Opinions on a 2004 Wakesetter VLX?

[shiftman]

7 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

Pics of the Baja?

https://clarksville.craigslist.org/boa/d/baja-outlaw-2004-like-new/6637873900.html

My wife didn't think much of the pics when she first saw them. When the owner rolled up the garage door and took off the cover, her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. The pics don't come close to representing how much of an "eye catcher" this boat is.

[Gavin17]

It could be a great boat for you.  If water sports aren't your primary activity then you dont have to have an inboard.  Many of us learned to ride behind an io. If you get hooked, you'll be back. If you get tempted to put a tower on it, don't.   

If you really want the Malibu make a friend on here real quick and teach your wife to surf this weekend. 

[shiftman]

There is absolutely ZERO chance that a tower goes on that Baja.

In a nutshell, I am a water guy. Love the water, always have been. I even jet ski through the winter months in a wetsuit. Truth be told, I would love to learn to wakesurf, but my wife will not operate a boat. She is the "textbook" passenger. Her fear of screwing up keeps her from trying to learn how to do anything boat related (except ride on it). Some folks that have spouses and girlfriends that can operate a boat and/or back a trailer, have no idea how fortunate they are.

[Michigan boarder]

42 minutes ago, shiftman said:

There is absolutely ZERO chance that a tower goes on that Baja.

In a nutshell, I am a water guy. Love the water, always have been. I even jet ski through the winter months in a wetsuit. Truth be told, I would love to learn to wakesurf, but my wife will not operate a boat. She is the "textbook" passenger. Her fear of screwing up keeps her from trying to learn how to do anything boat related (except ride on it). Some folks that have spouses and girlfriends that can operate a boat and/or back a trailer, have no idea how fortunate they are.

Then I say go with the Baja.  If she's that excited about it, you probably stand a chance of her operating it.  And if that never happens, dude, that boat is really nice!

I also agree with Gavin on the surfing, my wife thought it was so stupid of me to buy the boards, the bags, the pump, spend 30 minutes filling a boat with water, the stupid list, all of it seemed like me being on some other planet to her.  Then I got her up on a surf board, had one of her songs playing, and she loved it.  She is frugal to a Dutch fault, but if I said tomorrow "hey there's a great V-drive surf boat for sale for $25k" it would take all of 5 minutes and she'd be all in.

[oldjeep]

13 hours ago, shiftman said:

It is a sharp boat to say the least. The pics don't come close to showing how nice the boat is.

https://clarksville.craigslist.org/boa/d/baja-outlaw-2004-like-new/6637873900.html

Sad that they put a 305 in a boat like that.

[shiftman]

16 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

Then I say go with the Baja.  If she's that excited about it, you probably stand a chance of her operating it.  And if that never happens, dude, that boat is really nice!

 

Its the craziest thing with her. She never gave a second look at the plainer white Bajas at our local sand bar. She cares nothing about going fast. She is always looking at the wakeboard boats (Supra being her favorite). She wasn't even interested in going to look at it. Once the owner took off the cover, she was like "WOW". The yellow and purple magnetized her...lol

I can relate to the frugal part as well. We used to race motocross for years. Spent a small fortune. She didn't ride, but worked for promotors at races all of the time. Loved being part of the sport. While other guys had to listen to their wives "b****" about what they were spending, I could have bought a new bike every month and mine wouldn't have said a thing...:)

[shiftman]

22 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

Sad that they put a 305 in a boat like that.

Its the smallest in the line, so it got the smallest motor. My buddy has a Hammer (which is only 2 feet longer) and has a 454 in his. He does burn a lot of fuel though. 

I cant demo the boat until Sunday, so I will know more then.

[oldjeep]

2 minutes ago, shiftman said:

Its the smallest in the line, so it got the smallest motor. My buddy has a Hammer (which is only 2 feet longer) and has a 454 in his. He does burn a lot of fuel though. 

I cant demo the boat until Sunday, so I will know more then.

Just never understood why the 305 was an option in anything.  There is no reason I can think of why it would be cheaper to make a 305 than a 350.  Regardless 260 HP should be plenty

Edited July 25, 2018 by oldjeep

[shiftman]

1 minute ago, oldjeep said:

Just never understood why the 305 was an option in anything.  There is no reason I can think of why it would be cheaper to make a 305 than a 350.  Regardless 260 HP should be plenty

I agree with the 350. On a different note, I actually found a 2011 Bryant I/O last week that was NOT fuel injected. Blew me away that this new of a motor had a carb on it. Seller said a few people walked away when they learned it was not fuel injected. 

Lastly, if you get a minute, read my comments about my test drive of the Gekko in the "off topic" forum. It is the last post in the Gekko thread. Either this is a very cheaply built boat, or my towboat expectations were completely off the mark.  

[oldjeep]

3 minutes ago, shiftman said:

I agree with the 350. On a different note, I actually found a 2011 Bryant I/O last week that was NOT fuel injected. Blew me away that this new of a motor had a carb on it. Seller said a few people walked away when they learned it was not fuel injected. 

Lastly, if you get a minute, read my comments about my test drive of the Gekko in the "off topic" forum. It is the last post in the Gekko thread. Either this is a very cheaply built boat, or my towboat expectations were completely off the mark.  

I dont see the post you are talking about.  But if i were not using my boat for watersports, id be driving an i/o. 

[MadMan]

10 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

Just never understood why the 305 was an option in anything.  There is no reason I can think of why it would be cheaper to make a 305 than a 350.  Regardless 260 HP should be plenty

I think the only reason they offer the 305 is so they can charge you more to get the 350.

[Nitrousbird]

9 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Just never understood why the 305 was an option in anything.  There is no reason I can think of why it would be cheaper to make a 305 than a 350.  Regardless 260 HP should be plenty

Agree.  The GEN-I 350 was already very outdated by 2004 anyway...the 305 was just a whole other world of old and was an awful motor when new.

[williemon]

The space or lack in the cockpit of the baha would bother me. Have to sit. Cant move around. I like a lounge like my v drive. Im spoiled now.

[shiftman]

Well, my wife became enamored with the Baja, so that it what we now have. I might get my lounge boat if she gets tired of this one...……:)

 

[shiftman]

On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 12:38 AM, williemon said:

The space or lack in the cockpit of the baha would bother me. Have to sit. Cant move around. I like a lounge like my v drive. Im spoiled now.

My sentiments exactly on being spoiled. That said, the boat "flys" on the water...……:)

[williemon]

Enjoy the baha. With the money saved, buy an older v drive. Have two boats. All that said, take some opportunity and test drive some v drives anyway. Compare them to the baha and the i/o you had. That way you know the ins and outs of the v drives if you go that route later. 

[Michigan boarder]

You know, there is a special feeling at 45mph, cutting across the lake, hitting some rollers at a 20 degree angle and hearing/feeling the boat & prop leaving the water occasionally.  I do kinda miss that.

[shiftman]

On ‎7‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 10:34 PM, williemon said:

Enjoy the baha. With the money saved, buy an older v drive. Have two boats. All that said, take some opportunity and test drive some v drives anyway. Compare them to the baha and the i/o you had. That way you know the ins and outs of the v drives if you go that route later. 

I may very well do just that. Two boats seems like a bit of an excess, but I might just have to splurge.:) 

[shiftman]

22 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

You know, there is a special feeling at 45mph, cutting across the lake, hitting some rollers at a 20 degree angle and hearing/feeling the boat & prop leaving the water occasionally.  I do kinda miss that.

The boat has a wicked sound to it. Even the 454 Baja owners commented on how good the boat sounds. That said, it can also be a handful at times.