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95 or 97 sunsetter lx with tower and wedge?


DOJOLOACH2

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Hey guys, just joined this forum as I'm deciding between 2 boats right now and could use some advice!

A 95 sunsetter lx for 11.5k ( negotiable) with no wedge and no wake tower. 180 hrs, new interior.

Or a 97 sunsetter lx for 12.5k( firmer) with a manual wedge and a generic wake tower. 550 hrs

I personally am buying this as my first boat because they're cheaper, efi and I want to learn barefoot and slalom. However would the wedge and tower be worthwhile for this hull if someone wanted to bring out a wakeboard?

How does the manual wedge affect performance if it is not engaged?

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The Wedge is great for boarding and with sacks, can make a decent surf wake.  Makes no diff when you are running at slalom speeds.  You don't need a tower but it helps for verts etc.

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I figured surfing would be out for the most part. I've got a friend with a wakesetter that can cover the wakesurfing.

How hard was it to install your tower? Seems most foldable ones are over $1500 that I have seen so far.

Looks like the wedge is $750.00 on the malibu website

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The install requires more frame/hull support on the wooden sunsetters from what I've read but not sure about the glass models. Looks like I'll just go with the model with no wedge/tower since I mainly plan to haul tubers and slalom. Thanks for the advice.

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12 hours ago, DOJOLOACH2 said:

Hey guys, just joined this forum as I'm deciding between 2 boats right now and could use some advice!

A 95 sunsetter lx for 11.5k ( negotiable) with no wedge and no wake tower. 180 hrs, new interior.

Or a 97 sunsetter lx for 12.5k( firmer) with a manual wedge and a generic wake tower. 550 hrs

I personally am buying this as my first boat because they're cheaper, efi and I want to learn barefoot and slalom. However would the wedge and tower be worthwhile for this hull if someone wanted to bring out a wakeboard?

How does the manual wedge affect performance if it is not engaged?

For footing and slalom I think you'd be better off looking for a Sportster or Echelon.  If there's nothing like that around and you are going with one of the two listed above, definitely do the '95, that's basically a new boat.  Post up a pic after you get it!

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I’ve found that tower is nice when teaching people how to ski (lifts up) and also for taking kids tubing. I don’t think there’s a bad choice between those boats.

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I have a 97 with the Monsoon motor, 21 ft Sunsetter LX, amazing boat, no issues.  I installed the tube that goes up through my top and then attaches to bow of boat, it works great for wake boarding.

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As someone who owned a 98 Sunsetter LX for 10 years, here are my thoughts.  

You will want the wedge.  It helps with wakeboard and surf wake, and has no effect on at high speeds and is desirable if you ever need to sell.

I think a tower is great to have.  The number one reason is that you can store all of your boards and skis out of the way. There is limited floor space on those boats so that is a huge bonus.  I had always planned on putting a tower on my boat until I decided to upgrade this year to a boat that alread had one.  I also believe the cost to install a tower after the purchase is far more than the price premium you will pay when buying already installed.

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Leaning towards the 98 now, I also saw it had a depth finder, which the 95 does not. (Not sure if they are the Computron system though)

I printed off the buyer brochures off this site and will see which boat has the better options.

Does anyone else think its strange that a 25 year old boat has only 190 hours and also needed a new interior at some point? Seems fishy

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/boa/d/wake-forest-malibu-sunsetter-ski-boat/6917199797.html  '95 model

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/boa/d/gainesville-malibu-sunsetter-lx/6892113847.html '98 model

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I have a 95 Response.  It’s a closed bow.  I have a tower and love it.  Ive taught dozens of kids how to slalom ski and it works great for pulling them right up.  Also my little kids (5 and 3) tube off the tower.  It hardly ever gets used for wakeboarding but works GREAT for storage.  It’s usually got 4 skis and life jackets all over it since there is virtual no floor space in these smaller boats.  I also have the manual wedge that does absolutely nothing to the wake unless you have it down and then it works pretty great for wakeboarding.  If you want to you can also take it off and leave it in the garage.  It’s great for resale value.  That’s my two cents.

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I bought a '99 SSLX with 150 hours and great upholstery for about $12.5k five years ago.  

The upholstery won't last long if kept outside, so it can go bad even if the boat has seen little use. 

I bought a boom for barefoot, but it's perfect for teaching others to ski or nearly any other water sport. 

I also got a fly high pole with the boat but have never used it.  I should get it out to practice longline barefoot starts. 

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9 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

If they are Computron, run, do not walk, away.  Or plan 1500 to sort it out with all new instrumentation.

With a dead Computron the guages and all will still work, but the depth finder will not.  That's like a $200 guage.  My Computron is finicky, sometimes on sometimes not, but I still have full functionality of everything on the dash and the rocker switches.  The Computron was a stand alone system for other functions above the normal dash stuff, so some came with it as an option and some did not.

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FYI, there's a '94 Flightcraft listed in the Classifieds forum for $6,500, which would be a fantastic first inboard, great for footing & slalom.

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I'll take a look. He took a deposit. Looks like otherwise it'll be the 95. Since it has so few hours anything I should look for in particular?

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Update: so I tried to go see the '95 today but prior to embarking he said I couldn't test drive on the lake because he had expired registration. Said he hadn't ran the boat in a year either so he is charging the battery today but will try to get a temporary pass So i can try it out Sunday. 

I'm guessing one of the first things I'll need to replace is the battery

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5 minutes ago, jaciche said:

Excellent! That's the boat that I want as a designated slalom/bf rig.

Yeah from what I've read they both have the diamond hull shape but being the response is a bit smaller it makes a better wake? 

Plus its got a new engine (RE-manufactured) which could be good or bad

Edited by DOJOLOACH2
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