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Green light for a new (to me) boat


Slayer

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Well.....I'm getting closer to buying. I was unsuccessful in getting the CFO to bite in a higher budget. However, I did find a 1996 Echelon LX with 530 hours on it with a heater, hot shower, tower, bimini, and a tandem axle trailer that she really likes!

I am working on details with the seller and the dealer who maintains the boat today. I will you keep you all posted.......with pics after I pay my membership.

Edited by inlandlaker
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Looks like the '96 Echelon LX is a no go. The numbers don't work our right with the shipping costs. Still talking with the seller of the '95 Echelon LX with the 454. Beautiful boat and I'm leaning very seriously toward it. I hope to get out there in the next week or 2 one he gets it out of storage so I can do a water test.

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What does the crew think about this? I know it's against the grain of most of the discussion in this thread, but interested in opinions anyway. I'm going to look at it this week and go for a water test.

Good looking boat. $14,500 is a little optimistic but not ridiculously overpriced.

You would need to ditch the POS CVP SS prop. :yes:

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When you look at the Sunsetter make sure you get a pull behind it as it is a slightly larger boat compared to a Response or Echelon, the wake won't be quite as nice. More weight and slightly larger boat will displace more water. Boat looks very nice from the pictures. The Echelon looks a bit on the rough side, I am sure the price would reflect that. There is an added guage on the upper right of the dash.

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Good looking boat. $14,500 is a little optimistic but not ridiculously overpriced.

You would need to ditch the POS CVP SS prop. :yes:

I agree however that is not the price that we have agreed to if I move forward. The SS prop will be one of the first things to go.

When you look at the Sunsetter make sure you get a pull behind it as it is a slightly larger boat compared to a Response or Echelon, the wake won't be quite as nice. More weight and slightly larger boat will displace more water. Boat looks very nice from the pictures. The Echelon looks a bit on the rough side, I am sure the price would reflect that. There is an added guage on the upper right of the dash.

You make a great point, Woodski. Considering I'm just getting back into the game, I'm not sure how much I'll notice this. A nice walk through echelon lx would be great and is still seriously being considered. There is one available to me within relative close distance that is in great condition however there are some hull blisters and I have some reservations about that. Not sure yet but still plan on checking it out.

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What does the crew think about this? I know it's against the grain of most of the discussion in this thread, but interested in opinions anyway. I'm going to look at it this week and go for a water test.

No Wake is 10 min from my house and my local dealer. Let me know if you want me to give it a walk-around for you before you make the drive down.

-- Mike

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You would need to ditch the POS CVP SS prop. :yes:

Good advice, and nice to hear that you already know it should go. The one on our '98 RLX ditched us first, unfortunately. That Sunsetter looks nice.

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No Wake is 10 min from my house and my local dealer. Let me know if you want me to give it a walk-around for you before you make the drive down.

-- Mike

Thanks for the offer, Mike!

You have a PM on the matter. I appreciate your willingness to help.

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Good advice, and nice to hear that you already know it should go. The one on our '98 RLX ditched us first, unfortunately. That Sunsetter looks nice.

Thanks. If it's the right boat, the prop is the first thing to go. I just need to find out what the proper replacement is based on our use. I know that there's plenty of information on the forum here about it. I'll be checking it out regardless of what boat I end up with.

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I just want to give a big shout out to EchelonMike for taking the time to check out the sunsetter I'm interested in. It was a big help having a crew member take the time to help another out. Based on his findings, I'll likely be bringing that boat home with me this Saturday. While I do understand that the ski wake is slightly compromised in comparison to the echelon or rlx, I do believe that the added space will be more beneficial for our family. If the boat is what it's claimed to be, it's coming home with me.

Big thanks to all who commented on this thread. The advise has been greatly helpful. The crew rocks for sure! :rockon:

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I just want to give a big shout out to EchelonMike for taking the time to check out the sunsetter I'm interested in. It was a big help having a crew member take the time to help another out. Based on his findings, I'll likely be bringing that boat home with me this Saturday. While I do understand that the ski wake is slightly compromised in comparison to the echelon or rlx, I do believe that the added space will be more beneficial for our family. If the boat is what it's claimed to be, it's coming home with me.

Big thanks to all who commented on this thread. The advise has been greatly helpful. The crew rocks for sure! :rockon:

Hey Chris, I am paying it forward as a crew member did the same for me last year!

I think you will love the boat - needs a coat of wax and a few small scrapes wet-sanded, but it's extremely nice and the interior is really beautiful. Perfect rubrail, can eat off the engine, prop and rudder clean and free of dings, etc. Obviously taken care of. I forgot how much storage is under the rear seat back "trunk". This boat will ski beautifully and have plenty of room for your stuff.

No wake had it inside the shop so my guess is they are going to do most of the buff and sand before you even arrive. For the $$, you can't go wrong if the test drive checks out. I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts and how the test drive went after the weekend.

Best of luck and hopefully see you on the water one of these days!

-- Mike

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Congrats! I bet you'll be pleased with the Sunsetter. I've never skied it, but when we were looking back in '98, the Sunsetter was at the top of our list. We ended up going with a Response LX back then, but we made the switch to a Response FXI last year. Many say it's Malibu's latest version of the Sunsetter. The wake is definitely a little larger and firmer than the one behind the RLX, but not enough for me to care at my level. I like to wakeboard, too, and the RFXI does fine by me. Our kids are 3 and 6, and we like the extra little bit of space in the RFXI, and I just couldn't go the V-Drive route just yet. I'm still hoping our boys catch the slalom bug. Best of luck with your new adventure. Hope the deal goes through for you.

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Congrats! I bet you'll be pleased with the Sunsetter. I've never skied it, but when we were looking back in '98, the Sunsetter was at the top of our list. We ended up going with a Response LX back then, but we made the switch to a Response FXI last year. Many say it's Malibu's latest version of the Sunsetter. The wake is definitely a little larger and firmer than the one behind the RLX, but not enough for me to care at my level. I like to wakeboard, too, and the RFXI does fine by me. Our kids are 3 and 6, and we like the extra little bit of space in the RFXI, and I just couldn't go the V-Drive route just yet. I'm still hoping our boys catch the slalom bug. Best of luck with your new adventure. Hope the deal goes through for you.

Thanks! If we were to buy a new boat, the RFXI would be my first choice. My daughter is nearly 3 and we are discussing number 2, so this is a good start for us. At this point, pending the water test, there should be no reason that the deal would fall through.

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Sounds like you're headed in the right direction, good luck.

I sure love the Acme 515 we got for our boat. Tons of pull out of the hole and keeps RPM and MPH right on the 100:1 scale.

I would be after that RXFI myself if we were in that position.

Edited by jk13
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I sure love the Acme 515 we got for our boat.

:plus1: We went with the 515 13 X 12 on our RLX after the SS CVP detonated. It was a much more impressive hole shot, smooooooth, and delivered the same top end speed. Wish we had made that change much earlier. I'm 99% sure our RFXI has a 13 X 11.5, but it's 800 lb. meatier than the RLX was.

I'd be almost willing to bet that if we had gone for the SLX back in '98, we'd still have that boat today and wouldn't have moved to the FXI. The extra freeboard, etc. is great for the kids. Have fun!

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:plus1: We went with the 515 13 X 12 on our RLX after the SS CVP detonated. It was a much more impressive hole shot, smooooooth, and delivered the same top end speed. Wish we had made that change much earlier. I'm 99% sure our RFXI has a 13 X 11.5, but it's 800 lb. meatier than the RLX was.

I'd be almost willing to bet that if we had gone for the SLX back in '98, we'd still have that boat today and wouldn't have moved to the FXI. The extra freeboard, etc. is great for the kids. Have fun!

The extra room and freeboard is really nice. When I started this pursuit, it was based on a beautiful SLXI that I had the opportunity of seeing on our lake. I just haven't been able to find one in the price range, so we started looking at Echelons and the RLX. I did look at one 1997 SLX here locally but it was kind of beat up and the owner was not willing to negotiate so there was no reason to pursue it further. No doubt that the CFO and nearly 3 year old little girl will appreciate the space and freeboard of the SLX. I'll report back after the test drive.

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Good luck inland, hope you get it. I think the price is very reasonable, though still negotiate. I pulled the trigger on a 05 Sunsetter last year at a little less price, but not much.

You'll love the ride, room, everything.

Steve B.

edit (oops, not an 05, I wish, but a '95 for me)

Edited by Steve B.
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Good luck inland, hope you get it. I think the price is very reasonable, though still negotiate. I pulled the trigger on a 05 Sunsetter last year at a little less price, but not much.

You'll love the ride, room, everything.

Steve B.

edit (oops, not an 05, I wish, but a '95 for me)

Thanks, Steve. I will let the crew know my findings on Saturday!

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The guys at NoWake will have it looking great for you. You can feel very confident that you'll be getting a good boat from them.

Good luck and congrats!

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The guys at NoWake will have it looking great for you. You can feel very confident that you'll be getting a good boat from them.

Good luck and congrats!

Thanks. So far, my discussions with them have been quite good. Paul has been very helpful.

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The search is over!! I'm finally a Malibu Owner and not simply someone lurking on the forum. A new thread will be started later today if possible, with pictures and details. Yesterday I picked up our new to us boat, a 1997 Sunsetter LX. It was beautiful when I picked it up, then we water tested it, in the rain I might add, and then towed it for a few hours in the rain. Consequently, she's a little dirty and needs some TLC. The boat is well maintained and rather clean with 667 hours. It runs strong and will no doubt provide many many days of enjoyment on the water

The guys at No Wake in Cincinnati were great to deal with. Again, big thanks to Echleonmike for taking some time to check it out. It was a big help and solidified my plan to drive 4 hours each way to get her. Also, big thanks to those who contributed to this thread with some very good information for me to consider in the search for a boat. We ended up getting something a little different than what we started searching for however the look on my wife's face when she came home last night and saw the boat tells me that she's pleased. There are many advantages to the SLX that I know our family will appreciate.

Next up.....Boat Lift!

Again, thanks to the Crew!

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