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2017 options (thumbs up or down)/must have


Fman

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I am of the fence about some 2017 options for LSV, wanted to see if anyone has some feedback on these and if you have MSRP mark ups? or if anyone has anything they can't live without I am missing.

-Adding rear trailer steps, do you use them much? worth extra cost?

-Malibu cover, are they quality covers comparable to Evolution?  Cory's cover is about $800 + shipping.

-Fender locks, anyone use them much?

-Extra pop up cleat on front bow?  I do like the look of not having one there, but also think it would be a better setup than where Malibu currently places them.  Even if they could move the one on the side to front bow.

-Adjustable height seat, I have heard they sit up too high when in lowest position???

-PnP, I am still on the fence about this.  I will more than likely be installing reversible pumps again, I have a feeling I am going to be disappointed with the PnP option in comparison to the Johnson reversible pumps.

I will be ordering 3 vent heater, decadence floor mat, G4 w/PTM racks (4), LED docking lights, Surf Pipe, Base Raptor 410, Stereo delete with Exile install.

Any other "must have" options I am overlooking?

 

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Fman,

 On my 2016 LSV I have the steps on the trailer and use them every time I go out. With the G4 the Malibu cover is grea, as I tow all the time with the tower down, I feel Malibu has stepped up with this cover. I have the extra set of cleats and they are nice to have, I use them since I have them. The adjustable seat has been a godsend for my wife, she does not complain anymore. My life is better off for it. The lowest position is low enough and does not create any issues for me(5'10"), and when surfing the highest position is enough. On my 14 I installed the Johnson's but did not on my 16 and it is a bit slower but better than the 14, my dealer has told me they redesigned the pnp for 17, I did not follow up because AI do not want to be tempted. 

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power seat is a must for any potential lady driving. i would never go back, love it at highest point for seeing/half/standing while driving.

3-vent heater: going to a have mine installed also with a 2 or 3 vent heater in the back somewhere but i have a larger 25.

PNP: SLOW (not sure if changed any from 16-17? unless they increased to dual fill/drain pumps or use the same monster as the M235 pump....), my 2016 i currently have 750s and its just too darn slow for a single 1100gph to fill the rear tanks + 750 PNP not to mention i plan to upgrade those to bigger rears. I'm in the process of figuring out how to add an additional Fill and Drain pump. depending on room i may be stuck going the reversible route, but "TRYING" to see if some 2000gph pumps could work as well... not sure i have the space but would be awesome. long story short factory is WAY TOOOOO SLOW! like 15min fill/ 20min drain slow its horrible, nearly ruins surf time trying to drain the tanks with a little bow rise driving around in circles before heading in....Wife is annoyed with this big time, not to mention the long fill times as well.!!! when your wasting 30mins to drain/fill and you only go out for an hour run...well...yea waste of time... anything over 5mins its too long in my opinion. Malibu needs to correct this ASAP to be competitive IMO.. 

Rear camera: ehhh kind of waste neat but camera kind of sucks and has a delayed effect. 

maybe you can order a real sub box on a 17? haha.

front cleats: i really wish i had them on previous boat: a lot of slips around here the back of the boat hangs out so i tie to the tower and then have to climb into boat to use eyelet on front under the bow...PIA... front cleat would make it so much nicer for a lot of the docks around here when going to eat at places with short docks. 

 

 

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Evolution cover, my last malibu cover was on my 14, never again.  Evo covers are just a step up.

Trailer steps, yes, absolutely once you have them you will never order another trailer without them.   

PNP, if you are used to thenhance reversible.  Factory pumps will likely disappoint.  Save the $ and use it on jabsco's.

I can't speak to the others

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3 hours ago, Fman said:

I am of the fence about some 2017 options for LSV, wanted to see if anyone has some feedback on these and if you have MSRP mark ups? or if anyone has anything they can't live without I am missing.

-Adding rear trailer steps, do you use them much? worth extra cost?

-Malibu cover, are they quality covers comparable to Evolution?  Cory's cover is about $800 + shipping.

-Fender locks, anyone use them much?

-Extra pop up cleat on front bow?  I do like the look of not having one there, but also think it would be a better setup than where Malibu currently places them.  Even if they could move the one on the side to front bow.

-Adjustable height seat, I have heard they sit up too high when in lowest position???

-PnP, I am still on the fence about this.  I will more than likely be installing reversible pumps again, I have a feeling I am going to be disappointed with the PnP option in comparison to the Johnson reversible pumps.

I will be ordering 3 vent heater, decadence floor mat, G4 w/PTM racks (4), LED docking lights, Surf Pipe, Base Raptor 410, Stereo delete with Exile install.

Any other "must have" options I am overlooking?

 

Love the rear steps.  I'm 6'2" with relatively long legs and it's a stretch for me to get over the side from the fenders.  Not nice on the man parts or the boat finish!  The rear steps and the bow step are both mandatory if you ask me.

I have the Malibu cover and i like it well enough but I've never had the Evolution so I really can't compare (sorry).

I don't have the Fender locks, so I'm no help there (again).

Front bow cleats are awesome for me.  I use them when tieing up to our houseboat.  They're not real practical for docking (in their default position) but I love them for my applications.

Adjustable seat is great for those below 5'8".  My wife (driver extraordinaire) uses both the adjustable seat and the flip bolster based on how many people we have in the boat.  Highly owner specific in my opinion.

PnP - if you're used to the reversibles, don't go this way.  They take a while.  I was ok with them for the first season because they are much better than a pump over the side, but they're slow.  15 minutes slow.  Hopefully I can address this over the winter.

Rear camera is neat but not necessary.  Get it if you're keeping the boat, pass if you're flipping.

Dave

 

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My old trailer did not have transom steps and this one came with them.   If I had ordered the boat I am sure I would have not added them to save a few bucks but I really like them.   It is such an easy step going in and out now that I probably would order them going forward ($283 was my 2016 MSRP).  I also have the bow step ($250).  I could go either way but it was nice to be in jeans and shoes pulling the boat out and never get wet.

I like the power helm ($833)but I am 5' 10" and it is close to not being low enough if you like to be fully behind the windshield.  I normally like to ride above when its nice so I like it.   Like others said, this is an option more for others that are shorter / want to be higher when driving with the boat nose high in the air.   I had the 4" eBay seat lift on my last boat and I would say the its nearly identical to that in the low position.  Since I have it, I like it but I also liked the 4" eBay lift for a fraction of the price.

I have yet to use the front bow cleats.  Thought I would.  At $530 I am not sure I would order them unless I knew I would use them.  3 vent heater was $770 MSRP.  I would not have purchased the camera at $417.  I am in the process of adding FAE.  It is about half the cost as trying to add Surf Pipe after that fact.

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@DarkSide told me to skip the LED docking lights since I was going with the G4 tower.  Excellent suggestion, IMO.  The forward tower lights are LED and work well for me.

Some do like the look of the lights on the boat, but for the price---- it was part of the way I justified the expense of the G4.

 

I do use the fender locks but there are other options(like a carabiner for a lot less)...another @DarkSide suggestion.

 

I love the deckadence.  Great finish for the floor.

 

I have the cover from Malibu and it is great. I use it in the summer.  easy on/off.  for the winter I have a cover from Cory that has the side skirts and no sun hits the gel coat at all.  so, I sprang for both.  Had I known, I would have just purchased the cover from Cory.

I did price adding skirts to the Malibu cover but that was expensive as well and wouldn't have been as good.

 

I vote for the sport knob.... but with your Exile set up, not sure how that would work.

 

good luck!

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Three things I unexpectedly love a lot:  Fender locks.  Sport dash knob (it was just an OPTION on 16's, so be sure to order it if you want it).  Deckadence.  Third set of cleats is nice too - we have lots of short docks at restaurants.  Power seat is nice too.  Don't trailer, so no help there.  The PNP option is much improved in 16 over prior years (bigger pumps and bigger hoses).  It is fine for us.  By the time we putt out of our cove, we are ready to go, so nothing more needed.    

You have got to be pumped to be in the new boat ordering phase!!

 

 

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All great feedback...:)

The nice thing about the Johnson pumps is you fill hard tank with the oem pump while the Johnson is filling the bags, and they are totally seperated from each other.  Same thing when draining, it's a double win either way.  Plus the bags drain pancake thin, zero water in them.  I should probably schedule a demo to check the PnP out on the water.  I definitely don't want to wait 15 minutes to fill up my hard tanks and bags.  I was probably around 6-7 minutes filling hard tanks/bags with the Johnson pumps on my last vlx.

Definitely will order those rear steps on the trailer.

Will sit in a boat with power seat next week at my dealer to see how it feels.  I'm probably going to give it a try, always have wanted this option.

So it sounds like the 2016 malibu covers are nice???  I never tow with the cover on, it's more for when the boat is outside for a couple days here and there during the summer.  Not often but occasionally I will leave it out when we have multiple trips going in same week.

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I'm pretty sure you're going to do this anyway, but the wakemaker custom bags are a must.  I stupidly didn't do this originally and ended up doing it later.  They really are the way to go.


Dave

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10 hours ago, AussieSkier said:

Anyone got a photo of the "trailer steps"

Here's the best picture I have of the bow step.  It's not great but at least you get the general idea.

20160916_161630.jpg

Dave

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The rear steps Should be standard equip IMO. Easy to step up on the platform from the rear trailer step. I order the Bow step as well. You can get in and out of the bow easily when launching or retrieving the boat without getting wet.

Not the best picture but you can see both here. 

IMG_7683.JPG

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Speaking from experience, it's much easier to order the bow step on the trailer.  I passed on that as well (I was an idiot when I made a few of these decisions) and ended up making one.  The only positive is mine is now removeable but I don't foresee that "positive" ever being utilized.  Sometimes i amaze myself with my "brilliance"!

 

Dave

 

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10 minutes ago, AussieSkier said:

Thanks Dave

I would have just assumed those are standard. Glad you cleared that up. I have those on my 2016 and would be very disappointed if I didn't. They are a must!

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The Australian Trailers are a little different at the rear, but wouldn't mind speaking to Malibu / Easy tow trailers for an option in Australia.......

image_zpsrpmajcbr.jpg

 

image_zpso51irqqe.jpg

The flat section behind the tail lights is too far under the boat (especially for the older and really young people)

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ahopkins22LSV

IMO front cleats are a must if you do any kind of tying up. The 23 is too long to have just the midship and stern cleat. The bow will drift out of you don't have a line up there. Whenever we do an event I am always tying off from the bow eye or handle even on a 22 vlx, a, t...

I second everyone else's opinion on the power seat and trailer steps. Even on our TXi rear steps would be nice.

I personally think the new covers are nice, but have never used an evo cover. 

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Here's my opinion on the covers.....  Had the Malibu cover on my 2010 VTX, and have the Evo cover for my 2014 LSV....

Malibu Cover- Much easier to put on the boat from inside the boat. Mine had a strap to attach to the bow eye, and seemed to come down past the rub rail a little further. I don't keep the boat in the water, except occasionally when I'm away with it somewhere for the weekend, and the Malibu cover was just much easier to deal with form inside the boat.

Evo Cover- Great cover for trailering, as it's very tight. However, it barely just goes over the rub rail, and is very hard to install from inside the boat. If you have any amount of wind blowing the cover around, it's almost impossible to install from inside the boat.

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I must be in the minority, when I put on my cover I lay it on swim deck take the bow section pull it over and hook it on the bow then drape it over each side.  I never install the cover while in the boat, maybe I am doing it the hard way!:(

Is the 2017 cover the same as the 2014?  and does Malibu offer a cover that will fully cover the G4 when stowed?

 

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14 hours ago, AussieSkier said:

The Australian Trailers are a little different at the rear, but wouldn't mind speaking to Malibu / Easy tow trailers for an option in Australia.......

image_zpsrpmajcbr.jpg

 

image_zpso51irqqe.jpg

The flat section behind the tail lights is too far under the boat (especially for the older and really young people)

perhaps due to having to fit into a container?

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31 minutes ago, Fman said:

I must be in the minority, when I put on my cover I lay it on swim deck take the bow section pull it over and hook it on the bow then drape it over each side.  I never install the cover while in the boat, maybe I am doing it the hard way!:(

Is the 2017 cover the same as the 2014?  and does Malibu offer a cover that will fully cover the G4 when stowed?

 

That seems like it would be harder than starting at the bow from inside the boat. (That's how I have always done it)

We might need to see a video of your technique to fully understand it ;-)
 

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