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Open question to the crew about my 2012 VLX


Illini135

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My question is...am I crazy? Too answer that let me give you the scenario. 2012 VLX, stock prop, full factory ballast, auto wedge on, 7 people in the boat averaging around 180 per person,boat set in advance wakeboard pre set for 20 mph. Attempted to pull up a wakeboarder, about a 145 lb kid, and we were never able to get past 13 mph. I could tell the auto wedge was doing something funky because the pitch of the boat changed a couple times and the indicator on the screen was bouncing up and down. I've had this issue a couple times but I personally belive that under identical cercumstances the boat has jumped up and out of the hole no problems. I guess my main question to those of you with VLX's of about the same year with the scenario above how many people can you have in your boat to wakeboard with full ballst and get out of the hole with out problems. Do you think there could be something wrong or is it just me?

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That's a heavy load, especially with stock prop. Weight distribution is a huge factor too. If nobody is in the bow area, the boat will struggle to plane with that much weight all concentrated to the rear. An Acme 2315 will help a lot.

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What altitude are you at?

Try disengaging the auto wedge. Make sure it is in the fully deployed position. (All the way down). If you have it angled at all, it will greatly impact the boats ability to get on plane. My guess is the wedge is not fully down if you only get to 13.

You should be okay, depending on altitude, with that amount of weight and stock prop, but a 1235 would help. You shouldn't need a 2315 unless you are going to add ballast bags on top of what your using now.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by wakebrdr94
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Sounds like your auto wedge isn't working quite right. As wakebrdr94 said make sure the wedge is in the full down position to help with plane out.

Also even if you only ever run stock ballast you should switch to the 1235 prop. It will actually help your fuel consumption since you will be able to get up on plane much quicker, especially if you have a big group on board.

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have you tried going for a cruise? open the throttle and check your RPM's and speed. Could be the motor's not running correctly too, maybe misfiring or something similiar. There is a lot of factors to look at

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Thanks for the inputs. Atitude here in Oklahoma is a whopping 1200 ft so shouldn't be a problem and engine seems to be running great just got it back from being dewinterized. We had two of the guys up front because I knew all in the back would be an issue. I also tried it with stock ballast full and wedge completely up and stowed and no change. I know I've run with a similar load and not had problems. I hate like hell to have to buy a new prop. Why can't Malibu get there sh@t together and set boats up the way they are going to be used out of the gate. The short version is I love Malibu's and have owned one for a couple decades but this one has been death by one thousand cuts since I bought it.

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. I also tried it with stock ballast full and wedge completely up and stowed and no change.

this one has been death by one thousand cuts since I bought it.

Yup, something is amiss. with wedge up you should for sure be golden.

1,000 cuts? We are here for you and would be glad to hear your other woes.

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What's the big difference btwn a 1235, stock, and 2315. I did just add the wakemakers piggy back with Sumo 750's. We did some surfing but didn't have any issues however we didn't fill them totally full.

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nyryan I'm in OKC. I believe your probably right bout the prop just hate to drop the money right now. Just had to have some major truck repairs done to the tune of $4300. And, because of this and all of the other smaller issue my wife is pretty much done with this boat!

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Thanks TRR. Luckily I also have a great dealership but I feel sometimes like I'm beating them to death. I also like to get inputs from other sources just to check out all the options. I noticed nyc ryan said the 2315 won't go past 38. Not a major issue butt occasionally I still like to go barefooting and it seems like last time I was doing bout 40. What are the speeds and capability's of the 1235 vs the stock?

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1235 should handle that load no problem. I am at the same elevation as +- a few feet. I have had 5 people on my boat, full ballast, around 2200 above stock ballast and wedge down and got on plane. It wasn't the swiftest to get there but it took around 30 seconds. with stock ballast should take less than 15 seconds. 1235 can go 41 MPH.

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I would make sure your wedge is operating normal. Maybe the gauge is off and may not be giving you the correct position. Your boat should plane they way you have it set up. I highly doubt its a prop issue, but obviously a more aggressive prop would help. If you have someone to help you out, lower the wedge while on the trailer and compare where it is vs what the screen is reading? you'll need to spin the paddle wheel to get the wedge back up, that's why I said if you have someone to help you.

Since you have said you have ran similar loads with no issues, and knowing most will not get on plane with the wedge angled, I'm still going with wedge issue.

As far as Malibu getting their act together, they offer different props when ordering a boat. Malibu does not know what the user will gear the boat for, altitude, skiing, wakeboarding, etc. Kind of like buying a stock truck, then we add lift kits, bigger tires, etc. to make if perform as we need. Just saying

Keep us posted

Edited by wakebrdr94
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Yep If you still wanna barefoot, yep you need that 14" picth.... suggest you consider the 15" version of the 1235.... the ACME 2249.

2249 15.00 14.250 0.105 cup

I am about an hour south of you in Lawton... lemme know if you are ever in the area.

On a side note, you shouldnt feel bad about asking your dealer for help EVER. Call Wilson and tell him you wanna swing by, to allow you to do a quick swap on a 14.5-15 x 14.25 prop. Will take 5 mins, explain your situation.....he keeps your current prop... we are talking about a sale on a 60-70k boat.

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That's good info to know JB . Guess I better figure out how I'm gonna convince the wife.

Maybe your dealer will do a trade on the props. I've expressed concerns over my 1235 on my A20 not planing with all ballast full and wedge down, they offered a trade in on the prop.

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THX ALL. Nyryan made it to Lawtonka for the first time last summer talking about doing again this year.

As for the the prop and boat. I still think I'm having an issue of some sort I'm wondering if it is something to do with the "replay" maybe I've save something saved in the electronics and don't know it. I tried resetting to factory settings and it didn't change anything.

As for Malibu. I understand they try to please everyone but I think they could plan on wakesetters being used for wakeboarding and as they sell it as a group sport and it's a 14 person boat they should set them up accordingly. If it can't get 7 and full ballast up how on earth will it get a boat with 14 up and moving?

Back to the problem I've never been impressed with the malibu's speed control. It struggles to capture the speed even when the triangle is put into the slot. and it seems to have a great deal of fluctuations on speed. If I was still skiing balls this boat would be out the door. I've read lot's of posts here about similar issues and I've read many people suggesting to use thew RPM setting. What can I say...Not interested. MALIBU FIX YOUR SOFTWARE!!!!!!

Anyway...sorry bout the short rant. I'm just not impressed anymore. This boat over the last two years has worn me smooth. My favorite has been when the boat just shuts down as your running across the lake. Seems like that may have finally fixed itself but I guess we won't know till the end of summer.

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Another helpful tip is to move some people in the bow when you are pulling up your rider, this will help quite a bit. Another vote for the 1235 for you, will be a huge difference. If your wedge is not set all the way down in presets it will be difficult to plane out the boat. Even in presets if its not all way down use the MTC to bring it all the way down.

As for speed control, you can upgrade to the GPS cruise, a huge upgrade from the paddlewheel. Its not the software, its the paddlewheel... I also had many issues with the paddlewheel holding speed, its about a $400 upgrade from your dealer and you can install it yourself quite easily. The GPS cruise will lock speed dead on and quickly from initial pull up, and will not surge at all regardless of how much weight you are running. I agree, the Paddlewheel is junk and should not be sold with the boat.

Edited by Fman
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Another helpful tip is to move some people in the bow when you are pulling up your rider, this will help quite a bit. Another vote for the 1235 for you, will be a huge difference. If your wedge is not set all the way down in presets it will be difficult to plane out the boat. Even in presets if its not all way down use the MTC to bring it all the way down.

As for speed control, you can upgrade to the GPS cruise, a huge upgrade from the paddlewheel. Its not the software, its the paddlewheel... I also had many issues with the paddlewheel holding speed, its about a $400 upgrade from your dealer and you can install it yourself quite easily. The GPS cruise will lock speed dead on and quickly from initial pull up, and will not surge at all regardless of how much weight you are running. I agree, the Paddlewheel is junk and should not be sold with the boat.

I have the GPS speed control and wonderd if I can still get the wedge up on the trailer by spinning the paddle wheel? Sorry for the hijack.

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I love how everyone is making prop suggestions without ever asking what motor he has.

Further, if buying a prop, get a 15" prop. 1235 is just a dated recommendation at this point.

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I have the GPS speed control and wonderd if I can still get the wedge up on the trailer by spinning the paddle wheel? Sorry for the hijack.

Not unless you disconnect the GPS (two connections), my paddlewheel has no affect on speed once the GPS is hooked up.

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I love how everyone is making prop suggestions without ever asking what motor he has.

Further, if buying a prop, get a 15" prop. 1235 is just a dated recommendation at this point.

Because prop has way more to do with the issue than the motor. (Unless we are talking the 550)

Edited by Tims
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Auto wedge not working properly will have definitely stick that boat and it will struggle to plane. With the weight you are running + people even the 1235 prop will take some time to plane up. Fix that wedge issue first and go from there. If you are going to run heavy like that, go with the 2315. Top speed on the VLX won't change much. 1939 is probably the prop you are running. My 12 VLX did 41 WOT with that prop. 1235 does 40, 2315 does 38, but can haul big weight!

  • Like 2
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Op said that he stowed the wedge and still had problems. This would cause me concern. I have had that happen with auto wedge disengaging for some reason. I think it happens if you try to adjust it while at idle or in neutral. I have never had a problem planing with a full boat with the 1235. I think this is not a prop problem. When you say stock prop, I assume 537 but my off the showroom floor '12 vlx came with a 1235 so make certain which prop you have before you go shelling out 5 or $600 for a new prop.

Edit: op also stated 7 crew at 180. That's only ~1300 lbs. even if they were all in the cabin (I think he said two in bow) 537 or 1235 should get up on plane. Might take a bit but I can't see either prop not making it with a properly functioning auto wedge at 1200' elevation.

Edited by isellacuras
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