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What to Buy? 21LSV or 23LSV?


jddavis6

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I am looking at purchasing a newer Malibu boat this spring and I am stuck. I am torn between the 21 LSV and the 23 LSV. I dont know if the 23 is too big to water ski behind. I am a recreational slalom skier and will ski about 25% of the time, otherwise we will be wakeboarding or surfing.

Any help with this decision would be greatly appreciated.

Jeremy

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I am looking at purchasing a newer Malibu boat this spring and I am stuck. I am torn between the 21 LSV and the 23 LSV. I dont know if the 23 is too big to water ski behind. I am a recreational slalom skier and will ski about 25% of the time, otherwise we will be wakeboarding or surfing.

Any help with this decision would be greatly appreciated.

Jeremy

As for slalom the 21 is much kinder.

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I'm sure most will agree that you should go out and ride behind both. You will probably want to make sure you get the cut diamond hull as it will help with calming the wake down at slalom speeds. I current;y don't mind skiing behind my 21.5 ft VLX diamond hull. I have skied behind a 23 Wake hull and it's very different. I'm sure others will chime in but there will be a big difference, but you're the only one who can decide what will be best for you. Keep in mind that a better ski hull will generally take a little away from boarding and surfing.

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I'm sure most will agree that you should go out and ride behind both. You will probably want to make sure you get the cut diamond hull as it will help with calming the wake down at slalom speeds. I current;y don't mind skiing behind my 21.5 ft VLX diamond hull. I have skied behind a 23 Wake hull and it's very different. I'm sure others will chime in but there will be a big difference, but you're the only one who can decide what will be best for you. Keep in mind that a better ski hull will generally take a little away from boarding and surfing.

I agree I would be narrowing my choice down to a VLX or 23LSV. If you're just skiing 25% of the time and really want to get into surfing and wakeboarding I'd go with the wakesetters. Base the size of the boat on how much room you're looking for.

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I've never skied behind a 21 (diamond or wake) but I have skied behind an LSV (23) w/ a diamond hull at 34 mph / 22' off & 28' off and the wake crossings were brutal. Hit the first wake and land 4-6' past the second wake (out on the flats). Tough to change edges when you're still in the air. :lol:

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The diamond hull for surfing isn’t going to be a bid deal as the uplift that the chines produce will be negated w/ the surf speeds.

You must demo neither boat is worth slaloming imho, but I’ve tried it behind a VLX (non-diamond) and forget about it. Wakeboarding wise you’ll need to add more weight to a diamond hull to make up for the lift to be comparable to the wakesetter.

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I am looking at purchasing a newer Malibu boat this spring and I am stuck. I am torn between the 21 LSV and the 23 LSV. I dont know if the 23 is too big to water ski behind. I am a recreational slalom skier and will ski about 25% of the time, otherwise we will be wakeboarding or surfing.

Any help with this decision would be greatly appreciated.

Jeremy

The 21 LSV Sunscape, on the diamond hull, affords a respectable slalom wake for recreational skiing, at

least IMHO.

The 20 LSV would be even better (it's even tournament capable).

I've skied behind an older model 23 LSV (2001), and it was also a decent ride, but the 23 LSVs of more

recent vintage (2004 on up) are bigger, beamier, heavier boats. In fact, my friend who owned the 2001

"upgraded" to a 2007 23 LSV on a diamond hull and was disappointed with the slalom wake. YMMV.

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I am looking at purchasing a newer Malibu boat this spring and I am stuck. I am torn between the 21 LSV and the 23 LSV. I dont know if the 23 is too big to water ski behind. I am a recreational slalom skier and will ski about 25% of the time, otherwise we will be wakeboarding or surfing.

Any help with this decision would be greatly appreciated.

Jeremy

Agree demoing each is best but we have no complaints slaloming behind our 23lsv with the diamond hull. What are you accustomed to skiing behind as that will also make a big difference. Also need to think about how you'll use boat, when we hit the water, we're typically out all day with 4-12 adults/kids...the extra room of the 23 pays off for us.

Actually I find myself and all our guests (which you'll have a lot of) skiing less and wakeboarding and surfing more. I should qualify we only free ski (30-34 mph, 15 off) on early or late runs to limit the passengers and before we fuel up (which does make a difference).

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Demo and I think you'd have your answer pretty quick, especially on the 23. My 2 cents: Look at the 23 with room and wakeboarding in mind. That is the real bones of the boat.

GL

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We just went through the same search and decision process. We decided on the LSV over the wakesetter because of the better slalom wake. We decided on the 21 because of the wake and we bought a houseboat last year and really didn't spend as much time floating any more. All our time on the boat was used for sporting activities. If the kids/adults want to swim and play we go back to the houseboat. If you need a boat to spend all day on with more than 6 people, I would look at the 23, thought the 21 is about as roomy as our 23 I/O. Good luck in search and keep looking till you find exactly what you want. There are a ton of good deals out there right now. Be patient and you'll find the one.

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Most that I know that had a larger boat, if they did it over again wouldn't get a large boat. More people means less riding per rider if that's a concern. Also consider the storage of each as that could determine how long you can go.

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I have owned a dedicated direct drive slalom boat (ski Eliminator), a Sunsetter LXi direct drive, and now a Wakesetter LSV with diamond hull. The 23' LSV has a bigger wake for slalom, but my experience says its still very good for free skiing. Above 32 mph the wake is low and not hard to cross. You can't beat a dedicated DD slalom boat for skiing - but I have no desire to back to a smaller boat. The LSV does most everything very well.

Great suggestion to test ride the boats you are interested in. Great to have these choices!

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