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Boat Selection


Boat crazy

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1st time on website so I'll proably mess-up. I'm 55 and I have a 07 Response LXI with Titan 3 tower and a power wedge. Looking to move into a new or newer boat. Great slalom wakes are important along with good wakeboard wakes. Good barefoot wakes are also important. Has Malibu come out with anything different in their newer boats that would fit my needs better?

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1st time on website so I'll proably mess-up. I'm 55 and I have a 07 Response LXI with Titan 3 tower and a power wedge. Looking to move into a new or newer boat. Great slalom wakes are important along with good wakeboard wakes. Good barefoot wakes are also important. Has Malibu come out with anything different in their newer boats that would fit my needs better?

Check out the VTX on the cut dimond hull http://www.malibuboats.com/boats/wakesetter/vtx/default.htm :yahoo:

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Not as stylish as Reponse but maybe better wakes. Need to do some late winter demos somewhere in warmer weather. I live in central Indiana.

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FXI. There is one for sale at the dealer in Chattanooga.

I really like my inboards so this one is of interest to me . Do you think they have any ballast tanks on this boat. This is mostly of interest of my sons who want a better wakeboard wake. I wonder if this hull bottom is different than my 07 Response LXI. Not impressed with the barefoot wake on my 07 hull.

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I really like my inboards so this one is of interest to me . Do you think they have any ballast tanks on this boat. This is mostly of interest of my sons who want a better wakeboard wake. I wonder if this hull bottom is different than my 07 Response LXI. Not impressed with the barefoot wake on my 07 hull.

Optional 400lb rear ballast on the FXI. Not sure on the footing wake, hopefully one of the footers on the board will chime in.

Edited by martinarcher
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I'm a big fan of towers for everyones board or ski. I also love it for the speakers on it. Carrying some Wetsounds speakers right now. The FXI I noticed had a wider beam at 98" would make it alot roomier. We love our observer seats for facing the skier or boarder. By the way is there better sound out there than Wetsounds? Mine carries alot of volume but not sure about sound quality? May be to hard to have both. When we turn it up it gets to loud in the boat and I like alot of volume.

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I haven't skied behind the FXI but I heard the slalom wake is great. The FXI has built in ballast thus the extra deepness in the boat. Marine Outfitters has one for sale. http://www.marine-ou..._inventory.html Maybe the tower comes off for slalom.

Unless it is a titan 3 tower the rope will hit the tower at shorter lengths, (illusion x) on a direct drive. not a problem on the vtx. I really like my dd as well but would be looking very closly at the vtx if I were looking now.

good luck

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I think the FXI has the Cut Diamond hull just like your '07 LXI.

FXI wider and shorter, Lxi longer and narrower. What about the bfoot wake do you not like? Do you spend any time in the slalom course or just feeskiing? IF you had to "weigh" each area, which is the most important? lxi, fxi, and vtx all come in with a little different balance.

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FXI wider and shorter, Lxi longer and narrower. What about the bfoot wake do you not like? Do you spend any time in the slalom course or just feeskiing? IF you had to "weigh" each area, which is the most important? lxi, fxi, and vtx all come in with a little different balance.

Crossing , the wake is not very clean. I usually just stand in the curl though. The deep water starts ,the curl has like little speed bumps in it,doesn't look like much to look at it, but you can sure feel it riding on your butt. A good footer is probably not in that position that long, but I like to settle in the curl before standing up. My 03 response I used to have was better. Malibu stiill called it the Diamond Cut hull but they did actually make some changes to it in 07. I,ve heard competition footers complain also. Scarpa switched to the LX when this happened. I do have a barefoot plate that would help, but I can't use my power wedge and my sons wakeboard more than I foot. I obviously am trying to get the best of all worlds which is hard and I need weigh out the importance of each sport. The VTX does look like a good boat for this, but it seems like the FXI is right in there also. Probably need to find out which hull is more like my 03 I used to have.To answer the question about the slalom course or freeskiing, I'm always just free skiing at 15 off. I really enjoy the flat wakes though. They wouldn"t have to be that flat inside of 15 off. There is usually 3 -5 adults plus alot of equipment when the family goes out. Years ago I used to have Supras that had some nice wakes,perhaps they have a better all-around for what I'm trying to do? Just figured the use of the wedge would be a big advantage.

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Crossing , the wake is not very clean. I usually just stand in the curl though. The deep water starts ,the curl has like little speed bumps in it,doesn't look like much to look at it, but you can sure feel it riding on your butt. A good footer is probably not in that position that long, but I like to settle in the curl before standing up. My 03 response I used to have was better. Malibu stiill called it the Diamond Cut hull but they did actually make some changes to it in 07. I,ve heard competition footers complain also. Scarpa switched to the LX when this happened. I do have a barefoot plate that would help, but I can't use my power wedge and my sons wakeboard more than I foot. I obviously am trying to get the best of all worlds which is hard and I need weigh out the importance of each sport. The VTX does look like a good boat for this, but it seems like the FXI is right in there also. Probably need to find out which hull is more like my 03 I used to have.To answer the question about the slalom course or freeskiing, I'm always just free skiing at 15 off. I really enjoy the flat wakes though. They wouldn"t have to be that flat inside of 15 off. There is usually 3 -5 adults plus alot of equipment when the family goes out. Years ago I used to have Supras that had some nice wakes,perhaps they have a better all-around for what I'm trying to do? Just figured the use of the wedge would be a big advantage.

I'm not following you. You're talking about teh texture of the water on the curl? When you say "stand in the curl" you mean outside the wake, correct? Or are you bothered by the "speed bumps" inside the wake?

I do not have personal experience but the vtx should be the cleanest bfoot wake since it is riding ever so slightly more bow high but will give some slalom performance up but will be the best wakeboard wake.

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I'm not following you. You're talking about teh texture of the water on the curl? When you say "stand in the curl" you mean outside the wake, correct? Or are you bothered by the "speed bumps" inside the wake?

I do not have personal experience but the vtx should be the cleanest bfoot wake since it is riding ever so slightly more bow high but will give some slalom performance up but will be the best wakeboard wake.

When referring to the curl, I'm talking about the trough just to outside of the center. This area usually has no whitewash in it and has any ripples of the lake knocked down and is usually sooth and firm feeling on your feet. For some reason the 07 LXI has little ripples in it that is not any whitewash. I thought it semed rougher and looked closer at it when I was slalom skiing and noticed it. I need all 3 boats in the water the same day,but will have trouble making that happen. ?? Perhaps the ripples were from the lake surface and the hull was not taking them out??

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When referring to the curl, I'm talking about the trough just to outside of the center. This area usually has no whitewash in it and has any ripples of the lake knocked down and is usually sooth and firm feeling on your feet. For some reason the 07 LXI has little ripples in it that is not any whitewash. I thought it semed rougher and looked closer at it when I was slalom skiing and noticed it. I need all 3 boats in the water the same day,but will have trouble making that happen. ?? Perhaps the ripples were from the lake surface and the hull was not taking them out??

The only disturbance in the curl area is the splashes from the spray off the side of the hull. If you're saying you don't like the texture of the water to the outside of the wake, I have never heard of such a complaint from any boat. Have you barefooted behind other inboards that you feel disrupt the water less? How long is your rope? Are you wearing shorts and a suit?

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The only disturbance in the curl area is the splashes from the spray off the side of the hull. If you're saying you don't like the texture of the water to the outside of the wake, I have never heard of such a complaint from any boat. Have you barefooted behind other inboards that you feel disrupt the water less? How long is your rope? Are you wearing shorts and a suit?

Wearing a suit. Guess I didn't have a complaint with the 03 Response. My 87 Supra Saltaree was the best for footing but it was 22 feet and a heavier boat. It had a deep V and was probably knocking down the water better. However it had a larger ski wake though. I used to use a 75foot line on my 03 response but moved back to a 105 foot line on this boat looking for smoother water.

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Wearing a suit. Guess I didn't have a complaint with the 03 Response. My 87 Supra Saltaree was the best for footing but it was 22 feet and a heavier boat. It had a deep V and was probably knocking down the water better. However it had a larger ski wake though. I used to use a 75foot line on my 03 response but moved back to a 105 foot line on this boat looking for smoother water.

and you're saying that outside the wake you are not satisfied with the smoothness of the water? Just on starts or when riding?

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and you're saying that outside the wake you are not satisfied with the smoothness of the water? Just on starts or when riding?

Deepwater start right behind boat can be preety rough if I stay there. I try to cheek out to the curl before the boat gets alot of speed,once I get fairly settled in the curl the boat driver speeds up to barefoot speed, the ride in the curl prior to standing up seems to be rougher than normal. I'm going to observe conditions closer next time to see if maybe water was to rough before trying to foot on it. The wake is definitely rougher behind the boat before I get to the curl ,which is the reason I don't want to try to get up directly behind boat. The 105 ft. rope definitely helps but I would like to get back to the 75 ft. length.

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Some of us think the best boat in the Malibu line is a Response LXI. And the best years were 2006 (was there a change in 2007?).

To quote my 43 year old son who was wise beyond his years about 15 seasons ago: " Dad, you NEVER should leave flat water looking for flatter water "

I'm just sayin'

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Deepwater start right behind boat can be preety rough if I stay there. I try to cheek out to the curl before the boat gets alot of speed,once I get fairly settled in the curl the boat driver speeds up to barefoot speed, the ride in the curl prior to standing up seems to be rougher than normal. I'm going to observe conditions closer next time to see if maybe water was to rough before trying to foot on it. The wake is definitely rougher behind the boat before I get to the curl ,which is the reason I don't want to try to get up directly behind boat. The 105 ft. rope definitely helps but I would like to get back to the 75 ft. length.

That is a function of the texture of the water, not the hull design. If you're not happy with the propwash inside the wakes, I don't think fxi or VTX will make you happy. VTX could be slight improvement, but modern lxi, fxi, and vtx are all on cut-diamonds. Go barefoot behind a SN196 or 200 then you'll appreciate the lxi wakes for sure!

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Man you've said it there, the best way to know is to ski behind them. Need to get out the dry suit and try to find some warmer water and test them out. The decisions need to be made this winter while you have time to seek out the boat you like the best and before the boat show s are over. I believe my LXi is probably one of the three best choices and maybe the best choice. I still believe that the boats can still be improved on for all around sports. It's a matter of engineers figuring it out at a price we can afford, and coming up with good ideas every year. I really like my LXi, just keeping my eyes open for any new technolgy that comes along and I feel certain it will. I remember skiing behind an old Natique that was very small but was a great boat in its day. It felt like a ramp compaired to todays boats.

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