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Response LXI freeboard?


asp13

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HI Crew, Anyone know how much freeboard there is in a 2003-04 Response LXI? How much more is there compared to a 2002 and earlier response? Also what would the freeboard of a sportster be?

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First off, I don't have any exact measurements for you.  So if you need exact measurements, you may want to stop here.  I don't think those are ever published, so you'll have to get an actual owner to chime in.  They published length, beam, draft, fuel capacity and dry weight if I remember correctly. 

That being said, it has been a long time since I have been in those, but as a general rule, the sportster has the least, with the response in the middle and the RLxi with the most.  You may gain a couple inches in each jump, but I wouldn't call it significant (my impression anyway).  Most RLxi's I've been in felt like they were just above the kneecap and I'm 6ft tall.  I remember being able to sit on the top of the gunwale and felt like my knees were more than 3/4 bent.

Edited by JeffK
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Are you looking for the distance from the floor to the gunnel or the freeboard?

 Definition of freeboard, the distance between the waterline and the main deck or weather deck of a ship or between the level of the water and the upper edge of the side of a small boat.

 

 

 

Edited by onamission
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ahopkins22LSV

Easy answer, not much! Any of those 3 will easily dip the bow. Any wave a foot or bigger will splash inside and a typical wave from a standard run about will roll over. Wakeboard or surf wave? You better be on plane!

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52 minutes ago, onamission said:

Are you looking for the distance from the floor to the gunnel or the freeboard?

 Definition of freeboard, the distance between the waterline and the main deck or weather deck of a ship or between the level of the water and the upper edge of the side of a small boat.

 

 

 

Sorry.  My fault.  Assumed he was looking for the interior.

@asp13 - If you are looking for freeboard, just google search the boats and click on the images tab.  You'll see tons of them sitting in the water.

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I guess I am more asking about the interior, height from floor to the gunwale. I found a 2003 response lxi that I really like. The wife wants a boat this is relatively safe for little ones. She would prefer a V drive but knows that we will get the best ski wakes from a DD. I have my heart set on a DD that can still provide space to hang out, board and surf a little. Friend of mine has a ~03 sportster, my wife doesn't like it since if feels like there is not much height from the floor to the sides of the gunwales.  There is some size difference between the 2 that I found, 6 inches longer and 7.5 inches wider. Just haven't found any numbers to show floor to side height

Edited by asp13
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I ski behind a 98 Sporty & an 03 Sunsetter. Sporty is a bare bones great slalom tug. No family room and gives a low slung sports car feel. The Sunsetter feels much roomier and quite a bit more floor to rail height, and still a decent tug thru the course.

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If you want to ski, surf, board, and have some room to let the kids run around plus make your wife happy maybe consider looking at the VTX. I know it’s a v-drive but with a diamond hull it can ski really well plus have so much more such as surf better than a dd. I have one and while I don’t think it’s DD flat it’s servicable for sure. 

Just a thought. 

Whats your budget?

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@asp13:  Freeboard height between the Gen 1 LXI and an '02 RLX is going to be very close to the same (difference probably not detectable).  The big difference between those two will be in the open bow area as the LXI rolls down or loses freeboard towards the tip of the bow.  As @ahopkinsTXi noted, it will be a pretty easy bow dipper, RLX will offer just a bit more resistance.  The Sportster freeboard is less, but the issue is, given it has less displacement due to narrow beam, same added weight sinks it more than a higher displacement hull.  Friends have a Gen I LXi and use it a lot with an army of grommets and have never had an issue and they have dipped the bow, they do live on a calm inland lake.

BTW, that Gen 1 LXI has an awesome slalom wake so do all you can to convince her...

Just my opinion, the Gen 1 LXi is probably the best slalom wake / dollar spent boat you could buy at present.  If you do want a boat with more freeboard and a great ski wake, you probably want to add the Nautique 196 to your list of options as it does have more freeboard.

  • Like 1
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Went out in the garage and our "05" is 24'"  

This was our first DD Supra Conbrio, talk about taking water over the front.  

 1989_supra_conbrio_001.thumb.jpg.8d5d9e9f95aeaf241116409927799e4d.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by onamission
  • Like 3
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I would love a VTX, but its about twice what my budget is. Im looking to spend up to ~20k, but would go to ~25k for the right boat. I found an 03 RLXI near me with lower hours in great shape. A sunsetter would work as well, not many to be had near me though.

Edited by asp13
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+1 in a sunsetter lxi. When I was looking for a Good combo ski/family boat this was by far the best. You can pick up an early to mid’00’s in the $20-25k range.

lots more room, higher gunnel height, bigger open bow, better in chop, and still a great ski wake.

id buy it again.

http://www.boattrader.com/browse/make/malibu/sunsetter-lxi

https://www.onlyinboards.com/Used-ski-boats.aspx?MakerName=3&Model=317&sold=1

Edited by braindamage
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i came from a sportster and there basically is no freeboard, great slalom machine but not very kid and shuswap friendly. now we have an LXI which is far better then the sportster for freeboard and more room for the kids (open bow). you do still need to be careful as you will take waves over the bow frequently if not paying attention. however we run our LXI everywhere in the shuswap without too much trouble. the only place I avoid hanging out is the narrows as there is rollers coming from everywhere!

  • Like 3
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i agree with the others - Sunsetter LXI - it's great in freeboard - we don't feel un-safe at all.   And it's hard to dunk too - we only did it one time b/c we had 3 people in the bow and the driver did a quick turn into own rollers.

Look for an 99-04 model.  I can assure you it skis 95 percent as good as a  response.   And it out skis most of my friends boat of another brand.  

Edited by SkiPablo
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@asp13 we have a 4 and 6 year old, our friends have a 3 and 6 year old. parents ski sets in the morning (Blind bay), afternoons we load all 8 of us up and cruise with no problems. 

 

I am interested in this RLXI you found...........sounds like a great deal.

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3 hours ago, SkiPablo said:

i agree with the others - Sunsetter LXI - it's great in freeboard - we don't feel un-safe at all.   And it's hard to dunk too - we only did it one time b/c we had 3 people in the bow and the driver did a quick turn into own rollers.

Look for an 99-04 model.  I can assure you it skis 95 percent as good as a  response.   And it out skis most of my friends boat of another brand.  

Always loved the wake behind a Sunsetter.

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22 hours ago, mackie12 said:

@asp13 we have a 4 and 6 year old, our friends have a 3 and 6 year old. parents ski sets in the morning (Blind bay), afternoons we load all 8 of us up and cruise with no problems. 

 

I am interested in this RLXI you found...........sounds like a great deal.

Awesome, thats good to hear. I have a 'want to buy' add on kijiji and a guy emailed me with a 03 Rlxi he is thinking of selling. White and blue, tower, wedge and a few other goodies, no perfect pass though. Looks like a nice boat, Im excited to look at it. 

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