Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Malibu Crew Introduction and Research


DAI

Recommended Posts

First, I would like to introduce myself to the Crew, and apologize for the length of this post. My name is Daniel, live in Wisconsin and this is my first post, but I've been stalking on this site for a while learning more about the Malibu Wakesetter series.

I will be in the market shortly for my first boat, looking at placing an order for a 2014. As much as I want one sooner, I have to build a garage expansion and test my kids tolerance/acceptance to spending time on it, currently 20 months and 5 months (why have an expensive toy depreciate while just sitting in the garage). However, if I come across the right deal on an end of the year 2013, with the right color/options, might get me to pull the trigger earlier. Therefore I figure I would further my knowledge base just in case.

The boat will primarily be used primarily for wakeboarding and surfing, all at a novice/intermediate level, and rarely used for ski and tube. I estimate 50% of the time there will be 4 people onboard (immediate family), 45% of the time there will be 8 people onboard (4 adults & 4 kids), and 5% of the time there will be 12-14 people onboard (4 adults & 8-10 kids). I lean VLX, and given above is that the right size or would the 23 LSV be more appropriate? Either one would have the wake hull. Also, will my current 2010 GMC Yukon Denali with the 6.2 lt be sufficient to tow the boat or should I also look at going to an HD p/u with diesel? We don't have mountains around here, and maximum tow distance would under 300 miles one-way. Here are some of my other questions and option list that I would appreciate any feedback from the Crew on:

- What is the typical lead time on an order?

- Any advantage I should be aware of paying cash for the purchase over financing?

- 350 hp motor. Not looking for top end speed, rather a balance of power to do wakeboarding and surf and fuel efficiency. Is this enough motor?

- Closed cooling. Since this is a long-term purchase, and not expecting the boat to see salt water, would this extend engine life or make DIY maintenance/repairs easier? Any draw backs to having?

Stereo Options. Not looking for a 'booming boat', rather enough stereo for crisp sound onboard and enough to hear when behind the boat during the day. My favorite time to be out on the board is shortly after dawn and prior to dusk, when the water is glass, and won't be blasting music at that time out of respect for the homes on the lake.

- Amp - Rockford 4-channel

- Rockford stereo, remote, RF speakers

- Transom stereo remote control

- 12" Rockford sub. Is this necessary for quality sound with the other speakers on board; iffy on this option.

- Tower speakers. What is the sound quality difference between the wet sounds and amplified tower speakers?

- No mobile gateway device. I have enough older iPods where I can leave one plugged in as a mobile hard drive for music. Am I thinking incorrectly here?

General Boat Options:

- GPS speed control / navigation chart plotting. Is there a better after-market option than this?

- Bimini top

- Lights - 4 alpha lamps

- Mirror PTM panoramic 140 degree

- Rack - spinner combo slide off. How are these different than the Titan std on the tower?

- Boat cover

- Wet-Tek fiberglass floor w/ snap out carpet insert with W/S

- Ballast HiFlo in the bow

- No rear plug&play plumbing. How necessary is this and will I regret this later?

- Bow eye, what is this used for and is it needed for a primarily trailered boat?

- Heater - a must for Wisconsin weather ; )

- Undermount ladder on swimstep

- Docking lights

- Underwater transom lights

- No on the sundeck walkover. Does this greatly reduce wear&tear on the sundeck?

- Surf Gate and Power Wedge

Assuming the VLX is the right size for my usage, I'm planning on this running in the mid $70s on an end of season purchase. Is this ballpark close to the expected cost others have seen?

Well, if you made it this far into my inaugural post, thank you for reading. I appreciate any feedback to the questions, options listed, or options missing above. This is my first boat purchase and I want to make sure I'm as educated as possible given the level of investment needed. Look forward to learning more from everyone here.

-D

Link to comment

It looks like you have done some homework. You night look at the 23' LSV if you are going to have 12 people on board. You would be jammed on a VLX. We surf and wakeboard and sad to say we pull a tube "the kids love tubes" and have no problem with the monsoon 350 with 1235 acme prop. In fact we usually pull two, three person tubes with 8-6 kids total at one time. Can you tell that I am hanging my head talking about tubing behind my performance wake board boat. I would get Surf gate if you are buying a new boat. Just a word of advise buy bigger that you think you will need. We regretted buying a 21' when we started, you should have no problem pulling with your 6.2 that motor is a beast. We have a 2010 pickup with a 6.2 and it pulls like a dream. Good luck on your adventure

CB

Link to comment

interesting thought about the closed cooling.... It will probably cost you more up front but I wonder if there is a cost advantage over time?

Link to comment

If you are getting surfgate and plan on surfing, spend the money for the LS3. I tow our 2013 VLX with my 2011 F-150 with eco-boost engine. You will be fine with your tow vehicle. 12 weeks is about typical lead time on an order. If you are ordering at the boat show in January (I've done this twice) you can expect a mid-April delivery. All boats come with the standard bow eye, the optional one is for something you won't need. Skip the walkover pad, it's better to have a fully cushion sunpad for lounging. Get the PNP, you will regret it. Get dual batteries with battery switch. Skp the transom stereo remote and get the MDG (I think they have solved the bugs on this). The Wek-Tek floor is nice, consider colors slightly darker than white to hide the dirt (I recommend moonbeam or light graphite depending upon your color scheme). Consider getting the salt water resisant board racks--not because you will take the boat in salt water, but because the anodize aluminium will not tarnish over time. These racks are naturally less shinny than the regular billet aluminim racks, but they look great and more importantly they will look the same in 2 years. 1 pair of spinner racks come standard with the G3 tower, but the salt water option is a minor upcharge. Don't get closed cooling, that complicates the engine and you have anti-freeze to deal with--do get the transom flush kit to make driveway oil changes easy. I personally like the Great Lakes bimini, but others like the Commercial Sewing bimini. Both are available from the factory. The GL bimini collapses smaller for backing into a garage and does not interfer with the G3 tower mirror, not so with the CS bimini (there are advantaces to the CS bimini). Don't get the factory boat cover, order the Evolution cover from www.evolutioncovers.com (when new they are tight and you will curse it for the first week, but then it stretches and is perfect). For your state, consider the seat warmer and hot water shower also.

Forget about an engine upgrade if you want to stay in the mid-70's. In fact, for those options and w/o an engine upgrade you need to be thinking 80's. Oh ya, if you pay cash then you get the advantage of paying no interest on a loan and you get to hold your own title--I highly recommend it. :)

Edited by Cory
Link to comment

No to closed cooling.

Yes to 23 if you're looking at having up to 14 people.

Yes to engine upgrade if you're pushing a 23 loaded for surfing with 14 people, or at least a 2315 prop.

Where do you primarily plan to use the boat? Big water like Winnebago, Michigan, or a busy day on Pewaukee? Then 23 for sure.

Link to comment

Those questions could all be answered by your dealer. Start that relationship now and go demo all brands.

says the MasterCraft guy :Tease3: (you know until you get another Malibu your going to get the ribbing)

Link to comment

Edit- welcome to the Crew, when you get your boat we can go into lots of advice on getting oriented, for now...

To add some helpful answers, here are my opinions on your general options list, you left out trailer, so I added some thoughts on trailer options.

Stereo- I will let others chime in on how Malivue controls integrate with head unit, but best case is you can delete all stereo and go all aftermarket -way more bang for the buck, next best is base that includes integrated head unit, and build from there.

General Boat Options:
- GPS speed control / navigation chart plotting. Is there a better after-market option than this? - Get this factory
- Bimini top - ditto, 3rd option is tower Bimini . com you can get some great patterns/colors
- Lights - 4 alpha lamps - Tower ligths? is so make sure they are LED (I am not up to speed on Alpha Lamps)
- Mirror PTM panoramic 140 degree - sounds good
- Rack - spinner combo slide off. How are these different than the Titan std on the tower?
- Boat cover - Evolution cover as mentioned
- Wet-Tek fiberglass floor w/ snap out carpet insert with W/S
- Ballast HiFlo in the bow - more is better (just like AT&T)
- No rear plug&play plumbing. How necessary is this and will I regret this later? (See previous line, and yes)
- Bow eye, what is this used for and is it needed for a primarily trailered boat?
- Heater - a must for Wisconsin weather ; ) (yes, and heated seat is a nice option, beware the rocker switch though)
- Undermount ladder on swimstep (maybe, I am skeptical, this is one more thing to leave "out" when you take off, kids can get up pretty well, or with a little help, I would skip this)
- Docking lights - skeptical, some people like them, I would pass. Tower lights work great for docking at night, but depending on where you are can be major overkill)
- Underwater transom lights - definitely, would love to add these on.
- No on the sundeck walkover. Does this greatly reduce wear&tear on the sundeck?
- Surf Gate and Power Wedge - mandatory

Trailer Options (or, might be standard you mileage may vary):

Swing-away tongue

Spare tire w/matching wheel

Alloy wheels - little to no function, but cool looks

rollers (can't remember what they are called, so you don't scrape the prop cage on the ground)

Disk brakes on all 4 wheels (tandem trailer is a must for VLX/LSV size boat)

LED lights (pretty much standard on all trailers now)

Bearings- do not get oil bath

Edited by MalibuTime
Link to comment

If you are getting surfgate and plan on surfing, spend the money for the LS3. I tow our 2013 VLX with my 2011 F-150 with eco-boost engine. You will be fine with your tow vehicle. 12 weeks is about typical lead time on an order. If you are ordering at the boat show in January (I've done this twice) you can expect a mid-April delivery. All boats come with the standard bow eye, the optional one is for something you won't need. Skip the walkover pad, it's better to have a fully cushion sunpad for lounging. Get the PNP, you will regret it. Get dual batteries with battery switch. Skp the transom stereo remote and get the MDG (I think they have solved the bugs on this). The Wek-Tek floor is nice, consider colors slightly darker than white to hide the dirt (I recommend moonbeam or light graphite depending upon your color scheme). Consider getting the salt water resisant board racks--not because you will take the boat in salt water, but because the anodize aluminium will not tarnish over time. These racks are naturally less shinny than the regular billet aluminim racks, but they look great and more importantly they will look the same in 2 years. 1 pair of spinner racks come standard with the G3 tower, but the salt water option is a minor upcharge. Don't get closed cooling, that complicates the engine and you have anti-freeze to deal with--do get the transom flush kit to make driveway oil changes easy. I personally like the Great Lakes bimini, but others like the Commercial Sewing bimini. Both are available from the factory. The GL bimini collapses smaller for backing into a garage and does not interfer with the G3 tower mirror, not so with the CS bimini (there are advantaces to the CS bimini). Don't get the factory boat cover, order the Evolution cover from www.evolutioncovers.com (when new they are tight and you will curse it for the first week, but then it stretches and is perfect). For your state, consider the seat warmer and hot water shower also.

Forget about an engine upgrade if you want to stay in the mid-70's. In fact, for those options and w/o an engine upgrade you need to be thinking 80's. Oh ya, if you pay cash then you get the advantage of paying no interest on a loan and you get to hold your own title--I highly recommend it. :)

Great input, thank you very much!

I guess I need to do some research on the transom flush kit as I'm not familiar with it.

Link to comment

No to closed cooling.

Yes to 23 if you're looking at having up to 14 people.

Yes to engine upgrade if you're pushing a 23 loaded for surfing with 14 people, or at least a 2315 prop.

Where do you primarily plan to use the boat? Big water like Winnebago, Michigan, or a busy day on Pewaukee? Then 23 for sure.

Don't plan on using the boat on the bigger lakes. Maybe rarely on Michigan on a still day for a cruise, no water activities. Will primarily be on lakes in Kenosha county, Walworth (Lake Geneva area), IL chain of lakes, Elkhart lake, and various northwoods lakes near Minocqua.

Link to comment

Edit- welcome to the Crew, when you get your boat we can go into lots of advice on getting oriented, for now...

To add some helpful answers, here are my opinions on your general options list, you left out trailer, so I added some thoughts on trailer options.

Stereo- I will let others chime in on how Malivue controls integrate with head unit, but best case is you can delete all stereo and go all aftermarket -way more bang for the buck, next best is base that includes integrated head unit, and build from there.

General Boat Options:

- GPS speed control / navigation chart plotting. Is there a better after-market option than this? - Get this factory

- Bimini top - ditto, 3rd option is tower Bimini . com you can get some great patterns/colors

- Lights - 4 alpha lamps - Tower ligths? is so make sure they are LED (I am not up to speed on Alpha Lamps)

- Mirror PTM panoramic 140 degree - sounds good

- Rack - spinner combo slide off. How are these different than the Titan std on the tower?

- Boat cover - Evolution cover as mentioned

- Wet-Tek fiberglass floor w/ snap out carpet insert with W/S

- Ballast HiFlo in the bow - more is better (just like AT&T)

- No rear plug&play plumbing. How necessary is this and will I regret this later? (See previous line, and yes)

- Bow eye, what is this used for and is it needed for a primarily trailered boat?

- Heater - a must for Wisconsin weather ; ) (yes, and heated seat is a nice option, beware the rocker switch though)

- Undermount ladder on swimstep (maybe, I am skeptical, this is one more thing to leave "out" when you take off, kids can get up pretty well, or with a little help, I would skip this)

- Docking lights - skeptical, some people like them, I would pass. Tower lights work great for docking at night, but depending on where you are can be major overkill)

- Underwater transom lights - definitely, would love to add these on.

- No on the sundeck walkover. Does this greatly reduce wear&tear on the sundeck?

- Surf Gate and Power Wedge - mandatory

Trailer Options (or, might be standard you mileage may vary):

Swing-away tongue

Spare tire w/matching wheel

Alloy wheels - little to no function, but cool looks

rollers (can't remember what they are called, so you don't scrape the prop cage on the ground)

Disk brakes on all 4 wheels (tandem trailer is a must for VLX/LSV size boat)

LED lights (pretty much standard on all trailers now)

Bearings- do not get oil bath

More awesome input, thank you! Your trailer comments is pretty much what I was thinking. The only time I would really need lights is putting the boat on the trailer at dark and coming in to the pier at my parents lake house. So I'll have to see how we'll the tower lights work.

What's wrong with the rocker switch on the heated seat?

Link to comment

Nix the ladder. The swim platform is so close to the water no one needs the ladder that is fit enough to swim or ride behind the boat. I don't know much about the gps, but I think it's $$$. You didn't mention trailer options... If you are trying to keep cost down, ask about what is easy to add later and what options really need to be added at purchase.

Link to comment

Not so much on keeping costs down, I'd rather have all the options I want right away, once I know what I want. Just trying to avoid the stunned look on my face when it totals up and that number is put in front of me.

Link to comment

Granted I have an older VLX, but this is a pic of what 7 adults look like on one. This pic was taken from the sunpad by the #8 person. I think this conveys the word "crowded" pretty well. If you are talking about a large crew. I would strongly encourage a larger boat.

IMG_3539.JPG

Edited by wakedncsu
Link to comment

It is great you are coming to the crew for advice on how to spend your money. :thumbup: All have given great advice on what to add. The other thing to consider is resale value when you are ready for the next one. This also includes colors. You will find that the Mobile Device Gateway will be a great feature to have on the water as it does more than just stereo. If you do not plan on loading the boat with a lot of ballast and people at once, you will be fine with the standard 350 motor but your the larger motor will be more efficient for a weighted boat.

Good luck on the future purchase! It is a great experience and enjoy it while it lasts.

Link to comment

Granted I have an older VLX, but this is a pic of what 7 adults look like on one. This pic was taken from the sunpad by the #8 person. I think this conveys the word "crowded" pretty well. If you are talking about a large crew. I would strongly encourage a larger boat.

IMG_3539.JPG

Is this a mission to hell? Nobody looks happy... ;)

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Is this a mission to hell? Nobody looks happy... ;)

Ha! No it was a great time. We had been out a while, everyone was getting tired. We may have run out of beer...

Link to comment

First off welcome!! I added my comments below. I'd like to point out that I would be one to order a less frills boat than most crew members so take that into account when reading my posts. Ie the stuff I actually do recommend you get is probably really is worth it.

...
The boat will primarily be used primarily for wakeboarding and surfing, all at a novice/intermediate level, and rarely used for ski and tube. I estimate 50% of the time there will be 4 people onboard (immediate family), 45% of the time there will be 8 people onboard (4 adults & 4 kids), and 5% of the time there will be 12-14 people onboard (4 adults & 8-10 kids). I lean VLX, and given above is that the right size or would the 23 LSV be more appropriate? Either one would have the wake hull. Also, will my current 2010 GMC Yukon Denali with the 6.2 lt be sufficient to tow the boat or should I also look at going to an HD p/u with diesel? We don't have mountains around here, and maximum tow distance would under 300 miles one-way. Here are some of my other questions and option list that I would appreciate any feedback from the Crew on:

Go with the LSV, 8 people will be the most people you can have comfortably in a VLX and than if your out for the day the gear will add up, you'll be happier with an LSV. Your truck will tow either fine. Of course get a tandem trailer.

- What is the typical lead time on an order?
- Any advantage I should be aware of paying cash for the purchase over financing?
- 350 hp motor. Not looking for top end speed, rather a balance of power to do wakeboarding and surf and fuel efficiency. Is this enough motor?

You have no reason for top speed, so stick with the monsoon and get a low prop like the 1235 or larger diameter alternative. You'll be touring lakes at mid 30's, top speed max 40 FYI
- Closed cooling. Since this is a long-term purchase, and not expecting the boat to see salt water, would this extend engine life or make DIY maintenance/repairs easier? Any draw backs to having?

Don't bother but as others have mentioned get the transom flush kt. GREAT feature if you do your own maintenance, good feature regardless, get it.

Stereo Options. Not looking for a 'booming boat', rather enough stereo for crisp sound onboard and enough to hear when behind the boat during the day. My favorite time to be out on the board is shortly after dawn and prior to dusk, when the water is glass, and won't be blasting music at that time out of respect for the homes on the lake.
- Amp - Rockford 4-channel
- Rockford stereo, remote, RF speakers
- Transom stereo remote control
- 12" Rockford sub. Is this necessary for quality sound with the other speakers on board; iffy on this option.
- Tower speakers. What is the sound quality difference between the wet sounds and amplified tower speakers?
- No mobile gateway device. I have enough older iPods where I can leave one plugged in as a mobile hard drive for music. Am I thinking incorrectly here?

If you really want to hear while riding, go no stereo and do it aftermarket, as people have said, better bang for the buck. If you can hear it while riding than everyone else on the lake can hear it too. So judging by your consideration, I would say get a good factory option and just have someone take the nanny tape off and tune it. I'm sure you'll be satisfied but you won't be listening to great tunes from the end of the rope (wakeboarding). You also mentioned you want the options now not to add later (that will change if you hang around here), than life will be much simpler getting factory equipment.

General Boat Options:
- GPS speed control / navigation chart plotting. Is there a better after-market option than this? -not sure if its a package but get gps speed, no navigation
- Bimini top -if you want it get it
- Lights - 4 alpha lamps -Are you really going to be riding at night?
- Mirror PTM panoramic 140 degree -Yes, tower mounted of course
- Rack - spinner combo slide off. How are these different than the Titan std on the tower? -This may be a second set, to match the first set that comes standard? :dontknow:
- Boat cover - I believe there is two options for this now (maybe only certain dealers), One is good ( I believe great lakes), The other (commercial sewing CS, isn't)
- Wet-Tek fiberglass floor w/ snap out carpet insert with W/S -Seems a lot of people on here prefer the other options, just make sure whatever you get comes out.
- Ballast HiFlo in the bow - Yes
- No rear plug&play plumbing. How necessary is this and will I regret this later? You'll regret it, get it with 550's or 750's
- Bow eye, what is this used for and is it needed for a primarily trailered boat? -no
- Heater - a must for Wisconsin weather ; ) -Yes multiple outlets, no heated seats
- Undermount ladder on swimstep - Not necessary
- Docking lights -Again, do you really drive at night? If so, towers or docking, definitly not both, probably neither
- Underwater transom lights -Just for looks, only at night, no
- No on the sundeck walkover. Does this greatly reduce wear&tear on the sundeck? -Both have benefits, I'd say no
- Surf Gate and Power Wedge -SG yes, Wedge yes, Power wedge Your discretion, I'd go manual

Link to comment

Welcome and great first post. I spent a lot of time researching my purchase as well so I can appreciate your questions. I have a 2012 VLX, and while I think it’s a very spacious 21 foot boat, if you are going to spend that much time with 8 people on your boat I would get the 23 LSV. Make sure you get the bow ballast tank (4-tank setup) with either boat.

I think your current tow rig will do just fine. It won’t be like towing with a diesel but the 6.2 is a good engine. My VLX weighs right at 6000lbs on the trailer when lake ready, the 23 LSV will be near that or slightly more depending on your gear. So make sure you are within your weight limits.

Lead time depends on your dealers build slot. I ordered end of December and received it in late March.

With the 1235 or 2315 prop the 350 Monsoon can move quite a bit of weight. If you don’t plan on running several thousand pounds of extra ballast it will be a great engine for you. I have the 350 Monsoon and I can run over 3600lbs of ballast with the 2315 prop. If you are going to run lots of extra ballast in the 23 LSV, especially with a lot of people, then the LS3 is the way to go.

Here’s what I did for the stereo and it has been perfect:
Stereo pack 2 with 6 in-boat speakers
Factory 12” sub and amp
Factory tower speaker amp
No factory tower speakers

This way the amp mounting board is in place and all the wiring is done at the factory, including the tower speaker wiring. Wiring a stereo in a boat is a pain in the butt, and it turns into a rats nest if you don’t spend lots of time and/or money. So with this approach all you have to do is bolt on the tower speakers of your choice as the wires are already run through the tower to the mounting points. It took me maybe 20 minutes total and I was done. I don’t like having my brand new boat sitting at the stereo shop for 2 weeks, and there are lots more chances for somebody to mess up your interior that way too.

I did not like the factory tower speakers or brackets. They are big and hang low which can cause you to hit your head. Instead I bolted on a pair of the Exile XM9’s using their tower speaker brackets and it is perfect. Two XM9’s are louder than four of the factory tower speakers, they take up less room, have better sound quality, and the mounting is cleaner/less obtrusive. They also have quick-release mounts so I can easily take them off for towing or dock storage.

If you ever want to upgrade an amp then you can just unbolt the old one and bolt a new one in its place using the existing wiring and amp mounting board. Much easier and cleaner than starting from scratch. I have no desire to upgrade the in boat speakers, the factory setup sounds plenty good with the Exiles on the tower IMO. Definitely get the 12” subwoofer.

Get a pair of the factory spinner racks on the bottom, and an extra pair of non-spinning racks on top. The non-spinning racks are angled up a bit more and therefore won’t interfere with the bottom racks. Having 4 sets of racks saves your vinyl/interior from cuts and scrapes, and is worth its weight in gold when you start getting more than just a couple people on your boat. We use the extra racks all the time and don’t have to try and squeeze boards under seats or into rear lockers.

Definitely get the snap out carpets and wet tek floors.

I got the Great Lakes cover through my dealer and I really like it. Much better than the Commercial Sewing cover, and I think it has some advantages over the Evolution covers I have seen as well.

Do not get the manual wedge. The power wedge is the way to go. I adjust mine with small tweeks on the fly all the time. It is an invaluable tool for getting the wake tuned just right for the rider preference and weight/speed conditions. It works seamlessly with the Malivue presets.

Edited by Brett B
Link to comment

I had a VLX and now in an LSV, the difference in space is huge. Also it sounds like the LSV is getting a refresh for 2014 so you will be getting some new goodness there.

On the motor you might try a 2315 prop if you want to use the 350 monsoon. I have the 409 and am about to swap to the 2315 from 1235.

Definitely get the PNP and get two 750 bags for surfing.

For stereo - get the 12" sub, and I would just hold off on tower speakers... go aftermarket Exile or Wetsounds, your dealer should be able to hook you up with an installer.

Link to comment

More awesome input, thank you! Your trailer comments is pretty much what I was thinking. The only time I would really need lights is putting the boat on the trailer at dark and coming in to the pier at my parents lake house. So I'll have to see how we'll the tower lights work.

What's wrong with the rocker switch on the heated seat?

I do not know how they are installed today, but on our '08 the heated drivers seat switch is a rocker switch installed in the side panel below the throttle, not tied into the MUX switches (is it tied into Malivue controls - IDK) , and it is really easy to accidently knock and turn the seat heater on, thereby efficiently draining the batteries. It is also difficult to see that it is on since the side panel is slanted away from you. This has happened 2x to me, both in the garage. The switch is going to get swapped out, in the meantime there is a piece of gum stuffed behind the rocker.

The first time I caught it, the second time was at Banks Lake and was able to get a jump at the boat ramp from another boat while preparing to turn the Armada around and jump from the car to the boat with a set of 16' and 20' jumper cables connected together.

One more thing, if you are going to be doing a lot of loading in the dark, "runway" LEDs on your trailer (up the rails or up the side of the trailer bunks) is a really cool, functional addition.

Edited by MalibuTime
Link to comment

I didn't get the heated seat cause I was worried about accidentially draining the battery. I think it is a good recommendation to skip it and get the three vent heater instead. It gives you two output vents at the driver's feet instead of just one, so you'll get lots of heat. The down side to the heater is that it doesn't work well at idle. There isn't enough water pressure to push hot water up from the engine to the heater core. You have to get the RPMs up to about 2000 before it really starts doing it's thing. The runway trailer lights definitely have the wow factor, but they are $$$ and I worry about their long-term reliability. If you get bow lights and/or tower lights you will be fine.

If you get more than a single pair of tower speakers, you will find that the the mirror has a great view of the back of the second pair of speakers...

I recommend you put a lot of thought into the engine and prop combination. If you get the 350 in either of these boats, then I'd say you should get the 2315. If you get the LS3, then I'd probably go with the 1235 and have a little more top end speed for cruising. In any event, ask lots of questions in this area and think hard about it. Personally, having just custom ordered my own boat and I regret not ordering the LS3. I thought the 350 + 1235 prop would be enough, have have learned otherwise. I just purchased a 2315 prop and will put it on this weekend--I'm hoping I'll be happy with it.

Link to comment

WOW! Thank you everyone for all the input. Great stuff, but my decision process took a couple steps backward; a lot more thinking to do. But rather do an $80k purchase right. I am checking out a VLX (again) this weekend to see the lounge size.

Edited by DAI
Link to comment

Hey guys on that heated seat it would be pretty easy to wire it up with a timer relay that cuts power after the ignition is off. You could even be really generous and give yourself 30 minutes or so. Check out the PAC TR7 Pro.

(From a very jelly regular old cold seat guy... But I do have two heaters and three hot tubes!)

Link to comment

Another question, what defines a dealer area? I have 2 dealers within 45 minutes of me, is that close enough to choose one over another or are there defined boundaries?

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...