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VLX Hulls


racer808

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Does a 2005 vlx hull surf any better than 2002 hull? Came across one with a good price, only concern is its a OSU boat with 800 hours but mercruiser put a new motor in with 200 hours on it. Doubt I could make it happen this year, especially now that I dumped money into mine & am in the middle of new carpet but my curiosity forces me to ask.

Edited by racer808
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That's a very debatable statement. IMO, the '05 is a MUCH better hull for both surfing & boarding.

Better? yes. Much better? Yes, definitely debatable, all else being equal at least for surfing.

Edited by Brodie
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The SV 25 is absolutely better in both categories. Not even sure many people would debate that. I ride behind both equal amounts of time and I think there is a big difference.

Edited by Ruffdog
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Yes, mad props. :cheers:

Don't read into it though. Saying that the '05 is much better is not implying that the '04 & earlier is a bad boat. Those boats are very, very capable & very good at what they do. And there are a few things that they are better at - gas usage, slow speed maneuverability are a couple that come to mind. It's always been impressive to me that Malibu was able to go 8 years on that hull before they redesigned it. That, all by itself, should tell you something about how good it was when it came out. :thumbup:

One more thing Brodie, your '02 on the diamond might be one of the best crossover boats ever made by any manufacturer. That's pretty cool, to have a boat that capable of so many different disciplines. The '05, even on the diamond, is a bit of a pig as a crossover.

  • Like 1
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I mainly want to surf & still dream of a newer model with a better surf hull. It is still a season or two out though. I keep seeing 02 vlx's on boulder boats & a few others for 30k, thought hell if I could really get that for mine I would upgrade. But then I have to deal with stereo, ballast all of which is done on mine. Just ordered FAE, put new carpet in, would be difficult to say the least to justify a new purchase.

Rough dog, Isn't the 05-08 vrides the same hull as the 02 though?

Edited by racer808
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'05+ is going to be a better wake, period, end of story and I have a SV23 hull so I'd have every wish that it wasn't the case.

Hull design aside, the V25 is a 1/2 foot longer and 5" wider, weighing several hundred pounds more. The additional weight and running surface along will give you a bigger wake, all else being equal.

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I've owned both hulls and will echo the sentiments on this thread (though I never tried surfing behind the '05). Put the '05 in the water, push a few buttons, drop the wedge--or don't, depending on preference--and you've got as much wake as you'll ever need. Someone changes sides, you add a sac or two in, doesn't matter, still good. Stock is already great, and you can add weight practically anywhere without diminishing returns. The SV23 is decidely more finicky...I've had days where I could have sworn I set it up identically to the epic wake I had the day before, but it was soft or just "off". That is especially true with the surf wake. Can look good but not always be good. And anything under 1500#, IMO, and you can tell the hull started out its life as a ski boat. The SV25 was built from the ground up to create wakes. The '05, as long as it's clean (which is almost always), is gonna kick ya.

Edited by aggie08
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'05+ is going to be a better wake, period, end of story and I have a SV23 hull so I'd have every wish that it wasn't the case.

Hull design aside, the V25 is a 1/2 foot longer and 5" wider, weighing several hundred pounds more. The additional weight and running surface along will give you a bigger wake, all else being equal.

Weight matters, as well as hull shape. I disagree with the running surface statement. Additional running/wetted surface, in fact makes it harder to sink. Just look at the Response Txi and the Nautique 200. Both of these have a larger wetted surface compared to other models in order to decrease wake size while on plane. While I don't have much experience with the 23 LSV, I am pretty sure it takes more weight to sink it than it does a VLX to get a compareable wake?

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I've owned both hulls and will echo the sentiments on this thread (though I never tried surfing behind the '05). Put the '05 in the water, push a few buttons, drop the wedge--or don't, depending on preference--and you've got as much wake as you'll ever need. Someone changes sides, you add a sac or two in, doesn't matter, still good. Stock is already great, and you can add weight practically anywhere without diminishing returns. The SV23 is decidely more finicky...I've had days where I could have sworn I set it up identically to the epic wake I had the day before, but it was soft or just "off". That is especially true with the surf wake. Can look good but not always be good. And anything under 1500#, IMO, and you can tell the hull started out its life as a ski boat. The SV25 was built from the ground up to create wakes. The '05, as long as it's clean (which is almost always), is gonna kick ya.

Couldnt have said it better! My main complaint is that the wave isn't always consistent. I blame it on planetary alignment.

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Weight matters, as well as hull shape. I disagree with the running surface statement. Additional running/wetted surface, in fact makes it harder to sink. Just look at the Response Txi and the Nautique 200. Both of these have a larger wetted surface compared to other models in order to decrease wake size while on plane. While I don't have much experience with the 23 LSV, I am pretty sure it takes more weight to sink it than it does a VLX to get a compareable wake?

Honestly, the size of the boat isn't the issue here, or rather that's not the way that I would show how different they are. The 2 boats put out very different wakes & waves. As others have mentioned, the '05 is very consistent & only gets better as you add weight.

Wakeboarding

The '05 is probably one of the most versatile wakes that I've ever been on. You can make it almost as peaky or rampy as you want, depending on how much weight you add & where you add it. That's not the case with the '04 & earlier. Shaping & versatility are both far more limited with that hull.

Surfing

Let me put it this way. I've been on a maxed out SV23 boat, & I've been on a maxed out V25 (my own). Both boats had water running along the tower legs as well as over the top of the rear sunpad. I'm talking really loaded down, truly maxed out. The SV23 wouldn't even get in shouting distance of the V25's wave - the V25 was that much better, bigger, longer, more powerful & great, great quality. Additionally, the SV23 has a tendency to develop a really nasty trough at the bottom of the wave that isn't nearly as prevalent with the V25. And, the V25 could recreate that slammed SV23's wave with a lot less weight & a lot less of its freeboard in the water. It's just far more capable.

I've spent so much time behind both of these hulls over the years that I know them intimately well.

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Ok, now lets argue the worthiness of the Diamond hull on a VLX/LSV. j/k. The term marginal comes to mind! :whistle::biggrin:

Sorry about the slight threadjack.

Edited by Brodie
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Currently selling a 05 that I have had since new and take it from me. The wake and wave are amazing. So much better than the previous years. Want proof of this check the going rate of a used 05 over a 04. Big model change for the better. 05 still looks current and edgy like the newer boats. 04 and later, not so much. Same holds true for performance.

Sent into space with tapatalk

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