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Direct drives dead/3 event boat dead?


footndale

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Just browsing boat mfg web sites. Moomba/Supra don't list a DD, Mastercraft doesn't have one(Prostar isn't listed yet, but will be sometime), Ski Nautique does show 2 and Malibu does have the TXI and Response & Response LX(order special).

Used prices for DD could be going up. :) Though I know wakeboarding/surfing is driving the market.

Just a little interesting. At least Malibu is still promoting it's DD with the TXI and pulling tournaments.

dwight

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I think all the major manufacturers (not just the top 3) are still producing DD's. Really I don't see the point in promoting them. I don't think anyone considering getting an inboard is interested in a DD. If a potential customer wants a DD they already know it. Anyone just learning about DD's will probably have no real use for it over a V-drive.

The only reason to promote a DD would be to claim a larger share of the already very small piece of pie from other manufacturers and once again I think most DD-ers are already well informed. I like to think DD owners are the die-hard, informed, and committed consumers of the inboard market. There not going anywhere else anyways.

On a side note because I don't want to open a new thread, What would be considered Malibu's best ski wake? Is it the TXi or the LX (same as response)?

Edited by TrickyNicky
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That's why I wont be getting rid of my ride XTI - crossover boat anytime soon. Every time I think I could just surf or wakeboard I ski... reminding myself why i love it SO much!

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DD's look to be moving toward hardcore skiers only for sure. I think CC & MC did away with the trunk/sun pad which are huge for families like mine who like to lay out. No way would my wife go without the sun pad. People who want to only ski already know what they want for the most part.

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I think all the major manufacturers (not just the top 3) are still producing DD's. Really I don't see the point in promoting them. I don't think anyone considering getting an inboard is interested in a DD. If a potential customer wants a DD they already know it. Anyone just learning about DD's will probably have no real use for it over a V-drive.

The only reason to promote a DD would be to claim a larger share of the already very small piece of pie from other manufacturers and once again I think most DD-ers are already well informed. I like to think DD owners are the die-hard, informed, and committed consumers of the inboard market. There not going anywhere else anyways.

On a side note because I don't want to open a new thread, What would be considered Malibu's best ski wake? Is it the TXi or the LX (same as response)?

On your side note, the TXi has the best industry's ski wake on the market.
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I wouldn't mind owning a direct drive...

....as a second boat :lol:

In all seriousness, If money were no issue, I would love to have a v-drive and direct drive...and maybe aluminum jet boat for taking my dog out in :)

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^^^ you better not get rid of yours for a looong time. Lol such a beautiful boat.

No plans too! Unless its an offer I can't refuse......ya right, even then I couldn't see myself leting go of this baby! ;)
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I think all the major manufacturers (not just the top 3) are still producing DD's. Really I don't see the point in promoting them. I don't think anyone considering getting an inboard is interested in a DD. If a potential customer wants a DD they already know it. Anyone just learning about DD's will probably have no real use for it over a V-drive.

The only reason to promote a DD would be to claim a larger share of the already very small piece of pie from other manufacturers and once again I think most DD-ers are already well informed. I like to think DD owners are the die-hard, informed, and committed consumers of the inboard market. There not going anywhere else anyways.

On a side note because I don't want to open a new thread, What would be considered Malibu's best ski wake? Is it the TXi or the LX (same as response)?

I completely agree with you that us DD guys know what they want before they even step on their dealers property to buy or order a new boat. Obviously they swing between the options that available and color schemes, but as far as deciding on the model boat I agree with you.

As far as what wake is better; in my opinion this is hard to compare. The TXi wake is amazing, but also I think the Lx is amazing too. I ski both boats frequently and honestly I don't know if I could pick. I love my LX wake and I love the TXi wake. I think the TXi is a tad softer but defiantly not so much more that it is an OMG this is soooo much softer. I think it is basically a personal opinion. But I agree that the TXI or LX (have to include my own boat in here :) ) is the best in the industry as Dare2goBare said.

DD's look to be moving toward hardcore skiers only for sure. I think CC & MC did away with the trunk/sun pad which are huge for families like mine who like to lay out. No way would my wife go without the sun pad. People who want to only ski already know what they want for the most part.

I agree with this statement too. I hope Malibu never does away with the trunk/sun pad. Heck, I lay on it when it is just my wife and I. Plus these boats don't exactly have a ton of storage to begin with so I would be upset with the loss of storage unless they come up with a solution that is 100x better. Which I don't feel CC or MC has succeeded at.

Lastly - Dare2goBare, the TXi I ski behind is the same color scheme as yours and it is amazing. Picture do it no justice, I love it!! Sometimes I think I ski worse behind it because I am starring at the boat. :dontknow:

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I think new prices are getting so ridiculous for a DD that the market for new DD boats is diminishing, plus the older boats still produce a great wake, the only new adder game changer seemed to be Zero Off (but who cares about that if you aren't competing).

In all honesty I couldn't not see myself upgrading from my 8K DD boat to a 60K DD boat (but if I did the TXI would be my choice). The older ski boats do a great job for recreational course skiers. Not a single member in our club has a boat newer than '06, most are 90s Mastercrafts or 196 S/N.

I've also heard Gekko is attempting to get back into the market and trying to make a very affordable DD boat.

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Yes, sleek looking but with a very basic interior design. Hummmmm

http://www.centurionboats.com/carbon-pro.html

Nice looking boat but looking at the last picture the boat comes with a backboard. It must be hardcore if they expect you to break your neck.

When we looked for a boat we mainly went for the DD because of the more family friendly wake having smaller kids given the choices available in v'drives in Australia in our price range. We still fit plenty of people in being a bow rider which was also a requirement and the huge ski locker/sun pad in the rear means there is nothing on the floor making things cluttered. Engine is easy to work on and we can still add ballast down the track as the kids grow.

That being said my mate is only interested in surfing so a V-drive would be perfect for him where we like to do a bit of everything. Most people we see on the lakes have DD's with the odd teenager family with v'drives who spend the day wakeboarding. The most popular wakeboat boat for the budget restricted seems to be a sacked out 89-95 Ski Nautique but even they sell for $24,000 over hear and are small inside. A 2002 wakesetter XTi will set you back $41,000

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Just because nobody has mentioned it yet....the Sanger DXII still dominates the barefoot wake market and is head and shoulders above the rest. But a guy I know that ordered an '11 said when he talked to them, they told him they sell 3 each year.

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Although the manufactures may not be actively promoting the DD's on there wed sites there has been a lot of innovation recently. It seems like the TXI was Malibu's response to the Nautique 200 and Centurion's Carbon Pro was introduced about the same time. Now MC has raised the bar again with the Pro Star. Lots of R&D money spent on slalom boats ? I think there may be slalom resurgence that the manufactures are seeing .

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That's certainly the case here. 3 event has had a huge resurgence with all the juniors starting to compete. One dad traded in his Cobalt for a 2012 Txi so his daughter could get more practice. Our tournament director mentioned that the N200 is great for slalom but it can't pull trick because there is no wake to trick off of.

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CC 200,TXi and now Prostar from the big three in the last few years, Centurion Carbon Pro and now Gekko bringing out DD ski boats does not sound like the DD tourney ski boat is a dead horse! It is a great time to be a skier if you can swing the cost of a (new/used) boat. In addition, the ski manufacturers have rolled out a slew of new stuff. The biggest issue IMO is not the availability at this time, it is the entry cost as that is quite steep.

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not sure about the rest of the country, but out here they have the INT league, basically a beginner to advanced ski, wake and trick series of tourney's. the nice thing about them is you get to ski behind brand new promo boats at all the sites. the last tourney had a 2013 SN200 and a TX!. the promo guys have already ordered thier new 2014's, nice way to get some time behind the newwer boats without the expense..qand they are low key and fun! :)

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I don't understand why Malibu dropped the SS LXI ? I would bring the boat back it's in my eyes the best family ski boat ever put on the water! I will say I do not ski under 34mph but I just don't see the wake any worse then an other ski boats at least up to the CC2000, TXI or Carbon Pro. The wake it has is fantastic for a boat of the size. I would have bought the boat if it was on the market when I bought my R LXI.

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I'm a big fan of the carbon pro but its not a whole lot, if at all, cheaper than the big 3. Local marina here said it starts at 73k! Canada pricing so probably 10k more than the states. But still 63k is a lot.

Its hard to imagine paying 50k plus for a newish boat when you can get a current RLX hull in good condition for ~10k

Also this may sound crazy to you sixball but have you skied a VTX? I've skied a RLXi many times and it was no more impressive than our VTX. Than again I'm not a short line skier and I understand tracking would more of an issue. Really I don't believe there is any reason for malibu to have a boat between the RLXi and the VTX. Or maybe drop the RLXi and replace it with the SSLXi

So why does malibu make the TXi and the RLX?

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very few if any response cb or lx are sold, as they're obviously pushing the txi as their flagship 3 event boat. I ski my 07 lxi daily, and ski buddies response cb once or twice a week. The lxi is noticable bigger boat and tracks much better, wakes are a bit bigger and wider, but are softer than response. 32 to 35 off and the response wakes are a bit stiffer but very tiny and more trough, than wakes. For long line skiers the response is the smallest wake, but when you shorten the rope I would give the nod to the lxi or txi as the tracking is superior. Both great boats. As for vtx, we don't have any v drives in our club, but I would think tracking with a shortline skier would be interesting. I have a lot of rudder grind on mine and the fins were tweeked at factory to improve tracking, and we still put a 85lb weight (water sac) in bow to make it track perfect for shortline. I purchased basically new (45hrs) as it was Malibu's 3 event promo director's club boat and was set up by him. Some of the tweeks are done at time of manufacturing to the promo boats to ensure they are perfect as they all pull shortline and want to track perfectly. Still like skiing the response, but our shortline guys in our club ski better behind my lxi or the cc200, and not due to the wake, but because tracking is better.

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Just because nobody has mentioned it yet....the Sanger DXII still dominates the barefoot wake market and is head and shoulders above the rest. But a guy I know that ordered an '11 said when he talked to them, they told him they sell 3 each year.

There are many nice used Sangers out there. Friend just purchased an 04 with super fly high. Awesome boat. Depending I my plans, I hope to have an OB Barefooter next spring. The prices of some of these are to hard to pass up.

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