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2013 Wakesetter VTX Is Here


GullLakeMarine

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trailer???? ....... no comment..nice looking boat love the matching tower.. IMO should have went with after market rev 8's and had them painted dark blue to match.

Whats wrong with the trailer? I think the Phoenix looks really sharp under this boat. The person that buys this boat can install whatever kind of tower speaker they want.

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I can't tell from the pics, but what bimini is that? I have a 2013 on order with the GL bimini.

Yes, this is the GL bimini. I order 99% of the boats with this option

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I talked to a Merced, CA factory rep about the new VTX dash. He said that the other wakesetters will be getting a dash refresh (didn't say when), but indicated it would NOT be the same at the 2013 VTX dash. I started out not liking this dash, but it has since grown on me--not sure if I like it more than the other wakesetter dashes, but I do appreciate how the MTC is easier to reach and view.

Edited by Cory
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Yes, this is the GL bimini. I order 99% of the boats with this option

You can tell it's a GL bimini because the verticle support strut angles slightly back. This same strut on the 2012 CS biminis angles about an equal amount forward. The 2013 sliding CS bimini has a completely different mount.

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Why do you order the GL bimini over the CS bimini?

I like the design better. You can not colapse the CS bimini and you can not fold the tower down without the brackets hitting. Last reason is we are located on Gull Lake (GL) so it just works... That was a joke

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Whats wrong with the trailer? I think the Phoenix looks really sharp under this boat. The person that buys this boat can install whatever kind of tower speaker they want.

Not saying me, but I would guess that the comment arose for two reasons: 1) the wheels are the wheels axis uses, and are not nearly as attractive as the wheels boatmate uses under the malibus and 2) the writing/strickers on the trailer "cheapen" the look. Boatmates have backlit, Malibu "cutouts" that look awesome. (and diamondplate might not be everyone's cup of tea for a $75,000 boat)

Gull, I know its a tough crowd and that's a great looking boat, but a boatmate does not have to have every option to look a lot better than that one. But hey, you're right, if your customers don't often require a trailer, who cares. I was just trying to answer your question.

Here's a nice-looking trailer. Compare it to the Phoenix (?):

post-11381-0-76720700-1362088550_thumb.j

Edited by 85 Barefoot
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So let me clarify...

First of all, there is only one reason to order any trailer other than a Boatmate... dealers looking to save a buck on cost. In principle that bothers me. We're talking about $80K boats. Why do dealers cut this corner?? I'll take the trailer made in Tennessee specifically for Malibu every time. Anything else would be like buying a BMW 550i only to find out later that the dealer took off the factory wheels and put on "reps" in their place to save a few $'s.

Now, the trailer above has several issues, both cosmetic and functional:

Cosemetic: I know many will disagree with my cosmetic complaints, which is fine. This is a forum and this is my opinion.

  • Those wheels are terrible. Steel wheels don't belong under a $80K Malibu. At a minimum you should have put a 14" alloy wheel under that boat (like what is standard on Boatmate. They actually offer a few different 14" alloy options at no cost).
  • The pin stripes are not my cup of tea. They just look tacky... like a blast from the 80's when pin stripes were on everything.
  • As previously pointed out, why no back-lit Malibu logos on the front steps?
  • While the color matching of the trailer looks sharp, on Malibus I'm a fan of matching the trailer color with the tower color. This is a minor nit-pick, but I would have either done a blue tower or a white trailer. It helps balance the look... sort of like matching your belt with your socks. :biggrin:

Functional: Even the anti-bling crown shouldn't argue with this: Take a close look at that trailer... it's too long for a VTX. Looks obvious to me that not a lot of care was put into builiding / sizing it for a VTX... it's proably just a standard size that goes under a lot of different boats. Why does that matter? One of the nice things about a VTX is its garage-ability. People like me, who park a boat in a confined space notice details like this. Idealy, the longest part of a boat/trailer combo should be the boat, not the trailer. If I was in the market for a VTX I would not buy this boat just for this one reason.

  • Front: See how the winch sticks out about 6" from the bow of the boat? And notice how the tongue hinge is another 4" further in front of that? That's almost 1 foot of wasted length in the front alone!
  • Rear: See how the trailing edge of the side rail extendes past the boat hull by another 6-8 inches? Sloppy! You won't see nearly as much "trailer waste" on a Boatmate.
  • No boat buckles? I'm not sure where you'd even mount them since the mounting points are so far behind the transom and so far outside the SG tabs. How would even use old school tie downs with that trailer geometry? The straps would have to somehow go under and around the tabs to hook up to the new mounting holes on the transom. Hard to tell from the pics but I think that would put alot of stress on the SG tabs.

No offense to this dealer, buy you seem like the kind of shop that thinks, "any trailer will do." Just remember that on $80k toys, every detail matters and experienced boat buyers (i.e. the ones you hope to attract at that price point) know what to look for.

Sorry if I'm coming down hard on you... but you asked so I told you.

Edited by IXFE
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My first thought when I saw these pictures was "Jesus that's a horrible trailer." If you're going to go that cheap, at least make the trailer black so hopefully no one notices it and you have the option to swap it out on other boats if a buyer wanted something that doesn't look like it was purchased from Walmart. I'm very partial to boatmate as well. Boatmates trailers just fit these bu's so well and look so good it's rediculous.

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I agree with IXFE that even if the trailer is 50% more, it is only 2% more for the package with a new boat. It will be interesting to see if the people voting with their money at Gull Lake have the same opinion.

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As Trevor has said, customers can choose what trailer they want. I chose the Phoenix because I trailer my boat to the lake in the spring and out in the fall. I can't see spending another $5k on a lawn ornament. If you want a triple axle trailer on 20's with metal flake paint and backlit in LED's Trevor will order you one

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Visually, that trailer looks pretty close to my Dorsey that came on my 2000 Malibu, including the same wheels and pintstripes. At first I thought "wow, looks like my trailer really stands the test of time". Now after seeing all the negative feedback, maybe not :lol:

That being said, different strokes for different folks. I know I'd probably be the guy that wouldn't want to fork up a ton of money on a triple axle blinged out trailer, even if I did have an $80K boat. The Phoenix will do the job and isn't completely hideous, although I agree the Boatmate looks way better. The sizing issues IXFE brought up would probably be my biggest issue and also a deal breaker if I was looking to squeeze something in the garage.

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My first thought when I saw these pictures was "Jesus that's a horrible trailer." If you're going to go that cheap, at least make the trailer black so hopefully no one notices it and you have the option to swap it out on other boats if a buyer wanted something that doesn't look like it was purchased from Walmart. I'm very partial to boatmate as well. Boatmates trailers just fit these bu's so well and look so good it's rediculous.

Haha.. We have already been down that road... The last Boats Gull Lake ordered aside from the last VLX on a Boatmate had black Non matching Pheonix trailers and we all had negative comments on that. I think the wheels are terrible but the build quality of the trailer looks pretty good.. I am not a fan of the pinstripes either but it seems alot of US dealers order the pinstripes on the Boatmates as well.. Our dealer never orders the Pinstripes...

The Pheonix also seems to use a 4 bunk system and one of the best things I like about the Boatmate is the way the boat loads and centers itself nicely on the 6 bunks... I use the crap out of my trailers and the Boatmate seems to stand up the best so far for me so i definitely prefer the boatmate. A simple wheel change and removal of the diamond plate and pinstripes would help a ton.

Nice VTX Gull Lake.

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You guys keep mentioning blinged out, triple axle trailers on 20's with $5k premiums. Are you guys for real? Did I say anything even resembling that?

I guess asking for a trailer specifically sized for a particular boat is asking too much.

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My first thought when I saw these pictures was "Jesus that's a horrible trailer." If you're going to go that cheap, at least make the trailer black so hopefully no one notices it and you have the option to swap it out on other boats if a buyer wanted something that doesn't look like it was purchased from Walmart. I'm very partial to boatmate as well. Boatmates trailers just fit these bu's so well and look so good it's rediculous.

Most people in Michigan that can afford a malibu store their boat on a shorestation. The only time the boat sees the trailer is when it is inside a pole barn. My boat will literally never see a highway. so who cares what the trailer looks like?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Edited by kiter861
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The guy looking at pictures on onlyinboards who is considering buying the boat used will, but I digress. I guess I just don't care for the pin stripes and wheels either. Swap out the wheels and pull off the stripes and that trailer looks a ton better. And I don't mean swap for anything other than a basic 14 like what boatmate uses.

That won't fix the sizing issues, but if you're keeping your boat in a poll barn, who cares. It does need transom straps though. Ill never order a trailer without those.

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