The Great Compromise of 2018... Ski and surf review added!

[Raimie]

3 hours ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Tonmy’s is awesome!

Now I feel neglected...

[ahopkins22LSV]

1 hour ago, Raimie said:

Now I feel neglected...

I’m sure they can match vapor blue too!

[YNautSki]

I enjoyed seeing the videos of you skiing the boat. The wake looks good. Now I'm more motivated to test ski the VTX. "Skiing" behind my diamond-hulled '13 VLX is character building. Tommy's in Golden, CO is supposed to get several, maybe as early as late October. I hope  to check them out when I visit Colorado again in early November. No dealers in California are ordering VTXs for the showroom.  In the meanwhile I have a couple of questions. Did you opt for the front ballast tank? How many batteries do you have and where are they located? Is the cooler and trash can setup like the new 22 LSV? And is the upper half of the boat a mono-cast like the 22 LSV?

[ahopkins22LSV]

49 minutes ago, 21lsvskier said:

I enjoyed seeing the videos of you skiing the boat. The wake looks good. Now I'm more motivated to test ski the VTX. "Skiing" behind my diamond-hulled '13 VLX is character building. Tommy's in Golden, CO is supposed to get several, maybe as early as late October. I hope  to check them out when I visit Colorado again in early November. No dealers in California are ordering VTXs for the showroom.  In the meanwhile I have a couple of questions. Did you opt for the front ballast tank? How many batteries do you have and where are they located? Is the cooler and trash can setup like the new 22 LSV? And is the upper half of the boat a mono-cast like the 22 LSV?

Yes we have the front ballast. It’s neede for surfing and we run extra bow ballast as well. 

The vtx is unchanged for the hull in 2019 so no mono cast hull and no cooler trash can setup like the new 22 LSV. I don’t think there would be enough room for that anyway. What that means bough is you still get the rounded seatback corners and slightly more plush interior imo. I’m happy they didn’t change that. We have the two batter setup and they are still under the observer seat. 

[twitchee2]

awesome boat and the wake looks great.  Looks very similar to my sslxi, maybe a little bigger.

[powbmps]

5 hours ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

What that means bough is you still get the rounded seatback corners and slightly more plush interior imo. I’m happy they didn’t change that. 

Interesting point.  It looks like it's the last model to have that setup.

[ahopkins22LSV]

So I noticed something yesterday while under the boat setting up a fake lake. There is a hook where the hull meets the transom. I don’t recall seeing this on the earlier, 2016-18 VTX’s. I’ll get a picture today. Can anyone take a look at theirs? @AussieSkier? Maybe they added this and that is why the Ski wake seems to be better on the 19?

[Stevo]

It’s for trolling , this boat is truly a 4 sport crossover ski/wake/surf/fish

[ID AX]

On 8/31/2018 at 3:57 AM, ahopkinsVTX said:

So I noticed something yesterday while under the boat setting up a fake lake. There is a hook where the hull meets the transom. I don’t recall seeing this on the earlier, 2016-18 VTX’s. I’ll get a picture today. Can anyone take a look at theirs? @AussieSkier? Maybe they added this and that is why the Ski wake seems to be better on the 19?

Interested to hear more about this.  My dealer has told me that the 21vlx has a better ski wake than the 20vtx.  After seeing Ahops vids I am thinking we need to demo a '19vtx when they get one.  They have a 2018 and maybe I can convince the dealer we need to b2b the '18 & '19

[ahopkins22LSV]

6 hours ago, ID AX said:

Interested to hear more about this.  My dealer has told me that the 21vlx has a better ski wake than the 20vtx.  After seeing Ahops vids I am thinking we need to demo a '19vtx when they get one.  They have a 2018 and maybe I can convince the dealer we need to b2b the '18 & '19

That would be a really cool test to see back to back. 

[AussieSkier]

On ‎31‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 7:57 PM, ahopkinsVTX said:

So I noticed something yesterday while under the boat setting up a fake lake. There is a hook where the hull meets the transom. I don’t recall seeing this on the earlier, 2016-18 VTX’s. I’ll get a picture today. Can anyone take a look at theirs? @AussieSkier? Maybe they added this and that is why the Ski wake seems to be better on the 19?

not sure what you mean but if you get a photo ill have a look on my 18

[ahopkins22LSV]

These are the best pictures I could get this morning at the launch. Forgot to post these yesterday!

Edited September 3, 2018 by ahopkinsVTX

[Badger]

That looks like the old "cut diamond" hull hook.  Have they been offering a hull choice for the VTX since 2016?  It would seem to be an easy change to make in the mold.

I'm really confused on the color.  Is that the white hull being lit up by the tail lights?

Edited September 3, 2018 by Badger

[IXFE]

26 minutes ago, Badger said:

That looks like the old "cut diamond" hull hook.  Have they been offering a hull choice for the VTX since 2016?  It would seem to be an easy change to make in the mold.

I'm really confused on the color.  Is that the white hull being lit up by the tail lights?

@ahopkinsVTX has been fooling us all along. His boat is really red. I knew he’d come around!!

[ahopkins22LSV]

The diamond cut hull is the only option. And yes it was 7am yesterday morning when I launched so that is a white hull lit up by the trailer lights lol. No red  

[Eagleboy99]

That hook in the hull is designed to keep the bow down, especially at speed.  Reduces porpoising.  Sorta like a permanent trim tab.

[ahopkins22LSV]

I understand the purpose of it... like I said above I don’t recall seeing it on the 2017 vtx we demo’d and the ski wake on the 2019 is noticeably better so I’m just trying to find potential things that could be making the difference. 

[Woodski]

@ahopkinsVTX:  That looks like quite a bit of hook, can you measure the amount some time?  It is just not right to have the raw water intake at the transom, besides you should know that a 'proper' DD has the engine in the middle 

[UWSkier]

1. That color completely threw me off...
2. That does look like a LOT of hook, though I've never spent much time under a cut diamond hull.  Definitely way more than the '01 Sunsetter VLX has.
3. Don't they run the water intake through the V-drive first?  When the hell did they move the water intake next to the freekin rudder?  That's WAAAY back there.

[fishermen1918]

Tommys Grand Rapids Michigan  were amazing for my boat ..  The best experience I ever had buying a boat.. Big Shout Out to "tony" from the grand rapids (michigan) store !!

[ahopkins22LSV]

8 hours ago, Woodski said:

@ahopkinsVTX:  That looks like quite a bit of hook, can you measure the amount some time?  It is just not right to have the raw water intake at the transom, besides you should know that a 'proper' DD has the engine in the middle 

Sure no problem. And that’s what I was thinking, man that is a lot of hook. And I know... lol. I will say I was much easier getting a fake lake setup on this boat though! Oh and the 6.0 sounds soooo good

6 hours ago, UWSkier said:

1. That color completely threw me off...
2. That does look like a LOT of hook, though I've never spent much time under a cut diamond hull.  Definitely way more than the '01 Sunsetter VLX has.
3. Don't they run the water intake through the V-drive first?  When the hell did they move the water intake next to the freekin rudder?  That's WAAAY back there.

They do, but it’s not that far. I like it there as it’s super easy access the the raw water strainer and setting up a fake lake no longer requires me to be on my back under the boat. 

5 hours ago, fishermen1918 said:

Tommys Grand Rapids Michigan  were amazing for my boat ..  The best experience I ever had buying a boat.. Big Shout Out to "tony" from the grand rapids (michigan) store !!

Yeah they have been great! I’m very pleased to have them as our dealer now. 

[AussieSkier]

On ‎3‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 9:14 PM, ahopkinsVTX said:

These are the best pictures I could get this morning at the launch. Forgot to post these yesterday!

Same lip on the 18 (20VTX)

[ahopkins22LSV]

7 hours ago, AussieSkier said:

Same lip on the 18 (20VTX)

Cool thanks! I guess the main difference is the power train then. @85 Barefoot‘s theory of the prop building the wake might just be right. Problem is I don’t know what change OJ made to the 948 prop to make it the 951. I was just told t was a 948 with a special tuned cup for the vtx with the 6.0 and 1:50:1 transmission. 

[ID AX]

I’m really hoping that it’s more than the prop.  There is no way I can run the same prop as you guys down low.

@ahopkinsVTX I’m going to need you to swap out your prop to the high alt prop and then report back.  Ummmmm ya, Ok?

[ahopkins22LSV]

35 minutes ago, ID AX said:

I’m really hoping that it’s more than the prop.  There is no way I can run the same prop as you guys down low.

@ahopkinsVTX I’m going to need you to swap out your prop to the high alt prop and then report back.  Ummmmm ya, Ok?

Sure, buy one and ship it to my house