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Pre-Maiden Questions


JeffC

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Now that I have a pictures of the boat on the floor in Loudon, my mind has moved onto what I need to do before I float the boat for the first time once I take delivery.

  • I have read through the manual, especially the break-in process, and plan to follow that closely.   I get that it may not be necessary to be overly retentive about the break in procedure, but I cant think it will hurt anything to do it.
  • I have a checklist of all the stuff I plan to check before I take delivery.  I plan on crawling through the boat pretty carefully, as my dealer is a full hour away from me.   I really dont want to make more trips than absolutely  necessary - so a good investment of time on the lot and in a water test seems to be a good one.
  • Figure I will spend a day rigging things the way I want them (whatever that turns out to be).   I will have more gear than I ever had in the Crownline, but also a lot more storage space.   Also sounds like a good excuse to do some driveway boating and have a cold one or three in the process.  It will also give me a good chance to get familiar with the helm, and especially the stereo controls.
  • Wax... I have done a little searching, but not finding anything definitive.    Have always felt with a new car that I should not wax immediately - rather wait 30 days or so to wait for the paint to cure.  I have NO clue if that is needed or even wise with gel.    The midnight blue seems like it will be prone to water spots, so I am more than willing to invest the time up front to avoid what I can of that.

So... Do I wax?   If so, what would be a good product?

Any other recommendations on other "pre-maiden" activities?    I am thinking of ordering up some PNP bags for it and getting that sorted out before the maiden too, but have not pulled the trigger on that yet. 

I cant wait to get it on the water, but willing to spend a little time up front to conserve time later when the water is warmer and I can get seriously into the watersports.

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8 hours ago, 7lazy77 said:

I have had good results with Collinite 920 boat cleaner & then following up with the Collinite Fleetwax.

x2. Collonite FTW. Follow up with some 303 Aerospace on the interior. Give it a quick wipe down at the end of every trip and it'll look 120% all season long. I took all of those recommendations from the Crew and used it last year. My kids smeared everything under the sun all over that boat all summer long. After a quick wipedown you'd never tell the boat was ever used.

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On 4/22/2017 at 10:22 PM, MaliWop said:

x2. Collonite FTW. Follow up with some 303 Aerospace on the interior. Give it a quick wipe down at the end of every trip and it'll look 120% all season long. I took all of those recommendations from the Crew and used it last year. My kids smeared everything under the sun all over that boat all summer long. After a quick wipedown you'd never tell the boat was ever used.

I was using 303 on my last boat... Loved the stuff.  Going to check out the Collonite now.   Also sounds like I just need to bite the bullet and order my PNP bags too. 

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2 hours ago, JeffC said:

Ordered a restock of 303, as well as the Collonite this evening.   Seems that the advice to order the bags is universal.  

You'll never question doing it. PnP is an absolute must on any Malibu (minus the M235) if you're going to be surfing. You just wait. With a coat of Collonite and those PnP's you'll love the boat that much more, even when you thought it wasn't possible. The good news..... Collonite is super easy to apply.

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Get a bow bag while you are at it too. Big triangle sack. That plus the pnp and you will be in business. 

Definitely protect the gel. 

You didn't mention if this is a first boat or not. 

One thing I do with mine is buy a cheap set of harbor freight tools (full socket set, open end wrenches, and full screw drivers +zip ties and gorilla tape) and leave them in tho boat  

 

spare impeller is smart too. 

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invest in some nice big fenders.  The ones where the rope goes through the inside, not the ones where the rope ties to one of the ends.  You can tie the ones I'm talking about higher up on the cleats.  Also get the ones that are like volleyball sized or bigger.  The ones I have are like the size of a women's basketball in diameter.   Yes, they take up a lot of room, but its much much better to deal with storing them than gel damage from a dock or from tying up to another boat.

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1 hour ago, 95echelon said:

Get a bow bag while you are at it too. Big triangle sack. That plus the pnp and you will be in business. 

Definitely protect the gel. 

 

spare impeller is smart too. 

IME, I tried the bow bag and have gone to a 650 Sumo in the walkway. Reason is that with the bow bag, the bow is now useless for anyone to chill there when your not riding. Sometimes people want to get up there out of the way or sit with lower volumes of the music and can't because of the bow bag filling all the area. With the walkway bag, people can still sit up there. I also think that it may be better for the boat to not have that much weight at both ends and relatively little extra weight in the center.

For the Gel water spots and the vinyl, I use Boat Bling products. Hot Sauce for the gel (won't strip the wax) and Vinyl sauce for the interior.

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59 minutes ago, 95echelon said:

Get a bow bag while you are at it too. Big triangle sack. That plus the pnp and you will be in business. 

Definitely protect the gel. 

You didn't mention if this is a first boat or not. 

One thing I do with mine is buy a cheap set of harbor freight tools (full socket set, open end wrenches, and full screw drivers +zip ties and gorilla tape) and leave them in tho boat  

 

spare impeller is smart too. 

This is my 2nd boat, but first new from factory.   Toolset is in the garage waiting for the boat to arrive, as is a new box anchor, anchor buddy, hyperlite broadcast board, and wakesurf rope.   New playlist is under construction (assigned to my middle daughter).   

I have the fenders, PFDs, etc from the old boat, but have been thinking about replacing them, thinking bigger would be better.   I did get the Phender Pros on the boat.  had trouble with the old smaller fenders still allowing contact during a tie up.

Edited by JeffC
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I also owned a crownline before my 15A22. (Crownie..) I know that's what you all called it..just get the pnp and install them.  I don't know what boat you are getting but my Axis runs 750s in rear 950 horseshoe and 540 walkway.  if I was going to keep the axis I would look at upgrading the pnp more.  

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It is a 2017 22 VLX... I ordered with the bow tank, and rear PNP, but no additional bags in the back.   To be blunt, I was hoping I could delay the purchase of additional bags for a bit while I learned to surf (cash flow), but I am hearing what has been said, so my priority for adding them has gone up.  I plan on talking to the dealer to see what options I might have, but have priced out the Wakemaker bags too.   Since I have the break in to get through, I probably have a LITTLE while until I have to load it up.

I miss my Crownie right now.   It was a fine boat, and I traded it to get the Malibu.    It was 80 this past weekend, and I REALLY wanted to be on the water.   Guess I probably am still a couple weeks away, so am going nuts waiting. 

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Quote

I plan on talking to the dealer to see what options I might have, but have priced out the Wakemaker bags too

and when getting the PNP for the rear ... buy the brackets to support the engine divider panels ... they bow immediately when you fill up the 750s.

from getting the rear bags from wakemakers, waiting for the venting kit from them and now the support brackets - I'm out 800 bucks ... feeling your pain. 

Quote

Since I have the break in to get through, I probably have a LITTLE while until I have to load it up.

and I doubt you have 'some' time due to break in ... hour 6 and we were rolling fully loaded - can't just sit there and watch the wave curl ... and it wasn't 80 degrees either ;-) 

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Also while "learning to surf", the more weight the better.  am not familiar with the VLX.. I am sure people here have maxed it out.  might as well go big.  otherwise you will be forking out more dough later.  you don't have to fill all the way.  if you weigh 210 or more you will need all the weight you can get.

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I had a 22vlx last year.  I had some 500lb bags in the back and definitely filled them and used the wedge every time we surfed.  I'm not sure you're going to happy without some extra weight in the back.  You just dropped a lot of cash on the boat, don't try to cut corners on a relatively inexpensive option that really is a must have for surfing.

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I see Wakemakers has the bags for $459 plus $29 for the engine wall supports. What's the auto vent kit? It says it only works with 2017 and I have a 2016. I assume this is to let excess air out of the bag to allow more room for water? 

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23 hours ago, JeffC said:

It is a 2017 22 VLX... I ordered with the bow tank, and rear PNP, but no additional bags in the back.   To be blunt, I was hoping I could delay the purchase of additional bags for a bit while I learned to surf (cash flow), but I am hearing what has been said, so my priority for adding them has gone up.  I plan on talking to the dealer to see what options I might have, but have priced out the Wakemaker bags too.   

In my opinion, if you are new to surfing, the bags can wait.  I learned to surf on a Direct Drive ski boat with only a 500 # fat sack on the surf side.  The wake / wave was many times smaller then what your boat is capable of without PNP.  I was in a similar place as you, and thought I absolutely needed the PNP right away in my new 21vlx, but I am able to surf it fine (ropeless) without any PNP.  Will PNP make it better, absolutely!  But it's not critical in my eyes.  You can easily learn the basics first, and then progress the wave from there. 

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@JeffC you do get a 10% discount from wake makers because you are a supporting member.  Comes in handy for your ballast bags.  They also offer free shipping and no sales tax.

I would highly recommend the rear bags, it's relatively a cheap purchase in comparison to the cost of the boat.  Mind as well do it now and get the best surf wave possible right from the start.

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I don't think they are talked about enough on here, but speaker sox and rack covers.  A definite if you are towing, but I even use them on the lift to keep the spiders off.  

They also offer discounts to paid members.  

 

1BA4A804-D762-4E8C-8797-40BE7931BE67_zps

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On 4/22/2017 at 1:01 PM, JeffC said:

Now that I have a pictures of the boat on the floor in Loudon, my mind has moved onto what I need to do before I float the boat for the first time once I take delivery.

  • I have read through the manual, especially the break-in process, and plan to follow that closely.   I get that it may not be necessary to be overly retentive about the break in procedure, but I cant think it will hurt anything to do it.
  • I have a checklist of all the stuff I plan to check before I take delivery.  I plan on crawling through the boat pretty carefully, as my dealer is a full hour away from me.   I really dont want to make more trips than absolutely  necessary - so a good investment of time on the lot and in a water test seems to be a good one.

How about you share what you have for a checklist and we critique/add to it?  To me it seems more important at this point than the PNP ballast issue...

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On 4/27/2017 at 10:57 AM, formulaben said:

How about you share what you have for a checklist and we critique/add to it?  To me it seems more important at this point than the PNP ballast issue...

I would love to get some feedback!    Wasn't ignoring your post, but work has had me buried here recently...

I started with the list that is in the resources section, then added/modified for my boat.   Mostly I am trying to make sure I have a checklist that makes me look at anything that COULD be problematic - mostly because on delivery day I expect I will be pretty amped, and could easily overlook stuff.    I had a checklist like this when I was buying my first boat, and it FORCED me to look at a consistent list as I looked at lots of boats.

Anyway, love to hear of anything more I should look at, or specific details of things I should look at.

Hopefully, I am only 10 days or so out.    I imagine the boat is complete by now, and only has to get to Colorado and be prepped.   It is supposed to be in the 80s next weekend... and I have NO BOAT YET!  Soon... soon.

2017 Malibu 22 VLX Delivery Checklist.xlsx

Edited by JeffC
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