Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Skied an MC209 Yesterday...


SunriseH2OSkier

Recommended Posts

Been skiing for years with two other buddies. We rotate boats between my RLXi, an '03 SN196, and a '95 SN Sport Nautique. The latter definitely brings up the rear of the rotation from a wake standpoint, but it is manageable.

We picked up a 4th in our crew a couple weeks ago. Good guy, just learning the course and doing very well. Until yesterday, he's just joined us in our normal rotation of boats. Yesterday, we took out his '06 MC209 to give it a try. Worst wake I've skied since trying a Centurion V-Drive back in the late 90's. The wake height itself isn't that bad - minor rooster tail at 32mph/22' off (the '95 SN in our rotation is worse in this regard). But the troughs on each side of the wake are deep. Makes the hump in the center seem hugh, and if you get on the front of your ski at all, look out - you're probably going OTF. I couldn't ski it to save my neck, neither could my buddies.

Not sure what I expected from the MC, but it certainly wasn't that. I've got another buddy with an '02 PS190 that has a sweet wake. I've had some of my best passes behind that boat. But this 209? Vomit.gif Not sure of the specs, but I've got to believe it's length/weight has to be similar to the Classic SLXi ('99-'04). Malibu had it all figured out, why couldn't MC? That much more dissappointing that Malibu gave up the SLXi as it was.

Note: A lot of nice finishing touches in the MC. The boat looks great. Unfortunately, that's all it's got going for it, at least from a slalom perspective.

Link to comment

I had considered a left over PS209 before I bought my RLXi. As you mentioned, it was a beautiful boat but it didn't ski well at all. I searched for days and could not find a single positive review about the boat's skiing performance.

Were you able to keep quiet re: the wake or did everyone bash the guys' boat right then and there?

Link to comment

Sounds like you just need to get your buddys to pony up and put the gas in your boat so you won't have to degrade yourself like that. ;)

Link to comment
Were you able to keep quiet re: the wake or did everyone bash the guys' boat right then and there?

My buddy with the 196 isn't particularly shy. He had the first pull of the morning. When he got back in the boat, the owner asked 'So what'd ya think? Is it different than yours?' My buddy didn't hesitate - 'Oh yeah it's different'. Then, just to drive home the point, he asked 'Are your water tanks empty?'. Tease2.gif That led into more discussion. I felt bad for the guy, and threw in a couple compliments on how good the boat looked. But it kind of smacked of the old 'she's got a great personality' bit. :)

The new guy was obviously a little bummed, but he knew the answer before this day anyway. He had already commented that when he skied behind our boats, he was amazed at how small the wakes were. Still, there was a small part of him (probably his wallet ROFL.gif ) that was hoping the answer would be different.

Combined with the fact that he has to trailer his boat to the lake (the rest of us are on the water), I don't expect his boat is gonna crack the lineup again. ;)

Link to comment
Then, just to drive home the point, he asked 'Are your water tanks empty?'...it kind of smacked of the old 'she's got a great personality' bit. :)
:lol: Now that's funny. :lol:

There's one of "those" in our rotation too...the owner figured out just recently why we never use his boat. Yuk.gif No way I make it through the course behind that thing. No.gif

Link to comment

ive just returned home from the US and skied only behind 197's the whole time i was there at Cobles, Trophy lakes and chet raley's place. this was the first time ive skied behind MC's and there is no doubt that MC's have a larger trough than our LXi. i liked the pull and wakes all the same.. the 22 off bump is larger too. has anyone else noticed this??

edited for gramma Crazy.gif

Edited by Toby
Link to comment

ive just returned home from the US and skied only behind 197's the whole time i was there at Cobles, Trophy lakes and chet raley's place. this was the first time ive skied behind MC's and there is no doubt that MC's have a larger trough than our LXi. i liked the pull and wakes all the same.. the 22 off bump is larger too. has anyone else noticed this??

edited for gramma Crazy.gif

Oh yes. That is #2 of my top 3 complaints with the MC:

#1 - They handle like a barge around the dock and at low speed

#2 - Until you get inside of 28-off or up to 36mph you'll take a good hit on the crossing

#3 - They all seem anemic out of the whole in spite of turning less pitch Dontknow.gif

We're going to Coble's next week. I love that place. Yahoo.gif

You are right about that. Look at the last boat test by Waterski Mag. The 197 was much slower 0 - 36 mph than the resonse lxi (even with 10 more hp if I remember right). I mean it was almost v-drive slow. Also, the top end is only like 42 MPH. How can you be slow at acceleration and top end?

Link to comment

ive just returned home from the US and skied only behind 197's the whole time i was there at Cobles, Trophy lakes and chet raley's place. this was the first time ive skied behind MC's and there is no doubt that MC's have a larger trough than our LXi. i liked the pull and wakes all the same.. the 22 off bump is larger too. has anyone else noticed this??

edited for gramma Crazy.gif

Oh yes. That is #2 of my top 3 complaints with the MC:

#1 - They handle like a barge around the dock and at low speed

#2 - Until you get inside of 28-off or up to 36mph you'll take a good hit on the crossing

#3 - They all seem anemic out of the whole in spite of turning less pitch Dontknow.gif

We're going to Coble's next week. I love that place. Yahoo.gif

The new TT( peppermint patty as I call 'em) is better than they have had for awhile. They do a little better at slow speed and they aren't such a tank through the course but they still are anemic out of the hole. And the wake still is very hard at 28 and 32 off compalred to the RLxi and 196.

There was a guy on the MC site that spent some time behind a RLXi recently and posted that he didnt' like the handle on the ski locker in the back because it would reatin water and he thought it was loud. Amazing I thought that he didn't report on how he skied or how he though the boat pulled or the wake. He biggest b**** was about the handle holding water? I think that's doing pretty good for the home team.

Link to comment

ive just returned home from the US and skied only behind 197's the whole time i was there at Cobles, Trophy lakes and chet raley's place. this was the first time ive skied behind MC's and there is no doubt that MC's have a larger trough than our LXi. i liked the pull and wakes all the same.. the 22 off bump is larger too. has anyone else noticed this??

edited for gramma Crazy.gif

Oh yes. That is #2 of my top 3 complaints with the MC:

#1 - They handle like a barge around the dock and at low speed

#2 - Until you get inside of 28-off or up to 36mph you'll take a good hit on the crossing

#3 - They all seem anemic out of the whole in spite of turning less pitch Dontknow.gif

We're going to Coble's next week. I love that place. Yahoo.gif

The new TT( peppermint patty as I call 'em) is better than they have had for awhile. They do a little better at slow speed and they aren't such a tank through the course but they still are anemic out of the hole. And the wake still is very hard at 28 and 32 off compalred to the RLxi and 196.

There was a guy on the MC site that spent some time behind a RLXi recently and posted that he didnt' like the handle on the ski locker in the back because it would reatin water and he thought it was loud. Amazing I thought that he didn't report on how he skied or how he though the boat pulled or the wake. He biggest b**** was about the handle holding water? I think that's doing pretty good for the home team.

Maybe he did originally but was edited for content. I hear they do that kind of thing over there. ;)

Link to comment
and he thought it was loud.

That's my only beef with Malibu these days. Their DDs are noisy SOB's. There are a handful of 206's on our lake and a new 197. They're all nice and quiet, like a V drive. The noisy Malibus don't help us at all in our fight against no wake hours.

Link to comment

and he thought it was loud.

That's my only beef with Malibu these days. Their DDs are noisy SOB's. There are a handful of 206's on our lake and a new 197. They're all nice and quiet, like a V drive. The noisy Malibus don't help us at all in our fight against no wake hours.

To more accurately assess the situation; Malibu chooses to not standardize on the noise control. When the sound suppresion is included the Bu is very quiet. I put the motor box insulation on my boat and it's as quiet running down the lake as peppermint patty and the 2 other 196's I ski on a regular basis. Maliboo's RLXi this year is every bit as quiet as the rest of the field.

The MC site rarley lets me play in their raindeer games anymore.... So I just hide and watch. Yahoo.gif

Link to comment

You should hear an 05 Fakesetter with a HH without the mufflers....it's like a dragster. Nice rumble but the neighbors around the lake don't care for it much at 6:30 AM.

Link to comment

I was in a bad mood as it was and get tired and bored of the members that frequent that site who think that MC has the best boat out there. By the very fact that they think the MC is so far ahead of Bu and CC, they understate their lack of experience and knowledge on the subject. Most of the posters there limit their boating experience to making the huge boat payments and sitting in their while parked in the garage. Perhaps they can't afford to fill the thirsty beasts with gas.

My whole point there was to highlight that there is a lot said on the internet, some of it is believable and some not, people talk about how the stern end sof Bu's get ripped out because the wedge but can't seem to come up with evidence or the pitctures that do make it out also make it clear that the wedge was the least of their worries. One guy actually had the stones to say the RLXi was a terrible slalom boat! It's ok with me if he doesn't care for the pull or the wake after having tried it and not liked it. But to spue venom like that because he heard someone somewhere and say that and it's now fact in his mind is ridiclulas. That's the type of membership they have going there now. I hope the people on this site don't go that route.

I saw that you weighed in rather decisively on their "want to put a wedge on a 197" thread the other day. Who are these guys who say that wedges are ripping the transoms out of Malibus (because of design flaws) with some regularity and where are these pictures they claim to have of sunken boats? The whole thing was equal parts laughable and just sad.

On a related note, yesterday after coming off the water with my own boat, one of the new guys in my squadron showed up with a 2000 MC 205 he'd just bought so I grabbed my ski and went back out. I did it only because I remembered this thread and wanted to bring back something meaningful and current.

#1 - That's a big boat, drives big, rides big. Having literally just come out of the water from taking 8 starts and 8 long passes (1 1/2 miles each) behind a RLXi I can say that even at full throttle the holeshot is slow and sluggish. It does not accelerate and get to speed quick enough to make me happy.

#2 - Fortunately for me I prefer 34-36mph. Anything slower than 34 is jarring on the back knee at all lengths outside 35 off. I really didn't find any line length that I liked at 34mph. At 36mph, 32 and 35 off were smooth enough that I was starting to have fun.

#3 - The boat had an OEM tower with front legs mounted on top of the boat in front of the windshield and the rear legs mounted abeam the driver and observer attached to the side of the boat. There was extensive and wide reaching stress cracks out 12" in front and behind the attach point. Not being a glass expert, I was concerned (he wasn't, ignorance is bliss I suppose).

Bottom line: That hull is a wake maker and a roomy family boat with high freeboard (safety feature) but not by any means a slalom machine. I'm completely spoiled.

Link to comment

At least on here we all agree what the best boat brand is. Now, if we could just decide on what's better, DD or VD and which is harder slalom or wakeboarding. Biggrin.gif

Link to comment

and he thought it was loud.

That's my only beef with Malibu these days. Their DDs are noisy SOB's. There are a handful of 206's on our lake and a new 197. They're all nice and quiet, like a V drive. The noisy Malibus don't help us at all in our fight against no wake hours.

A month or so back I skied at a local tourney and they had a 197, 196 and RLXi out on the lake early to dial-in PP and I thought the 197 and RLXi sounded darn close with the 197 actually being a bit louder. Someone else even commented at how loud the MC was. The 196 was MUCH quieter.

Mike

Edited by mlange
Link to comment

I tried to join their "reindeer games" over there about a year ago. Some Mom had signed up asking if someone would give her 12 year old son a pull as he had just learned to ski and really liked it. She lived close enough to me (and I know some others who would also help), so I was going to sign up and offer her a pull. Well, my request to become a member was rejected due to whatever BS reason they gave me. The only "red flag" I saw with my application was the fact that I owned a Malibu. Either way, I was never able to help this lady out. I replied to the person who sent my rejection and told them why I wanted to join the site. I never received a response.

Sorta on topic, I skied a 99 PS190 all last week. Couldn't stand it. The rooster tail was so big, that at 15 off, water was catching the tip of my ski directly behind the boat. I would never even attempt 22 off.

Link to comment

Sorta on topic, I skied a 99 PS190 all last week. Couldn't stand it. The rooster tail was so big, that at 15 off, water was catching the tip of my ski directly behind the boat. I would never even attempt 22 off.

Wow, that's surprising. I had heard that the old closed bow PS 190's were a great pull, especially the mid-nineties ones. Makes you wonder if that ones a victim of a bad prop choice or something.

The newest addition to our small morning crew is a guy who has skied his whole life (at least that what he thought he was doing :) ) but never owned a boat. He picked up a 10 year old Tige' for a song and brought it out for dawn patrol. Between 32 and 35 off, 34-36mph that thing has a very respectable pull and a great holeshot. I don't like any other lengths on it because, as I mentioned before, I'm completely spoiled. We free ski out there in the mornings and this is just a great example of how any direct drive from any manufacturer is better than skiing off the transom of an IO wally boat.

The early to mid-90's yes, late 90's, no. I can't remember if it's the '98 or '99, but one of those years is generally regarded as the worst ski boat ever built. That's subject to opinion of course, but they had some really serious problems with ski boat design in '97, '98 & '99.

Link to comment

Sorta on topic, I skied a 99 PS190 all last week. Couldn't stand it. The rooster tail was so big, that at 15 off, water was catching the tip of my ski directly behind the boat. I would never even attempt 22 off.

Wow, that's surprising. I had heard that the old closed bow PS 190's were a great pull, especially the mid-nineties ones. Makes you wonder if that ones a victim of a bad prop choice or something.

The newest addition to our small morning crew is a guy who has skied his whole life (at least that what he thought he was doing :) ) but never owned a boat. He picked up a 10 year old Tige' for a song and brought it out for dawn patrol. Between 32 and 35 off, 34-36mph that thing has a very respectable pull and a great holeshot. I don't like any other lengths on it because, as I mentioned before, I'm completely spoiled. We free ski out there in the mornings and this is just a great example of how any direct drive from any manufacturer is better than skiing off the transom of an IO wally boat.

The early to mid-90's yes, late 90's, no. I can't remember if it's the '98 or '99, but one of those years is generally regarded as the worst ski boat ever built. That's subject to opinion of course, but they had some really serious problems with ski boat design in '97, '98 & '99.

You're right. One of my buddies had a 99 and we had to re-prop it and take off the winged rudder and replace it with a straight rudder to soften the wake. When I originally read HOskier's post I was thinking of the 2000 and newer 190 closed bow before they changed to the 197. That hull design skied very well IMO. I owned a 96 Prostar 190 before I traded it for the RLXi and I really liked that wake.

Link to comment

The early to mid-90's yes, late 90's, no. I can't remember if it's the '98 or '99, but one of those years is generally regarded as the worst ski boat ever built. That's subject to opinion of course, but they had some really serious problems with ski boat design in '97, '98 & '99.

Wow, I didn't know that either.

Somewhere I read that MB Sports bought the molds from MC for the early-mid-nineties PS190 and were producing them (or a variant of them) as recently as 2005. For all I know they still are. The gist of the article was "If you're looking for a real sleeper slalom machine...." look at MB Sports. I've never even seen one in real life.

They bought the early 90's molds from MC way back in the day & have been building their Boss 190's on them for years. They don't track like a Bu (a hard pulling skier can pull it around a bit), but do put out a good wake.

As for the late 90's MC, I think that it was '98 that had the infamous chine lock. They had to recall their boats & put a bolt on fix to semi-cure the problem.

Link to comment
You're right. One of my buddies had a 99 and we had to re-prop it and take off the winged rudder and replace it with a straight rudder to soften the wake. When I originally read HOskier's post I was thinking of the 2000 and newer 190 closed bow before they changed to the 197. That hull design skied very well IMO. I owned a 96 Prostar 190 before I traded it for the RLXi and I really liked that wake.

Yeah, they got a lot better after '99 as I recall.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...