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Best Malibu Crossover - Heavy on Boarding


dkb1206

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Hey all,

First time poster here. I have a fun dilemma. I'm looking for the right boat for me and the family. We wakeboard 70% of the time, ski 30% and will probably surf with our next boat. I've been on a few boats so far and would like to get into a Malibu since the dealership is 4 miles from our house. Here's what I've been on so far and my take to this point on each:

*2003 XTI: nice ski wake, not big enough board wake. Space on boat didn't feel right (too segmented)

*2003 Mastercraft X2 (new X1 hull): ok ski wake (a bit firm), fantastic board wake, small boat and the wife would like a bit more room in the cabin and bow. I liked this boat because of the board wake and a ski wake I could probably sacrafice a bit.

*2007 VTX (diamond hull): awesome ski wake, the board wake was really mellow. Not sure if the guy didn't know how to work the wedge or not, but the wake was as bad as the XTI's. I loved this boat in terms of size, interior, ski wake. I can't stomach the board wake that I saw.

*2008 Moomba Mobius LS: Direct drive they quit making. Pretty nice boat for both boarding and skiing, but would prefer a vdrive.

QUESTION: Is there another boat out there I should consider, Malibu or not? If I add a couple 500lb sacs in the back of the VTX w/ the diamond hull will I like the wakeboard wake or am I wasting my time? Should I consider the other version of the VTX w/ the V25? What am I missing here? I would rather sacrafice a bit the ski wake instead of the board wake if I have to at all. If you tell me the diamond hull can really ramp up and shoot me w/ more weight I'd be pretty excited, but I am doubting it at this point. Thanks everyone!

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Yes, the VTX can be a great wake, even with the diamond hull. I'm sure you'll find many responses to your question from owners, as guys like Chadwick and others use them extensively.

These links are from a customer with a 07 VTX. While all he does is surf, he only adds 1 rear sack and 1 front sack for surfing, and nothing for wakeboarding.

http://gallery.me.com/ddinvt#100013

http://gallery.me.com/ddinvt#100187

Peter

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Put more ballast in the VTX. The XTI doesn't have more room for the ballast unless it's under the floor and built in. You're facing the dilemma of the crossover. You want a great wake for both boarding, surfing, and skiing but you're not going to get it. I have a 23 xti with the ballast and power wedge on the diamond hull and love it, but it's not for everyone.

Even those with the VLX's and LSV's on this forum seem to add more weight above what the factory ballast is so just plan on it with the VTX.

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I have a 2008 VLX with a diamond hull that I bought from my neighbor. I have been wakeboarding for a few years and would say I am not very good. Wake to Wake's with a lip grab, 180s, and a few other easy tricks. I ride with the tanks at about 3/4 full and the wedge at about 40% and that is about all I can handle without being thrown off balance. My neighbor and his buddies are a bit better boarders and he buys a new BU almost every year. So, I imagine he would have opted for something else if it was better. (We are limited on length, so we don't have the bigger models).

I wouldn't know about wake surfing yet, but I have a hunch I will know more about that next summer :innocent:

Anyone, have fun and good luck on your purchase :thumbup:

Edited by Bosth
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I am not sure if the guy had the wedge down or not? But I have wakeboarded behind the 23 xti, 21 vride and the VLX. I will say that the VTX is the sport utility of all the boats you mentioned. I also really like the wakeboard wake behind it. Full Ballast and full wedge at 20-22 mph and it seems great to me! I am sure I have some owner goggles on as well!! :innocent:

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We have an '08 iRide. The wake is pretty good with ballast and wedge down. With more people the wake seems to make leaps and bounds in size. For skiing the wake flattens out and is pretty insignificant however between the wake being VERY hard and the illusion interfering with the rope we decided to keep our old Supra for skiing. To surf we combine anything from 2-4 different sized fat sacs and people and it throws a decent enough wake for us to surf. Nothing compared to some of the guys with bigger v-drive boats however awesome for us.

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Thanks to all replying so far.

There was a 4 part ballast on switches and the wedge was all the way down. There were 4 adults and 3 kids under 6 in the boat. I think he only had about 1/4 of a tank of gas so that may have played into how small the wake was, but it was surprisingly mellow and small. There wasn't a lip. It was like a small/mid-sized mound out there that took more effort than I expected to get across. I was on the guys own rope though, and I may have been back 70-75 ft but I'm not sure of that.

Again, I loved the ski wake. Loved it! I also loved the space and finish and handling. I just really want a better board wake than what I saw and I hate to have to have a bunch of people in the boat to make it fun. I'd be more than happy to add ballast, but worry about it cresting too much w/ that or just simply not being built for it.

NEXT QUESTION:

1)Should I consider another boat altogether?

2)Is there a Malibu that boards and skis like the Mastercraft X1 but offers a little more space?

Peter, I still haven't checked your links so I'll do that right now.

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Malibu's in general has "rampy" wakes compared to say Nautique which are more vertical. If the VTX you rode behind has the Power Wedge simply raise it up a few clicks and there you have a more vertical wake. If the Power Wedge hadn't been properly calibrated it could definitely altered the shape of the wake. The diamond hull version will require a bit more weight to equal the non-diamond hull...some lead hidden in the boat can take care of that. I'd say the X-2 wake is about the same size as the VTX but I can tell you that boat isn’t much fun to drive and is SOOOOOOOO weight sensitive it’s not even funny. Not sure what speed your were at?

When people say they have a hard time crossing a VTX wake, it's more than likely technique that is the issue.

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Malibu's in general has "rampy" wakes compared to say Nautique which are more vertical.

Not sure if you rode behind the boats or not but I tend to think that the "ramp" of the Malibu wakes causes some sort of an optical illusion and thus looks smaller than other brands until your in the water. If you did ride the wake.... well then never mind.

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....

I'd say the X-2 wake is about the same size as the VTX but I can tell you that boat isn’t much fun to drive and is SOOOOOOOO weight sensitive it’s not even funny. Not sure what speed your were at?

....

And the VTX has more versatility in terms of wake shape than that X-2.

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We have an 08 VTX with the diamond. If the boat you drove has a power wedge, you want to crank that thing up in the max wake space, leaving it all the way down versus bumping it up to the max area makes a BIG difference IMO. If the driver wasn't doing this, its gonna make a difference. In our boat with bags full, wedge at max, and 4-6 people in the boat, its a nice wake at @22mpg which is where we ride. People placement is also really important because of that hull and size boat, weight placement can change the wake bigtime. IMO anyway. But dialed in correctly, even stock, it can produce a nice ramp.

My second choice of boat for you would be a VLX with a diamond hull. It skis and boards well. I know those are hard to find, but it is a good combo boat. Personally we love out VTX, but I ever got anything else, it would be a diamond VLX.

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We have an 08 VTX with the diamond. If the boat you drove has a power wedge, you want to crank that thing up in the max wake space, leaving it all the way down versus bumping it up to the max area makes a BIG difference IMO. If the driver wasn't doing this, its gonna make a difference. In our boat with bags full, wedge at max, and 4-6 people in the boat, its a nice wake at @22mpg which is where we ride. People placement is also really important because of that hull and size boat, weight placement can change the wake bigtime. IMO anyway. But dialed in correctly, even stock, it can produce a nice ramp.

My second choice of boat for you would be a VLX with a diamond hull. It skis and boards well. I know those are hard to find, but it is a good combo boat. Personally we love out VTX, but I ever got anything else, it would be a diamond VLX.

:plus1:

Our local dealer tends to bring in all the boats he can on the cut diamond hull.

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Everyone,

The speed I was on was about 24mph. Maybe that was a bit too fast for the boat.

Thanks again for the comments. Do you hear of many people loading down the back of the VTX w/ 500-550lbs on each side under the deck (and on switches)? Is the wake still shaped alright?

I appreciate the VLX comment also. I may see if I can test one before the season's over up here.

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Everyone,

The speed I was on was about 24mph. Maybe that was a bit too fast for the boat.

Thanks again for the comments. Do you hear of many people loading down the back of the VTX w/ 500-550lbs on each side under the deck (and on switches)? Is the wake still shaped alright?

I appreciate the VLX comment also. I may see if I can test one before the season's over up here.

I can tell you that the X2 wake at that speed isn't much more than a bump.... If you add weight to the rear it'll increase the size but also make it more vertical. Depends what you like, personally if you add weight to the rear you'll want to counter that in the front to help keep the wake rampy. Again that's our preference ....

Yes you can plumb in switches for rear soft ballast bags, many do it for surfing specifically but for wakeboarding it's the same.

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I can tell you that the X2 wake at that speed isn't much more than a bump.... If you add weight to the rear it'll increase the size but also make it more vertical. Depends what you like, personally if you add weight to the rear you'll want to counter that in the front to help keep the wake rampy. Again that's our preference ....

Yes you can plumb in switches for rear soft ballast bags, many do it for surfing specifically but for wakeboarding it's the same.

Thanks for this feedback. I may need to get back on that boat and try it again w/ an adjustment to the plate, shorter line and slower speed. Beautiful boat. I wanted to like the wakeboard wake more. Your advice is helpful.

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Just as a followup to a previous poster, the Wedge all the way down is the least amount of downward force, short of being all the way up out of the water. With 4 tanks full and people on the boat I'd venture to say the Wedge all the way down was actually lifting the boat rather than pulling it down.

Peter

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2011 VTX on a diamond hull. Great ski machine when light, but I've got a bud that can throw backrolls on the wakeboard all day long on the thing: 22MPH, stock ballast full, 8 people in the boat and NO wedge, and he's not a pro or anything - just a good boarder. If you run with less people than that simply add aftermarket ballast or use the wedge. If we skiied less than half the time we used the boat I would have opted for a VLX - I can always use the space for more people. But I wanted something that skiied well as that is my sport of choice, and the VTX does that. If you only ski 30% of the time and surfing and boarding are more prominent, I'd look at a VLX, possibly on a diamond hull if you can find one. My VTX surfs very, very well also, and at this point I dont have any extra ballast bags - just factory ballast, wedge, and plenty of people.

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Thanks for this feedback. I may need to get back on that boat and try it again w/ an adjustment to the plate, shorter line and slower speed. Beautiful boat. I wanted to like the wakeboard wake more. Your advice is helpful.

When you say "plate" keep in mind that's not what is on the transom of a Malibu... the plate is completely different in its application. The wedge creates down force thereby "pulling" the rear of the boat down. The plate rides on top of the water and doesn't create a larger wake rather only sort of shapes it. Try wedge down or one click up, 21-22mph at 65'.

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Oh yeh, another vote for 65' line length on the diamond hull, that seems to be the sweet spot. 65', around 22 mph, ballast full, "human ballast" distributed evenly, and power wedge clicked up to Max..... you should be good to go. Also, we do keep anyone out of the bow of the boat while boarding and surfing.... move em to the back.

Edited by Cunningham1143
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Oh yeh, another vote for 65' line length on the diamond hull, that seems to be the sweet spot. 65', around 22 mph, ballast full, "human ballast" distributed evenly, and power wedge clicked up to Max..... you should be good to go. Also, we do keep anyone out of the bow of the boat while boarding and surfing.... move em to the back.

Great advice. I actually had my wife and 3 small kids in the bow while I was boarding, only two other guys in the cabin. They were using it like a playpen up there. I was clearly going too fast, wrong weight distribution, wedge all the way down and on a long line. Like I said, I was still getting across, just wasn't having as much fun as I wanted to be having w/ more pop. I like the idea of adding ballast to get the wake a bit more vertical. If it'll do it, I think I could play w/ that and probably be pretty happy overall w/ the boat. I do want to consider a VLX, though, w/ CD hull.

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