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US Vs Aus malibus


Southern Skiier

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So I am in Australia and have not been lucky enough to own a malibu yet but I want to and was wondering what the differences are between US and American Malibu's are. I am hoping there is some guru out there on this topic rather than getting a one sided sales pitch. Cheers from down south!

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Well naturally due to the Coriolis effect the Malibu's made in AUS pull to the left while the ones from the US pull to the right....

Seriously though, I have no clue and don't think too many will. I know your trailers are different and some of the engine offerings and such over the years have not lined up with the US models (the carb stayed around longer in AUS). If you are thinking of importing a boat from the US (not a bad idea with our economy and your exchange rate) you may end up with a great deal.

-Chris

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Several years ago at the Merced factory I was told that all Malibus built in Oz are on the diamond hull. Now, I had always thought that it was the other way around, that they were built on wake hulls, but I wasn't going to argue. It's an easy thing to figure out though, any picture will tell us what is what.

I had also heard that Mercruiser was still an option a couple of years ago while it hasn't been here for a long while.

Those are the only 2 things that I'm aware of.

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  • 3 months later...
Several years ago at the Merced factory I was told that all Malibus built in Oz are on the diamond hull.

I had also heard that Mercruiser was still an option a couple of years ago while it hasn't been here for a long while.

Those are the only 2 things that I'm aware of.

i believe that was the case from around 98 to 02 or 03 as far as i know. back when many of the boats were based on the 'classic' sv23 hull. now you can get either the wake or cut hull in all the new hull styles such as the vlx, vtx. 07 was the first year the 23' boats were available as aus built. there are a few 247's getting around but they are imported.

there was a trend for a while and some boats got mercruisers. mostly because most boat mechanics are more familiar with them. getting bu's serviced by others than dealers or recommended places can be a nightmare. there are a lot of very primitive 'boat service centers' here in aus. now its pretty rare to see one in a newer boat. dont think ive seen one in a post 01 boat.

the primary differences in the boats these days are in the accessories. especially stereo and tower options (racks etc). unless you specially organise it you will only get easy tow trailers as OEM. IMO they are the best trailers in aus anyway so i dont know why you would want something else.

in terms of construction and quality they are pretty much identical. most of the raw materials for the boats are imported from the states anyway as most of it cant be locally sourced (from what ive been told). i live only a few k's away and drop in now and then, know a few who work there and malibu sometimes test the boats on our ski lake when the local weir (hume) is too low. so i see enough to know that there is absolutely nothing dodgy about them. ive been in a few US made bu's both here in aus and in the states and i couldnt find a difference. i tried but couldnt.

edit: just realised how old this is... thinking about it, were the 02-03 era wsetter boats available in 2 hull types??

Edited by Toby
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My understanding is they are pretty much identical and certainly the Easytow trailers are better than the typical US trailer. Virtually imposssible to damage prop on an Easytow. If you're changing from a Lewis you will certainly notice the quality / spec improvement.

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Several years ago at the Merced factory I was told that all Malibus built in Oz are on the diamond hull.

I had also heard that Mercruiser was still an option a couple of years ago while it hasn't been here for a long while.

Those are the only 2 things that I'm aware of.

i believe that was the case from around 98 to 02 or 03 as far as i know. back when many of the boats were based on the 'classic' sv23 hull. now you can get either the wake or cut hull in all the new hull styles such as the vlx, vtx. 07 was the first year the 23' boats were available as aus built. there are a few 247's getting around but they are imported.

there was a trend for a while and some boats got mercruisers. mostly because most boat mechanics are more familiar with them. getting bu's serviced by others than dealers or recommended places can be a nightmare. there are a lot of very primitive 'boat service centers' here in aus. now its pretty rare to see one in a newer boat. dont think ive seen one in a post 01 boat.

the primary differences in the boats these days are in the accessories. especially stereo and tower options (racks etc). unless you specially organise it you will only get easy tow trailers as OEM. IMO they are the best trailers in aus anyway so i dont know why you would want something else.

in terms of construction and quality they are pretty much identical. most of the raw materials for the boats are imported from the states anyway as most of it cant be locally sourced (from what ive been told). i live only a few k's away and drop in now and then, know a few who work there and malibu sometimes test the boats on our ski lake when the local weir (hume) is too low. so i see enough to know that there is absolutely nothing dodgy about them. ive been in a few US made bu's both here in aus and in the states and i couldnt find a difference. i tried but couldnt.

edit: just realised how old this is... thinking about it, were the 02-03 era wsetter boats available in 2 hull types??

Some of them were, yes. The 21' boats were it though, all of the 23' boats were diamond hull boats. And the ski boats were all diamond hull boats, no wake options that I can think of. The Wakesetter direct drive had a sister called a Wakesetter LXI which was on the diamond. And then there was the VLX on the wake hull, its sister was the 21' Sunscape on the diamond. All 4 of those were on the SV23 hull, with the diamond being the difference.

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i was recently in Sydney for a month and ran across some Malibus, didn't notice any immediate differences between them and my Bu here...

it was August though, and too cold for boarding, so i didn't spend a lot of time in one...

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The gages maybe different? If you look at this Aussie made 2006 Sportster, it has AirGuige speedometers and they read in KM/H. Heater outlet also looks different (square and looks fixed). Pattern in the vinyl is different than the 2005 US made Sportster, but that could just be a model/year change.

2006 Aussie-made Sporty

f_boat_desc--2153_161.jpg

Plus they have only one pick-up (pitot tube) instead of a paddlewheel.Plus Stainless prop... but that could have been added by the owner.

f_ballast_desc--2153_865.jpg

Anybody know what the round gage with LCD display is?

f_audio_desc--2153_804.jpg

Edited by 1FootDan
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I heard rumors that the last of the australian sportys were made on the diamond hull. If that's true, that might be the best slalom boat ever.

i dont believe so. havnt heard that one before.

Yes that small gauge is depth.

the 06 sporties were a bit of a mix and match of sorts. dont know if ive ever seen more than one or two and i have little doubt that the sporty was the least made in terms of numbers. im pretty sure they didnt have dbw and so forth as they got left behind in the tech upgrades. thats the first time ive seen a dash setup like that in a regular customer boat. i do know of a few 06 sunsetter boats that are club/ski school boats that dont have dbw, basic gauge setup etc. and also, for some reason only have one exhaust outlet nautique style.

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Down here im pretty sure we have caught up to be honest. we didnt get the wake hull until 05, and now there is an option for either hull on some of the range. not 100% which ones though. im 99% sure they might have even stopped making sportsters down here. still have everything else though.

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Down here im pretty sure we have caught up to be honest. we didnt get the wake hull until 05, and now there is an option for either hull on some of the range. not 100% which ones though. im 99% sure they might have even stopped making sportsters down here. still have everything else though.

Welcome.gif

yep 06 was definately the last year here of the sporty.

im pretty sure we have both hull options on all boats that give the option in the states now.

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