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2003 Diamond hull vs 2004 Wake hulls on 23 LSV


Gavin17

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Hello. We just sold our I/O and are looking for our first wake boat. Most of my crew are beginner / intermediate wake-boarders including me but I have a lot of snowboard experience and want to progress on the wake board. We haven't tried surfing yet but I'm sure we will once we get an inboard and I'm sure we'll like it. Especially after we're tired from early am runs when the water gets choppy. Plus it doesn't involve a tube.

We've been looking at 2 Malibu 23 LSV boats.

One is a 2004 wake hull 650 hours 340 HP with wedge

The other is a 2003 Diamond hull 360 hours 450 hp with wedge

The 2003 diamond is going to be 4-5k cheaper. The boat is in good condition but the owner is more willing to deal. I haven't tested the boat yet but on paper the deal looks pretty tempting. We're testing the boat this Saturday. Saving 4-5k and getting a low hour 8.1L sounds awesome.

I've read the diamond hull rides and performs better for cruising, is this true? Sometimes we do cruise on larger lakes but this wouldn't be the deciding factor.

It seems the wakes won't be as steep with the diamond but I'd have no problems upgrading the ballast after a year or two if we needed more. How much ballast can we hide in the boat? Do I have to cut out the coolers to add a bow sack. I'd like to replace the rear tanks with larger bags so we can have all the extra storage room when we weren't sinking the boat.

Will the diamond hull 2003 surf OK? How much ballast will I need?

I would actually enjoy the ski wake the diamond provides because my fiance an I both slalom. But I don't want that to be a factor since our ski club has a prostar. We were looking at cross over boats but after we joined the ski club we decided to get a bigger wake boat and bring more friends.

I guess my main question is will we "outgrow" the diamond hull in a few years as we get better at wakeboarding and surfing. Or if we keep adding weight as needed will we be happy knowing the 8.1 can push it.

I test drove the 2004 wake hull boat w/ 340 hp today and it had a nice pull but the hole shot was nothing compared to a ski boat. I have a feeling if we started adding weight to it we'd want to prop down. Other than that it was a really nice, garaged, 1 owner boat.

Any input is appreciated. I've done lots of searching and can't find much info on the 2003 hulls . I know there were some big changes in 2004. I've only heard good things about the 8.1L engine.

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Get the 04. What is the price difference? I wouldn't worry too much about hours because I would rather have a boat that has been used and loved than one that has sat around most of its life. The 03 is only 30 hours per year. The 04 with 650 is still really low for the year. I have 1150 on my 06 and more than 650 hours on my 6 month old truck with 24k miles. The condition and care for the boat is definitely more important than hours within reason.

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You seem to be concerned about the hull. Don't be. Either hull will suit you just fine. Most people can't tell a difference either way. You MAY be able to tell a difference at slalom speeds.

650 hours are about average for an 04

The 03 has what could be considered a "negligent" amount of hours.

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I've read threads comparing the 2004 and newer diamond vs wake hulls but the 2003 was different entirely with a narrower beam.

The prices are 27k and 33k respectively. The owner of the 04 may move off that 33 a little but I doubt by very much.

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Best bet is to just drive them both and decide, make sure to do a compression check because I'm not sure you would notice minor problems in an unloaded 8.1 powered boat. My only concern with the 2003 would be how much shadowing will there be on the black when you tear off the tribal graphics ;)

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The interior space is a consideration. The older one looks to have about as much room as my vlx. Both are awesome boats I think you will be satisfied with. Coming from a black boat owner you will have to really keep up with wiping down, wax and buffing every year or two. I do mine every year because I am out 2-3 days a week at least. I second that about the compression test because there's a good chance it sat for a year or two unused with low hours like that.

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Factory Ballast setup is much better on the 04 also. 4 hard tanks under the floor opposed to a bag in the locker and two above the floor hard tanks in the lockers. The 04 is a more solid starting point for ballast upgrades. The 03 the tanks can be removed for bigger bags fairly easily.

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I've read threads comparing the 2004 and newer diamond vs wake hulls but the 2003 was different entirely with a narrower beam.

The prices are 27k and 33k respectively. The owner of the 04 may move off that 33 a little but I doubt by very much.

Yes, performance-wise there is a large improvement in the '04 hull on the 23' boats. Those 2 boats, as you stated, are completely different animals.
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Thanks. I wipe down the boat with every use and wax once per year. I could wet sand this one if it needs it. I have a nice porter cable and am ok with the Gel maintenance. I've had black cars, when it's cleaned and polished there's nothing like it. Hot days in KY are more what I'm worried about. I'm glad the black boat has no dark vinyl. Our last boat was mostly white/ tan with red accent vinyl. If you were dry and touched a red spot on a hot day you knew. Will the grey carpet get too hot? I can't wait to test drive this boat.

Does the 03 have a belly tank and 2 rear tanks with nothing in the bow? From what I've read If I started adding more weight to the back I'd have to add weight to the bow as well. That's what I'm least excited about as it means cutting out the stock coolers. If 2-300 lbs was enough I could just put lead in the bow but we trailer so this option isn't too great either.

I'd be OK with these graphics. No telling what a Malibu dealer would charge for them.

black%20bu_zps2axfqwl9.jpg

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Those 2 boats will likely have similar ballast configurations. While some '04 boats *may* have their rear tanks under the floor (Ronnie can speak to this better than I can), I believe that it was '05 when they went to that across the board. (I knew of at least one '04 23' that had tanks in the rear compartments above the floor.) I can't remember offhand if the bow tank was offered in '04 or not, but definitely in '05. The '03 will likely have a sack in the center & a tank above the floor in each rear compartment. That's it.

Personally, '05 would be my sweet spot for price vs. performance/options.

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An 04 LSV is still probably the best bang for your buck in the used market, IMO. As mentioned those are 2 different animals. If you end up looking at the 03 you'll find the interior space will feel more like an 05-08 VLX (21.5' boat). The bigger motor would not outweigh the extra space and wake/wave potential, a simple prop swap can turn that Monsoon into a stump puller. And the 04 has a Titan tower, many people including myself love those towers. What's the condition of the 04's trailer? Have you mentioned the 03 to the 04 seller? If you play it right it could motivate him to budge a little more, also it's getting close to winterization and storage time....

Edited by Ndawg12
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To use it how you want to use it, the 04 is better. 03 has less freeboard and will never make as good of a surf wake. Although that could potentially be mitigated by adding go surf assist or some form of aftermarket surfgate.

Still if it were me I think I'd pick the 04 hull over the earlier one, especially since you are clear that you don't intend to ski behind the boat.

You'd definitely want to pull the hard tanks from the 04 and just put 750s in their place (probably need to cross vent to prevent passive draining and may need to install vaccum breaker if it doesn't have it from the factory)

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The 04 trailer is in good condition. I crawled under it and didn't notice any rust, I'd probably replace the tires in the spring though. It's been stored indoors and I know the mechanic who works on the boat. He said it tows fine. The 04 needs a new cover but chances are the 03 does as well. Aesthetically I like the 04 tower and boat better. It did have an issue where the corrosion on the distributor built up and a spark arced and zapped the ecu. They put a new ecu in with plugs and wires and now it's running fine. The 04 isn't actually listed anywhere yet, I just happened to see it in the shop getting the ECU replaced. The Gel is in great shape but the interior really needs a good cleaning and has some mildew issues. No tears in the vinyl but there are some stains on the sunpad from where the cover sits. It looks like they didn't let it dry out properly after use, often.

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Ha, oh what a difference a year makes. It's diamond vs wake with a twist.

I've read all the diamond vs wake threads but they're usually for 2004+ boats. There's just not as much info on the 2003. (Except from posts from 2003 with guys saying "I love my new boat!")

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The 03 (and earlier) is a really good skiing vdrive. Handles great too. But low freeboard, and challenging to set up with a modern sized surf wake. I think wakemitch's folks had (or have) on that was (is) dialed and he would be a great resource for weighting the pre-04 23 properly.

That 8.1 tho!

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Those 2 boats will likely have similar ballast configurations. While some '04 boats *may* have their rear tanks under the floor (Ronnie can speak to this better than I can), I believe that it was '05 when they went to that across the board. (I knew of at least one '04 23' that had tanks in the rear compartments above the floor.) I can't remember offhand if the bow tank was offered in '04 or not, but definitely in '05. The '03 will likely have a sack in the center & a tank above the floor in each rear compartment. That's it.

Personally, '05 would be my sweet spot for price vs. performance/options.

The '04 got the new Illusion tower and new hull. It was the first 23 Wake hull for Malibu. Titan tower was available as well. If it happens to have the 23 LSV Skylon tower (not the VLX), it's junk. Doubtful that it still has that Skylon tower if it came with it. '04's had the above floor rear tanks if they haven't been taken out. They are very easy to remove and the 750 ballast bags fit well. Center and front ballast under floor was available as well. If you need to see the all differences, check out the Specs in the Resource section on this site.

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