Hard to see my VLX go... now time to pick something new!

[Lance B. Johnson]

It's just one of those things. They can charge it... so they will.

[old skool malibu]

A diamond hull will make that boat harder to sell. As for trailer issues, call Owen shelton at boatmate and see what he thinks. I'm sure they could work some magic to make that boat sit a little lower. In many cases, it just means lowering the bunks a bit.

Sorry man I gotta disagree. All the boats our dealer orders in (they are Malibu's #1 dealer) are on diamond hulls. I think that is a more sellable hull than the wake hull. No disadvantage at wake speeds, infact most pros prefered the diamond hull in the blind test years back, plus you can ski when speeds are over 30 mph.

[IXFE]

A diamond hull will make that boat harder to sell. As for trailer issues, call Owen shelton at boatmate and see what he thinks. I'm sure they could work some magic to make that boat sit a little lower. In many cases, it just means lowering the bunks a bit.

Chatt... I emailed Owen at Boatmate as you suggest. Here was his response about the height of the LSV on 18's. Summary: can't lower the bunks, but can gain a little by reducing angle or torsion trailing arms.

The 18" tires do cause the boat to sit slightly higher. The unloaded 18" tires will cause the boat to sit 7/8" higher than unloaded 14" tires. Additionally, the 14" tires squat more under load than the 18" tire, adding to the practical difference between the two wheel sizes. The difference depends upon the weight of the boat/trailer making up the load.

I can't lower the LSV on the trailer because the width of the hull bottom dictates that the boat sits above the fenders rather than in between the fender. Lowering the boat closer to the fenders could result in damage to the fenders and hull bottom. You can see that in the pic of the borrowed LSV.

I have only a couple of ideas that might benefit you. You can reduce the air pressure in the trailer tires before stowing in your garage which will require that you add air to the tires every time you remove the trailer from the garage. You can also reduce the angle of the torsion trailing arms of the trailer axles. The trailer hubs are connected to the axle beams by these trailing arms which are attached to a splined shaft that protrudes from both ends of the axle beams. The trailing arms can be removed from the splined shafts and rotated to increase or decrease the height of the trailer frame relative to the road. This results in increasing the clearance between the tops of the tires and the undersides of the fenders (raising the frame) or decreasing the clearance between the tires and fenders (lowering the frame).

We specify and set the trailing arm angles to provide ample clearance for the 99 percentile, which is to say we are cautious with the clearance between tire and fender. For liability reasons BoatMate will not reduce this clearance, but changing the angle is a fairly simple procedure that can be done anytime. You might gain as much as 0.75" from the trailing arm and maybe another 0.5"-0.75" by reducing tire pressure.

[Chattwake]

I asked Owen about this last week, and was told the same thing. I meant to come on here and give you the same information. But the site went down.

[Chattwake]

As for the 15 inch prop, I have been told by numerous people that, even at sea level, it is the ideal prop run if you are going to add extra weight over the standard plug-and-play sacs

[Chattwake]

Let's put it this way, the yellow and silver Malibu LSv that you see and all of Malibu's promotional materials is in Knoxville and runs the 15 inch prop with the 350....

[Fman]

Sorry man I gotta disagree. All the boats our dealer orders in (they are Malibu's #1 dealer) are on diamond hulls. I think that is a more sellable hull than the wake hull. No disadvantage at wake speeds, infact most pros prefered the diamond hull in the blind test years back, plus you can ski when speeds are over 30 mph.

If your statement is correct, then why have two different hulls? This makes no sense, if the diamond hull produces a better wakeboard wake then Malibu would stop producing the wake hull.

My dealer orders every wakesetter in the wake hull, specifically for resale. Most people don't buy a wakeboard boat to primarily slalom ski. If someone is a core slalom skier they will chase a boat specifically dedigned for slalom skiing. No vdrive will replace a direct drive for slalom skiing. Slalom skiing unfortunately is a dying breed, how many young kids do you see on a slalom ski compared to a wakeboard?

When I sold my '11 I had three very interested buyers, two out of the three specifically asked if it has the wake hull. The person who ended up buying it was one of them that specifically wanted the wakeboard hull.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Fman

[Fman]

I started running the Acme 2313 15" early last Spring and used it all season. I did some testing early on, the 15" only lost a couple mph top end...still ran 42-43, has a better hole shot over the 1235, and added couple hundred rpm at wakeboard speed. FYI - I had it on a 22 MXZ with the L96, so not sure what the results will be on other hulls/engines. I think the 1235 will be sufficient for most and is a good all around prop, but it's good to have options.

Did you order your new 24 MXZ with the 15" prop again? and did you keep the 15" prop on your 22 MXZ all season? Im confused, Malibu is stating a top speed of 36 MPH with the 15" prop, and you were able to achieve 42-43 MPH with it. Only asking because I have interest in it for my '13 but dont want to push the motor too hard if someone wants to slalom ski at 32-34 MPH.

[skicrave]

We've been moving people to 15" props for over a year. The 2249 is the new 1235, as long as the boat has clearance to turn a 15" prop, there's really no downside. The 2315 is the prop of choice for heavily loaded boats that will primarily be used for wakeboarding and wakesurfing.

Travis, we got 39MPH on GPS from the 2315 with a Monsoon at 1200ft. If you feel like that would be too low, the 2249 is probably the best option.

[IXFE]

Update...

I'll be getting the 15x12 for shizzle. Also pretty set on the Diamond Hull.

Not sure on VLX vs. LSV. Not sure why it's so hard. Honestly, I'm leaning VLX. The garage issue is just hard to swallow.

The main reason I still ache for an LSV is the superior surf wave. So it's a real dilemma.

[Tims]

We've been moving people to 15" props for over a year. The 2249 is the new 1235, as long as the boat has clearance to turn a 15" prop, there's really no downside. The 2315 is the prop of choice for heavily loaded boats that will primarily be used for wakeboarding and wakesurfing.

Travis, we got 39MPH on GPS from the 2315 with a Monsoon at 1200ft. If you feel like that would be too low, the 2249 is probably the best option.

Do you have any data that compares the 1235 to the 2249? I currently run the 2249 (2012 Monsoon equipped VLX) and it feels a little down on hole shot vs the 1235 but seems to hold speed better when weighted down while turning less rpm at surfing and boarding speeds.

[thtrog]

Did you order your new 24 MXZ with the 15" prop again? and did you keep the 15" prop on your 22 MXZ all season? Im confused, Malibu is stating a top speed of 36 MPH with the 15" prop, and you were able to achieve 42-43 MPH with it. Only asking because I have interest in it for my '13 but dont want to push the motor too hard if someone wants to slalom ski at 32-34 MPH.

When I ordered my boat there was not an option for the 15, plus I kept my 2313. I've never seen Malibu state speeds and not sure how they could with all the different variables. As you are seeing there are various 15's out there and I ran mine with the L96, it would run 44-45 mph with the 1235. The fastest I pulled anyone with the 15 was 30 mph on a foil, the top-end checks were when I was getting some info to Acme. Cdoogles on here ran the 2315, which is the same pitch and different cup. You can check with him, but I doubt he ran the speeds you are considering.

[bamabonners]

Funny - you guys are looking at 15" props and I am looking at better fuel economy. I spoke to Acme and they recommended 1589 for what I am looking for. We typically pull lots of kids and beginners so we don't run much additional ballast. I was looking for something that would give low end power like 1235, but better fuel consumption. They highly recommended the 1589. Seems to be a fairly new prop, so not much info on it out there.

Edited February 23, 2013 by bamabonners

[skicrave]

Do you have any data that compares the 1235 to the 2249? I currently run the 2249 (2012 Monsoon equipped VLX) and it feels a little down on hole shot vs the 1235 but seems to hold speed better when weighted down while turning less rpm at surfing and boarding speeds.

I don't have anything yet, but we'll be doing our annual prop test in the next month or so. This is the first year we're going to publish all of the results on our site, so we'll definitely have data on the 2249 available.

Funny - you guys are looking at 15" props and I am looking at better fuel economy. I spoke to Acme and they recommended 1589 for what I am looking for. We typically pull lots of kids and beginners so we don't run much additional ballast. I was looking for something that would give low end power like 1235, but better fuel consumption. They highly recommended the 1589. Seems to be a fairly new prop, so not much info on it out there.

You're on the opposite end of the spectrum as far as ballast and use goes, so it's not too surprising you want a different prop. The 1589 isn't too new, we've been selling them for customers in the same position as you for quite a while with great results. Honestly though, for your application, I would look at the 1581. It's the same as the 1589, just 1/2" smaller in diameter, which will save you money, and you won't notice any difference in holeshot for how you use the boat.

[bamabonners]

I am seeing that the 1581 is 13" prop for spline mastercraft. I don't know if I want to drop 1 1/2 inches on 23 foot boat. Thanks for the info though, I will check it out.

Edited February 26, 2013 by bamabonners

[IXFE]

Okay guys, my order is in. It's going to a VLX Diamond. Build date is late April.

I have exactly ONE WEEK to nail down my colors and options. The colors are the hard part for me. So I'm asking for your ideas. Post up renderings of what you like, but please stick to these parameters:

• Only one color upgrade. It's hard, but try to stick to this... if you must, show your ideas with two upgrades
• Don't waste the upgrade on "Deck Base." Keep it white.
• No color on the tower, Black only.
• Colors we like: Ebony, White, Silver Flake, Crystal Red Metallic, Regal,
• Colors we are warming up to: Vapor Blue, Stratosphere Blue Metallic, Malibu Green Metallic (aka Monster Green).
• Final rule... you know me by now, so keep resale in mind!

I have some ideas, but I'll post them up later. I don't want to influence the Crew's creativity!

Edited March 8, 2013 by IXFE

[85 Barefoot]

I had a crystal red metallic and white axis....was beautiful...although...goes better with a white tower.

[IXFE]

I had a crystal red metallic and white axis....was beautiful...although...goes better with a white tower.

I had a white tower on my VLX last year, and I didn't like it. Too many smudge marks that didn't want to wash off.

[85 Barefoot]

I had a white tower on my VLX last year, and I didn't like it. Too many smudge marks that didn't want to wash off.

interesting...I never had one a dab of simple green didn't take care of

[wakesetter8796]

Not a Bu, but looks good. White and stratosphere blue

[wakesetter8796]

I think this is only 2 color upgrades?

[wakesetter8796]

[6balls]

What was the deciding factor on vlx vs. Lsv?

[nyryan2001]

IXFE- what did you think about the G25 other than the $145k price tag?

[IXFE]

Okay, here are the schemes I've been pondering. My wife really want to see some BLING on this boat. She thinks our last boat was "nice, but a little plain." So that's why I'm thinking I should use my ONE upgrade on a flake color on the "Hull Main." That seems like the best way to get the most bling for my buck!

Picture each of these boats on a black Boatmate trailer with 18" XD Badlands (as seen in my profile pic).

I like the way the silver Hull Main looks with the black Hull Accent 2 (inspired by this boat), but I don't like how the lower black line of Hull Accent 2 disappears against black Hull Accent.

So that brings us to this boat. Just flip the Hull Accent 2 to white to make the lower line re-appear. The white accents also tie in the white of the Hull Base and Deck Base. More white also helps tie in our tow rig.

So then I wonder... what if I did a different color of flake on the Hull Main?? My wife thinks this is too much.

Edited March 10, 2013 by IXFE