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2004 wakesetter -direct drive


eaglerock

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I'm looking at a 2004 wakesetter (21') with direct drive, trailer and 300 hours that a friend of a friend has & wants to sell.

I'm not a boarder, I slalom ski.

Can anybody tell how this boat would be for slalom skiing?

The boat has the MLS and wedge which I won't be using.

It also has the launch seats. What are these?

No perfect pass, heater or shower.

Has alumimun twin tube tower, stereo and rack mountyed speakers.

Anybody have thoughts on what this a reasonable price for this boat. Looking on waterski magazine it looks like it origianlly sold for around $30k.

Edited by eaglerock
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This link shows some of the specs for that year. I don't know if it has the diamond hull (skiing) or the wake hull (wakesports). Someone on here will know more, but there are pics available which show the differences between the hulls somewhere on the site, try the search feature. Jump seats are removable seats which fit on the sides of the engine box to provide more seating in a DD boat while the pylon is being used. I believe they are rear facing, but I assume they could be turned to forward facing as well?

As far as price, NADA is a place to start, but look at other sites like boattrader and some others to determine what the market is doing.

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It depends on what type of slalom skier you are and what you want. If you want a tournament quality wake for serious slalom skiing, then this isnt your best choice. While a direct drive is much better than a V drive for slalom skiing ( I wouldnt even consider a V drive for slalom skiing), this is a much bigger boat with a different hull. Most pure slalom boats are 19'-6" to 20' long. This boat looks to be 21'. That will make some difference. With the wake hull, it is designed to produce a bigger wake. What you want is the dimond hull that is designed not to produce a wake. If you are a recreational skier and the boat is in good shape and at a good price, then this boat will absolutely work for slalom skiing. You will just notice a little bigger bump going over the wake, especially at slower speeds (26 - 32). If you plan to ski in a course, then the bigger boat and bigger wake will definitly cause you some issues. It will make the course much harder, but not impossible. I hope this helps some.

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If you're a slalom skier, even recreational, a Response LXI will be a much better choice. It will be almost as roomy and the slalom wake will be MUCH better. They call it a "wake hull" for a reason. You can get an '04 - '05 for probably around the same money at this boat.

Ed

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Is it the best in the lineup, no, but it's not near as bad as it's being made out to be. IF you're looking for a decent size ski boat, look for a sunsetter lxi. As to the comments about the size, the DD wakesetter is 21'. A response lxi is 20'6". It's really not that big of a difference. We ski a dd wakesetter (a sunsetter LX, same thing) frequently. It's not that bad if you keep your ski on edge. That boat has pulled someone through 38 off on our lake, so it's capable. If you need a usable open bow it's second only to the sunsetter lxi for that era. The rlxis of that era do not have a usable open bow. Put more than a three year old up there and you'll dip the bow every time you come off plane. (OK, a slight exaggeration but you must pay attention to what you're doing).

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Is it the best in the lineup, no, but it's not near as bad as it's being made out to be. IF you're looking for a decent size ski boat, look for a sunsetter lxi. As to the comments about the size, the DD wakesetter is 21'. A response lxi is 20'6". It's really not that big of a difference. We ski a dd wakesetter (a sunsetter LX, same thing) frequently. It's not that bad if you keep your ski on edge. That boat has pulled someone through 38 off on our lake, so it's capable. If you need a usable open bow it's second only to the sunsetter lxi for that era. The rlxis of that era do not have a usable open bow. Put more than a three year old up there and you'll dip the bow every time you come off plane. (OK, a slight exaggeration but you must pay attention to what you're doing).

The Sunsetter LXI would also be a very good choice, agreed.

Gotta call bulls*** on that statement (about the open bow being unusable) though. My wife and I lounge very comfortably together in ours (with the filler cushion installed) and I'm 6'3". Agreed you wouldn't want anyone in the bow while skiing (course skiing anyway) but no boat out there would I want anyone in the front of while skiing anyway. Depends on how serious you are about your skiing I suppose. As far as dipping the bow, learning how NOT to do that it really simple. Either come into any wakes turned sideways or ride over them nose high and it's not an issue. Only took once in my previous boat (Supra Legacy, very similar to the RLXI) to learn how not to fill the bow and I've never done it in this boat. Coming off plane just come off easy. Let her down just a little slower than normal and again it's not an issue.

Ed

Edited by ed obermeier
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Notworthy.gifYou, EZ Ed, are a much better man (or at least driver) than me

(Quoting here fron VanHalens song "Change"...) Ah come on Dave, gimme a break...

Definitely not a better man I'm quite sure. Since you brought it up... I AM a very experienced driver though, driven a lot of different boats in a lot of different conditions over a lot of years (gawd I'm old). Drive a lot for INT tournaments and 20+ years of course practice. I just hate filling the bow when it's so easy to avoid. If anything I spout off about here is helpful to anyone all the better.

Ed

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I'll concede, the majority of the time I dip the bow it is "passenger error". You know, the overzealous observer who somehow feels compelled to stand up as soon as a skier has a bad fall, and you want or need to get right back to him. I hate having to make that split decision....do I chili dip the bow just so this guy can keep his footing... or do I goose it and risk him loosing his teeth?

Sorry to hijack, OP. Your answer depends on how serious you are, or plan to get, w/ your skiing. If the majority of time behind the boat is to be skiing, IMO in the long run you'd probably be glad if you held out for the diamond hull (SSLXI or RLXI). Another variable to consider is the water conditions you encounter. If you boat where the going can get rough, the extra freeboard and higher/dryer bow of the SS may be more appropriate.

I think an often overlooked variable (when choosing a boat) that should be considered is what speed the majority of the skiing will be done at. The wake conditions among direct drives vs V-drives and the different hull designs vary significantly at slower speeds. For example, if you anticipate having to teach kids to ski, be mindful of what the the 20 mph wake is going to look like to them.

Good Luck.

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I'm looking at a 2004 wakesetter (21') with direct drive, trailer and 300 hours that a friend of a friend has & wants to sell.

I'm not a boarder, I slalom ski.

Can anybody tell how this boat would be for slalom skiing?

The boat has the MLS and wedge which I won't be using.

It also has the launch seats. What are these?

No perfect pass, heater or shower.

Has alumimun twin tube tower, stereo and rack mountyed speakers.

Anybody have thoughts on what this a reasonable price for this boat. Looking on waterski magazine it looks like it origianlly sold for around $30k.

You really need to ski it to know if you will like it. You also have to decide what percent of the time you spend slaloming vs all of the other things you do when boating.

I am a slalom skier as well - not hard core, my best is full pass, 15 off, 34 MPH. I went from an Echelon LX (great slalom wake but not much space) to a 2002 Wakesetter 23 XTI. Still direct drive, but room for 13 people and storage out the a$$. Love it. Slightly bigger slalom wake than my Echelon, but more than worth the tradeoff. I would not run it down the gates of a slalom course, but for open water skiing it's outstanding, IMO. Here is a pic of the wake @ ~30 MPH:

39172_1477163460777_1584453747_1180357_742325_n.jpg

As for reasonable offer, condition and options play a big role. Check out nadaguides.com for the book value, and then a site like boattrader.com or onlyinboards.com for comparibles for sale.

Good luck!

-- Mike

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Mike,

Thanks for the photo. It is a good reference/comparison.

I'm a recreational slalom skier and don't ski gates but I do ski hard and fast.

I currently ski behind a 1989 - 19' well craft with a MERC I/O. The wake is far from small. I need a boat that can carry a bunch of people when not skiing as the kids like to bring along their friends. We run in the northern part of the Delaware River and the river can get farily rough mid day as we encounter tugs, barges and occasional ocean going ships.

We don't see very many true ski boats in our neck of the woods.

On 1 of my vacations I was able to go to a dealer and look at some new boats. Unfortuantely I didn't get to ski behind any of them. The hull of a Response doesn't have much of a V, which is great for skiing but it doesn't look like it would cut thru waves to well and that we'd get the crapped beat out of us when using the boat for things other than skiing in the morning or evening.

Eaglerock

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Mike,

Thanks for the photo. It is a good reference/comparison.

I'm a recreational slalom skier and don't ski gates but I do ski hard and fast.

I currently ski behind a 1989 - 19' well craft with a MERC I/O. The wake is far from small. I need a boat that can carry a bunch of people when not skiing as the kids like to bring along their friends. We run in the northern part of the Delaware River and the river can get farily rough mid day as we encounter tugs, barges and occasional ocean going ships.

We don't see very many true ski boats in our neck of the woods.

On 1 of my vacations I was able to go to a dealer and look at some new boats. Unfortuantely I didn't get to ski behind any of them. The hull of a Response doesn't have much of a V, which is great for skiing but it doesn't look like it would cut thru waves to well and that we'd get the crapped beat out of us when using the boat for things other than skiing in the morning or evening.

Eaglerock

All of these models are pretty crappy for big water. All the hulls are relatively flat and pound pretty hard in rough water.

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I currently ski behind a 1989 - 19' well craft with a MERC I/O. The wake is far from small. I need a boat that can carry a bunch of people when not skiing as the kids like to bring along their friends. We run in the northern part of the Delaware River and the river can get farily rough mid day as we encounter tugs, barges and occasional ocean going ships.

Just about any Malibu (or inboard ski boat for that matter) will ski a million times better than an I/O - mainly because of the shape of the hull. Most I/Os have a lot of deadrise - good for rough water, lousy for watersports. We're on the Ohio River often and there is a lot of barge traffic - but we steer clear and take it easy when they churn up the smooth water...no problems handling their wake. The old 20 ft Echelon with open bow took some rollers over the bow several times a year - the nature of the beast. The XTI sits much higher in the bow and we didn't get swampped at all last year.

Based on what you told us, I would look at XTIs or Sunsetter LXIs. They'll have nice space, direct drive slalom performance, and you can find them to fit most budgets as they made them for quite a few years. I think the Wakesetter you mentioned is a Sunsetter with ballast and tower, but I may be off on that assumption. The XTI has a diamond hull (V25 Diamond I think is what Malibu calls it) and it skis very well for such a huge boat. Plus I can weight it down, drop the wedge, and my kids can go crazy on the wakeboard. I've pulled barefooters, air chairs, tubes, kneeboarders, etc. I think parasailer is the only thing left to cross off! :-)

Good luck!

-- Mike

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The wakesetter (sunsetter LX) is a capable slalom boat for open lakes and freeski. The slalom wake isn’t particularly large and still decent but the major difference between the wakesetter and the RLXI/SLXI (’99-’04) is the diamond hull produces a softer wake and therefore easier when your transitioning through the wake. The one year they made the sunsetter on a diamond hull was in ’02, the wakesetter version was on the wake hull.

Personally if all I did was slalom and didn’t need a crossover boat the Response series would be my first choice unless I was on the lake all day w/ some travel time to a good ski location or just cruising, in that case the SLXI would be a better choice. It weights the same as the wakesetter, same wetted area with an 18 cu ft rear trunk that is unmatched in a DD and the extra “.5 made a big difference imho. But if your only interested in rec slalom and such and want a good boat the wakesetter is a solid boat. But the wakesetter will travel better in rough water than the Response but only marginally better than the SLXI.

I’d ditch the tower just added weight, not really useful and for your pullout or shortline it can become a problem.

You’ll definitely want some kind of cruise control either PP or Zero Off.

The lunch seats go on either side of the engine cover for additional seating and ballast for watching boarding.

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I have an '03 DD Wakesetter that is probably almost the exact same boat you're looking at. I grew up slalom skiing and also ski pretty hard and fast and love skiing behind it. I don't ski courses so can't give my opinion about how it performs there, but have skied behind a Response LXI and, as an earlier poster said, if you keep the ski on edge you won't notice much of a difference at all (or at least I didn't). I chose this boat due to its size and versatility - I also wakeboard, have two junior wakeboarders, and friends who do. I even surf behind it occasionally. It's not the absolute ideal boat either way, but unless you're super hard-core you can enjoy doing everything behind this boat.

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Just about any Malibu (or inboard ski boat for that matter) will ski a million times better than an I/O - mainly because of the shape of the hull. Most I/Os have a lot of deadrise - good for rough water, lousy for watersports. We're on the Ohio River often and there is a lot of barge traffic - but we steer clear and take it easy when they churn up the smooth water...no problems handling their wake. The old 20 ft Echelon with open bow took some rollers over the bow several times a year - the nature of the beast. The XTI sits much higher in the bow and we didn't get swampped at all last year.

Based on what you told us, I would look at XTIs or Sunsetter LXIs. They'll have nice space, direct drive slalom performance, and you can find them to fit most budgets as they made them for quite a few years. I think the Wakesetter you mentioned is a Sunsetter with ballast and tower, but I may be off on that assumption. The XTI has a diamond hull (V25 Diamond I think is what Malibu calls it) and it skis very well for such a huge boat. Plus I can weight it down, drop the wedge, and my kids can go crazy on the wakeboard. I've pulled barefooters, air chairs, tubes, kneeboarders, etc. I think parasailer is the only thing left to cross off! :-)

Good luck!

-- Mike

IMO, this is your best advice. I have a Response Lxi and it is a great skiboat. However, I would be nervous in very rough water or around the wakes of a ship as you describe. Mike's experience on the river probably matches up pretty well with yours. The XTI or Sunsetter will give you a good ski wake without sacrificing the sense of security you'll have in rougher water.

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