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!

Wake comparisons


kknudsen12

Recommended Posts

How do tournament ski boats compare in terms of their wakes (Correct Craft, Mastercraft, Malibu, etc.)? Every boat manufacturer seems to claim that it produces the best slalom boat, but it's obvious that there's probably some preference involved and assessing wakes is subjective. However, what are your thoughts? Do you feel Malibu has the best wake/best to ski behind, or is it the overall boat that makes you like it most? Any comments/discussion is appreciated!

Also, I suppose this may have been discussed before, but I was unable to find what I was looking for using the search feature. If there's a very similar thread, feel free to point me in that direction.

Link to comment

Even though Im biased, my 2008 RLXI is my favorite. I ski at 15' off 32 mph.

Malibu's wake looks like a bump, narrow but oh so soft!

Mastercraft isnt bad as well, harder but little shorter i guess

Correct Craft I havnt skied behind as much as the others and i havnt got a good idea on what I do and dont like about it.

Ive also skied behind an older RLX and didnt care for it much, Although the wake was virtually flat with no rooster tail its hard!

Also a 2004 Supra comp LTS which has the absolute craziest hull shape i have ever seen! Its feels similar to a Mastercraft.

But you have 3 factors that play into this, Rope length, speed, and skill level (personal preference)

So ultimately its just whatever boat works best for you.

Link to comment

I think the competition boats all have excellent wakes and if you have proper body position you can ski well behind any of them. I have skied behind a RLX, RLXI and a Mastercraft 197. I had my best scores behind the 197 but that was at a different site also. I honestly didn't notice a huge difference in the wake behind any of them. I ski behind the RLX (my boat) and the RLXI fairly regularly and can switch back and forth without any issues. For comparison I ski into 28 off at 34 mph regularly and behind the MC made 28 4 days in a row.

Link to comment

I've skied behind:

95 response (mine)

01 sunsetter (dad's)

90 nautique

96 prostar 190

I ski the best behind the nautique, but all the wakes are good. I would rate the rest (in order) the response, sunsetter, and prostar. The difference is very small. At my level (15 off @ 30 mph), it's more about how much you like the rest of the boat, and malibu just does it for me. Plus I got a killer deal on my response.

Link to comment

Depends on what speed you're skiing at.

I tow some multi day kids ski schools, mainly 7-14yr olds and my 02 RLX is not great for them at 16-28mph. The CC's have smaller wakes at those low speeds. Note these kids often are still on doubles or early single skiing working on 15' off passes and the big wakes all tournament boats make are up to knee/mid thigh high on the smallest kids.

However the RLX low speed wake is more rounded so some of the kids seem to prefer it as less of a lip crest to ride over.

Link to comment
How do tournament ski boats compare in terms of their wakes (Correct Craft, Mastercraft, Malibu, etc.)? Every boat manufacturer seems to claim that it produces the best slalom boat, but it's obvious that there's probably some preference involved and assessing wakes is subjective. However, what are your thoughts? Do you feel Malibu has the best wake/best to ski behind, or is it the overall boat that makes you like it most? Any comments/discussion is appreciated!

Also, I suppose this may have been discussed before, but I was unable to find what I was looking for using the search feature. If there's a very similar thread, feel free to point me in that direction.

I just got the latest Water Ski mag and it has a "team shoot out" between Malibu, CC and MC. Basically, they aren't comparing the boats, but they had each team bring 4 team skiers to see who could get the best overall performance behind their boat.

The boats were:

Response LXi

Prostar 197

SN 196

Here is their take on the boats "with these superior water machines, there's no blaming the boat". So you are right, it comes down to personal preference. They are all "the best" in terms of wake, the question is which one is best for you, and there is ONLY one way to find that out.

BTW, Team Malibu scored the highest point total, althought there was no blow out, 2nd and 3rd were seperated by the minimum point seperation possible.

Link to comment

I was snooping around on the Tige site, and I am pretty curious about the 20i. There is a guy that has had all the major 3 event boats and he is really persuasive towards the 20i.

Enough to make me think a little.

I have found it hard to compare those 3 as they are all good. Such little changes can make a difference. Full tanks of gas, 4 people versus 2 or 3. I can really see a difference in the way my wife comes across the wakes when we have 3/4 of a tank, versus 1/4. I know that if she were a better skier it wouldn't matter, but thats not the point of this discussion

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...