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Factory Tour Question - Got a build date


pauley71

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My build date is 2/18 .. which is only a couple of weeks away. I'm considering going down and doing the tour .. when do I plan it. The 18th is a Thursday, so I was thinking Monday or Tuesday? I know it takes about a week to build and seeing it in the mold doesn't sound like a stage I want to see. Hoping others who have done the tour can give some insight! TIA!

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I'm jealous! Don't know when my build date is but have been told maybe later this month. Just told wife let's head down to grab a tour when we get our date...she said yeah have fun I'll meet for drinks after the tour! At first I was hurt....?? but then I realized not a bad way to spend a day. A man and his toys !!

Edited by ctvandy23
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It's pretty cool to be there to see the rigging stage and possibly the water test. I got lucky enough to see both. The factory tour is amazing and definitely not something you want to miss.

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Warning Do Not take the Tour when your boat is coming off the line, You will not, I repeat, Not remember a thing about the tour, I'm glad my buddy's took some pic's, And I ordered the Malibu Photo Album, The whole Tour was a Blurrrrr....LOl 10848549_10204050318476417_6262953777009

Edited by Wakesetter67
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How do you change the tower in the builder? I can only get the G4 but ordering a G3.2????

Your dealer change change the tower in the build/option system, you can't do it in the builder anymore.

BTW: I was there to see my boat come out of the mold, and you want to be there for it. Once it comes out of the mold it goes to "underwater rigging" and gets holes drilled in it and the rudder, tracking fins, etc. put on it. That's in an area of the building where you don't want to go (and I wasn't allowed to go while I was there). The fiberglass dust in that part of the building is horrible!

Call and talk to someone at the factory (most likely Kasey) and find out the "spray date" and the build schedule; he has a spreadsheet that says where every boat will be on each day. The first day of the build is mold prep and then maybe taping the molds, then it moves to spraying color, after that is fiberglass and curing. There are usually ~2 days between initial build and when the boat comes out of the mold.

If you're going to the Laudon area also arrange to go to Apex/Commercial Sewing (just up the street from Malibu in the same business park), Great Lake Boat Top in Vonore (a short drive away, and right next to Mastercraft and Yamaha), and possibly PTM (mirrors, clamping racks, and G4 towers). They'll all show you around if you call ahead and ask nicely. I wasn't able to get in to OJ Props who are also in the same business park as Malibu; I was told that they thought they had something special going on and didn't want to reveal their process to anyone.

Indmar is on the other side of the state in Millington (outside of Memphis) and I tried to make it there, but the schedule didn't allow it. The shipping/receiving area, tech support, and R&D are up the street from the main facility, while the boat build and tour is great, stop in and say hi to the support staff since they're the easily overlooked face of the company. When we all call Malibu, they're the ones that answer our questions!

PM me if you want to see the book you can get.

Edited by mikeo
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Talking to dealer now about ordering 23LSV, always wanted to do tour. Does anyone know how long boat build takes? As far as, in the factory start to finish

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Talking to dealer now about ordering 23LSV, always wanted to do tour. Does anyone know how long boat build takes? As far as, in the factory start to finish

The total build time is ~7 days from mold prep to final shrink wrap and sitting on a trailer waiting for delivery. My boat was in mold prep on a Thursday and it was wrapped for shipping the following Friday; if memory serves it did get passed at one rigging station due to an issue with the wiring harness/surf gate brain box so it was wrapped on Friday morning instead of Thursday afternoon. The "remove from mold" stage is one of the most dramatic to watch!

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