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Response LX question


collinm

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I am brand new to the site but I have a question for Malibu owners. I am looking at a 2006 Response LX that is currently being used at a private ski club with about 20 members. When they are done with the boat this season it will have around 600 hours on it. 320hp with Perfect Pass but no other options. Is it worth pursuing the boat or is that a lot of hours to be starting off with and should I look for something else?

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Welcome to the site Colin. If you can satisfy yourself with the maintenance records and a boat mechanic gives it the thumbs up (check compressions, general condition, colour of the oil right now, dings, scratches) then if the price reflects the hours I would give it a go.

What are you going to use it for? The LX is a top 3-event boat and if that is its mission then good decision.

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I am into wakeboarding a little but my wife is big into slalom and the kids are just starting out skiing so I want to get something that can satisfy us all. I'm just wondering if going with a newer boat with a lot of hours, or an older boat with less hours.

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Do you spend any amount of time hanging out on the boat? From the sounds of it, the RLX might be a little cramped. Driver, 2 spotters, and 1 skier is the biggest crowd you can really deal with on the RLX.

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We do spend some time relaxing out there but we don't really have any guests on the boat while hanging out. When we do have people out we use the pontoon boat.

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For the life of me, I can't imagine piloting a boat seriously with ten or so people on board but thewn I'm different. Colin I reckon the LX sounds ideal for your family and I'd see if I could drive a sensational bargain on this one to get the feel of things.

A new boat can always come along later and if you don't need to recover so much initial outlay you're winning on all counts.

Some boats in Club situations tend to get bashed around cosmetically - I would just get it thoroughly checked out B4 handing over the readies.

Get 'R Done before summer ends!!

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I would also check to see if it has a wedge plate (Preferably the whole set up) as well. If not I would get one added right away. It will make your wakeboarding more enjoyable. I have an Echelon that I am forever filling up sacs and it is getting annoying. The wake with only a few people on board is very small. But it is a Ski boat. We always have between 6-10 people on board (Only 8 tonite) with a closed bow, and I won't lie it does get cramped but if you only do it on occasion it is managable and it does make one H**L of a surf wave for a DD. The wakeboarding wake isn't too bad either.

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i'll give a different opinion. i have owned 2 responses (still own one), and unless its a super deal, i'd look for a used response lxi instead, just so you have the walkthru bow. maybe i'm just getting old, but i am tired of steping up on the dash, and seeing others awkwardly maneuvering to get up into the bow.

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I own a 2000 RLX, my kids go wakeboarding, slolom, tubeing, and now into barefooting. The boat is obviously top notch for two of those three. Wakeboarding it seems decent as long as you have a wedge as Pennery mentions. It is pretty spendy to have the plate added to the boat after manufacture, so be sure it either has one or you are willing to pay what it costs to get the plate. Adding the wedge itself later is no big deal.

I second the opinion of going over the dash gets old after a while. Especially when hooking up the Fly High and puting the mooring cover on, both of which I always seem to end up doing myself. But it is not a big enough thing to compromise on other aspects especially if you don't forsee much bow usage by the adults.

As far as space, plenty of room for 5 adults in an RLX as long as you aren't towing from the pilon. (fly high or back hooks are fine) Six is doable but the spotters seat is pretty small.

One thing to consider on the 600 hours is how many hours per year you intend to put on. If you are gonna add 100 or less a year (and many people do) then it would not concern me. But, if you are gonna put on 300+ per year the hours are gonna pile on and affect your resale value down the road. Just something to think about.

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Thank you for all of the replies. I'm sure we will be staying around 50 hours per year so that wasn't a concern as much as starting out with 600. Cosmetically it has some marks on the rubrail from the dock but that's it. I will check on the wedge plate.

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Personaly, I wouldn't buy a 1 year old boat with 600 hours on it. Not that there is anything wrong with it mechanically, but resale may be difficult with the perception that it is a overly used boat. Even if you only put 50 hours on it per year, it will be a high hour boat for a long time. It's like a car. If you found a 2 year old car with 150,000 miles on it, most would steer clear of it even if it was still good mechanically. Now, if you could get the boat for a really lowball price, that's a different story.

I would also look for a used Rlxi just for the comfort factor.

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600 hours is a lot of hours for a one year old boat. Unless you are going to keep it forever or get a screaming deal, I would keep looking. Keep your eyes out for an RLXi. I would think you could find one with low hours and IMO is a better all around boat. Who know's you may find an 03 or 04 for less money with lower hours. My 03 has 200 hours on it looks like it just rolled off the factory floor (its not for sale though) Biggrin.gif . There are a lot of boats out there for sale.

Good luck and welcome to the site!

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I just reread the first post. The boat has perfect pass, your use sounds more recreational and I really doubt you have any need for the perfect pass. I am guessing that the savings you will get based on the 600 hours will be offset by the added value of the perfect pass. Just guessing here but I am thinking you might be able to find another RLX or RLXi without PP and lower hours for less money.

Check out the for sale category below on this forum, look back a ways, you will find both models listed. Do some internet searches on places like boattrader.com. If you focus on boats in the mid west they generally have low hours, have been pampered, and have never seen salt.

Also, the colleges around the mid west lease boats from small companies setup for just that purpose. Each year the schools get a new boat for fall semester and start trying to sell it right after spring semester. They will have 100-200 hours on them and are usually well priced. They may have boats left yet from last spring. Colleges that I know do this are: University of Wisconsin in LaCrosse, Eau Claire, Stout, Oshkosh, Madison, Milwaukee and maybe Green Bay. Also in Minnesota the U of M (Minneapolis/St Paul). Any one of them can get you in touch with the guy that runs the leasing company and he will have knowlege of the current boats avaiable from this whole list of schools. I am not sure what they had for boats this past year but the year before almost all of them had an RLX, one had a Sportster. (Sportsters are kind of small) I don't think the UofM got their Response sold two school years ago, so if they still have that 2005 model it might be a dyno deal by now. I almost bought it last year but the perfect pass on it ran the price up too high for me to consider it since I didn't really need PP. I think that's why they didn't get it sold.

But back to the one you are looking at with 600 hours. If you think the price is right and you don't intend to sell it for a good 5 years I wouldn't be too afraid to go for it.

Edited by GONORTH
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sorry, but my opinion is, even if i were just tubing, i'd want PP (ok, that's a bit of an exageration). PP is the BEST option in any boat, whether pro or recreational skiing or wakeboarding.

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sorry, but my opinion is, even if i were just tubing, i'd want PP (ok, that's a bit of an exageration). PP is the BEST option in any boat, whether pro or recreational skiing or wakeboarding.

I'm going the other way and saying that Perfect Pass is not esential unless you are skiing the course or don't have a very good or experienced driver. It may be nice to have but it is not an essential requirement for rec skiing.

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Also, the colleges around the mid west lease boats from small companies setup for just that purpose. Each year the schools get a new boat for fall semester and start trying to sell it right after spring semester. They will have 100-200 hours on them and are usually well priced. They may have boats left yet from last spring. Colleges that I know do this are: University of Wisconsin in LaCrosse, Eau Claire, Stout, Oshkosh, Madison, Milwaukee and maybe Green Bay. Also in Minnesota the U of M (Minneapolis/St Paul). Any one of them can get you in touch with the guy that runs the leasing company and he will have knowlege of the current boats avaiable from this whole list of schools. I am not sure what they had for boats this past year but the year before almost all of them had an RLX, one had a Sportster. (Sportsters are kind of small) I don't think the UofM got their Response sold two school years ago, so if they still have that 2005 model it might be a dyno deal by now.

We have a few boats left over. 2005 Response (the one I had at the 2005 WoW, check my gallery) is still for sale. We also have a 2006 MC 197, a 2006 RLXi, amongst others. I don't run the leasing company, but I work closely with the guy who does on ordering/provisioning the boats, and I've sold a few of them in past years.

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sorry, but my opinion is, even if i were just tubing, i'd want PP (ok, that's a bit of an exageration). PP is the BEST option in any boat, whether pro or recreational skiing or wakeboarding.

I'm going the other way and saying that Perfect Pass is not esential unless you are skiing the course or don't have a very good or experienced driver. It may be nice to have but it is not an essential requirement for rec skiing.

My perspective is that it's essential even in open water and trying to slalom. If you're in the course and don't have it you can at least time yourself with a stop watch and dge tan idea of what speed you were going. In open water every pull is going to be different because everyone is going to pull you differently with out any feedback to tell the driver they are doing the same thing as they did last time. For that reason I believe it's important to have. I don't know about using the PP to pull a tube ride but we use it to pull air chair and wakeboard.

Has any slalom skier kept the PP in wakeboard mode and bumped the speed up to 34? How was the pull and did it feel right?

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sorry, but my opinion is, even if i were just tubing, i'd want PP (ok, that's a bit of an exageration). PP is the BEST option in any boat, whether pro or recreational skiing or wakeboarding.

I'm going the other way and saying that Perfect Pass is not esential unless you are skiing the course or don't have a very good or experienced driver. It may be nice to have but it is not an essential requirement for rec skiing.

My perspective is that it's essential even in open water and trying to slalom. If you're in the course and don't have it you can at least time yourself with a stop watch and dge tan idea of what speed you were going. In open water every pull is going to be different because everyone is going to pull you differently with out any feedback to tell the driver they are doing the same thing as they did last time. For that reason I believe it's important to have. I don't know about using the PP to pull a tube ride but we use it to pull air chair and wakeboard.

Has any slalom skier kept the PP in wakeboard mode and bumped the speed up to 34? How was the pull and did it feel right?

i was really kidding about PP with tubing. but i totally agree with the comments on open water skiing. even though i very rarely do this, it is also great just for letting someone else other than my wife drive for me. i am teaching my 17 year daughter now to drive the course (she has yet to pull anyone skiing, course or not), and it is great that she just needs to get up to speed, then drive. also, she will be able to pull our younger daughter in open water with no problems too.

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I guess it all depends on what 'level' of recreational skiing you are at, and as stated how good the drivers are. The tach does a pretty darn good job of telling the drive what his speed is once you have it calabrated against your actual speed by using a good GPS unit. Or, for that matter you can simply use a GPS to drive from.

But your are right, if you are pushing the envelope of your skill level constantly then PP would certainly be a good thing. You just need to ballance that need with your budget.

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Well I do like the thought of PP because I love my wife but she cant keep a steady speed to save her life. So if that is one feature already added to the boat that I don't have to worry about getting later, I'll take what I can get.

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PP may be good for boarding, and essential for surfing, but I tried the PP for open slalom and did not like it. It's never been used again on my buddies Response. How hard is it to tell the driver: "take it up to 3500 rpm and keep it there"? My wife wont even use the cruise control on the Suburban, let alone the PP.

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I love my wife but she cant keep a steady speed to save her life.

That is the best reason to have perfect pass that I have ever heard. :lol:

Now if they could just invent some sort of gizmo to do a Perfect Docking I'd get that one for my wife.

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I wouldn't be afraid of the hours, generally the people that have their boats out every day have very few issues because everything stays fresh and keeps moving. Just make sure your getting a really good deal and all the scheduled maintance has been performed. Also keep in mind the engine warrenty has expired due to hours.

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I would be leary as Malibu's warranty is 3 years or 400 hours. I am not sure if indmar has a hour limitation, but the rest of the warranty is void, which for that new of a boat i would not like

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but I tried the PP for open slalom and did not like it. It's never been used again on my buddies Response. How hard is it to tell the driver: "take it up to 3500 rpm and keep it there"?

What didn't you like about it. In the slalom course you get much more consistent speeds and better times with PP. I would think the same would be true in open water unless you like it when the speed slows on a pull and then picks back up.

I love skiing with PP in the open water or in the course. For the most part it removes one variable from the equation.

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