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2010 VTX vs. 2011 A22 Purchase


MaliBeer

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First off I'm a new member to the Crew but I've been lurking awhile  Impressed with how welcoming this forum is.  

I didn't get a lot of responses on the main page and didn't get any from Axis owners.  So here goes. 

Okay I'm getting pretty close to pulling the trigger on my first boat and I'm having a hard time deciding. 

The boats

1. 2010 VTX - G3 Tower w/led's but no speakers, swing racks.  Indmar 330, Rockford Fosgate stereo w/sub, no Maliview, power wedge, table, bimini and the sun pad walkover.  Ballast- two rear and one midship.  Tandem axle trailer no swing away tongue.  Had a dual battery switch but only saw one battery.  Super clean no damage or fading. 150 hrs.  Dealer actually has it in the showroom.  I couldn't get the power wedge to come back up after putting it down.

2. 2011 Axis A22 - This boat is far away (MD) so I haven't seen it in person. It seems like a pretty standard A22.  Indmar Monsoon 335, Fat Axe Tower, stock racks, speakers, led's, bimini, manual wedge, very nice trailer (custom wheels, swing away tongue) dual batteries, ballast with plug and play and aftermarket sacs, 385 hours.

3. Another 2011 A22 - this boat has high hours 670. It basically is identical to the other A22 minus plug and play. This boat is close to me and will probably give me a good feel for whether I will like Axis plus it's on the water and I could drive it and see the wake.

Now a little about us:

Family of 5 (three young kids) we like having friends on the boat. Budget is $40K. We like Malibu and Axis because there is a dealer close by our house and by the lake.  In order to consider bigger Malibu's (VLX, LSV) we'd have to go a bit older or worse condition.  I wakeboard and want to learn wake surfing. My oldest just started wakeboarding and wants to wake surf too.  There will be a fair amount of tubing and knee boarding also.  I don't ski but I'd like to give it a try.  Our friends all have pontoons so we will likely be the ones taking the kids out for tow sports.  Our lake does have some shallow spots so don't really want to go bigger than 22' maybe 23'. 

Here's what I have on each boat:

VTX - ? Great fit and finish, good lay out,  quality interior, power wedge, ability to do all tow sports, doesn't draft much. ? small, need to spend $ on amp and tower speakers. 

A22 - ?Great seating (15). I like the chillax seat. Wide bow (pickle fork) we'd probably stuff a bunch of kids up in there (oldest is 10).  Skybox is cool too. I like the snap out carpet.   ? I'm concerned about durability of the interior, basic amenities, manual wedge.

Some questions:

1. Do you VTX folks find it too small for two families with kids?  

2. What's a good amp and tower speakers gonna run me?

3. How bad is the A22 interior?  Durability?

4. I know the power wedge is more desirable but do you find it indispensable?

5. How is the stock Axis sound system? Does it have a sub?

6. Which boat has a better wake for kids (and adults) learning boarding?

7. What's your thoughts on a boat with nearly 700 hours?

Thanks in advance. 

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4 minutes ago, MaliBeer said:

First off I'm a new member to the Crew but I've been lurking awhile  Impressed with how welcoming this forum is.  

I didn't get a lot of responses on the main page and didn't get any from Axis owners.  So here goes. 

Okay I'm getting pretty close to pulling the trigger on my first boat and I'm having a hard time deciding. 

The boats

1. 2010 VTX - G3 Tower w/led's but no speakers, swing racks.  Indmar 330, Rockford Fosgate stereo w/sub, no Maliview, power wedge, table, bimini and the sun pad walkover.  Ballast- two rear and one midship.  Tandem axle trailer no swing away tongue.  Had a dual battery switch but only saw one battery.  Super clean no damage or fading. 150 hrs.  Dealer actually has it in the showroom.  I couldn't get the power wedge to come back up after putting it down.

2. 2011 Axis A22 - This boat is far away (MD) so I haven't seen it in person. It seems like a pretty standard A22.  Indmar Monsoon 335, Fat Axe Tower, stock racks, speakers, led's, bimini, manual wedge, very nice trailer (custom wheels, swing away tongue) dual batteries, ballast with plug and play and aftermarket sacs, 385 hours.

3. Another 2011 A22 - this boat has high hours 670. It basically is identical to the other A22 minus plug and play. This boat is close to me and will probably give me a good feel for whether I will like Axis plus it's on the water and I could drive it and see the wake.

Now a little about us:

Family of 5 (three young kids) we like having friends on the boat. Budget is $40K. We like Malibu and Axis because there is a dealer close by our house and by the lake.  In order to consider bigger Malibu's (VLX, LSV) we'd have to go a bit older or worse condition.  I wakeboard and want to learn wake surfing. My oldest just started wakeboarding and wants to wake surf too.  There will be a fair amount of tubing and knee boarding also.  I don't ski but I'd like to give it a try.  Our friends all have pontoons so we will likely be the ones taking the kids out for tow sports.  Our lake does have some shallow spots so don't really want to go bigger than 22' maybe 23'. 

Here's what I have on each boat:

VTX - ? Great fit and finish, good lay out,  quality interior, power wedge, ability to do all tow sports, doesn't draft much. ? small, need to spend $ on amp and tower speakers. 

A22 - ?Great seating (15). I like the chillax seat. Wide bow (pickle fork) we'd probably stuff a bunch of kids up in there (oldest is 10).  Skybox is cool too. I like the snap out carpet.   ? I'm concerned about durability of the interior, basic amenities, manual wedge.

Some questions:

1. Do you VTX folks find it too small for two families with kids?  

2. What's a good amp and tower speakers gonna run me?

3. How bad is the A22 interior?  Durability?

4. I know the power wedge is more desirable but do you find it indispensable?

5. How is the stock Axis sound system? Does it have a sub?

6. Which boat has a better wake for kids (and adults) learning boarding?

7. What's your thoughts on a boat with nearly 700 hours?

Thanks in advance. 

Welcome

 

I will try to answer some of you questions on the VTX. 

VTX is a great boat, easy to trailer and store.   I have 3 small kids as well and frequently we have another couple with 2 kids.  We do not feel cramped. 

VTX is capable of throwing a great surf and wakeboarding wave as well as skiing.   The hrs seem great on the VTX.   If it where me I would go with the VTX.  The earlier model Axis boats are not a nice as the new ones, the boat is far away and has 670 hrs, it could be great but that's a lot of hrs and wear and tear, not just the engine and parts, but the interior, as the other boat sat a while I am sure it is in good shape.  

Wedge won't go up on show room floor because you need be going over 2mph.  

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You should drive the A22 that is close to you just to get a baseline for comparison... Even if you're only mildly interested in it, a test drive will help when evaluating other boats.

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Agree, drive the A22 that is close to you and the VTX to compare the space. If you are thinking about surfing, if I remember correctly. the 2011 has the older style platform that is known for cutting into the surf wake when listed to one side. You are going to have to list either boat to surf, unless you get some form of suction cup or platform style gate. My wife hated driving our 2013 A22 with my homemade platform gate. It made it hard for her to steer. 

I think you will appreciate the interior space in the A22 over the VTX. A lot of it really depends on who had the boat and how well they maintained it. I personally like the extra space, that is why we went from an A22 to T23. I don't like to feel cramped. 

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11 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Duplicate thread?

 

Yup. No much response in Malibu section so put the same post here. Getting opinions from Axis owners. 

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I had a 2011 A22.  Loved it, fantastic boat.  Family of 5 here, too.  Don't have room issues with the VLX that replaced it, but it is tighter when the kids don't listen and stand up when I'm trying to dock or whatever.

 

Interior is definitely spartan compared to the Bu, and it had started showing wear; however, it was a known issue and many were fixed under warranty.

 

The thing I liked best about it was that the ski wake was tolerable.  The VLX weighs 800 pounds more, and it isn't really tolerable.  As for surfing, 750 PnP in the back and the Axis specific bow sac combined with the wicked wake was phenomenal.

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3 hours ago, MaliBeer said:

I was referring to the VTX not the VLX but thanks for the insight I have seen a few VLXs around I've pondered. 

I know, but thought you might still glean so.something fromy it.

 

Bought both my boats with no stereo, and out in Wetsounds.

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On 8/3/2016 at 2:51 PM, MaliBeer said:

How is the factory sound system on the Axis A22?

That depends on what sound pack is on the boat honestly.

Does it have tower speakers and a sub?

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5 hours ago, Garner said:

That depends on what sound pack is on the boat honestly.

Does it have tower speakers and a sub?

It has 6 speakers in the boat plus a sub and 4 speakers on the tower.  Who makes the speakers for Axis?  The VTX I looked at had Rockford Fosgate.  

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5 minutes ago, MaliBeer said:

It has 6 speakers in the boat plus a sub and 4 speakers on the tower.  Who makes the speakers for Axis?  The VTX I looked at had Rockford Fosgate.  

Used to be Alpine. In 2015 they switched to WetSounds.

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