About to order an 07 VLX

[Havok]

I'll be ordering a 07 VLX in the next few days. This will be my first boat, so I'd apprecaite some feed back on:

1. My list of options includes 4 tower lights. Are these useful, or are the docking lights all I need?

2. A black fiberglass swim platform looks best with the colors I want, but have heard that colored platforms show scratches. Should I go with white to avoid this?

3. Does the shower work only when the engine is on. Is this a pain to use?

4. I chose a subwoffer and amp. The saleman tells me I should also get dual batteries. What do you think?

5. Power Wedge. Seems worth the price - comments?

Once i figure out how to insert pictures I'll post an image from the new iSpec.

[Jimmy Buffett]

Welcome to the site - we love spending other people's money!!

1. I don't have a tower, but if I did I don't think I'd get much use out of tower lights. I've had my boat out at night exactly once. Docking lights that face forward help with docking whereas tower lights would not. They look cool on the tower though.

2. Black will definitely show scratches more than white. Black is also a lot hotter, but that probably won't be an issue where you live.

3. The shower will only have hot water when the engine is on.

4. It seems like Malibu has stepped up their stereo offerings in the last couple of years, but you still might come out better by doing an aftermarket custom stereo. If you still have time you might compare doing it aftermarket vs. Malibu doing it.

5. I'd definitely get the power wedge.

[WakeGirl]

Jimmy gives good advice & I agree with everything he said, the only thing that I'd expand on is the lights. I wouldn't plan on them being all that effective for boarding at night, but if you frequently put your boat on the trailer or in the marina after dark then they could be valuable to you. They're not good for much more than that, but are valuable to have in those situations. IMO, the tower lights are a bit more effective than the docking lights that come in the bow, mainly because with tower lights you have some adjustability where you have none with the docking lights. In that situation, I don't think that you'd need more than 1 pair, BICBW about that.

Best of luck with the purchase, & welcome to the site.

[Havok]

Thanks for the advise and the welcome. I'll delete the tower lights. I should have mentioned that the stereo I plan to order is dealer installed, which is a better deal than the factory unit.

[WakeGirl]

Thanks for the advise and the welcome. I'll delete the tower lights. I should have mentioned that the stereo I plan to order is dealer installed, which is a better deal than the factory unit.

In that case, you should be able to go listen to speakers & subs as well as look at head units, & really customize it to what you want.

[Havok]

In that case, you should be able to go listen to speakers & subs as well as look at head units, & really customize it to what you want.

I think this is pretty important too. BTW - I was looking at your gallary and was impressed by the size of the surf wake. What sort of ballast where you using?

[WakeGirl]

In that case, you should be able to go listen to speakers & subs as well as look at head units, & really customize it to what you want.

I think this is pretty important too. BTW - I was looking at your gallary and was impressed by the size of the surf wake. What sort of ballast where you using?

That wave was made using the following:

~ Bow tank full

~ Mid tank full

~ Starboard rear tank full

~ Port side rear tank empty

~ 750 lb sack in rear starboard locker (on top of rear tank)

~ Wedge down (I have the manul wedge)

4 normal sized adults at 9.8 mph. Since then (that was last February) we've refined it a bit to add another 500lbs in the cabin on the side that we surf & it lengthens the wave (it's a bit taller too, but it really makes it longer which is awesome). We run a little faster, about 10.4 or 10.6 with more weight like that, it helps clean up the wave since it tends to be more washy at the top with that much weight.

EDIT: One option that I hope you're getting on your boat is the bow ballast. It's really important on the VLX.

Edited October 18, 2006 by WakeGirl

[timjame0719]

I also have the manual wedge....I decided that it wasn't worth the high price tag for me on the power wedge and I'm young enough still to stick my hand down there and move it. I can't make the wedge go half way down or anything, but I figure I either need it all the way down, or all the way up. I'm not too particular and probably wouldn't notice a difference if I could adjust it to part way down. One side note on the power wedge....the four bolts that hold the wedge plate to the fork on my VLX got screwed up this summer. One of the heads on the bolt snapped off, one backed out, and one head was almost all the way snapped off too. My dealer told me that Malibu has been struggling a bit with the wedge and how the bolts hold the wedge plate. Some have problems with the wedge, some don't. The good thing is that I was able to easily unbolt the wedge system and bring it to my dealer.....20min. later he had new bolts on and I was out the door with my wedge. 1 hour later I was boarding with my wedge down. If I had the power wedge, I would have had to take my boat in and have it sit in line to be worked on (loosing valuable water time). Just a thought when ordering the power wedge vs. keeping the standard manual wedge.

Edited October 18, 2006 by timjame0719

[trevorb]

I'll add some comments on tower lights:

The next boat I buy will definately have tower lights. I actually do alot of boating at night. I find the lights are not good for boarding or skiing at night (rider too far back). Although we still board and ski the odd time at night, I find it too dangerous and actually not that much fun once the thrill of it wears off. However, we do alot of night time surfing and the tower lights work awsome for this. I actually use the lights the most just for docking at night. They're way better than just the standard docking lights. If you don't do alot of night time boating then I would forget the lights. They're alot of money for not much functionality.

[Big Dubya]

dual battery = Yes

[wakeup]

I also have the manual wedge....I decided that it wasn't worth the high price tag for me on the power wedge and I'm young enough still to stick my hand down there and move it. I can't make the wedge go half way down or anything, but I figure I either need it all the way down, or all the way up. I'm not too particular and probably wouldn't notice a difference if I could adjust it to part way down. One side note on the power wedge....the four bolts that hold the wedge plate to the fork on my VLX got screwed up this summer. One of the heads on the bolt snapped off, one backed out, and one head was almost all the way snapped off too. My dealer told me that Malibu has been struggling a bit with the wedge and how the bolts hold the wedge plate. Some have problems with the wedge, some don't. The good thing is that I was able to easily unbolt the wedge system and bring it to my dealer.....20min. later he had new bolts on and I was out the door with my wedge. 1 hour later I was boarding with my wedge down. If I had the power wedge, I would have had to take my boat in and have it sit in line to be worked on (loosing valuable water time). Just a thought when ordering the power wedge vs. keeping the standard manual wedge.

I love my power wedge and get a lot of use out of tweaking the wedge in various degrees while riding and I can really tell a difference in wake. Plus in my area it helps sell the boat when you want another one. Also, with the older manual wedge depending if you like to weight down the back of your boat more than stock for various reasons, a fully engaged wedge can actually cause the stern of the boat to rise since the attitude of the bow is up higher than normal. However, the new manual wedge is different this year than the older model and is designed to compensate for this, as well as change degrees manually. There is another thread you can search and read about that and with that in mind I might be tempted to go with the new manual wedge. I've just never seen it work in person.

Good luck and enjoy the new boat!

[Jimmy Buffett]

Oh yeah - forgot you mentioned dual batteries. Definitely yes on that one, and you'll want either a Perko switch or an isolator/combiner (Hellroaring). (Search the board for the debate ad nauseum on which is better.)

[Havok]

One option that I hope you're getting on your boat is the bow ballast. It's really important on the VLX.

Yes bow ballast is a must - it's on my list of options. Also am going with the Monsoon 340hp. I couldn't tell from your pictures if you hooked your non factory ballast sacks to the factory pumps. The forum seem to say that the ski wake is better with the diamond hull while the surf and wakeboard wakes is only slighlty worse. I couldn't see or feel much diference when i tested them so am inclined to go with the diamond hull too - just for added versatility. I'd love to hear from you guys on this topic too. For the next few years, I suspect I'll be towing the kids on tubes for 40% of the time, surfing 25%, boarding 20% and skiing 15%. The lake I'm at can be pretty choppy, and I'll usually have 5 to 8 people on board.

[Guest J-Ro]

Personally, judging by early reviews, I would skip the power wedge for the new floating wedge.

[WakeGirl]

One option that I hope you're getting on your boat is the bow ballast. It's really important on the VLX.

Yes bow ballast is a must - it's on my list of options. Also am going with the Monsoon 340hp. I couldn't tell from your pictures if you hooked your non factory ballast sacks to the factory pumps. The forum seem to say that the ski wake is better with the diamond hull while the surf and wakeboard wakes is only slighlty worse. I couldn't see or feel much diference when i tested them so am inclined to go with the diamond hull too - just for added versatility. I'd love to hear from you guys on this topic too. For the next few years, I suspect I'll be towing the kids on tubes for 40% of the time, surfing 25%, boarding 20% and skiing 15%. The lake I'm at can be pretty choppy, and I'll usually have 5 to 8 people on board.

The extra sacks are independent of the factory system, on their own pumps & switches. I can't comment on the differences between the 2 hulls, I just don't have the personal experience with the V25 diamond to give you an educated opinion. We know enough people with dedicated ski boats that we didn't feel like we needed that crossover capability, we can just jump on someone else's boat & vice versa.

[gonorth]

I'm a little on the cheap side and would not consider the power wedge mostly on that basis alone. But that being said I have the really old manual wedge where you pull a rod all the way in and out to make a change. (again the cheap thing comes into play) But even with all the pain in the xxx that is, as long as you plan who is doing what when you can reduce the number of wedge position changes and it isn't all that bad.

Based on your location you want to go with the shower. Running some warm water down inside a wet suit in the spring and fall is a wondeful thing to be able to do before you jump in. There are after market ways to do this so it isn't a must on your initial order. Not sure if all the ways to do the shower are similarly effective, mine was an add on and it is quite hard to get the right water temp mix and you need to rev the engine well above idle speed for it to work decent. The mixing valve on mine is inside the dog house, so first bad thing is you need the engine compartment open to adjust, and readjust. So, look for a system where the cold/hot mixing valve is back at swim platform.

Heater is a must too if you are pulling any girls. I seldom use the outlet at the drivers seat but the girls are always using the pull out one to dry their hair and shove up under their towel on cold days.

[jphillips]

IMO a heater is a must, wish BU would spend a little time and enhance this, maybe offer some additional ports in the seating area rather than two under the dash and one out the side put one under the dash and two located in the seating area.

[Malibudude]

Here's the best sound advice, drop the VLX and go w/ a RLXI.

[LS-One]

Here's the best sound advice, drop the VLX and go w/ a RLXI.

M'dude give really bad advice, you no consider, he blind from much cheap Whiskey.

Edited October 18, 2006 by LS-One

[Havok]

Will place the order tomorrow morning. Planning on going with a black fiberglass swim platform, Illusion X tower, 6 speaker system, 4 bullet speakers on tower, dealer installed stereo, sub whoofer and amp, dual batteries, Monsoon 340hp, stainless steel exhaust, depth finder, pop up bow light, hallogen docking lights, 2 pair of cleats, 2 outlet heater, shower, bow ballast, power wedge, standard cruise control, and the wake hull. Colors are very similar to the 247 LSV on the Malibu web site. Can't wait to see the factory pics.

Thanks for all the advise. Now, about that second job...

[Jimmy Buffett]

That will be one sweet ride!

[WakeGirl]

You forgot the heated driver's seat, worth every single penny.

[Trentster]

I second the heated driver's seat. I loaded my 2007 VLX for resale and went with the heated seat in addition to the heater and shower. Ahhhhhhh Yeahhhhhh toasty buns!

[Headhunter 2317]

Havok, I am SO jealous. I can't even tease myself by going on the Malibu site to look. I'm going to just show up at the boat show with my checkbook. By then I will be spazzing out like "Cornholio".

[smedman]

good luck with the new boat and welcome to the site.

we got the black swim platform on our vride last january. we have about 140 hours on the boat and do a lot of surfing. the swim platform doesn't really show any major scratches. (the transom above the platform is another thing however - you may want to ask wakegirl about the malibucrew transom pad)

enjoy!