Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Looking at Axis


semi

Recommended Posts

I am currently in a 2006 Mastercraft X2. I love the boat, but it may be getting time to upgrade. We have really been into surfing over wakeboarding as we get older. We are also really struggling to get the X2 to surf well. Even with a home made suck gate and 500lb more of ballast it just isnt' cutting it. 

So that brings me to Axis. I don't know much about them, other than the pricing is somewhere i feel comfortable with. Living in Wisc, we only get 3-4 months of usage so buying a $120k boat is just not worth it to me. I am looking at the bargain models like Moomba, Axis etc... I really like the looks of the Axis but have concerns.  Moomba to me has really turned into an ugly boat but we all have our opinions. 

This boat will be primarily used for surfing. I need to stay at 21' or 20' boat for my lake. Can't go bigger as much as i want too. Was looking at the A20 as i may be able to get a great deal. Looking for opinions. I know this is the Axis site so it will be bias, but alot of people on the MC sites have really steered me away from Axis due to quality. I do want a quality boat, but i also take care of my stuff. I clean my boat religiously, have the dealer do all recommended service etc...  Looking for opinions from actual owners. I have heard Malibu quality has been going down which would also affect Axis. So before i consider this.. whats your opinion? Should i be looking at Axis? 

Link to comment
ahopkins22LSV

For the A20 I’d look for 2016+ because it was redesigned and much better surf boat. And the surf gate system is proven to surf very good and it’s the easiest system on the market to use.

As far as quality, I wouldn’t be worried. there is potential for issues with any boat from any manufacture. There are examples everywhere. Well maybe not on team talk because they sensor posts... anyways... What I have noticed in the past few years is that malibu has actually greatly reduced the mechanical and electrical issues. That’s what matters most with a boat. I can deal with a gel defect or seat defect that can be fixed in the off season as long as my boat is working and I’m on the water.

Keep in mind that when looking at axis or even Moomba for that matter they are designed to be more affordable options. That means less fancy and blingy things. Some may perceive that as lower quality, but it’s not. Axis uses the same hull and structure as malibu. And their power trains are tried and true. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one at all. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment

Axis and Malibu boats are assembled on the same line. Manufacturing quality is one in the same. Many have had minor quality issues, some more than others. New boats come with a 5 year warranty (Malibu or Axis) which is nice.

Are you looking new or used?

Depending on your budget, another good option for you would be the Malibu 21 VLX. Well optioned you can get one around 80k.

I have surfed an X2 and even with Gen 2 surf system, it still didn't compare to the A20 surf wave. Surf gates and wedge make for a really nice surf system.

I am on my 2nd axis and while both have had some quality issues, my dealer is working to make everything right. I think this is to be expected with new boat purchases...

Link to comment

Yah, i don't care about all of the electronics, in fact i prefer NOT to have them. More to go wrong more expense to fix. I like a boat thats easy. All i need is cruise control or speed control for surfing and boarding. And a depth finder to be honest, but having all the screens that control the boat are just not needed. I am an IT guy and look at that crap all day. A few have told me to look at the MC NXT, but its so damn ugly, i just can't do it. Again, my main concern is a boat that will last me a while if i do my part. 

And yes, looking at the VLX as well. But the A20 i have a line on is about 15k less. 

Edited by semi
Link to comment
18 minutes ago, semi said:

Yah, i don't care about all of the electronics, in fact i prefer NOT to have them. More to go wrong more expense to fix. I like a boat thats easy. All i need is cruise control or speed control for surfing and boarding. And a depth finder to be honest, but having all the screens that control the boat are just not needed. I am an IT guy and look at that crap all day. A few have told me to look at the MC NXT, but its so damn ugly, not a chance. 

I agree on the NXT. I can't get into it at all. I think the Axis styling, reliability and ease of use is what attracted me originally. Just purchased my 2nd T22 and am very impressed with the boat so far.

Link to comment

If you want one of the ugliest boats that surfs extremely well look at the HeyDay Wt-2. Probably the most economical boat with the best wave for surfing. Having said that it is not 'easy on the eyes :)

If your budget suits Axis it is a no brainer over competitor options like the NXT; we got into a VLX after looking at all of the other options (X10, XT21, Axis line, etc.) and if it wasn't the VLX it was definitely going to be Axis. Well made, competitor class waves (I know some sponsored phase 5 surfers who have/love Axis). In my opinion the NXT is just sad...

Link to comment

The older a20(1st year Axis surfgate)  based on Angle mount and height of surfgate in relation to new surf swim platform  (in essence the same 2013 Malibu setup ) and way slower actuators takes a lot of work to clean even even goofy wave , I can only get regular wave long and pushy, slightly shorter than goofy but very dirty and disturbed. 

The faster actuators with the improved surfgate on newer models make it s much cleaner both side wave without listing as much if at all

con is they don’t have the nose weight of the 950 mushroom bag, so I’m guessing my super listed wave on goofy is better but more work and driving skill 

the newer ones seem to do better barge style and have the much faster actuators fit transfers , need level and fast to be good at ropeless transfers , my gates are excruciatingly slow but stupid reliable never break cause this was the 2013 MAlibu debugged actuators in first year 14’ Axis  

Edited by granddaddy55
Link to comment
11 minutes ago, WhiteWaterWeb said:

If you want one of the ugliest boats that surfs extremely well look at the HeyDay Wt-2. Probably the most economical boat with the best wave for surfing. Having said that it is not 'easy on the eyes :)

If your budget suits Axis it is a no brainer over competitor options like the NXT; we got into a VLX after looking at all of the other options (X10, XT21, Axis line, etc.) and if it wasn't the VLX it was definitely going to be Axis. Well made, competitor class waves (I know some sponsored phase 5 surfers who have/love Axis). In my opinion the NXT is just sad...

You can get a 16/17' A20 for the price of a WT-2. Much better bang for your buck IMO.

  • Like 2
Link to comment

If i thought the NXT was ugly, there is no way i could do the WT-2. Part of my thing is style. Lets face it, we want nice looking boats. Its part of the experience otherwise why would we care about color, tower's, etc... Wake boats look nice and perform what we want to do which is surf and board. 

Looking at 2017 A20's and 2018's at the moment. Right now if the wife approves, Axis is in the lead. Also finding a dealer close to the lake i am on helps (within 40 min drive). Unless my MC dealer gets me a new X20 for the same price which won't happen. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
16 minutes ago, Raimie said:

You can get a 16/17' A20 for the price of a WT-2. Much better bang for your buck IMO.

Really , cause my lightly appointed and ordered a20 in December of 2013 with s $1000 inventive was 49900, 54900 after adding a galvsnized tandem trailer with brakes 

I know WT 1 went up but wow, you really must lose value if you buy a well appointed one or even lightly appointed for price if heyday

to me Heydsy is a bayou or small restricted lake boat perfect for only that environment 

when they 1st cane out they were priced well , probably too much now as what happened to Axis, demand brought all inboats tower boats up in value  

im unrealistic I guess cause based on budget to buy new that I can’t I wouldn’t consider selling mine for anything less than my before tax and registration price above!

Edited by granddaddy55
Link to comment

Yes, the WT-2 is not for everyone; it is all about economical engineering that is actually very good - I wouldn't buy it either though...not a chance.

Having said that don't buy into the 'bling' on a lot of boats either...Mastercraft builds a hot looking boat but the VLX produces a better surf wave than the X10 (and they dumbed down the XT21 which replaces the X10). There is a reason why a lot of the other boat builders (including Mastercraft) pay Malibu royalties.

Link to comment

J

33 minutes ago, semi said:

If i thought the NXT was ugly, there is no way i could do the WT-2. Part of my thing is style. Lets face it, we want nice looking boats. Its part of the experience otherwise why would we care about color, tower's, etc... Wake boats look nice and perform what we want to do which is surf and board. 

Looking at 2017 A20's and 2018's at the moment. Right now if the wife approves, Axis is in the lead. Also finding a dealer close to the lake i am on helps (within 40 min drive). Unless my MC dealer gets me a new X20 for the same price which won't happen. 

Get 4 racks, create some under bimini surf storage fir good boards , put your Broadcasts and the like in your wake/surf fork combo racks cause boat gets small fast fir 2peopke much less a family and friends, use 35lb lead sacks and lots of them versus on cushion sacks of any kind.  The lead can sit on bow cushions(tsking up very little space if you put on the corners of bow cushions by windshield ). Nobody will want to ride in bow in full sun but if they will put 2or 3 full size adults up there and less lead

picke fork, big bow, small cabin and much more so in a 20 footer

don’t buy titans fixed racks unless you can stand bumping your head on the pointed corners 4 of them per rack plus no round bars their mounted to, all sharp edges and points to eat nice surfboards you tske in and out for racks so don’t do it , I  still coildnt afford 4 Ptm clampers  4 fixed racks are a problem at docks as well making you tie up in a manner so that bottom and sometimes top rack hit dock posts, I don’t tie up much but when I do cause height of freeboard (really can’t do it ballasted down ) with this small boat, so makes swinging racks a must if you tie up

id rather have a basic white axis like mine with money into power WEDGE 2 , 4 racks and Heaters and other essentials than spending on bling , if in lot boat then it is what it is, and you negotiate down on what you don’t need that boat already has and gaining what it might not like sacs, Dual batts , depth finder

Edited by granddaddy55
Link to comment

I have a 17 A22 and it's been an excellent boat.  The stock surf wave (with PNP bags) is awesome and easy to setup.  I've not had any major issues and the few minor problems we found were all taken care of by the dealer.  When you talk about Quality of the Axis linup, I think it's important to define what you mean by Quality.  If you define Quality as a manufacturing defect or a feature not produced to a given standard, then Axis, in my opinion, produces a high quality product.  As with all boats, these are handmade so expect a few issues here or there but you should expect that with any boat from the A20 to the M235.  The Axis boats are well made, well thought out, reliable, have a 5 year warranty, and as @Raimie said, produced on the same line as Malibu's....it's hard to refer to them as a 'budget' boat!  If you define quality as the level or type of materials used in a few places, then it could be considered a lower quality when compared to a Malibu/others.  There are some places that use plastic (helm, side panels, etc) instead of higher grade materials, non-color display, push button switches, swim deck pad material, the infinity head unit...which all could be considered to be lower quality, but this is a "budget" boat so I consider many of these points to be design choices focused around keeping the Axis lineup in the budget class.  For our situation, we wanted a solid, reliable boat without all the bling that produced the best wake/wave possible and had good service and support (dealer)....Axis checked all those boxes.  I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

Go for the '18 and get the PW2...don't consider a 17.  This is one option I wished I would have waited for!

Link to comment
55 minutes ago, PMBST said:

I have a 17 A22 and it's been an excellent boat.  The stock surf wave (with PNP bags) is awesome and easy to setup.  I've not had any major issues and the few minor problems we found were all taken care of by the dealer.  When you talk about Quality of the Axis linup, I think it's important to define what you mean by Quality.  If you define Quality as a manufacturing defect or a feature not produced to a given standard, then Axis, in my opinion, produces a high quality product.  As with all boats, these are handmade so expect a few issues here or there but you should expect that with any boat from the A20 to the M235.  The Axis boats are well made, well thought out, reliable, have a 5 year warranty, and as @Raimie said, produced on the same line as Malibu's....it's hard to refer to them as a 'budget' boat!  If you define quality as the level or type of materials used in a few places, then it could be considered a lower quality when compared to a Malibu/others.  There are some places that use plastic (helm, side panels, etc) instead of higher grade materials, non-color display, push button switches, swim deck pad material, the infinity head unit...which all could be considered to be lower quality, but this is a "budget" boat so I consider many of these points to be design choices focused around keeping the Axis lineup in the budget class.  For our situation, we wanted a solid, reliable boat without all the bling that produced the best wake/wave possible and had good service and support (dealer)....Axis checked all those boxes.  I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

Go for the '18 and get the PW2...don't consider a 17.  This is one option I wished I would have waited for!

Agree. Seems like what we are looking for. When i say quality, i mean this; on day one boat is good, solid, but after 2 years the windshield rattles, stuff stops working etc... This was common in bass boats in which i have owned a few. When i finally bought a ranger, my bilge pumps still worked like new after 5 years. In the cheaper boats i had to replace every 2 years. See what i am saying? I can deal with some of the "lesser" materials etc.. i take care of my stuff. I am more worried about cracking, stuff not working after a year, that kind of thing due to using low grade materials from the start. 

Link to comment
1 hour ago, semi said:

Agree. Seems like what we are looking for. When i say quality, i mean this; on day one boat is good, solid, but after 2 years the windshield rattles, stuff stops working etc... This was common in bass boats in which i have owned a few. When i finally bought a ranger, my bilge pumps still worked like new after 5 years. In the cheaper boats i had to replace every 2 years. See what i am saying? I can deal with some of the "lesser" materials etc.. i take care of my stuff. I am more worried about cracking, stuff not working after a year, that kind of thing due to using low grade materials from the start. 

The 5 year warranty helps with that.

Additional upgrades for '18 include factory GatorStep floor and swim platform pad. This is a HUGE improvement from what was available in the past. GS is an awesome product. Additionally, the vinyl and seat padding was upgraded in '18 for the Axis line, further reducing the gap to Malibu. Malibu/Axis both have premium canvas mooring covers. I think the biggest difference is the towers and the touch screens on Malibu vs. a basic digital screen on Axis. Things like the bilge pumps, ballast pumps, rudder box, transmission are exactly the same on an Axis as a Malibu.

Link to comment

is the rudder box thing new Raimie?  I thought axis had a non-serviceable, vs. serviceable in malibu?

IMHO having owned one of each (14 malibu / 16 axis) the two biggest real world differences are (a) no assist folding tower and (b) windshield (and lack of wraparound).  People will mention powerwedge, but I haven't missed it.  Maybe vs PWII I would care more.  The windshield thing does bug a bit if you are out in the wind/chop.  Not gonna lie, you can get splashed a bit more than with a full wrap.  

The "simplicity" think is a bit of a red herring -- the Axis has almost as many computers controlling everything (engine/cruise/gauges/surfgate).  You just have round gauges instead of a screen and analog switches instead of a touchscreen interface.  It's really the deletion of the viper module / interface that's the simplifying factor.  My point being that even though it looks real analog, it's still way more computer controlled than, say, a 2004 malibu (and probably your 06 X2).

Yes the upholstery is "simpler" but it's totally functional.  I've never had a bad day on the water in any boat on the basis of upholstery. 

Link to comment
10 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

is the rudder box thing new Raimie?  I thought axis had a non-serviceable, vs. serviceable in malibu?

IMHO having owned one of each (14 malibu / 16 axis) the two biggest real world differences are (a) no assist folding tower and (b) windshield (and lack of wraparound).  People will mention powerwedge, but I haven't missed it.  Maybe vs PWII I would care more.  The windshield thing does bug a bit if you are out in the wind/chop.  Not gonna lie, you can get splashed a bit more than with a full wrap.  

The "simplicity" think is a bit of a red herring -- the Axis has almost as many computers controlling everything (engine/cruise/gauges/surfgate).  You just have round gauges instead of a screen and analog switches instead of a touchscreen interface.  It's really the deletion of the viper module / interface that's the simplifying factor.  My point being that even though it looks real analog, it's still way more computer controlled than, say, a 2004 malibu (and probably your 06 X2).

Yes the upholstery is "simpler" but it's totally functional.  I've never had a bad day on the water in any boat on the basis of upholstery. 

My '14 had a non-serviceable rudder box which failed after one season. (Almost completely seized). My dealer replaced it with a Malibu rudder box which has zerk fittings and it was so much better. This was a concern for me when ordering my '18 because of my bad experience. I sent an email directly to Malibu and they told me all Axis boats now have the serviceable rudder box. I don't know when that actually changed though.

I totally agree on the windshield. I do get splashed from time to time. I do however like how it is open to talk to my riders upon retrieval.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
On 6/1/2018 at 11:03 AM, semi said:

Agree. Seems like what we are looking for. When i say quality, i mean this; on day one boat is good, solid, but after 2 years the windshield rattles, stuff stops working etc... This was common in bass boats in which i have owned a few. When i finally bought a ranger, my bilge pumps still worked like new after 5 years. In the cheaper boats i had to replace every 2 years. See what i am saying? I can deal with some of the "lesser" materials etc.. i take care of my stuff. I am more worried about cracking, stuff not working after a year, that kind of thing due to using low grade materials from the start. 

What lake?  We just got our T22 and if your in the area I would trade a surf lesson for a ride so u could see for yourself.

Link to comment

I have owned two Malibu boats (06 RLXi and 04 SSLXi) and now we are going into summer #4 in our 2015 A22.  We love this boat.  It does everything we want on the water.  The kids could care less about touch screens and bling.  I wanted something that we could surf, board, ski, tube etc without having to constantly be throwing pumps over the sides.  We have a great relationship with our dealer and he has offered to make me a malibu demo guy.  We could swing the price jump but I keep going back to how much we love our Axis.  I like the simplicity.  I have been in every brand of boat and still think the Axis is the best bang for the buck.  I don't feel like we have sacrificed anything.

Link to comment

If the OP was needing 20-21 feet I definetly would be considering the base Malibu boat specials last two years 79-81k , “well appointed “.  If you can afford the extra it’s a nice boat by the looks and the online posts fir those who jumped on it!

op wax complaining about $120k boats being too much 

and we all know how I love Axis and cheap , but that’s Malibu and cheap , much better folding tower and windshield solved as per @shawndoggy, so you get some bling, less spray easier tower .

Tower, I do that 52 times a year or more, now that I’m mounting gear on it, I can really appreciate the higher quality if I could afford it which I can’t 

Edited by granddaddy55
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...