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Wakesurf thoughts on 2001 Malibu Sunscape LSV


BCJohnsontx

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I have owned several boats in the I/O variety but never an Inboard. My kids are getting into teenage years and we want to Wakesurf, Tube, and generally ride around the lake. I have a good line on a friends 2001 Sunscape 25 foot LSV for sale that has less than 500 hours and has been very well maintained. I like the the boat for the condition, seating capacity, and huge engine! Our budget is around $25K and we want to find a good wakesurf boat big enough for at least 14 people which is the capacity of this boat. 

Would love to hear from anyone on the forum who has owned/still owns one of these and get your feedback. How does the boat surf? Anyone modified the boat for surfing and what was the result?  

Also, the boat does not currently have a tower so I would be looking at adding that on myself. 

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i haven't owned a 25 but i am sure most folks on here will tell you that it has the potential to be a solid surf boat. If you add a good amount of rear and bow ballast along with some form of wake-shaper device it would have more than enough wave to satisfy most riders. Does it have a wedge?

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Thank you for the input. Yes, it does have the wedge. Not sure what the factory ballast options (if any) are on this boat yet. Would also like to find some good pictures of this boat with a nice tower. The boat is so big, it makes the towers I have seen look really small.

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with wedge down, 750lbs in each rear locker, 600lbs or so in the bow and some form of suck-gate i think you would be happy.

You're probably going to want either a titan III tower or an illusion tower. I have the titan 3 but prefer the Illusion.......modernizes the boat little and gives you better bimini options IMO

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1 hour ago, BCJohnsontx said:

I have owned several boats in the I/O variety but never an Inboard. My kids are getting into teenage years and we want to Wakesurf, Tube, and generally ride around the lake. I have a good line on a friends 2001 Sunscape 25 foot LSV for sale that has less than 500 hours and has been very well maintained. I like the the boat for the condition, seating capacity, and huge engine! Our budget is around $25K and we want to find a good wakesurf boat big enough for at least 14 people which is the capacity of this boat. 

Would love to hear from anyone on the forum who has owned/still owns one of these and get your feedback. How does the boat surf? Anyone modified the boat for surfing and what was the result?  

Also, the boat does not currently have a tower so I would be looking at adding that on myself. 

I'll throw this out because you say it'll be kids surfing - you don't really need a tower for surfing.  A tower makes it a bit easier to get up but is not necessary (if the kids are water skiers and/or skate boarders) so if you buy the boat you could put off getting the tower and concentrate on the ballast.  There are several threads on that.  It depends a bit on whether the boat has MLS (Malibu launch system) or not.  In that boat you can get 1000 x 2 plus 600 in the ski locker (if no MLS) plus 300 under the front seats without taking up any cabin space.  As Tags said, a suck gate is a very good option in addition to ballast.

Welcome to inboards!

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Thank you. If I go through with buying the boat, I would definitely look into getting the suck gate added to the package. Seems like there are very few of these boats out there so there is not much information from owners that I have found on how great/terrible these boats are to own and maintain. I really want a great surf boat more than anything else. I figure most the boats in my list can pull tubes good enough so the surfing and overall build quality is my main concern. My other option was the Tige 22-24v but most of the boats in my price range in those models are in the earlier 2002-2004 years and they only rated for 12 passengers. 

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The 25 Lsv was a weird one for Malibu. However it will probably well. You need a ton of ballast, a suction shaper with a big paddle and an aggressive prop. If the prop on it is for speed then plan 600 for prop and somewhere between 500 and 1500 for ballast gear. Depending on how you want to set it up. 

 

Edited by 95echelon
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Is there any way to search the users on the forum to find people who might own one of these boats? I really hate to buy one with no feedback on the boat. Thanks for all your help. 

I also can't seem to find any of the Illusion towers that will fit this boat. Might have to look at other options. 

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Just type 25LSV into the search box on the home page.  I got 312 hits.  That should get you started.

If you're not wake boarding then you don't need a tower right away.  When shopping make sure it will fit under your lift canopy and/or in your storage area/garage.

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The tower is definitely not a must have, as @minnmarker points out, but over time i've looked at the value of a tower extending far beyond just that for wake boarding. A tower gives you the ability to have a full height bimini so you're not ducking your head when walking around in the boat, it gives you racks for storage of boards, ski's etc.... and gets them out of the way, you can add speakers, lights etc.... very easily. Even if i didn't wakeboard at all i would still get a tower for the reasons i mention above. Just my 2 cents....

 

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1 hour ago, BCJohnsontx said:

Is there any way to search the users on the forum to find people who might own one of these boats? I really hate to buy one with no feedback on the boat. Thanks for all your help. 

I also can't seem to find any of the Illusion towers that will fit this boat. Might have to look at other options. 

I don't think you can buy a new illusion tower. However there are lots of good options available. Keep in mind it's going to require lots of modification to a lift to get it to work with a tower.  It's a point putting it down every time. 

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9 minutes ago, 95echelon said:

I don't think you can buy a new illusion tower. However there are lots of good options available. Keep in mind it's going to require lots of modification to a lift to get it to work with a tower.  It's a point putting it down every time. 

Everyone in my area leaves the tower up on the lift. They just buy a canopy cover with a longer drop to cover the sides. 

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2 hours ago, jbower said:

Everyone in my area leaves the tower up on the lift. They just buy a canopy cover with a longer drop to cover the sides. 

Me too. But you need longer poles for the canopy

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Great feedback and good ideas all around. I appreciate the advice. On the tower, I will be keeping the boat in a almost covered storage spot with a lot of height so no big deal on the non/folding tower. I like the tower more for the gear storage and the speakers and the holy S*** what an awesome boat look more than the water sports performance. I think the advice not to rush in on the tower decision is a good one. 

Regarding the forum, I will for sure do that search on the 25LSV, seems like I tried something similar and came up with 4 posts earlier. 

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17 hours ago, BCJohnsontx said:

Great feedback and good ideas all around. I appreciate the advice. On the tower, I will be keeping the boat in a almost covered storage spot with a lot of height so no big deal on the non/folding tower. I like the tower more for the gear storage and the speakers and the holy S*** what an awesome boat look more than the water sports performance. I think the advice not to rush in on the tower decision is a good one. 

Regarding the forum, I will for sure do that search on the 25LSV, seems like I tried something similar and came up with 4 posts earlier. 

Type this in google: "25 lsv surf site:themalibucrew.com" or whatever terms you want. The site: is the important part. 

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I did the search and did see a lot of results, but almost all of those were for the new 2016 25lsv How I wish that was what I was looking for. $150k+ is a bit overbudget for me right now lol

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Hard to find threads on 16 year old boats...

The 25LSV is a big hull (obviously) so will take a lot of weight to sink it enough to make a great surf wake.  With a crew of 14 and a good set of ballast bags plus a suck gate you should be golden.  If you want an older (cheaper) surf boat for 14 people it is probably the best choice.  Just make sure you have enough power.  The 2001 brochures shows the Sunscape 25LSV came standard with the 8.1 liter engine.  That should be plenty.  Just make sure anything you're looking at does not have the base Monsoon instead.

If your friend has, indeed, taken good care of the boat get it checked out by a mechanic you trust and then take the leap!

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