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Sunsetter LXi in choppy water


SkiPablo

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Hi Guys,  coming from a 19' Bayliner outboard - weighs about 1600 lbs.   Getting better at slalom so looking at the 99-04 Sunsetter LXI's per some recommendations as an all around ski boat with room  - I know it's not going to be a good as a ride as my bayliner.   We often get 1' rollers on our public lake and wondered is this boat going to tick my wife off ?  I was in a 90's prostar this year and that was rough!   

Me and the boys ski mostly,  some occasional tubing and cruising.    Due to the hours of our lake we can't ski early morning or late evenings unfortunately so I gotta ski water that is not perfect sometimes.  

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Yeper.. non of our ski boats are good rough water boats. All are meant to get up on the water with enough hull forced into the water to shape a wake for our sport. The only thing that helps our ski boats, picking a speed that best suits the water. And keeps the bow out of the water. More often a slow speed. The 99 - 04 Sunsetter LXI is a very good ski boat with more space then many ski boats.

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SSLXi is an awesome boat, but alas, like others have said, it's going to beat you up in anything but smooth water.  The flat bottom just does not lend itself to a smooth ride in anything but near glass...but that ride on top of the glass is something that I will always remember.  You'll learn what speed mitigates the rough ride for various conditions, and how to keep the bow from going under (especially with people sitting there).  It's just the nature of a ski boat, not an inherent flaw in the SSLXi.

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thanks guys for the nice replies - I guess I really need to drive one of these before buying - I see a lot of good deals but it's not worth saving money if I make a bad choice.   Would go v-drive but the one I skied last year was like skiing into a brick wall the wake was so huge - might have just been that boat

Edited by SkiPablo
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Our family had 3 different SSLXi's and it wasn't a great rough water boat but with boats it's definitely give and take.  The bayliner did well in rough water but didn't ski well.  My experience is the SSLXI will handle rough water better than the Bayliner skied so you have to list that as a positive.  You just have to adjust how you drive.  Cruise at 20-25mph instead of 30 and keep the nose up.  I never felt un-safe in our SSLXi on busy days except twice when two storms collided and we were on the water but I wouldn't have felt safe in any boat during those experiences.

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It will do everything else related to water sports so much better it is worth a rougher ride in chop, IMO.  The trick is to find a better place to do water sports or take it slower when its rough and adjust your expectations a bit.  

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Or get a small V drive.  If you've been skiing in chop you won't notice the difference in wakes.  Happy wife with more room and ability to cruise around without getting wet (wetter).

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I find a little bow weight goes a LONG way in my Sunscape 21LSV. It keeps the bow (the part of the hull that actually has some V to cut through the chop) down and smooth's out the ride in mild to moderate chop. I'm on a pretty big lake and totally know what you mean though. 

Ultimately the 21LSV meets all my needs. It's good at everything, it's even OK at cruising. 2million times better than my old Skier. 

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I am looking to sell my 2003 SSLxi if you're interested in this model. It's a great ski boat, and with the wedge up, you get almost no wake at 20-25 MPH. Let me know if you would like to talk about the boat. It's got a Corvette LS1 engine which is awesome as it has a closed system, and performs very well. It also has a fully custom JL Audio stereo that sounds fantastic.

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4 hours ago, RTS said:

SSLXi is an awesome boat, but alas, like others have said, it's going to beat you up in anything but smooth water.  The flat bottom just does not lend itself to a smooth ride in anything but near glass...but that ride on top of the glass is something that I will always remember.  You'll learn what speed mitigates the rough ride for various conditions, and how to keep the bow from going under (especially with people sitting there).  It's just the nature of a ski boat, not an inherent flaw in the SSLXi.

filling the ballast bag in the ski locker (approx 300 lbs) will smooth out the ride in chop

not great, but better

Edited by Bozboat
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1 hour ago, ski40mph said:

I know there's a 90 Euro open bow for sale that rides good in rough water, just PM me.

"rides good in rough water"... A '90 skier??...you are kidding, right?  Probably weighs 2/3 of what a '99-'04 SSLXi weighs with lower freeboard.  How can it ride better in rough water?

And not near the interior room that the OP said he was after...

Edited by RTS
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5 hours ago, SkiPablo said:

thanks guys for the nice replies - I guess I really need to drive one of these before buying - I see a lot of good deals but it's not worth saving money if I make a bad choice.   Would go v-drive but the one I skied last year was like skiing into a brick wall the wake was so huge - might have just been that boat

What v-drive wake was like a brick wall? Mine is nothing like that. I honestly really can't tell much of any difference in mine and a SSLXi at ski speeds. I have skied a couple non-bu'S and the wake was not near as nice, more rampy. In chop you got to find the sweet spot for cruising speed keeping the bow down a little to cut through without going to fast and taking the chop to the flatter back area of the hull. 

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The 1990 Mystere LX open bow has a nice "V" that slices the water pretty good. Flat in the rear, not in the front. I'm not sure but I think it has more freeboard than the response, prob the same freeboard as sunsetter.

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2 hours ago, jrvs23 said:

What v-drive wake was like a brick wall? Mine is nothing like that. I honestly really can't tell much of any difference in mine and a SSLXi at ski speeds. I have skied a couple non-bu'S and the wake was not near as nice, more rampy. In chop you got to find the sweet spot for cruising speed keeping the bow down a little to cut through without going to fast and taking the chop to the flatter back area of the hull. 

Mastercraft X2.   

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Wake aside, nothing else drives like a direct drive.  Having that engine in the middle rather than sitting on the aft make's a huge difference in how the boat turns and tracks.  

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11 hours ago, SkiPablo said:

Hi Guys,  coming from a 19' Bayliner outboard - weighs about 1600 lbs.   Getting better at slalom so looking at the 99-04 Sunsetter LXI's per some recommendations as an all around ski boat with room  - I know it's not going to be a good as a ride as my bayliner.   We often get 1' rollers on our public lake and wondered is this boat going to tick my wife off ?  I was in a 90's prostar this year and that was rough!   

Me and the boys ski mostly,  some occasional tubing and cruising.    Due to the hours of our lake we can't ski early morning or late evenings unfortunately so I gotta ski water that is not perfect sometimes.  

Do you need an open bow? If not, check out a 97-99 Ski Nautique 196. We owned two previously and one of the biggest reasons we bought this era of boat was because of how solid the boat felt in the chop. It will still pound to a degree, but it cuts through the chop pretty impressively for a ski tug. To this day, it is still considered one of the best ski hulls ever made. We have an LXI now and love the boat's size and the nicer looking/feeling interior. At the same time, it definitely does not handle the chop as well as the Ski Nautique

7 hours ago, LS1boarder said:

I am looking to sell my 2003 SSLxi if you're interested in this model. It's a great ski boat, and with the wedge up, you get almost no wake at 20-25 MPH. Let me know if you would like to talk about the boat. It's got a Corvette LS1 engine which is awesome as it has a closed system, and performs very well. It also has a fully custom JL Audio stereo that sounds fantastic.

Have an ad posted anywhere?

Edited by BlknYlwT22
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37 minutes ago, BlknYlwT22 said:

Do you need an open bow? If not, check out a 97-99 Ski Nautique 196. We owned two previously and one of the biggest reasons we bought this era of boat was because of how solid the boat felt in the chop. It will still pound to a degree, but it cuts through the chop pretty impressively for a ski tug. To this day, it is still considered one of the best ski hulls ever made. We have an LXI now and love the boat's size and the nicer looking/feeling interior. At the same time, it definitely does not handle the chop as well as the Ski Nautique

Have an ad posted anywhere?

Not just yet, we just decided to sell yesterday after going to the Baltimore boat show. I'm going to pull it out of storage in the next couple weeks to get it ready to sell and take some proper pics of it so I can list it. PM me if you would like more info and I can send you the pics I do have.  

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23 hours ago, oldjeep said:

what speed? Even an x2 should be fine at 32. Slower that that you need a direct drive, v-drive is tough to get a decent wake slower than that.

it was an older x2 - i skied it at 32 and the wake was really rampy and huge trough - my boat is so much easier to ski behind.   But that boat is really a wakeboard boat

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There are plenty of good skiing v drives. 

The only times I'd consider buying a DD anymore would be for a ski only boat or budget boat.  

For everything else a v drive seems better to me.  More versatile, more roomy cabin, better rough water ride etc.  

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