The First 10 Hours

[marksy]

i got a vtx wake hull wake prop and 320hp. what should you do for the first 10 hours.

i got a mixed response from my dealer. he said he wouldnt ride behind it at all even un-weighted until after the first service (10 hours) or least 5hours, but then said they let ppl trial the demo boats before there are even 2 hours on it.

what do most people do and what is recommended and what are the consequences.

Being my first malibu obvioulsy im eager to ride behind it but want to do the right thing still.

[LSVSharks]

When I bought my boat this year. I spent 8 hours of it just driving it around without anyone skiing, boarding, surfing or anything. You want to make sure everything works right. Take your time and get used to the boat. It is better not to have any load on the motor for the first 5 to 8 hours on it.

Good luck and have fun.

[jjackkrash]

Discussed here:

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index....4&hl=piston

Congrats on the new ride.

[h20sportsbum]

my boat I would use it the way I want to use it as soon as possible wethere it be skiing or boarding. That being said we did on our boat do the break in period at tahoe in a weekend. just ran the boat and didn't turn it off. The one thing that you don't want to do is break it in to slowly. You can loose some power if you don't break it in right. don't be afraid to run it at higher rpms then suggested in the manual for brief periods of time. For your peace of mind you should drive it the way you think is ok for the boat. Some people drive it like a bat out of hell, others won't even think of doing that before the break in period. In other words if you feel better if it is broke in like they suggest go that route. if you are on the other side of the spectrum then drive the hell out of it. Either way if you are going to have a problem with the engine it will present itself sooner rather then later no matter how you treat it the first few hours, usually anyway.

[bu2007vlx]

I waited 4 hours, then I did like all my other boats (boarded and skied like it had 200 hours). I don't beat my boats so I'm not worried about hurting anything. Congratulations

[marksy]

thanks for the responsed guys. boat is getting delivered end of september so once it does ill take some snaps and put a more detailed post about how its option etc. CANT WAIT

if anyone else has advice im still all ears.

[MUpde]

Drive it like you stole it!!!

[radioman]

like the man said. DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FROM MINUTE ONE

[FIC]

As a dealer we normally put about an 1 to 1.5 hours on our boats before delivery to make sure everything is sound. On our trial run we let the motor get to normal opperating temperature first before cracking open the throttle , after all you dont get out of bed and go right to work, next we look for any leaks of any kind and listen for unussual noises or feel for any vibrations, also monitor your guages . After 15 to 20 min . we start working throttle up and down , bringing the boat off and on plane , with an occassional full throttle blast . When we get to about 40 min. run time my sons put on there wake boards and I pull them checking , cruise control , all wake systems , stereo ,etc. At 1.5 we pull the boat out of the water go back to the store , check the boat over again, all fluids and then the owner is good to go and drive it the way they want, we just suggest they check all fluids for the next several outtings and dont hold the throttle at wide open more then a minute or so until at least 5 hrs. Hope this helps.

[68Slalom]

I wouldn't worry so much about it, you can get 5 hours on that thing in no time. Just take the first day and cruise around, get used to it learn how to pull into docks and reverse. Adjust your rpm's and don't keep the hammer down. Ours had 4 hours on it and I was skiing and boarding behind it, it doesn't burn a drop of oil but I did change it at 10 hrs. It was pretty dirty, that is the only thing I would recommend doing at the 10 hr mark.

Congrats on the new ride