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Making the switch to inboard


scorban

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A quick intro, as this is my first post. I was raised spending weekends at our family's lake place at Lake Mattoon in central IL, and doing all sorts of various towed sports behind the boat growing up. During college, I gave up tubing, etc and just skied. Over the past few years, I've been skiing more and more, and now have a handful of family members/friends slalom skiing as well. A normal weekend now involves getting up at 600 to take advantage of the glass on the lake for the morning.

After skiing for years with various I/O's my family has had, we're looking to make the move to an inboard. Since we're replacing the "family" boat, I need to stick to something that's got a bit of room for some rides around the lake. The boat gets used for ~75% free skiing (no plans for the course at this point, but that may change...) and 25% family rides. All of the research I've been doing keeps pointing me to a 99-04 Sunsetter LXI as a good candidate (ideally 02-04 since I'm replacing an 08 Crownline). I'd also consider a Response LXI, but the lower freeboard and open bow makes me a bit reluctant so if someone else takes it out and finds a big roller.  I've done quite a bit of looking around, and have come across a few things that have generated some questions.

I've read here that the 02 Sunsetter LX is on the diamond hull, but a few inches shorter than the LXI. Does anyone have experience skiing behind one of these, and is the wake comparable to the LXI? I plan to test ski anything I'd buy, but with a 6 hr drive to Michigan to look at it, I thought I'd get a feel from here first. 

Also, through the various used channels I've found an 03 SSLXI at Skiers Point in MI with a tower, ballast, tower speakers, etc for $23k (seems a bit high?). None of those extras interest me at all, and I can't get the boat lifted in our lift with a tower anyway. Is there a decent used market for these items to sell them off and help make up for the higher boat price? While looking at their website, I also saw they had an 08 response lxi for just $3k more. While that's above my price target, that seems almost too good to be true for that boat. Thoughts?

Stephen

 

 

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MalibuNation

:welcome:

The SS LXI is a sought after boat being that it is a large DD that can hold more people when you want to cruise.  Along with more storage.  Yet has a great wake for skiing.  You can always lower the tower like a lot of us do when putting on the lift.

Also do you mean Skiers Pier?

 

 

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Grab the SSLXI, the trunk is pretty useful and it has a great ski wake at speed, good beginner wakeboard wake when going slower. Decent room for a direct drive and drives like a sports car.

join this forum as a paid member and you get free access to post classifieds, sell off what you don't want.

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My history is a lot like yours except I used to ski courses (with other people's boats) - and I replaced the I/O with a V Drive. If you get a 21 foot with Diamond hull they have a nice slalom wake, just not quite a tournament course wake, and they can be set up to surf - which is the future.

Another big advantage for you would be the cabin space and seating in the V drive.

Welcome to the crew and enjoy shopping.

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Both prices seem reasonable for 500 hour boats in decent looking condition.  Might be some market for the towers/bags but not really worth a significant amount used.  The response is missing the wedge in the pictures and looks like it was a moored boat by the way the lower hull looks.

And it is Skiers Pier not Point

Edited by oldjeep
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If you are just free sking, get a 2001 Sunsetter VLX or 2002-2004 Sunscape 21 LSV (they are the same boat) - SV23 on a diamond hull.  You can even run the course with them.  Will be a lot better than you think it will be for slalom, way more room than a DD and you can more easily do other watersports with it.

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Just now, Nitrousbird said:

If you are just free sking, get a 2001 Sunsetter VLX or 2002-2004 Sunscape 21 LSV (they are the same boat) - SV23 on a diamond hull.  You can even run the course with them.  Will be a lot better than you think it will be for slalom, way more room than a DD and you can more easily do other watersports with it.

True, but if 23K is above his budget it is going to be nearly impossible to find a V-drive that is in budget.

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Thanks for all of the quick responses!

I've considered a v-drive in the search, and price has been one of the main holdups. I should have mentioned that we also have a pontoon boat, so that's the go to when we've got a lot of people that want to go out for a ride, so I'm not as concerned about the huge cabin space. Even when we've got a lot of skiers, we normally anchor the pontoon off near where we're skiing for the others to hang out on. Additionally, since the SSLXI is ~2.5' longer than our current boat, having the engine in the middle puts the weight where I want it in our lift, just in front of the back cables instead of behind them.

Yep, I was talking about Skiers Pier, got a few dealership names confused. This is one of the boats I've been looking at: http://www.skierspier.com/pre_owned_detail.asp?veh=4734738

This is the other one I've comes across. It's not the LXI, but specs show that it should be on the diamond hull, just without as much storage: http://www.onlyinboards.com/2002-Malibu-Sunsetter-LX-for-sale-Novi-Michigan-55741.aspx

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I was in the same situation 5 yrs ago and bought An '00 sslxi. I couldn't be happier. Rlxi was great for skiing but would never work for my family hang-out boat.

tower: keep it. I use the tower for pulling the infrequent wakeboarder and for the inexperienced slalom skier cuz it is easier to get up due to the way it pulls up instead of just forward. Plus it's nice for keeping the skis dry, out of the way, and scratch free.

lift: most likely you will need significant mods to your existing lift. My suggestion is to sell that lift and buy a lift that is already set up for an onboard. Most likely the sell and buy prices of them used will be about the same.

lift 2: I so t get that you can't raise it with a tower. The sslxi freeboard makes it so you can lift the boat with the canopy on and tower up. No prob...see pic

F0AF6541-B9D9-4189-A73E-992E77B5AC9D_zps

price: $20-25k seems to be the price for an sslxi and that's been stable since I bought mine. It's a sought after boat due to the combo ski wake plus room for family.

i say negotiate some off the skiers pier Lxi, test drive it, then buy it and enjoy the next 6 weeks!!

Edited by braindamage
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Hi and welcome!  I have a similar story, but moved from an outboard, rather than an I/O.  We purchased a nicely maintained but well used '98 Response LX.  As I understand, a version of its hull is still being used.  But if you go '99 or newer, you get a trunk.  And if you go LXi, you get walk through open bow instead of step over as the LX is.  I think the LX is a little better slalom wake, but you might prefer the convenience.  Throwing those boats out there as you might more easily be able to find a good boat that suits your needs if you consider the Response line.  Ski-It-Again.com is what I used (along with craigslist for places I would go to pick up a boat) in order to find ours.  

Here is a link to a search that shows all Malibu Responses on that site.  Quite a few available.  Mine shows available on there too, but it is not.  The guy just never took the ad down.

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php

 

My boat:

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=36369

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Thanks for the responses. It sounds like the boat at Skiers Pier is in the ball park price wise. Like @Steve B. said, there's only a handful of these available right now. The price range is fairly large, but the lower priced ones all have some sort of issue that justifies the discount.  I'd prefer to get something this fall so that I have the winter to work on the lift cradle and get familiar with the boat maintenance wise, but can wait until spring as well. Are there normally more boats on the used market come spring? 

As for the lift, it's a homemade structure with 3 lifts in it. I'm just trying to keep the modifications to the cradle (easy) instead of the whole structure. The current cradle I built mimics the I/O's trailer, so I'll modify it with drops in the main beams similar to an inboards trailer. I'm a bit short on water towards the front of the lift, so I'm going to put drops in the back beams instead of raising the full bunks up.

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I'd like to keep it under $22.5K, but will flex a bit for the right boat. That response is sweet, but a little too far above the price range :(

I've glossed across this one a few times in looking around, but never looked close. Other than 2 years old, seems similar to the one at Skiers Pier, except that it's got some flavor of Perfect Pass. Too bad it's in NY, but it may be a good negotiating point. https://www.popyachts.com/wake-ski-boats-for-sale/malibu-sunsetter-lxi-in-penn-yan-new-york-90138

 

 

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@scorban if you find the right boat, don't rule out having it shipped. Last year, I had a boat shipped from Indiana to SoCal on an open car hauler for $1,800. It was the right boat, the seller was honest and helpful, and it fell within my price range even with the shipping cost. I'm glad I didn't wait for something local because I'd still be waiting, a year later.

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38 minutes ago, scorban said:

I'd like to keep it under $22.5K, but will flex a bit for the right boat. That response is sweet, but a little too far above the price range :(

I've glossed across this one a few times in looking around, but never looked close. Other than 2 years old, seems similar to the one at Skiers Pier, except that it's got some flavor of Perfect Pass. Too bad it's in NY, but it may be a good negotiating point. https://www.popyachts.com/wake-ski-boats-for-sale/malibu-sunsetter-lxi-in-penn-yan-new-york-90138

 

 

Pop Yachts :)  Do some searching and see if you can find the owner listing that boat for likely 10-15% less.

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I wouldn't think twice about a extending the geography search. I drove 12+ hours each way to get mine and I bet there are Malibucrew members close to just about anywhere who would be willing to take a look for you.

  • Like 2
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add another vote of support for the SS LXI.  I bought mine 3 years ago (99 SS LXI) with the help of people on this forum and couldn't be happier.  Holds a ton (of people and storage) and tracks beautifully.  I went long distance to go look at mine (required a flight), then had it shipped home and it was the best move.

  • Like 1
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I've been doing some more looking, and got some more details on a few of the ones that have been mentioned on here. Along with the details came a few more questions...

1) I read on a post comparing an 01 to 04 SSLXi that the 04 has heavier vinyl than the earlier models. I noticed that the design patterns of the vinyl on top of the engine is different on the 03 than on the earlier ones, and was wondering if anyone knew what year they upgraded to the better vinyl?

2) While it wasn't mentioned in the ad (and the salesman also said it wasn't there) the 03 at Skiers Pier does have some sort of perfect pass on it based on some of the additional pictures they sent. PP wasn't a must have, as I've read its not too bad to install, but if it's there that's a plus. The display is different than what I saw on an 01 SSLXi with PP, and it matches the look of the ones you can buy currently from PP (picture attached). Can you tell anything specifically about the system from this display? If I wanted to get a feel if its an RPM vs. paddle wheel vs. StarGazer system, are there any specific places I should ask for pictures of?

3) The 03 also looks to have the factory MLS for the ballast it was advertised with. Does the MLS (empty) plus the weight of the tower start to effect the slalom wake of these boats? I'm planning to run it without the tower normally, but didn't know if the MLS tank was something that could be removed easily.uc?export=view&id=0B8fPk-Se1a0uaVdzOHFXR

Stephen

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The perfect pass in that picture is the newer multiline display - good if you want to do any sort of upgrade to the system, like stargazer (GPS).  Can't tell from the gauge picture if it has stargazer installed, that would be a function of the control module and the boat would have a GPS antennae installed.

 

Just ask skiers pier what version of PP it is, all they have to do is power it up and the splash screen says if it is Wakeboard Pro/ 3 event/stargazer/etc and will give the software version

Edited by oldjeep
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