Your Boating/TMC History

[Michigan boarder]

I'd leave my boat at home too.

[UWSkier]

I think it's time for @NWBU @IXFE and @Ronnie to contribute to this thread with photos.  That should give us tons to gawk at in these winter months!  What says the crew?

[Ronnie]

I'll bite.

2020 isn't here yet so the Boat Build pic is here.

2001 Sunsetter LXI. Sold to Virgina, last I saw this boat it was in New Hampshire. Met the buyer in Memphis in the middle of the night. He handed me an envelope full of cash and I handed him the boat.

I

2004 23LSV, I put an Illusion tower on this boat. This was a one year only Skylon tower and it sucked. Probably didn't help with me carrying two Skyskis on it either. Sold in Dallas.

 2010 23 LSV. Sold to Chicago.

2016 23LSV. Sold to Utah.

2017 23 LSV. Sold to North Dakota. Buyer drove to Dallas to pick it up. Still snow in North Dakota, it was mid 70's here. I thought they were gonna stay here.

2018 23 LSV. Sold in Dallas.

2019 23 LSV. For Sale!

2020 23 LSV. For Sale!

[carnold12]

Thanks for pointing me to the right place, @UWSkier!!!

Malibu #1:  1992 Sunsetter Euro F3               Parents bought it new in 1993 and kept it until we got into wakeboarding. Would kill to have the K5 and boat back!

Malibu #2:  2003 Wakesetter direct drive     Upgraded to a Wakesetter in 2003 as we got into local INT wakeboard tourneys

Malibu #3:  2006 Wakesetter VLX                  Realized we should've bought a v-drive and moved to this Wakesetter VLX in 2006

Malibu #4:  2010 Wakesetter VLX                  After graduating college, I convinced my parents to sell their 2006 Wakesetter to me so I could have my own boat and they purchased this white/green 2010 VLX

Malibu #5:  2018 Wakesetter 23 LSV            Dad and I each sold our older Malibus and went in halfsies on a bigger boat that was more well-suited for surfing

Malibu #6:       TBD!

Edited December 26, 2019 by carnold12

[Nitrousbird]

Bought my first boat in late summer 2000, right out of college, a Sea Ray 160 (16'9").  This is her a few days before I sold her (which was right after we bought our Malibu).  Sold in July 2011.  Was pretty reliable other than the motor letting go in 2002, where I had to put a crate 3.0 in her as there was a crack in the block, no one wanted to weld it and you can't buy the bare block.  Mostly slalom skied and tubed with this one, and started wakeboarding the last couple years we owned it.  The damn thing would drown you pulling up slalom and had to be ran WOT the whole time, but it did it.

The wife and I decided to buy a replacement, as we wanted something bigger and better for watersports.  I searched for month unit we found our '01 Sunsetter VLX.  Looked at some other stuff, but a owner boat, 330hrs, didn't have a dated color scheme like a lot of boats of the era and an upgraded motor option were big factors...and the fact we stole it for 20k didn't hurt either.  But she needed upgrades - badly, as this is how we bought her (no ballast, garbage stereo, and otherwise how she came from 2001):

So I spent a bunch of money:

[NWBU]

I came around to boating later than most here and was only on a boat twice before what turned into a really expensive outing with friends in September 2013. We were invited for a weekend on their immaculate 1999 Ski Centurion and had an absolute blast. They were getting the itch to upgrade and joked afterwards that theirs would be a great first boat for us. I mentioned the idea to a buddy at work and he was in for 50% without a second thought.

A few months and $6,500/each later, we had our first boat.

We used it a ton but quickly realized how nice it would be to move the engine out of the middle. I started looking at 2001-2004 Malibu's but my boat partner decided a 2008 23 LSV with 120 hours was the one. It was out of our price range but we finally got it for $50K in October 2014, and then sold our Ski Centurion to another friend.

That 2008 23 LSV was huge upgrade for us, and was flawless for 3 summers. I'd probably still have that boat if it weren't for spending too much time on TMC, meeting folks on here and getting spoiled with riding behind their newer boats. So the 2008 went up for sale just after boat show in early 2018, and sold the next week for what we got it for in late 2014. 

2018 was my first custom build (with charcoal gunmetal metallic) and we had a ton of fun with it.

So much that I wanted to do it again in 2019 but tweaked the colors to be silver metallic. Unfortunately I've learned I want every boat to be my last, and there's not much variety in my builds anymore now that I've got a boat crush on silver metallic.

 

 

[moski]

@ahopkinsVTX   This is cool topic you started.    My history — grandpa (my dad’s father) had a boat and my dad learned behind it, not sure of brand of boat.  My grandpa would take some of my dad’s friends and that’s how they caught the boat/ski bug.  My dad never owned a boat due to cost and reasons, etc....   but we had accessed and went to the lake probably 5 times a summer — going with my dad’s buddy who had a Baratta (i/o, year of boat probably 1980 or early 80s).  I grew up learning to ski behind that.  Around teenage years ski trips slowed down and then died off.   Early 2000’s in my early 20s my brother and i started up renting outboard deck boats or whatever the marina had once every so often till about 2006ish or so cause we were married and had kids.   When i was either in high school or college, i told myself i will own my own boat before I’m 35 years old.   Well my wife and i talked in 2012 and by the fall of 2012 (2 months before my 35th birthday) i purchased a new 2012 Chevy Silverado and a used 1997 Mastercraft Prostar 205 with a EFI covervette LT1 engine.  I taught my wife how to slalom and how to drive the boat, put the boat on trailer.  She’s awesome.  (See pictures).     

Great times and memories in that 1997 MC prostar 205.  That boat would’ve lasted me my lifetime, but like any guy i wanted few things (My dad’s buddy purchased a 1996 MC vdrive brand new and it has over 3,000 hours on it and still going).  we kinda miss the old MC 205 and would’ve lasted my lifetime, but we sure do love our Malibu TXI.   Nope I’m not a pro, just a weekend warrior but wanted few things like little bit better wake, zero off, also just a newer boat, etc....   my wife gave me the green light, so i sold the prostar and purchased a 2015 6liter Malibu Response TXI.  Wow at slower speeds the wake is fantastic with no white wash for kids, again I’m no pro and I’m far from it, but i can tell a difference between the wakes of my 2 boats.  I have the wedge on it too when i need it of course.  Toss up the fly high pole when we need it (i like inboards with no tower, very sleek looking).  My kids are barefooting off the boom with me.  Both kids started deep water slaloming right before they turned 8 years old.   My daughter is now 12 and my son is 10, both love water sports: slalom, barefoot, wakeboard, Wakesurf, kneeboarding, tube, wakeskate, tubing, etc....    Last summer i asked my wife “over the years has it been great at owning the boat”, and she gave me a big smile and said “yes its been great and happy i talked her into it.”   Great memories watching the kids play together, great time just the four of us (family time), great when we invite friends and they experience it, great watching the kids struggle with 2 skis when little or struggle with slalom when they were younger then they persevere and get up and the smiles they have = amazing for a parent to see.  Great times!!!

 Before we purchased our MC prostar boat in 2012 i wanted a Prostar 197 and told her it will be only boat i will buy.  They were all around $30k (that would’ve been a stretch for us).  So we spent a lot less and got the 205 also because we bought a brand new 2012 Silverado truck to pull the boat..  She kept telling me nope this is only boat we will have, i said no my dream boat is the MC prostar 197 (good looking boat) and we settled to get MC 205 first since a lot less $, then down road get boat of my dreams.  Like i stated above i would talk with her every so often and she finally agreed that if i sell the MC prostar 205 and whatever boat we get next will be last boat i own.  So as i shopped around and opened up my eyes and took off the blinders, i looked at all brands.  Once i saw these Malibu’s TXIs and also skied behind it and also got in one and drove it, yep I’m sold on it and wanted it.  Sure do love our TXI and will be my last boat i own= because its a badass boat and because i told my wife too.  

Edited April 13, 2020 by moski