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Losing Faith....need more BU Kool Aid STAT!


DarkSide

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Here is the question of the day?  What type of reliability should we expect from our insanely expensive toys?  With many high performance specialty  items, high maintenance, and frequent repairs sometimes comes with the territory.  My original belief was Malibu was not this way, but my perspective is definitely shifting.

So how many failures is too many?  I think this answer will be different for different people.  It will likely also vary greatly based upon frequency of use, and length of season, etc.  I personally believe that a new item will likely experience a couple minor issues, that are quickly resolved and not catastrophic in nature.  I do realize as a 200 hour a year person, I am going to have some issues.  However how many and at what frequency is the question!

Here is the conundrum: 2014 MXZ was horrible, 2015, was absolutely STELLAR the first 100 hours, I am now at 140 and she is turning into a basket case.  So do you replace (again)? Or hope it is a rash and a month of dealer therapy will make it better?

To clarify issues are mostly mechanical in nature, exhaust leak, brackets, transmission, rudder, steering tube, etc.  There are not many, that are cosmetic in nature.  Dealer is fantastic, and addresses issues promptly and thoughly, so absolutely not a dealer issue! 

So with most of the running gear sorted,  and a new tranny on the way.  Do you have faith that she will be right, or do you get her seaworthy and abandon ship?  

If you abandon ship, where to.  I am not a G fan, I also don't look good wearing aviators and a captain hat, so MC is out.  BU #3, (scarey and going to be a tough sell to BrightSide (my better half)) CHAPPIE IS NOT AN OPTION!  RI237 is nice, but definitely not a BU inside!  Second issue  here is the number of options selected at the time of order is directly proportional to the beating you take at trade/resale, and I checked WAY TOO MANY BOXES!

Am I unrealistic expecting a wake boat to go surfing 200 hours a year without spending WEEKS in the shop?  

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Know lots of you guys like to have a new boat every year or two... but have you ever thought of keeping one 4 or 5 years and really letting it become part of the family?  This is the 15th year with our VLX.  In that time, we've had a tachometer go bad, a blower mount break, and a tracking fin come loose.  The blown heater core was due to incorrect winter layup.  There were little niggling issues early on that we mostly fixed ourselves, but it's been a brick bleephouse since then.

Maybe I'm more sentimental when it comes to boats, but they're like a member of the family for me.  It's sad when they go away.

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Just now, UWSkier said:

Know lots of you guys like to have a new boat every year or two... but have you ever thought of keeping one 4 or 5 years and really letting it become part of the family?  This is the 15th year with our VLX.  In that time, we've had a tachometer go bad, a blower mount break, and a tracking fin come loose.  The blown heater core was due to incorrect winter layup.  There were little niggling issues early on that we mostly fixed ourselves, but it's been a brick bleephouse since then.

Maybe I'm more sentimental when it comes to boats, but they're like a member of the family for me.  It's sad when they go away.

I thought that when I sold my Bu, missed her for a few weeks.  Till the first day out on our new boat, never looked back

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^^There's nothing mechanically different about those models.  Its an unfortunate state for sure.  The problem is that at this price point (at least what I paid), I think Malibu is as good as can be expected.  

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IMHO, the current crop of wake boats (all brands) are woefully under engineered for surfing and boarding.  The way we use them it is like using your pickup for hauling a max loaded trailer up hill pretty much full time.  Constant 3,000 rpm under load at 3/4 throttle is not "normal."  Malibu and others should significantly increase the power plants and drive trains to diesel truck levels to achieve the reliability we crave - but that will come at a significant cost which the market may not bear.  So what to do?  They build warranty costs into the price and compensate (willing) dealers to deliver (and be compensated for) the warranty services.  Add all the electronic gadgets and integration that look awesome on the show floor and you have a recipe for ??????

If my 10 year old boat spins a bearing or busts a crank shaft I'll know why - and will pony up the $5K it takes to fix.  Still cheaper than buying new.

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Call me crazy, but I think the new Bu gods are giving you a signal to buy the new MXZ. Now you have an excuse for your wife! If you must jump ship, I'd look at a Tige RZX. 

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You think those issues are bad...take a trip over to the Axis forum (not the one on this site) and read about the people sending their newer Axis' to the factory for new Hulls.  It's definitely got me checking out other brands.

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4 hours ago, vanamp said:

You think those issues are bad...take a trip over to the Axis forum (not the one on this site) and read about the people sending their newer Axis' to the factory for new Hulls.  It's definitely got me checking out other brands.

I don't read about  lots of issues with the 2014 A series(especially hull) and after 2 seasons and 200+ hours, and mostly loaded down surfing , all my minor issues solved warranty though I am done with my dealer but I only had one year of warranty.  I currently have a very minor oil leak from the right hand valve cover gasket , fix this winter , and I have had oil consumption issues from the start, but that's not the 1st 5.7 or 5.9 liter v8 I've owned that consumed oil.  I find my boat extremely reliable , but I don't bang it around on buzy stormy lakes with rollers and wake waves, bayous and rivers only

I had to learn how to resolve surf gate issues, but never the blown fuses or battery disconnect reconnect issues I read about. 

I have the cheapest axis you can buy, not much to go wrong.  

I wonder if it's the wakeboarding fully loaded at higher speeds I haven't done that is the real enemy to the mechanical drive and nav parts? I tried the full load and wedge once on my wakeboard and I felt like I hit  a brick wall/kicker and it scared the xxxx out of me .  Mostly ride stock and wedge now. 

Recently fixed all my 950 mushroom bag leaks with new quick connect ports with the discs and proper line positioning and bag positioning to stop the binds I put in the connections from the hoses and that caused them to pop out of threads slightly when I stuffed the bag full in the locker so now I have a leak free reliable boat

this winter I'll re extend my rear sac drain lines forwards and then loop back to back of locker to even better fill my 850 rears ,  add 2 150 straight lines  for bow to lower my nose and pump and  2419 prop and I can rock a monster surf wave or wakeboard wake for a people and ballast loaded A20

bought a true price point axis boat from the right vintage that's plain ugly white and no fancy tunes, mainly a heater and plug and play with Bimini were my main options except for surfgate and wedge options, few small things like flush and pylon and big item my black galvanized painted tandem trailer with the plan mag style aluminum wheels 15" ? I had to have in this brack down here as I trailer every time. 

Absolutely love my friends g23 and surf it a lot, more than my axis .  He bought a 2013 used in 2014, But he owes,  after 2 years of ownership and 1200+ hours , 7000$ more than I paid for my cash deliver price including all the sacs and 4 racks and tower mirror and hardware I added spare , safety equip inc tax title and license .unless I move I can't really fit a bigger more expensive trade up.  I think I'll keep this 20 years and start taking it to 2 time a year salt beach vacations after 10 years

my friends 2013 G23 has had only alternator in 1200 plus hours, his quote, "PCM baby " they do nothing but load this boat with 7 to 13 regularly and his stock 24-2800 in stock sacs. His main problem, his sacs stock sacs leak cause bilge runs constantly but system auto refills so he ignores his one big problem cause it's ballast until it comes out bilge

 

Edited by granddaddy55
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I wonder how much the running gear in these boats has changed since they've been re-assigned to surf duty designs. Lot of stress on driveline and steering to get those Ninja waves...

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Man you guys got me scared stiff..  120 hrs on my 15 lsv and so far so good.  Summer is wayyyyy to short in michigan for a major failure and boat to be lost for more than a week at most!  With kids sports we get basically July and August to enjoy our 90k investment in fun.  

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23 minutes ago, JasonK said:

New boat prices are outrageous, boycott them. Please.

Buy a real price point boat instead of a price point boat with all the bells and whistles 

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Every time I seriously consider getting into a newer boat I seem to come across these type of threads. Makes me love my OLD girl even more. Its seriously scary to think I'd be without a boat that is 4 times the amount of my current one for weeks in a single summer. I guess thats where having the good dealer comes into play, LOANERS?

 

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The bells and whistles aren't what's breaking.  Those are basic mechanical type issues that can be seen on Axis as well.  The only upside is you have less invested in it.  

I expect to see those issues at low hours and then stabilize.  Sorry to hear DS.

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12 hours ago, minnmarker said:

IMHO, the current crop of wake boats (all brands) are woefully under engineered for surfing and boarding.  The way we use them it is like using your pickup for hauling a max loaded trailer up hill pretty much full time.  Constant 3,000 rpm under load at 3/4 throttle is not "normal."  Malibu and others should significantly increase the power plants and drive trains to diesel truck levels to achieve the reliability we crave - but that will come at a significant cost which the market may not bear.  So what to do?  They build warranty costs into the price and compensate (willing) dealers to deliver (and be compensated for) the warranty services.  Add all the electronic gadgets and integration that look awesome on the show floor and you have a recipe for ??????

I suspect there is a lot of truth here.   5 years ago, very few would operate a boat with balast levels that are the norm today.   Honestly pre 2013, how many ran over 7k in total weight boat + ballast.   Now 9k+ is  normal,  11k is not that uncommon so drive trains are working harder than they ever have.   

Manufacturers are trying to stabilize,  by increasing prop diameters, tranny ratios, drive shaft diameter, etc.  Unfortunately the surfing industry is still in its infancy!  There is a bit of a learning curve.  I am thinking steps are going the right direction.   However likely another year or two before real reliability starts to emerge.  

I believe I am going to ride it out. I don't see a better option than what I currently have.   Most stuff should be sorted when it comes back.   I am not that concerned with the engine itself, because the LSA is very robust and I am not pushing it that hard.   

We shall see.  @ConnollyCrew i hope she makes it back soon

Edited by DarkSide
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1 hour ago, soonerbilly said:

Every time I seriously consider getting into a newer boat I seem to come across these type of threads. Makes me love my OLD girl even more. Its seriously scary to think I'd be without a boat that is 4 times the amount of my current one for weeks in a single summer. I guess thats where having the good dealer comes into play, LOANERS?

 

My dealer is great, they offered to send a guy to the lake to get me back out,  I knew it was not field repairable,  so they offered to pick it up.   Service manager answered my call at 6:30 AM.  Boulder is awesome!

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14 minutes ago, Chatty21VLX said:

I would think engineers should be able to calculate the stresses that are put on the running gear of a weighted surf boat. 

Probably, except that people buy a boat with x amount of ballast and then use x * 2 ballast.

Seems like they need to start thinking about things like - what happens when someone is steering hard to one side 100% of the time because the surfgate and thousands of lbs of ballast are trying to turn the boat the other direction.  Those are some weird loads on the rudder, cable, steering rack, rudder box.  Not normal boat forces, so they are going to need to work with the folks who actually build the steering parts or just start using parts from tugboats.

 

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