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09 -12 VTX vs VLX, factory bow ballast +/-


afcase

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I am considering a newer (to me ) Malibu.  I currently have a 2004 21 Sunscape.

 

Considering a 09-12 VLX vs VTX  (I have read a bunch of post here over the last weeks) 

I would like to get my family into surfing as well as continue to rec ski, wake board, some tubing, and of course cruising.

We tow the boat about 20 min to our nearest lake, store it in our barn.

Typically we go out with my family of 4 (tow girls 11, 15)  and maybe 1-4 of their friends.

I didn't realize until just recently that if you have the option of a factory bow ballast (which it seems most do) that you lose the walk through bow. 

I've read a bunch about the benefits of factory bow ballast for surfing and wakeboarding. 

My question is how much functionality do you give up losing the walk through bow.  For those of you that have the factory bow ballast, is it a pain?  Do people still use the front seating?  Adults and kids?

It never dawned on me as my 21 lsv has no ballast and a walk through, until I saw the blocked off front end.  

I have read that the VLX with a diamond hull is the way to go if wanting to do some rec skiing too.   However, I have yet to find one, seems like all VLXs have wake hulls. 

Any comments on VLX wake hull for rec skiing vs VTX for surfing.

Are their VTX in that year range with a wake hull.  

The most frustrating thing is it seems like most sellers have no idea what I am talking about when asking about a wake vs diamond hull.

Feel free to redirect me if this has been covered 1000 times.  Just trying to get some feedback from folks not trying to sell me there boat.

And, if anyone is looking to sell a super clean VLX w diamond hull 09-12 let me know

Finally, I know the surfgate is a must but I just can afford the 13 and new range. 

Thanks 

Frank 

 

 

 

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@afcase 

I have playpen seating in my 2011 Vride (08 vlx hull) The center filler cushion could be removed for walkthrough on my boat, but we never had the desire or need to remove it whether we had adults or kids sitting up there.  The playpen works great for us and provides more seating up front and is actually better for kiddos than the walkthrough.  The vride didn't have an option for front mls like the vlx, but in order to get a quality surf wave these boats need weight up front.  The 09 to 12 vlx is similar to my hull in need for bow weight to wake surf.  The ratio most members here try to achieve is a 40/60 weight ratio front to back.  There are many threads here on surf setup for that hull, so I won't get into specifics, but make room in your budget for ballast upgrades (mls is not enough for surfing.)  For that reason alone, I'd try to find a vlx with bow mls.  It will also add to resale value. The only downside of bow mls, in my opinion, is loss of some storage area.  I began a bow seating modification this winter to make more room for ballast under my bow seating.  I had to fill a large bag on top of bow seats to get weight up front and in turn lost seating for peeps.  Long story short....I wish I had bow mls tank option in my boat.

You also mentioned that a surf gate boat is out of the budget.  I'd recommend, at a minimum, getting a "suck gate" so you can keep the boat level and not have to list or leave room in the budget for GSA install (aftermarket automated surf system with similar results to surfgate.)

I don't have any info for your questions about the diamond vs wake hull or the vtx.  I'm not smart enough to figure out which hull I have but I'm 90% sure it's the wake version.  Either way, I'm happy with it, but I don't slalom anymore.  Too rough on this old body and I'm not a fan of the slalom wake behind my boat.

 

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10 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

Not sure why being able to walk between the tiny bow seats would be a benefit.  My vtx has the bow tank

How many can you comfortably hold in the VTX for a few hours on the lake?  Didn't seem to be a huge difference between the inside of the VLX and VTX but on paper it seems a good bit smaller.

As to the walk through, not sure it would make a difference, just didn't know until recently that the bow ballast took it away.  So I wanted to get the opinion from you folks who are not trying to sell me you boat.

Thanks

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21 minutes ago, bovhica said:

@afcase 

I have playpen seating in my 2011 Vride (08 vlx hull) The center filler cushion could be removed for walkthrough on my boat, but we never had the desire or need to remove it whether we had adults or kids sitting up there.  The playpen works great for us and provides more seating up front and is actually better for kiddos than the walkthrough.  The vride didn't have an option for front mls like the vlx, but in order to get a quality surf wave these boats need weight up front.  The 09 to 12 vlx is similar to my hull in need for bow weight to wake surf.  The ratio most members here try to achieve is a 40/60 weight ratio front to back.  There are many threads here on surf setup for that hull, so I won't get into specifics, but make room in your budget for ballast upgrades (mls is not enough for surfing.)  For that reason alone, I'd try to find a vlx with bow mls.  It will also add to resale value. The only downside of bow mls, in my opinion, is loss of some storage area.  I began a bow seating modification this winter to make more room for ballast under my bow seating.  I had to fill a large bag on top of bow seats to get weight up front and in turn lost seating for peeps.  Long story short....I wish I had bow mls tank option in my boat.

You also mentioned that a surf gate boat is out of the budget.  I'd recommend, at a minimum, getting a "suck gate" so you can keep the boat level and not have to list or leave room in the budget for GSA install (aftermarket automated surf system with similar results to surfgate.)

I don't have any info for your questions about the diamond vs wake hull or the vtx.  I'm not smart enough to figure out which hull I have but I'm 90% sure it's the wake version.  Either way, I'm happy with it, but I don't slalom anymore.  Too rough on this old body and I'm not a fan of the slalom wake behind my boat.

 

thanks for the reply. appreciate the information. 

 

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3 minutes ago, afcase said:

 

How many can you comfortably hold in the VTX for a few hours on the lake?  Didn't seem to be a huge difference between the inside of the VLX and VTX but on paper it seems a good bit smaller.

As to the walk through, not sure it would make a difference, just didn't know until recently that the bow ballast took it away.  So I wanted to get the opinion from you folks who are not trying to sell me you boat.

Thanks

We regularly go out with 5 or 6 adults and there is plenty of room.  None of us are bubba sized. 

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I’ll put up another vote for the bow ballast. I have it in my VTX as well and looking at the space that the tank occupies, I wouldn’t think it would offer much room to really hang out with your legs down there. Kids usually sit/lay up there anyway so we would probably have the filler cusion up there most of the time if we didn’t have the tank. 

From other posts it seems that the differences between wake and diamond (across all 3 disciplines) could be negligible. Below is a somewhat relevant read. I think that there is a somewhat valid argument that the diamond hull has a better resale value. 

When I was looking for my VTX, I believe I ran across a few years that had the wake hull in your range. I also think you can find some info on hulls in the resource section. 

Happy shopping! 

 

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