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response hulls; i'm lost


tvano

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anyone care to weigh in on the differences pro/con of response lxi v fxi v txi? 

i primarily chase buoys and barefoot.

i'm doing most of my work from 34 mph at 28' off to 32 mph at 32' off, chasing into the middle of the course at 35' off.

my barefoot runs target 42 mph.  i know that many of the lxi 's have a really sweet table at 42 mph and 80' of line.

the crew primarily slaloms longer line and slower speeds; a consideration but not a go/no go in the decision.

considering taking the bath on my '04 response closed bow because of big hours (1845 current) and getting into the lxi-ish boat.

i really like the lxi but have not been in the fxi or txi, nor do i know the differences between the hulls.

all constructive input is much appreciated.  thanks.

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@tvano:  My 2 cents, first not ever been in one, but just recalling the boat I would skip the FXi.  LXi v. TXi, the big hull difference is less deadrise on the TXi which helped the longer lines.  To me, a Gen 1 ('03-'06) LXi is one sweet machine, not as fond of the Gen 2 version, which is not a good barefoot boat.  I think you would like the LXi wake a lot for slalom, it has softer edges than the LX at the shorter line lengths (sorry can't help on longer line lengths).  The TXi feels very similar, not really much difference at the shorter end of the rope, I do think it is slightly better at the longer lengths.  I have never footed behind one but my guess is it would be decent.  The SV23 hull is hard to beat for footing, particularly in Response LX / Echelon form.  I foot at similar speed, ski at 34 course, 36 open and knock off a few loops.

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ahopkins22LSV

Never barefooted it but my 2013 TXi topped out at 43-43.5 with the 5.7l 350 monsoon and acme 515 prop. I think you’ll get more speed out of the 03-06 gen 1 Lxi. The slalom wakes are awesome on it too. Plenty good at long and short lines. 

@inlandlaker what is your top end?

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TXi will burn more fuel and not foot as well but gives the best slalom wakes for long liners. Also tracks better in course. The 03 to 06 LXi is still my favorite Malibu hull of all time. Handling, fuel economy, and performance like your Response with a little better wakes. Agree on the FXi. Unless you need the freeboard, would skip it. 

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I’ll list them in chronological order

2003-2006 LXI fantastic slalom wakes and pretty good barefoot wakes.  Some still considered the standard Response or Response LX to be slightly better for barefoot but not as good for slalom.

2007-2011 LXI was again a fantastic slalom boat but it gave up a little on barefoot, mainly the long line wake table was not as good/firm as the previous LXI and LX. This generation of LXI is also slightly less sensitive to crew weight in the port/starboard direction. The bow height was increased slightly since the first generation was easy to take a wave over the bow. They also raised the drivers seat a little. 

2009 FXI was a “wide body” boat  it had more beam, more freeboard but was shorter than the LXI. These are actually hard to find since they had a short manufacturing run and the people that have them seem to keep them. It slalom skis well, very reminiscent of the Sunsetter LXI. Slalom quality is nearly on par with the LXI but a little more of a bump when you cross the wakes. The wakes are also wider at all lengths. Barefooting, these I have heard were better than the LXI in wake/table aspects but they have a little more side spray if you are on a boom. 

2012 TXI is again a great slalom boat and improved marginally over the TXI. Most short line skiers say the LXI and TXI ski very similar but the youth skiers that run longer lines and slower speeds said the wake was better (smaller). The big improvement with the TXI was tracking for the hard hitting short line crowd. The driver seat moved again for better visibility and I believe the bow height moved up a little again. 

If barefooting is priority I would go after a first generation LXI or a TXI. Slalom will be good across all boats. 

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I've had an '04 RLXi and two RTXi's - a '12 and a '16.  Both RTXi's had/have the 6.0.  The RLXi had a Merc Black Scorpion.

I absolutely loved the '04 RLXi, but there were three areas that I didn't like.

  1. If you ever foot off the boom or with a 5' section you'll need two extensions.  The windshield comes back further so you need the BI quad contour boom.  It puts you right in the spray.  
  2. It's not a friendly boat on busy lakes due to the bow.  You have to be on guard to make sure you don't stuff it.
  3. Do NOT put the Scarpa plate on if you also slalom.  It destroys the slalom wake.

The RTXi's have a noticeably better slalom wake - this is at 22-off/34mph.  I now ski at 32-off/36mph, but never did w/ the RLXi so I can't compare at that length/speed.  With the 6.0 I get 45-46mph w/ an ACME 515. 

Mike

Edited by mlange
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12 hours ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Never barefooted it but my 2013 TXi topped out at 43-43.5 with the 5.7l 350 monsoon and acme 515 prop. I think you’ll get more speed out of the 03-06 gen 1 Lxi. The slalom wakes are awesome on it too. Plenty good at long and short lines. 

@inlandlaker what is your top end?

I see top speed of approximately 44-45 on my '06 RLXi.  That's with just me and one other in the boat with 1/4 tank of gas in glass conditions.  Otherwise I don't see higher than 44MPH.

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15 hours ago, tvano said:

anyone care to weigh in on the differences pro/con of response lxi v fxi v txi? 

i primarily chase buoys and barefoot.

i'm doing most of my work from 34 mph at 28' off to 32 mph at 32' off, chasing into the middle of the course at 35' off.

my barefoot runs target 42 mph.  i know that many of the lxi 's have a really sweet table at 42 mph and 80' of line.

the crew primarily slaloms longer line and slower speeds; a consideration but not a go/no go in the decision.

considering taking the bath on my '04 response closed bow because of big hours (1845 current) and getting into the lxi-ish boat.

i really like the lxi but have not been in the fxi or txi, nor do i know the differences between the hulls.

all constructive input is much appreciated.  thanks.

@tvanoI'll be on vacation for a few days coming up.  Give me a call and I'd be happy to toss the keys your way for my RLXi if you want to play with it a bit.  You know where it is, so I'd be happy to offer it up for you to experiment with.  

 

Look forward to hearing from you. 

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5 hours ago, inlandlaker said:

@tvanoI'll be on vacation for a few days coming up.  Give me a call and I'd be happy to toss the keys your way for my RLXi if you want to play with it a bit.  You know where it is, so I'd be happy to offer it up for you to experiment with. 

thanks much for the offer @inlandlaker, it's much appreciated but i've got enough time behind jim's rig to know what to expect from an lxi.

been considering buying into one of the wide bodies but had no clue about the differences between.

also not as familiar w the various hulls as i should be so i reached out the the tmc community.

 

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One thing I just thought of that may be worth mentioning....

I do notice that both my RTXI's have been much more weight sensitive than my RLXi.  I actually bought 3 50lb Wakeballast bags that I use to keep the boat balanced depending on who's skiing with us for the day.

Never had to do that with my RLXi.

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6 minutes ago, mlange said:

One thing I just thought of that may be worth mentioning....

I do notice that both my RTXI's have been much more weight sensitive than my RLXi.  I actually bought 3 50lb Wakeballast bags that I use to keep the boat balanced depending on who's skiing with us for the day.

Never had to do that with my RLXi.

I find that odd, but I'll take your word for it.

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