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VTX


Concrete

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Looking at buying a 2011 VTX.  Can anyone give feed back on this boat.  How is the ski wake, good for barefooting and what about surfing? Just sold our 03 Sportster and want a v- drive.  

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I have a 2011 VTX and we almost exclusively ski behind it.  I will assume you are looking at a VTX on a Cut Diamond hull.  The ski wake is really good above 30mph, especially with a little wgt in the bow.  The surf wake is good, but doesn't have a long pocket.  No surf gate, so you might need to consider an aftermarket solution if you are into surfing.  I can't speak to barefooting.

It is hard to beat the cabin space of a v-drive.

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10 hours ago, obski said:

I have a 2011 VTX and we almost exclusively ski behind it.  I will assume you are looking at a VTX on a Cut Diamond hull.  The ski wake is really good above 30mph, especially with a little wgt in the bow.  The surf wake is good, but doesn't have a long pocket.  No surf gate, so you might need to consider an aftermarket solution if you are into surfing.  I can't speak to barefooting.

It is hard to beat the cabin space of a v-drive.

I've got a 2012 VTX - diamond hull and I primarily ski behind it. we have owned it for the last 4 seasons (was 2 years old when bought)  Wife and kids wakeboard, we don't surf.  At around 32-34 I can't tell the difference at 15 off between my VTX and my inlaws 04 LXI.  The wakes look different but the VTX wake is pretty soft.  No idea on barefooting, it is capable of the speed you need as long as you stick with the stock type props (1939) and don't put on a surf prop.  My 5.7 (Monsoon 350SS) tops out at around 48MPH on smooth water with the 1939.

 

Edited by oldjeep
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I've had a 2012 and 2014 VTX.  As stated above, ski wake is very good over 30 mph.  Top speed I've seen on my boat is 45.  I've had a couple of different Acme props: 537, 1941, 1235.  I have the 350 motor. The boat surfs great with extra weight.  I have 750's in the rear lockers.  With surfgate and wedge added into the mix it's a nice wave.  Goofy wave is better.  If you are looking at an 11, you'll want an aftermarket surf device of some sort for when you are surfing.  That was the reason I upgraded my 2012 to 2014.........needed surfgate.

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I am on my 3rd VTX.  2007, 2011 and 2012.

 

As already stated a couple of times.  Ski wake is pretty darn good.  It is surfable, but don't be expecting VLX type waves.  Actually of the 3 boats I have had the 2007 was the best boat.  No issues, I know it seems odd, but it had more power than the other two .  We also found the surf wake is better with the 2007 as the platform was angled up and didn't cut into the surf wake.  Same motors and props as well.  I can top out at 42 mph with the 1235 prop.  We are over 3300 ft as well. 

 

Good luck!

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13 minutes ago, Concrete said:

Thanks for the great information.  Does anyone have baseline pricing for a 2011 vtx

That is going to be all over the place due to the scarcity of them in the used market.  Also will depend on condition, hours and options (and the value you place on those options).

This 2012 is the only non surfgate VTX in my area and seems priced fairly for my area at around 53K - 350HP 350SS, snap out carpet  and generally desirable colors (no tower speakers, which is the norm for most of the VTX I see around here)

https://mninboard.com/boats-for-sale/2012-Malibu-Wakesetter-VTX/US-MB2F6002E212

 

This 2011 on only inboards is a bit cheaper at $46K but has the lower horsepower LCR 5.7L and no snap out carpet

https://www.onlyinboards.com/2011-Malibu-Wakesetter-VTX-for-sale-Canandaigua-New-York-68442.aspx

This 2011 on only inboards is the same at 47K LCR/ no snap out but has a generally more desirable color scheme

https://www.onlyinboards.com/2011-Malibu-Wakesetter-VTX-for-sale-Greensboro-Georgia-70885.aspx

Note - those are the only 2 2010-2012 VTX listed in the entire country on only inboards

Edited by oldjeep
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A good friend bought an '11 VTX last year.  I think he paid around $48k.  We fitted a v-drive boom on it attached to the rear retractable pylon and out through the gap in the bottom section of the tower.  He was a little concerned about chine spray, but after getting it fitted up we took a test run, and he didn't stop smiling for a week.  Long story short, he loves it.  His previous boat was an early 90s Echelon, and he was very worried that he'd compromise his barefooting with the VTX.  While long line may suffer a bit (he doesn't do that very much), he's extremely happy with footing from the boom.

We also dialed his boat in for surfing quite well.  The key was 650s in the rear lockers and a 675 bow bag (with factory rears, midship, and bow) in addition to a Nauticurl wake shaper.  I'm sure others will argue the benefits of other wake shapers, but we tried them all, and the Nauticurl was by far the best on his boat.  With that setup, we were able to generate a VERY respectable wake with a pretty darn nice pocket.  The pics are of him at the end of the rope and video is of me and my daughter tandem surfing (that's a total of about 250 lbs on the board).  He's got another 6 feet of pocket behind him (as we found out once he dropped the line).  Crew was myself, the owner, another buddy and my daughter in the boat.  It's a great boat.  I got the 2018 at the end of the season, and his wake, though it's a little more labor intensive to produce, is every bit as good as my '18.

The ski wake on the '18 (at least at 32mph and 15 off) is far superior to his '11 or my '14, but the ski wakes on the '11 and '14 were pretty darn nice to begin with.  'Tis no response, but it's as close as you'll find in a boat with this level of versatility.  I also highly recommend the ACME 1273 prop.  It was magic on my '14.  I could still get 42mph but could also run 2500 lbs of ballast with ease.  My 1273 will likely be for sale soon, as they changed the gear ratio on the 2018s.  That's the one thing on the '18 that I truly dislike.  The taller gears are not an improvement, even with the bigger motor.

IMG_4127.mov

IMG_4122.jpg

Edited by ajgear
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9 minutes ago, ajgear said:

I got the 2018 at the end of the season, and his wake, though it's a little more labor intensive to produce, is every bit as good as my '18.

The ski wake on the '18 (at least at 32mph and 15 off) is far superior to his '11 or my '14, but the ski wakes on the '11 and '14 were pretty darn nice to begin with.  'Tis no response, but it's as close as you'll find in a boat with this level of versatility. 

 

 So you are saying the new 2018 VTX is a far superior ski boat to the first generation hull boats?  At least for 32/15.

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10 minutes ago, River Monsters said:

 So you are saying the new 2018 VTX is a far superior ski boat to the first generation hull boats?  At least for 32/15.

That's my experience.  The same setup on my '14 gave me a bit more pop crossing the wake.  On the '18, I was going through it like a hot knife through butter (that might be a bit of hyperbole, but it was pretty darn nice).  It's smaller, softer, and has less rooster.  I only got a couple of slalom runs behind the '18 before our season ended, but another buddy has a 2000 Response, and though I didn't get the chance to go from one directly to the other, it seemed very similar.  I'm anxious to try that next year (back-to-back runs behind his boat and mine).  I heard a lot of negativity about the ski wake behind the new generation hull, but I have no idea what that's all about, because my experience was 180 degrees from that.   

Edited by ajgear
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5 minutes ago, ajgear said:

That's my experience.  The same setup on my '14 gave me a bit more pop crossing the wake.  On the '18, I was going through it like a hot knife through butter (that might be a bit of hyperbole, but it was pretty darn nice).  It's smaller, softer, and has less rooster.  I only got a couple of slalom runs behind the '18 before our season ended, but another buddy has a 2000 Response, and though I didn't get the chance to go from one directly to the other, it seemed very similar.  I'm anxious to try that next year (back-to-back runs behind his boat and mine).  I heard a lot of negativity about the ski wake behind the new generation hull, but I have no idea what that's all about, because my experience was 180 degrees from that.   

Interesting.  Encouraging too if that is really the case.

  • Like 1
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  • 3 weeks later...

Does anyone have a VTX with the Wake hull? I"m about to buy one and hope to still ski behind it. Is is going to be '"that bad" compared to the cut diamond hull?

 

Edited by Jawsmovie77
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My first one had wake hull.  To be completely honest I couldn't tell a difference.  I'm not on a course chasing buoys, but I ski regularly at 34mph 15 off.  When I was selling it, I found out that the people who really want it for slalom skiing will want the diamond.  That made resale tougher on the wake hull.  (At least in Minnesota.)

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