2018 Supra SL & 2018 Malibu 23LSV

[Wakesetter67]

4 hours ago, Capdoogie said:

That's Parker Payne in the new Supra SL on video above.  I demoed the 2018 23Lsv and was totally disappointed.  And I've had a long line of 23lsvs!  Wave had xtra 1 to 2 inch step coming off hull line out in the flats that was horrible.  Still have to add PNP bags to rear and xtra schlepping filling bags in bow.  Still the longest filling time boat I've been on demoing this month.  So far the centurion ri237 has been the best wave yet, but behind in the cockpit driver area ergonomics. Been inside the new Supra SL but have not had it in the water yet for a demo.  It's 1/2 foot larger than the 23lsv.  The SL has electric riser seat, electric fold down tower that locks in the down position  for travel (way cool!).  Cooler in the floor easy access. Two pumps per internal floor ballast tank. No sacs like other Supra models. Not a fan of the smaller screen. But I do like the redundant switches so your day of surfing or whatever is not ruined, If your screen glitches out.  Overall the G23 was the best boat overall  I have demoed and surfed.  IMO, Malibu is sitting on their  laurels and every other boat manufacturer has caught up or even surpassed them in some areas.  Go out and demo these other surf boats, you will have your Malibu eyes opened  like a long time Malibu groupie like I did!

Maybe it's all preference, I have ridden many of the boats mention, They were all good, and I just demoed the 18 23 LSV and it was better then My VLX and on par with most others, I'm an average Surfer not a lot of tricks so maybe that's why you were disappointed, I Have been behind my buddy's RI257 awesome wave but not so much as to switch brands, Probably just me not really good enough to care about the difference, I loved the boat! 

Edited September 17, 2017 by Wakesetter67

[jwl019]

1 hour ago, Wakesetter67 said:

I just Demoed the new 18 23 LSV and that was on my list, I hate running a bow bag, And the new 23 did great without one! 

That is good to hear!  It is definitely one of my biggest complaints on mine.

[IXFE]

2 hours ago, Wakesetter67 said:

I just Demoed the new 18 23 LSV and that was on my list, I hate running a bow bag, And the new 23 did great without one! 

Vince, this is good to hear. Any pics or video from your demo?

[Wakesetter67]

10 minutes ago, IXFE said:

Vince, this is good to hear. Any pics or video from your demo?

 Here you go, The Goofy was amassing, This pic is less steep we were playing around seeing how far back you could go, The Reg Is actually Eddied Trogin, We were demoing the same day and comparing notes! 

Edited September 17, 2017 by Wakesetter67

[DarkSide]

On 9/16/2017 at 11:29 AM, NorrisMike said:

 I have!  Are they considered in the BIG 3 now?  @IXFE ?  They are pretty pricey these days.

They are VERY nice boats.  I actually got to demo @DarkSide new boat.  I've never seen anything like it.  Everything about it was supersized, including the surf wave!  The surf wave is MASSIVE with great shape and crazy push.  Boat interior was on point and had many features that I liked.  

That said, we don't have a local dealer here. 

The lack of a local dealer is important, with any new boat, and with your closest dealer in Chattanooga, that's a haul!   The upside though, I have had one significant issue that was resolved after 2 nights in the shop, my previous two had spent literally dozens of nights by this point (125 hours).  Same driver, same lakes, same usage,  same 1000 pounds of lead, totally different results.... 

That said i definitely would not consider them "big 3".... yet.... lack of dealer network, and brand recognition isn't there yet.  It's growing but not there yet.   West i would say they are close,  they have better brand than MC or Supra in AZ, in TN not so much.  

So in the west resale is not as much of a concern, if i were to list my boat today, i would lose a small fraction of what i lost on my MXZ.   In TN I would have a bit more concern.  

 

[NorrisMike]

22 hours ago, ronixride said:

Found this video on FB.  

 

 

22 hours ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

Nice video. What does that have to do with this thread? Is he surfing behind one of the two boats being discussed?

 

I just checked out their FB page - That is the new Supra SL surf wave. 

[NorrisMike]

On 9/17/2017 at 0:07 PM, Capdoogie said:

That's Parker Payne in the new Supra SL on video above.  I demoed the 2018 23Lsv and was totally disappointed.  And I've had a long line of 23lsvs!  Wave had xtra 1 to 2 inch step coming off hull line out in the flats that was horrible.  Still have to add PNP bags to rear and xtra schlepping filling bags in bow.  Still the longest filling time boat I've been on demoing this month.  So far the centurion ri237 has been the best wave yet, but behind in the cockpit driver area ergonomics. Been inside the new Supra SL but have not had it in the water yet for a demo.  It's 1/2 foot larger than the 23lsv.  The SL has electric riser seat, electric fold down tower that locks in the down position  for travel (way cool!).  Cooler in the floor easy access. Two pumps per internal floor ballast tank. No sacs like other Supra models. Not a fan of the smaller screen. But I do like the redundant switches so your day of surfing or whatever is not ruined, If your screen glitches out.  Overall the G23 was the best boat overall  I have demoed and surfed.  IMO, Malibu is sitting on their  laurels and every other boat manufacturer has caught up or even surpassed them in some areas.  Go out and demo these other surf boats, you will have your Malibu eyes opened  like a long time Malibu groupie like I did!

Thanks for your feedback here.  I have a similar impression to the one stated above.  I intend on demoing both boats to be sure. 

Has the G23 had any notable changes over the past few years?  

Is the "step" you mentioned shown in the pic below?  

[NorrisMike]

On 9/17/2017 at 4:37 PM, Wakesetter67 said:

I just Demoed the new 18 23 LSV and that was on my list, I hate running a bow bag, And the new 23 did great without one! 

How did you weight the boat? 

[Cole2001]

18 minutes ago, NorrisMike said:

Thanks for your feedback here.  I have a similar impression to the one stated above.  I intend on demoing both boats to be sure. 

Has the G23 had any notable changes over the past few years?  

 

The G23 seems to have small changes every year. 

2016 got a new hull, that greatly improved surf wake and spray. Along with a very comfortable captains chair with leg cut outs. 

2017, new touch screen. 

2018 new tower and colours. 

Thats just all I know. 

[DarkSide]

Mike, i have ran across that trough a couple times too, it really screws you up the first few times you hit it.   I believe  it is caused by too much rear bias.  Because next time i rode that boat it did not have that trough.  So it is a weighting issues.

[ahopkins22LSV]

Malibu is just sitting around?

Surf gate came out in 2013. Since then we have seen two generations of hulls in multiple different models, drastically improving the surf wave. New screens, new towers, new tower options, new interior options, new trailers, new stereo, new wedge, improments to surfgate itself, and many other smaller improvements that would take way to long to list. Yeah, just sitting around  

Yes, others have caught up but that's the nature of any business. You can't introduce an industry changing option or model every year. 

That said it is for sure worth demo'ing other boats becaus wlike I said, many of them have gotten very good. I used to love Supra. I'm not a huge fan of the looks lately and I'll be honest, the dealer here sucks so we (friends) haven't bothered demoing one because it's not worth our time knowing we would never buy one from them. 

Edited September 19, 2017 by ahopkinsTXi

[Wakesetter67]

1 hour ago, NorrisMike said:

How did you weight the boat? 

All Stock Tanks full and 2 550's about 3/4 full in rear lockers.  Wake Makers suggested running 450 in each locker instead of 550. We had one guy upfront, ( Not because we had to ) I would assume if you wanted to run more wight in the rear a Bow Bag would help, It always did with my 22 VLX  It might be even better, I just wanted to see how it did with no Extra bow weight, Oh and we had 7 total in the boat

Edited September 19, 2017 by Wakesetter67

[NorrisMike]

On 9/16/2017 at 2:25 PM, NorrisMike said:

 

"But when you're charging Big 3 money you gotta try harder."  Can you please elaborate more on this? What am I missing?  What is the Supra lacking compared to the big 3?

 

@IXFE  "But when you're charging Big 3 money you gotta try harder."  Can you please elaborate more on this? What am I missing?  What is the Supra lacking compared to the big 3?  OR are you saying that Supra IS trying harder? 

[NorrisMike]

20 minutes ago, Wakesetter67 said:

All Stock Tanks full and 2 550's about 3/4 full in rear lockers.  Wake Makers suggested running 450 in each locker instead of 550. We had one guy upfront, ( Not because we had to ) I would assume if you wanted to run more wight in the rear a Bow Bag would help, It always did with my 22 VLX  It might be even better, I just wanted to see how it did with no Extra bow weight, Oh and we had 7 total in the boat

If 450 is good.... would 1000 be better?  I know the @Afun  ninja boat seemed to respond well to more weight.  

@Capdoogie Were you throwing more weight in the rear lockers? 

 

[ahopkins22LSV]

@NorrisMike one thing that is being discovered, particularly with the new hulls and bigger stock rear tanks, is that more plug n play is not always better. These new boats are designed around surf gate so it appears that they don't need to be slammed as much. There is a thread on here. I believe @shawndoggy started it. 

[gdmatson]

52 minutes ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

I used to love Supra. I'm not a huge fan of the looks lately and I'll be honest, the dealer here sucks so we (friends) haven't bothered demoing one because it's not worth our time knowing we would never buy one from them. 

Yeah, I completely agree. Known him personally for 20 years. Supra intrigues me, but I won't even walk into his shop. I literally walk fast past his display at the boat shows. Good judge of character!

That said, I demoed a ri237 last week and was really shocked. Much nicer than I expected. Saw your dockmate leaving as we arrived. Small world.

 

[IXFE]

18 minutes ago, NorrisMike said:

@IXFE  "But when you're charging Big 3 money you gotta try harder."  Can you please elaborate more on this? What am I missing?  What is the Supra lacking compared to the big 3?  OR are you saying that Supra IS trying harder? 

I just want a padded seat on the back. Is that so much to ask for??

[NorrisMike]

6 minutes ago, IXFE said:

I just want a padded seat on the back. Is that so much to ask for??

 

Just use your orthopedic coccyx donut bro.  Problem solved.

 

[NorrisMike]

15 minutes ago, gdmatson said:

Yeah, I completely agree. Known him personally for 20 years. Supra intrigues me, but I won't even walk into his shop. I literally walk fast past his display at the boat shows. Good judge of character!

That said, I demoed a ri237 last week and was really shocked. Much nicer than I expected. Saw your dockmate leaving as we arrived. Small world.

 

I was also impressed with Centurion. Build quality and surf performance were impressive.  

[DarkSide]

41 minutes ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

@NorrisMike one thing that is being discovered, particularly with the new hulls and bigger stock rear tanks, is that more plug n play is not always better. These new boats are designed around surf gate so it appears that they don't need to be slammed as much. There is a thread on here. I believe @shawndoggy started it. 

I agree with almost everything here,  it is really a function of what type of wave your trying to create.   Do you want absolute best possible, or 85% that still is fun, very rideable, just a bit smaller.  

 

 

[DarkSide]

49 minutes ago, gdmatson said:

That said, I demoed a ri237 last week and was really shocked. Much nicer than I expected. 

Careful, your gonna start upsetting folks...  Ri demos are like Fight Club, first rule, don't talk about RI demos.  

[Wakesetter67]

22 minutes ago, DarkSide said:

I agree with almost everything here,  it is really a function of what type of wave your trying to create.   Do you want absolute best possible, or 85% that still is fun, very rideable, just a bit smaller.  

 

 

Yes when my dealer had the 550 full, she said it was not near as good as draining a bit out, That seemed to improve it, For how I ride along with my crew we can ride anything and still have a blast, I would assume a pro or upcoming pro is a lot more fussy on how a wave is shaped, It honestly is not a big deal to me, I have ridden behind so many other boats and they are all so similar, Now I know if your a big guy and require a lot of Push, That can make all the difference in the world to what brand to buy. I totally get that! 

[IXFE]

13 minutes ago, DarkSide said:

Careful, your gonna start upsetting folks...  Ri demos are like Fight Club, first rule, don't talk about RI demos.  

I talked about mine and survived 

[DarkSide]

Just now, IXFE said:

I talked about mine and survived 

Yes, but you were one of first, before anyone really defected.  Now that there have been several folks switch, that topic has gotten much more sensitive.   

You are also the exception, i mean your IXFE, you have your own color scheme, a special assembly line, heck Jack even spends the night inside your boats before they ship.

[IXFE]

3 minutes ago, DarkSide said:

Yes, but you were one of first, before anyone really defected.  Now that there have been several folks switch, that topic has gotten much more sensitive.   

You are also the exception, i mean your IXFE, you have your own color scheme, a special assembly line, heck Jack even spends the night inside your boats before they ship.

I would gladly trade all those super powers for 6 more inches...

 

of air