2000 Sportster

[Pinball Rick]

I have an opportunity to buy a 2000 Sportster. I'm an older, experienced skier and a beginner wakeboarder, is this the boat for me? Can anyone tell me what a Sportster is designed to do? Where does it fit in the line-up of Malibu boats? Top of the line, bottom? How much should I be paying for one in good condition? Hours unknown. I'm trying to learn a 360 and I like to do one bare foot run each day I go out. A friend of mine is selling their boat, but they keep it at their lakehouse 4 hours away. What should I be looking for? The pictures I've seen show it to be a beautiful boat.

Thanks

Pinball Rick

[tvano]

i love the sporty barefoot wakes.

with a wedge it will do swell for a beginner wakeboard wake.

experienced riders will want more wake.

slalom wake is acceptable but the wake delivers a good bump until you break into shortline; then there is a dip.

little to no storage in a sporty; especially if it has an open bow.

love the looks of the boat.

there is a section on the 'Resources.DIY page of this site that details specifics for each boat by year.

the right most column shows the hull type: wake or not wake, in general.

good luck with it.

[68Slalom]

Welcome to the board, the sporty is going to be a great ski and barefoot boat but it will be very disappointing for wakeboarding. Your talking about two really different type of boats to achieve what you are looking for, I'm in the same situation and went with what I thought would be the best crossover boat for both sports, what I found is that for skiing you really only should have two people max in the boat and for wakeboarding it doesn't matter the more the merrier, so my skiing days with a nice clean wake have pretty much gone away because we always have a crew of 5 or more. Just something to consider, I do enjoy it most when there is only three of us out but that usually never happens anymore unless we are camping for a week or so.

[Pinball Rick]

Welcome to the board, the sporty is going to be a great ski and barefoot boat but it will be very disappointing for wakeboarding. Your talking about two really different type of boats to achieve what you are looking for, I'm in the same situation and went with what I thought would be the best crossover boat for both sports, what I found is that for skiing you really only should have two people max in the boat and for wakeboarding it doesn't matter the more the merrier, so my skiing days with a nice clean wake have pretty much gone away because we always have a crew of 5 or more. Just something to consider, I do enjoy it most when there is only three of us out but that usually never happens anymore unless we are camping for a week or so.

Spam Happy

What does the wedge do? The bracket is there, but no wedge.

Thanks

[68Slalom]

This might help

[Pinball Rick]

i love the sporty barefoot wakes.

with a wedge it will do swell for a beginner wakeboard wake.

experienced riders will want more wake.

slalom wake is acceptable but the wake delivers a good bump until you break into shortline; then there is a dip.

little to no storage in a sporty; especially if it has an open bow.

love the looks of the boat.

there is a section on the 'Resources.DIY page of this site that details specifics for each boat by year.

the right most column shows the hull type: wake or not wake, in general.

good luck with it.

On DIY page Wake means wake and Diamond means no Wake?

Thanks

[Pinball Rick]

This might help

Tony

I don't think it had a hydrolic system (how much and does it really work?), I have a 4 bolt frame that I've been told should have a flip down wedge, but that part is missing. Is the wedge worth buying?

Thanks

Rick

[Wakes]

On DIY page Wake means wake and Diamond means no Wake?

Thanks

The diamond hull is more about bringing the boat out of the water at higher speeds. If you are looking for a boat built for wakeboarding a sporty isn't it. You want a vdrive, downside to that is they don't ski nearly as well but it sounds like wakeboarding is more important to you right now. Keep your eyes open for wakesetters if that is the case.

Value has to do with a lot of factors, hours, interior/gel coat condition, motor, options/upgrades. You'd need to tell us a little more but if you want an idea check out the NADA website.

Tony

I don't think it had a hydrolic system (how much and does it really work?), I have a 4 bolt frame that I've been told should have a flip down wedge, but that part is missing. Is the wedge worth buying?

Thanks

Rick

The power wedge is a newer option. Yours would be manual through an opening in the swim platform. The wedge being worth it is a preference thing. Most people will say it improves the lip of the wakeboarding wake. Some people prefer just adding a lot of ballast sacs to their boat and weighing it down.

Edited March 27, 2010 by Wakes

[68Slalom]

Tony

I don't think it had a hydrolic system (how much and does it really work?), I have a 4 bolt frame that I've been told should have a flip down wedge, but that part is missing. Is the wedge worth buying?

Thanks

Rick

As said above, you have the manual wedge and it really wouldn't be that much to find a used on or even go with the floating wedge which finds it own position to be in. Either way I wouldn't upgrade it to a power wedge, your better off finding a newer boat with one already. What you really need to find out is what is more important to you as far as skiing or wakeboarding. Sounds like you might be better off with a VTX but that is going to be a much newer model, How much are you willing to spend?