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Looking at a 2003 23LSV, Opinions?


kyle f

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First tiem poster, looking for advice. I have kind of fallen in love with Malibu's here lately. Ever since getting up on a wakeboard for the first tiem last summer, I have been totally hooked. I grew up on the water, then took about a 15 year lay off from it, and once I was making my own money I bought a boat. Its an awesome bow rider (06 Sea ray 195 Sport), but since last summer all we do is wakeboard, tubing, and some skiing. Just about in that order. Plus, I am planning on trying surfing, and probably wake skis in the near future. I just love being on the water and trying new things.

So I have been looking for a wake boat, that can pull a tube, and it is possible to ski behind. Nobody in my crew will be doing a course anytime soon.

So what I have my Eye on right now is an 03 Wakesetter 23LSV on a Diamond Hull. It has typical equipment on it with the Swoop tower, about 300 hours, and no perfect pass. First thing it will get in my posession is perfect pass, then tower speakers, then replacing the missing Bimini.

So... what is your experience with this boat for beginner/intermidiate wake boarders, and recreational skiers? Also, this will need ot be family friendly for just hanging out near the diving cliffs as well.

Thanks guys... honest opinions are appreciate

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First tiem poster, looking for advice. I have kind of fallen in love with Malibu's here lately. Ever since getting up on a wakeboard for the first tiem last summer, I have been totally hooked. I grew up on the water, then took about a 15 year lay off from it, and once I was making my own money I bought a boat. Its an awesome bow rider (06 Sea ray 195 Sport), but since last summer all we do is wakeboard, tubing, and some skiing. Just about in that order. Plus, I am planning on trying surfing, and probably wake skis in the near future. I just love being on the water and trying new things.

So I have been looking for a wake boat, that can pull a tube, and it is possible to ski behind. Nobody in my crew will be doing a course anytime soon.

So what I have my Eye on right now is an 03 Wakesetter 23LSV on a Diamond Hull. It has typical equipment on it with the Swoop tower, about 300 hours, and no perfect pass. First thing it will get in my posession is perfect pass, then tower speakers, then replacing the missing Bimini.

So... what is your experience with this boat for beginner/intermidiate wake boarders, and recreational skiers? Also, this will need ot be family friendly for just hanging out near the diving cliffs as well.

Thanks guys... honest opinions are appreciate

Doesnt seem like too many hours for a 03. We really like our 23 LSV, we came from a SeaRay 205 Sport. Lots more interior room, can carry more people, the wake is awesome. We've been working on the surf wake and cant wait to try that out. We've pulled the kids on the tube a couple of times, they love jumping the larger wake lol. We dont ski, but I would think the Diamond hull would be more friendly for this. So far its been the perfect family boat for us. What ballast does it come with, and does it have a wedge?

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Welcome to the crew!

You will love the boat for wakeboard, surfing and recreational skiing. The ski wake won't be fantastic but there is a ski wake (better at faster speeds & don't fill the fuel tank if you want to ski, the 50+ gallons of fuel won't do your wake any justice) Just some info, 2003 was the last year of the 22-1/2 foot 23LSV, in 04 they changed the hull and deck completely to make it a true 23 ft / first year of the illusion tower/ 2005 was the first year of under floor ballast & ballast monitoring system.

You will love the boat no doubt, the performance, storage, and comfort will "have you at hello" Biggrin.gif Just make sure to get it out on the water and run it thru the paces to make sure everything runs all right.

I manage service and parts for Bake's (Seattle Malibu Boats dealer) so if you need to ask a technical question feel free to hit me up with a e-mail: [email protected] and i would be glad to help you figure things out.

Wish you best of luck!

-Paul

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Took the Test Drive tonight.... man this thing is awesome.

We have a few details to work out, and if everythign falls in place... well I might just pull the trigger.

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Sounds good to me! They are right about the hull change over from 2003 to 2004. Mine is on a Diamond Hull and for the average boarder, the difference in wake is negligible. It will be plenty of wake for you, with the right ballast. The Diamond Hull rides quite nicely in open water as well. We came off a 2005 Chaprral 210 SSI and the overall ride is comparable, but the 23 LSV is a perfect size, I think. We love ours and really only have 4-5 people at a time on the boat. Have had as many as 11 people on board, 3200# of ballast with bags, etc...and the surf wake was NICE!

Just pay attention to the maintenance details and overall condition of the boat. Also, the dealer can run a Diagnostic test on the engine and pull data from the ECU which will tell you how much of that 300 hr was spent WOT, etc. For instance, my boat was used primarily for cruising and not too much watersports, so there of the 65 hrs that my boat had on it (2004 bought in 2006), something like 38 hr of it was spent between 2-3k rpm. Only 10 min total time at 5k+ RPM. Its kind of interesting to see how the boat has been run. 300 hr is long enough that it might make a difference in terms of engine life, plus a 2003 is just old enough that AGE related things need to be looked at...i/e: belts, hoses, etc.

You have spent a bit of time in/on the boat now, sounds like it is a pretty solid deal.

Hope this helps, Welcome.gif, and best of luck with your decision!

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Took the Test Drive tonight.... man this thing is awesome.

We have a few details to work out, and if everythign falls in place... well I might just pull the trigger.

I guess you are now biased toward Malibu too! Good to see you made it over here to this site.

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