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New Boat Questions


Pc72

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Hey everyone, I just bought my first Malibu about 2 weeks ago, a 2005 Wakesetter 23 LSV from a dealer in northern Ohio on Lake Erie. That dealer transferred the boat in from another dealer in their network from Wisconsin, so needless to say they were not familiar with these types of boats at all so I have a few questions remaining. Last boat was an 07 Baja, which is a night and day difference coming from what was basically a fiberglass shell with a big motor and not much else to something this complex. I'm not totally ignorant about wakeboard boats, but most of my experience has been on friend's Nautiques so it would be nice to hear from some Malibu people. Some of these might be easily figured out on my own if it was summer but its not and the boat is locked in a warehouse until spring, so I haven't had time to tinker with it. Any help would be appreciated.

-It has the CFT Blade tower which I can find barely any practical information on anywhere other than people selling theirs or talking about them sucking etc. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I am not excited about the lack of board rack/speaker upgrade options which is common on every other tower. That being said, replacing it isn't in the budget this year, but I am going to replace all 4 tower speakers and all 6 interior speakers (they're all factory crap Sonys and showing their age). I'm going with WetSounds Xs-650s and the plan is to put Pro 696s in the tower if I can make them fit. The length of the tower behind the speakers seems more than adequate, but I'm not sure how deep the cavity actually goes. Does anyone have any experience with this? The pro 696s seem much larger than most 6x9 speakers out there lengthwise. Also does anyone know of a bimini manufacturer that makes or could make something for this tower? I know it had a limited production run but most places I look act as if it was never manufactured, they list every Malibu tower in history except that one. I have checked all the usual places, Bakes, OnlyInboards, some others and came up with nothing.

- The boat had no documentation with it at all as far as manuals are concerned, does anyone know where I can download or buy one for that model year (preferably download and not pay the dealer $50 for it lol)?

- It came with the normal table setup, but when I picked the boat up it was just stacked on top of the ballast bag in the rear hatch along with the windscreen. I found two brackets that would appear to support the table in storage, but they weren't attached to anything just laying in the compartment. Anyone have any pics of the way this is supposed to be set up? The boat has uprgaded ballast and I'm not sure if they were taken out because of that or what the deal is, but it looks sloppy and I want to fix it.

- On the rear blower vents the mesh is separating from the frame, whats the best fix for this? I'm assuming some type of adhesive but I want to make sure I do it right.

That all being said I'm pretty pumped about getting it out on the water for the first time the coming months, I've already got a few upgrades ready to go lighting and stereo-wise as soon as the weather breaks. So far I'm a pretty happy convert from the speedboat world, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of other questions forthcoming when the boat gets out for the season. Thanks in advance for any input you might have.

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www.bakesonline.com has the best resource section i've seen(including free downloads of manuals for your boat and engine).

Post some pics of your boat along with how the ballast is set up and some of us can definitely help you out.

CONGRATS ON THE 'BU!!!

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Check out the resources/DIY section on this site. It's a tab up on the top right of the screen. Best resource I've found is searching this forum, then searching on Google, and posting questions here. Congrats on the new boat, sound sweet. And to re-iterate, we like pics...

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The CFT Blade tower was recalled. Most people had the tower replaced with the Illusion X tower. You may know from searching that the Illusion X was made by Metcraft, which no longer exists. Another company bought Metcraft, but Malibu no longer uses them. Malibu now has the G3 (Generation 3? - which is odd because I think it's actually G4, but that's another story).

In any case, since it was recalled you "might" be able to work something out with Malibu to get the tower replaced, most likely it would be a G3 and guessing you would have to pay something, but perhaps not the entire amount. This is all speculation, of course, but the tower was recalled for a reason, so I'm thinking they may want to get you into a non-recalled tower if they can.

This is also why you can't find any information about that tower. In essence with the recall/replacement the tower never existed.

You've already got a line on manuals (bakes), but I will tell you that for the most part the manuals are generic and really quite useless. The exception might be the motor manual for maintenance. The boat manual itself has gotten better in more recent years, but in '05 you'd be lucky to even be able to tell they were talking about your boat in that manual (I have an '06 and I think it's the same manual)

For the table and blower, I'm not sure but as mentioned, you can try a search. I do remember at one point reading something about the mesh on those vents.

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I actually just got rid of my o5 vlx with the CST blade tower. I actually never had any issues with it, but I did start to worry the last year as it seamed to lose its side to side ridgity, and had some small stress cracks in the clear coat. The wetsounds 6x9's will fit no problem, the tower is wide open inside. Also I did contact Malibu last year about replacing the tower since it was a recall, but I was told that it was to late, and they would not work with me. Another thing to keep an eye on is where the tower mounts to the boat. My boats would tend to loosen up, and cause some small gel-coat fracturing.

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www.bakesonline.com has the best resource section i've seen(including free downloads of manuals for your boat and engine).

Post some pics of your boat along with how the ballast is set up and some of us can definitely help you out.

CONGRATS ON THE 'BU!!!

Thanks! I'll have to post the interior pictures when I get it out of storage in April, I probably won't have a chance to get to it until then.

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Thanks! I'll have to post the interior pictures when I get it out of storage in April, I probably won't have a chance to get to it until then.

OK... we can't help you until you show us the pics. :Tease3:

JK

:welcome:

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Hey everyone, I just bought my first Malibu about 2 weeks ago, a 2005 Wakesetter 23 LSV from a dealer in northern Ohio on Lake Erie. That dealer transferred the boat in from another dealer in their network from Wisconsin, so needless to say they were not familiar with these types of boats at all so I have a few questions remaining. Last boat was an 07 Baja, which is a night and day difference coming from what was basically a fiberglass shell with a big motor and not much else to something this complex. I'm not totally ignorant about wakeboard boats, but most of my experience has been on friend's Nautiques so it would be nice to hear from some Malibu people. Some of these might be easily figured out on my own if it was summer but its not and the boat is locked in a warehouse until spring, so I haven't had time to tinker with it. Any help would be appreciated.

-It has the CFT Blade tower which I can find barely any practical information on anywhere other than people selling theirs or talking about them sucking etc. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I am not excited about the lack of board rack/speaker upgrade options which is common on every other tower. That being said, replacing it isn't in the budget this year, but I am going to replace all 4 tower speakers and all 6 interior speakers (they're all factory crap Sonys and showing their age). I'm going with WetSounds Xs-650s and the plan is to put Pro 696s in the tower if I can make them fit. The length of the tower behind the speakers seems more than adequate, but I'm not sure how deep the cavity actually goes. Does anyone have any experience with this? The pro 696s seem much larger than most 6x9 speakers out there lengthwise. Also does anyone know of a bimini manufacturer that makes or could make something for this tower? I know it had a limited production run but most places I look act as if it was never manufactured, they list every Malibu tower in history except that one. I have checked all the usual places, Bakes, OnlyInboards, some others and came up with nothing.

- The boat had no documentation with it at all as far as manuals are concerned, does anyone know where I can download or buy one for that model year (preferably download and not pay the dealer $50 for it lol)?

- It came with the normal table setup, but when I picked the boat up it was just stacked on top of the ballast bag in the rear hatch along with the windscreen. I found two brackets that would appear to support the table in storage, but they weren't attached to anything just laying in the compartment. Anyone have any pics of the way this is supposed to be set up? The boat has uprgaded ballast and I'm not sure if they were taken out because of that or what the deal is, but it looks sloppy and I want to fix it.

- On the rear blower vents the mesh is separating from the frame, whats the best fix for this? I'm assuming some type of adhesive but I want to make sure I do it right.

That all being said I'm pretty pumped about getting it out on the water for the first time the coming months, I've already got a few upgrades ready to go lighting and stereo-wise as soon as the weather breaks. So far I'm a pretty happy convert from the speedboat world, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of other questions forthcoming when the boat gets out for the season. Thanks in advance for any input you might have.

make sure it is winterized...some people will sell it 2 you un winterized in the middle of the winter...?Probably 2 late in Ohio though?

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The CFT Blade tower was recalled.

Here we go again. It was never recalled. If people had issues they would replace them with the Illusion because they couldn't get more of the CFT ones. There is nothing wrong with the tower. Yes it sways side to side more than the Illusion did, but the thing is very strong. Don't let anyone scare you into thinking they are bad towers.

OP - PM LS-One he had one for a long time and he can give you the info you are looking for (Bimini, etc).

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Welcome to the Crew Phil!

There is a wealth of knowledge on this site. Check out the resources/diy section in the top right for any information you might need.

This is Biser btw.

Haha I figured thanks man

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make sure it is winterized...some people will sell it 2 you un winterized in the middle of the winter...?Probably 2 late in Ohio though?

It is, I watched them do it after they started it for me. I'm not that new to this haha

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