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Malibu XTI


Bill_AirJunky

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I'm considering a new boat & the Malibu XTI has caught my interest, mainly due to the interior layout. Being a foil rider, I can appreciate a nice wake, but I like the way the direct drives handle.

Do you own an XTI? And if so, what do you think of the wake?

What about how the boat handles?

In choppy water conditions?

How useable is the interior?

Does the driver feel separated from the party in back?

Storage?

What tower did you get & how do you like it?

What brand & model boat did you own before the XTI?

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Contact GreenHead he has a twenty one ft. XTI

I like it we are going to really play with the wake today I will post some pics on monday.

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I'm considering a new boat & the Malibu XTI has caught my interest, mainly due to the interior layout. Being a foil rider, I can appreciate a nice wake, but I like the way the direct drives handle.

Do you own an XTI? And if so, what do you think of the wake?

What about how the boat handles?

In choppy water conditions?

How useable is the interior?

Does the driver feel separated from the party in back?

Storage?

What tower did you get & how do you like it?

What brand & model boat did you own before the XTI?

Own? No. Ridden in? Yes. Wake.... others can comment.

Handles? Just like all the other boats really. Nicely.

Chop? The 21 and 23 will do as well as the other models.

Interior? I hate it personally. The 23' is better than the 21'. The 21' has this 6" wide opening between the seats when walking to the back and that has tripped me up a number of times when carrying things like skis and stuff.

Seperation? Absolutely. Throw the gossiping teenagers back there for some peace I guess is usefull.

Storage? Not as much as the V-Drives at all.

Tower? Illusion hands down... just for the bimini. But the bimini wouldn't work so wel for an XTI since so much of the seating is in the back so the Titan III would be really hot as well.

I've got the equivalent of the Sunscape 21LSV.

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Contact GreenHead he has a twenty one ft. XTI

I like it we are going to really play with the wake today I will post some pics on monday.

I have the 2002 Sunsetter 23XTi

I LOVE it.

As I am advancing on the wakeboard...I now have the need for more weight...but I am going to have fly-high build a custom sac for the trunk that I should be able to put 800 lbs in.

Are you looking at a 21 or 23 xti....wakesetter or sunsetter.

No problems with the driver being separated...

They only problem is when you want to use the pylon and there are a bunch of people in the boat. Howerver, you still have the observers seat and bow when using the pylon.

We RARELY use the pylon...so it is not an issue.

Dave

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The wake can be just as big as the DD if you weight it right but it can be smaller than the DD if you want it to. It does handle better and the bow does not rise as much. The layout works great for MY crew. The driver is somewhat isolated, which is a good thing to me on a crowded lake. The storage is not much less - the biggest difference being that you can actually store ski's either in the storage next to the engine or in the locker. You can't do that in either place on a vlx or lsv. The Illusion tower is nice. The bimini is a pain to work with and does not cover as many passengers. A bimini extension will somewhat cover the rear facing passenger seat. I have an 05 23XTI Wakesetter.

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We put about 40 hours on a 03 23 XTI Sunsetter. It was definitely a fun boat.

The trunk next to the engine is huge. Also, in the sunsetter version the rear trunk is empty and can handle your foil broken down easily.

For wakeboarding the wake was a little small, it only had a wedge. I have never been in one weighted ohter than wedge and 6 people, so cannot comment on that.

The sundeck on the engine compartment was a favorite hangout and cool place to kick back even underway.

Being a DD it handles well and comes out of the hole nicely. In comparison, i owned an 03 LSV at the time, and the handling of the XTI was way better. That said, the 04 and newer V-drives with Gorilla Fins give a similar feel.

The bottom line, my crew liked the openess of the LSV better and we stuck with it. But, when we had the XTI, no one complained about it at all and I even gave it some seroius consideration.

Best thing to do is ride in both and then decide.

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I have a '04 ws21xti and love it. I drove a vlx and it felt sluggish to me in the turns, a feeling that is not there in a direct drive.

The 3 seperate areas are nice since I can now focus on driving with 1 spotter, and the rest can have a party in the back. I don't find myself ever tripping up on the narrow opening that slurpee mentioned.

Storage isn't bad, although I'm still looking for the best place to stash a ski, next year I'll probably get a rack for a pair of skis. I've been out with 10 people and all their stuff was stowed somewhere out of sight.

I have friend who have been out on other weighted v drives and said my wake was comparable for wakeboarding and there is no comparison for sking. Compared to a "ski" boat it's a little bigger at 30+ but much better than a comparable v drive.

As for the pylon problem that roveron mentioned, I never ski with a full load anyway so it's not a problem.

I got the titan 2 and a pair of liftoff lowrider racks and love the setup. My garage requires that I drop the tower everytime so an illusion would have been a pain. The bimini was custom made so it is a little bigger than titans. It covers the middle area great leaving the back and the bow in the sun, but I'm ok with that.

If I was to replace it again I'd probably end up with the same boat, in fact I'd be looking at the XTI-ride they are putting out this year which is on the same hull I have now. Either that or if I suddenly came in lots of money and got a new house with a bigger garage then I'd be looking at a 23xti.

forgot to mention, previous boat was an '89 sunsetter, had it from new until 2003 and loved every minute with it, just at 14 years old I wanted something new.

Mike

Edited by mbwagoner
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I'm considering a new boat & the Malibu XTI has caught my interest, mainly due to the interior layout. Being a foil rider, I can appreciate a nice wake, but I like the way the direct drives handle.

Do you own an XTI?

Yes.  we own a 2004 Sunsetter 23 XTI.

And if so, what do you think of the wake?

For skiing I find it fine.  For my serious course skiing friends they don't care for it much but what they expect is a Response so it is to be expected.  I suspect it is a much better wake than a similar sized V-Drive.  No 23 foot boat can provide a superb slalom wake....

For wakeboarding, kneeboarding and hydrofoiling I am quite happy with the wake when I use the wedge.  If I got serious about wake enhancing, I would probably add some ballast.

For barefooting it does quite well long line and off the boom.  Of course the one time I forgot to put the wedge back up the footer didn't care much for the wake...

For wakesurfing with sufficient VAB it does a fine job, but again I should probably get a fat sac or two.....

What about how the boat handles?

Ours handles as well as any boat I have ever driven with the exception of the much smaller pure slalom boats (i.e. Malibu Response) and even in those cases it is close.

In choppy water conditions?

Better than all other Direct Drives I have been in but not nearly as nice as my old Sea Ray I/O.

How useable is the interior?

Very useable.  However, you must put stuff away.  There is lots of storage and along with tower racks everything goes out of the way (and out of sight).  There isn't much space to leave things out so slobs don't get invited back....

When I was shopping I was in a 21 ft XTI and the back of it felt VERY cramped.

They changed the layout between 2003 and 2004 and essentially removed the trunk and added length elsewhere.  This made the boat much easier to move around in.

Does the driver feel separated from the party in back?

Somewhat but not terribly.  And while pulling a skier it is actually a benefit....

Storage?

Excellent but a bit unique.  I have a wakeboard, a kneeboard, 4 barefoot suits, 4 fenders and about 15 life jackets in the compartment by the engine.  I suspect the wakesetter version is a bit more challenging to arange the storage....

What tower did you get & how do you like it?

Skylon Swoop.  I am happy with it but it is probably a bad choice if you are going to put lights, speakers, and lots of racks on it.  It doesn't seem quite as stable as the other tower options.  I am probably alone in disliking the Illusion tower so my other option would have been a titan.  I still think the Swoop is the best looking option.  My only tower regret is there is a version that folds down lower that would have allowed me to keep the tower on the boat and still get it in the garage.  As is, I must remove my tower every time I put the boat away....

What brand & model boat did you own before the XTI?

1986 Sea Ray Sorrento 21 ft.  I spent most of my last few years riding in 3 different Malibu Sunsetters (LX I believe), 2 different Malibu Responses and a Four Winns.  I prefer our boat to any of those mentioned but the larger Sunsetter LXI from the current model year would be a serious second choice.

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For wakesurfing with sufficient VAB it does a fine job, but again I should probably get a fat sac or two.....

AirChair1:

I am working with Fly High to get a custom sac built for the XTI trunk...I will let you know what I find out.

I currently have a Skylon locker sac on it's edge in the trunk and it does pretty good...but is hard to drain due to the locaiton of the ports....I also want to move it back to the locker....

Dave

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For wakesurfing with sufficient VAB it does a fine job, but again I should probably get a fat sac or two.....

AirChair1:

I am working with Fly High to get a custom sac built for the XTI trunk...I will let you know what I find out.

I currently have a Skylon locker sac on it's edge in the trunk and it does pretty good...but is hard to drain due to the locaiton of the ports....I also want to move it back to the locker....

Dave

Dave,

Please do keep me updated on what you find. I suspect that the difference between your boat and mine will make them incompatible though. I don't even have a trunk. Only a very thin lifting lid that has access to two 3"X3"X12" compartments.

Jeff

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For wakesurfing with sufficient VAB it does a fine job, but again I should probably get a fat sac or two.....

AirChair1:

I am working with Fly High to get a custom sac built for the XTI trunk...I will let you know what I find out.

I currently have a Skylon locker sac on it's edge in the trunk and it does pretty good...but is hard to drain due to the locaiton of the ports....I also want to move it back to the locker....

Dave

Dave,

Please do keep me updated on what you find. I suspect that the difference between your boat and mine will make them incompatible though. I don't even have a trunk. Only a very thin lifting lid that has access to two 3"X3"X12" compartments.

Jeff

that sucks, I really dug the rear trunk, it was huge.

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For wakesurfing with sufficient VAB it does a fine job, but again I should probably get a fat sac or two.....

AirChair1:

I am working with Fly High to get a custom sac built for the XTI trunk...I will let you know what I find out.

I currently have a Skylon locker sac on it's edge in the trunk and it does pretty good...but is hard to drain due to the locaiton of the ports....I also want to move it back to the locker....

Dave

Dave,

Please do keep me updated on what you find. I suspect that the difference between your boat and mine will make them incompatible though. I don't even have a trunk. Only a very thin lifting lid that has access to two 3"X3"X12" compartments.

Jeff

that sucks, I really dug the rear trunk, it was huge.

Yup...I fugure I can get about 800lbs in there with room to spare

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I have a 2003 Wakesetter 21XTI.

I have really enjoyed the boat.

The wake is great. I have boarded behind many different boats(v-drives, etc) and feel the wake is comperable. It gets really huge with 6-8 people in the boat. I like the fact that I can pull the wedge and MLS and flatten the wake for "decent" skiing wake and a great barefooting wake.

The boat handles pretty good in choppy water but we typically use it in the river where there is not much chop at all.

Guest really love the seating arangement because they get to face the action and I can concentrate on driving. When we are stoped and hanging out I just spin my seat and I am facing.

I have the swoop tower and I like the looks of that one the best and the bimmini covers me and my spotter just fine. We have the baby in the stroller between the observers and drivers seat and the bimini covers fine. The passengers in the back are out of luck on shade....but I have never gotten any complaints.

I wanted to buy a V-Drive for wakeboarding and my wife wanted the XTI because she like the seating and she always hated twisting around in V-drives to watch the boarding. I was just glad she suggested I buy new and not someone else's junk so I bought the XTI. Since purchasing the boat I have learned to slalom ski and barefoot so it was the best decision because the boat is so versitile.

Before this I had a:

Thistle

Flying Scot

Interlake

Laser

Lighting

MC Scow.

Tartan 10

They are all sailboats so it doesn't really help you at all....

The only thing I can tell you is to take them all out and make your decision afterwards.

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Ha! Great stuff guys! Keep it comin!

To give you a bit of background here...... I have a size limitation due to my boat slip & RV parking spot. The 21'er is about all that would fit in either space.

I ride a Sky Ski & don't mess around with much else.... although my friends either ride a foil or a wakeboard. I yarded the pylon out of my MC PS205 & have it weighted down with about 800 lbs of lead..... kind of permanent.

I'm starting to think the Titan II is about the only tower that would work for me as far as breaking down & storing foils on racks. I've seen the Skylon a couple times & they tend to bounce around quite a bit.

So someone mentioned an interior change in the 21' model between 2003 & 2004...... the rear trunk? Which one has the larger trunk & what got smaller to make it happen?

Also, whats the difference in the Wakesetter & Sunsetter, besides the graphics? Something about the big storage by the engine? Is there an MLS tank in there or something?

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So someone mentioned an interior change in the 21' model between 2003 & 2004...... the rear trunk? 

That may have been me.  However, what I am aware of is a change in the 23' model.  Prior to 2004 there was a trunk at the very back of the boat.  Now there is a trivial, useless flap about 6 inches long that covers two very tiny compartments (one of which houses my shower head).  The space appears to have been used to make the seating area larger and MAYBE the bow a bit bigger.

Which one has the larger trunk & what got smaller to make it happen?

The older 2003 and before one has a trunk in the back.  The 2004 and forward doesn't.

Also, whats the difference in the Wakesetter & Sunsetter, besides the graphics? Something about the big storage by the engine? Is there an MLS tank in there or something?

This is a guess (from memory) but the Sunsetter has a lifting hull (Diamond Hull) and the Wakesetter has the other hull which is easier to "sink into the water" for a larger wake.  The Wakesetter by default has a tower, wedge and MLS system with at least three segments (bow, locker and stern).  The front ballast tank removes the foot space in the open bow and turns it into a permanent playpen.  This is why I stuck with the Sunsetter rather than Wakesetter.  Turns out I have NEVER taken the center piece out of the bow so I could have used the ballast.  I am not sure about the other ballast issues.

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