the 21 has worked really well. I also tow my boat to the lake at least an hour one way so I would pay for the the extra weight both on and off the water. Bot the 21 and 23 would fit in my garage but the 23 would have been much tighter. For our style boating the 21 has been the right length. Although if you were consistently taking out 10+ I think it would get a little crowded.

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If you want an expert opinion, have the boat looked at by the local Malibu dealer Tinus Marine located in the same town. Talk to Mark and he will take great care of you. I bought a Malibu from them a few years back and they are really great.

I've upgraded from a 21 LSV to a 23 LSV and the extra room is awesome for my family of 4. You'll be sorry if you get the 21 IMO.

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I've upgraded from a 21 LSV to a 23 LSV and the extra room is awesome for my family of 4. You'll be sorry if you get the 21 IMO.
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Hey, thanks for all the advice so far. I'll inquire about the carpet and CA reg on the boat, and whether it's seen any salt water. And, since it's close, I think I'll go down to see it in person vs. bidding on it. If I can impose again, another boat I was interested in is at Skiers Pier in MI.

http://www.skierspier.com/pre_owned_detail...&veh=784274

Can anyone comment on the LS1? I'm assuming premium fuel only in this baby, and not sure how thirsty it is, but it must move out pretty good. I hadn't mentioned it before because it seemed like a no brainer to pay $5k more for the 2004 Wakesetter above (which hasn't sold on eBay in a previous listing), but considering several of the important questions that need answering, what do you guys think of this 2000 Escape? If I could get them down to $25k, it might be a more compelling buy?

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I've got an '06 wakesetter 23xti and LOVE it. I have a small family, Me, my wife and daughter (3) so we always take another couple with us. I like the XTI because of the rear seating area. The kids can be in one part of the boat and the adults in another. Allows the adults to talk. On most holidays we're out with 6 adults and 6 kids (from 8 to 3 years old). The 340 has no problem pulling tubers, skiers, boarders etc. I've never had a v-drive so I can't comment on those but the XTI is perfect for my needs/wants.

Good luck in your hunt!

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I got the VLX over the LSV only because the VLX with the swim step off and the tounge folded over just fits in my garage. After having it for a season, it would be nice to have soem extra storage for those days when you are out all day.

My brother has a 24' Supra and he can fit way more stuff for the day and people in it than I can. If I can find a way to keep one indoors, I'll get an LSV or even a 247 next time.

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