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98 Echelon vs Response ?????


Reedski

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That depends. Are you talking about a closed bow Response, open bow, LX or LXi?

An Echelon of that era and Response of same era both had the same hulls, I believe. SV23 Diamond.

The main diff I see between an Echelon LX and Response LX is the Echelon has the walk through bow while the Response is walkover, unless it's a Response LXi.

Also, the response, I believe is a little longer than the Echelon and has a rear trunk area. The advantages, to me, would be a toss up. If I were looking at a Response and Echelon of the same year, the main things that would make the difference to me is overall condition of the boats, and motor size and hours. Other than that, they are both great boats.

Edited by areamike
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For comparison purposes if you get feedback from someone who has a similar year/model Response.

My 1998 Echelon LX

Spec from Malibu:Year: 1998

Model: Malibu Echelon LX

Specific Engine: (name, size, horsepower, torque, etc) Monsoon 325hp EFI

Transmission: ZF Hurth Marine in-Line.

Overall boat dimensions: 20' long, 98" beam.

Features: 2 outlet heater, Depth Finder, 1pr of cleats (rear),4 JVC speakers.

Other pertinent info from me:

Manual wedge

Wake Hull

Walk-Over Open Bow

*No rear/transom storage compartment/sun deck

The irony is, I don't have any full pictures of my boat. :stupid: But here are a few of the interior:

I also have the PDF Malibu Catalog of 1998 boats if you want it. It doesn't have the Echelon though. (to my understanding, 1997 was the intended last year of Echelon production...but they pumped out some 1998s)

post-5643-127290850408_thumb.jpg

post-5643-127290854408_thumb.jpg

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Thanks for the info....

Long story short: I've been around tournament skiing for twenty-some years, and recently I've been looking for a used boat. Ran across a 98 Echelon and I didn't realize they made them past 96. I had a 2001 Response LX promo, back in the day, so I was wondering about the difference between it and the Echelon.

Any additional information or opinions are welcome.

Thanks!

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I am pretty confident that the 98 Response was the first top go to the Diamond hull but the same deck as the previous generation Response (no trunk). In 99 the Response got the new deck with trunk. Not many Echelons were made in 98. The difference between the Echelon and Response in 97 was a taller deck, different passenger seat( it had an L), more gel colors (5 color I believe), deck graphics on the closed bow, and more standard features. Most I have seen are fully loaded with heater, shower, cleats, side pockets, motor box insulation, etc.

So the 98 Response will have fewer gel colors, and less bells and whistles, but with the diamond hull the slalom wake will be a little better. In my opinion its barely noticeable.

The footers and boarders seem to like the non diamond hull.

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Bretski75 hit all the key points. By taller deck, I'm assuming he meant the "chines" on the closed bow for the Echelon, whereas the Response had just a flat deck on the closed bow. And yes, the Echelon has a 5 color gel pattern including deck graphics. About the only thing I can think of to add would be the gunnel storage compartments on the Echelon (versus wide open gunnels on Response) and the rear seat does not convert to a sundeck on the Echelon like it does with the Response.

The 98 Response is on the SV23 Diamond hull and the 98 Echelon on the SV23 hull...but I challenge anyone to find a real world difference in skiing characteristics. Maybe they are there, but I just don't see them. We go back and forth between my non-diamond Echelon and my friend's diamond Response and I just don't see a noticeable difference with every other factor being equal. That is all subjective, but the fact remains that the wake behind either the diamond or non-diamond SV23 will not be the limiting factor in any type of skiing...slalom, trick, jump, barefoot.

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I would certainly verify with Malibu which hull was used for the 98 Echelon, or in particular that boat. Or you could verify by looking at both boats, the Diamond Hull has wider chines (the lifting strakes in the hull) compared to the SV23 hull. The serial number will also tell you when and where the boat was built.

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The guys above are right. The 98 Response had the diamond hull but no trunk. Personally, I'd look for a 99 and up Response. I think it looks nicer with the rear storage and flat deck (without the step-down where the deck meets the windshield).

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Sethro is correct about the gunnel storage on Echelon. My '98 has 4 large/deep gunnel storage compartments with bungeed netting for retaining items. All but 1 of the netting compartments have held up well after 10 years, but I've heard other people have had issues with theirs. I was fortunate enough to get a huge batch of replacement netting from Malibu before they discontinue it.

The only annoyance/wishlist item I have about my Echelon is no transom storage. It's just a 3" downstep to a handrail. The storage/half-sundeck on the '99+ Response was a great idea.

Slalom behind my Echelon is wonderful at 15 and 22 off @ 36mph. I skied behind a '97 Response for a year with Chico State Ski Team, and (IMHO) the Response had a slightly higher wake than my Echelon...but certainly nothing worth complaining about.

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Just to be the contrarian, I will throw in my preference of not having a trunk. Remove the rear seat, step over is nice and short from the back to the deck and 2 skis slide nicely behind the driver's seat w/o having to open the trunk or twist the ski in. Also provides more room to stand in the back when donning the dry/wet suits, etc.

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Just to be the contrarian, I will throw in my preference of not having a trunk. Remove the rear seat, step over is nice and short from the back to the deck and 2 skis slide nicely behind the driver's seat w/o having to open the trunk or twist the ski in. Also provides more room to stand in the back when donning the dry/wet suits, etc.

I agree completely. Coming from someone with a trunk.

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Thanks for the info....

Long story short: I've been around tournament skiing for twenty-some years, and recently I've been looking for a used boat. Ran across a 98 Echelon and I didn't realize they made them past 96. I had a 2001 Response LX promo, back in the day, so I was wondering about the difference between it and the Echelon.

Any additional information or opinions are welcome.

Thanks!

Echelon has an awesome slalom wake that I am sure is comparible to a Response. This is a view at slower-than-slalom-speed (mid 20s cruising) of my old 1997 Echelon LX - even at this slower speed, there's hardly a wake:

n1148239844_575955_3431837.jpg

My 1997 had the walk thru open bow which is what sold me over the Response LX version that I also looked at when shopping a few years ago. I would say for performance they will be almost identical, the rest will be your preference.

-- Mike

Edited by EchelonMike
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Echelon has an awesome slalom wake that I am sure is comparible to a Response. This is a view at slower-than-slalom-speed (mid 20s cruising) of my old 1997 Echelon LX - even at this slower speed, there's hardly a wake:

My 1997 had the walk thru open bow which is what sold me over the Response LX version that I also looked at when shopping a few years ago. I would say for performance they will be almost identical, the rest will be your preference.

-- Mike

What wake?? How can it be awesome when there is no wake? :unsure::thumbup:

My wake looks similar, but I have an SSP too.

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What wake?? How can it be awesome when there is no wake? :unsure::thumbup:

My wake looks similar, but I have an SSP too.

LOL - the new boat certainly will throw a monster wake - it remains to be seen if it will be awesome or not! :-) My kids think it's awesome, but of course they like to board. I am the lone slalom skier in the family so I drew the short straw.

-- Mike

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