Sunsetter VLX wake

[jbrooks]

Hey guys,

I could use a little help making a decision if you dont mind. I am looking to purchase a boat before next summer and am having trouble deciding which one to focus on. Here's why. Wife and I like to recreation slalom and would like the option of wakeboarding also. We have two kids and friends that also like to go along so room is a small issue. I have found a 2001 Sunsetter VLX (diamond hull right?). I love the room, but my concern would be will we be happywith the wake for somewhat aggressive recreational slalom skiing? I know the perfect boat would be the sunsetter lx or lxi but I can't find one I really like at a decent price. Hope all of this makes sense. Thanks in advance.

[trace]

What have you been skiing behind up to now?

The 01 SSVLX is a diamond hull. It will ski a ton better than almost any I/O, but you will probably be disappointed if you're coming from a 19' direct drive (unless it's an 80's Nautique). I'd also say the wakeboard wake wouldn't be a huge step up from a weighted 19' DD, but the interior room is worlds better, especially if you're running ballast.

[jetskipro550]

Its a pretty darn good ski wake. Makes a decent (its no wakesetter)boarding wake with enough weight.

[Chia]

my boat gets used mostly for surfing but a friends boat is exactly the same (except for color) and his kids and friends are doing flips and all the wakeboard tricks behind his boat. I haven't skied behind my boat yet as we always use the Ski Ray or a 19ft dd for slalom. At 30+ mph the wake on my boat looks good enough for skiing though. ymmv.

[CLOUT1]

I like to ski and board...not all that well...but this isn't about me. I like the wake for skiing, not a response wake but it's got a lot of room for kids, friends, and stuff. I have a wedge which gives plenty of pop for boarding...I have a nephew who hits flips all day long behind my 01 sunsetter lx...Good Luck on your search!!!

[obski]

My last boat was a 2001 SS VLX and I loved the wake. In actual fact there were many things I liked about that boat over my 06 VLX. We skiied behind the boat, although we mostly used the boat for wakeboarding and surfing. When you got the boat above 30 - 32 mph the wake really flattened out and was very skiable, although as has been stated you wouldn't mistake it for the Response. I had some friends who are serious slalom skiers get behind the boat and they enjoyed it, but did notice a harsh bump when crossing the wake - not enough to prevent them from being agressive with their skiing, but noticeable.

Hope that helps. That was a great boat.

[vette-ski]

I have the same boat you are looking at. I think it is a great crossover boat. I only slalom skied when I got it. At speeds above 30 the wake is very small. At slower speeds (like for your wife maybe?) it gets a little bumpier. I've pulled barefooters behind my boat who are used to small direct drives and they comment how good the wake is (but that's at 40+mph). Now, on the flip side I added a tower and a wedge and it's very respectable for boarding. Not as good as a wakesetter, but plenty enough for me to hurt myself on. Adding ballast weight (which I haven't) will make it even better. Maybe I'm biased, but I think it's the best Bu to get if you want to have the best of both worlds. IE, it will do better at boarding than a Response, and you won't want to slalom behind a wakesetter. And I personally like the interior layout of the v-drive better than a DD.

[jetskipro550]

I have noticed that the wake on the SSVLX when weighted the same as my SSLXi is much better then my boat. I really have no idea why??? The hull is the same, the weight is the same, and my boat even has the wedge... we have a SSLXi, friend has SSVLX, other friend has a WSVLX and I look at it this way. My boat has the best slalom wake, crapiest boarding wake. The SSVLX has the second best slalom wake and second best boarding wake (far superior then mine for no reason ) and the WSVLX has the worst ski wake but best boarding wake.

[Slurpee]

It's not as flexible as a 19' DD, but if you don't go crazy loading down the boat with tower, speakers, fat sacs and pumps, then it's pretty flexible with good wakes at a lot of line lengths and speeds. Once you add all that stuff you really are limited to 31+ and no more than 2 people, and half a tank of gas if you want dialed wakes. That's pretty much a normal setup for a real slalom boat so I consider it a win.

Bottom line though. Ski behind it once like I did to make up your own mind.

It dials in to a nice wake and surf wake as well with the right additions.

[JohnDoe]

Can you define what aggressive recreational slalom skiing means to you? I routinely ski the course with that boat and 22/34 is no problem. Even at 28 off, it's fine...smooth and relatively flat. I'll say this much, it blows the slalom wake of a "2001" nautique out of the water! It's, IMO, the best crossover out there...no offense to 211, 205V, and Sunsetter LX owners.

[Badger]

If you have a line on that boat at a decent price right now, buy it. I asked the same question a few months ago, got the same answers and have been looking to purchase a 2001-2004 Sunsetter/Sunscape VLX. I've probably found a grand total of 10 for sale in that time. They were all either completely across the country from me or were asking over $40k, which I think is too high.

[lakewaterjunky]

Hey guys,

I could use a little help making a decision if you dont mind. I am looking to purchase a boat before next summer and am having trouble deciding which one to focus on. Here's why. Wife and I like to recreation slalom and would like the option of wakeboarding also. We have two kids and friends that also like to go along so room is a small issue. I have found a 2001 Sunsetter VLX (diamond hull right?). I love the room, but my concern would be will we be happywith the wake for somewhat aggressive recreational slalom skiing? I know the perfect boat would be the sunsetter lx or lxi but I can't find one I really like at a decent price. Hope all of this makes sense. Thanks in advance.

If your into slalom a little more than wakeboarding, you need a little more room and are going to purchase used, I highly recommend a 2002 or prior SV23 diamond hull direct drive sunsetter (standard or lx only) the newer sunsetter lxi's are larger and heavier. The standard sunsetters of these few years have a competition class wake for running a course or serious open water slalom, they weigh the same as a Response lxi (very close to the same slalom wake also), they have a little more room inside and if you get a wedge(or have one added) you will love the wake it is capable of producing, especially if a fat sack is onboard or a few adults are lining the back seats. A standard sunsetter of these years is the buy far the best bet if your skiing hard much of the time. With a tower, wedge and a fat sake (or two) theses boats can't be beat. Our 2002 sunsetter has been fabulous and we have slalom as the main focus on the water, but our friends want to wakeboard behind ours because of the wake the wedge gives them. We researched the same issues long and hard before deciding on which Malibu to get and we could not have made a better choice, in fact our regular people on the water are just as happy with our choice since the boarders are behind our boat more than their own. I don't know where you are but we found ours at eastcoastflightcraft.com (they had some advertised on boattrader.com while I was looking last winter). I just spoke to the salesperson who sold us our sunsetter earlier in the week and he said they have an 02 and a 99 or two in stock that have not been listed yet, he deals with long distance sales quite a bit and they where the best price we found anywhere, his name is keith and he was very pleasant to deal with. If you're going to buy, I encourage you to hold out for one of the standard sunsetters. When you get one you won't regret it, we love ours. (check out the dimensions and weights etc. on these years compared to the others with the specs page from this sight)

[WakeGirl]

Hey guys,

I could use a little help making a decision if you dont mind. I am looking to purchase a boat before next summer and am having trouble deciding which one to focus on. Here's why. Wife and I like to recreation slalom and would like the option of wakeboarding also. We have two kids and friends that also like to go along so room is a small issue. I have found a 2001 Sunsetter VLX (diamond hull right?). I love the room, but my concern would be will we be happywith the wake for somewhat aggressive recreational slalom skiing? I know the perfect boat would be the sunsetter lx or lxi but I can't find one I really like at a decent price. Hope all of this makes sense. Thanks in advance.

If your into slalom a little more than wakeboarding, you need a little more room and are going to purchase used, I highly recommend a 2002 or prior SV23 diamond hull direct drive sunsetter (standard or lx only) the newer sunsetter lxi's are larger and heavier. The standard sunsetters of these few years have a competition class wake for running a course or serious open water slalom, they weigh the same as a Response lxi (very close to the same slalom wake also), they have a little more room inside and if you get a wedge(or have one added) you will love the wake it is capable of producing, especially if a fat sack is onboard or a few adults are lining the back seats. A standard sunsetter of these years is the buy far the best bet if your skiing hard much of the time. With a tower, wedge and a fat sake (or two) theses boats can't be beat. Our 2002 sunsetter has been fabulous and we have slalom as the main focus on the water, but our friends want to wakeboard behind ours because of the wake the wedge gives them. We researched the same issues long and hard before deciding on which Malibu to get and we could not have made a better choice, in fact our regular people on the water are just as happy with our choice since the boarders are behind our boat more than their own. I don't know where you are but we found ours at eastcoastflightcraft.com (they had some advertised on boattrader.com while I was looking last winter). I just spoke to the salesperson who sold us our sunsetter earlier in the week and he said they have an 02 and a 99 or two in stock that have not been listed yet, he deals with long distance sales quite a bit and they where the best price we found anywhere, his name is keith and he was very pleasant to deal with. If you're going to buy, I encourage you to hold out for one of the standard sunsetters. When you get one you won't regret it, we love ours. (check out the dimensions and weights etc. on these years compared to the others with the specs page from this sight)

Actually what you're talking about are the Sunsetter LXIs that were made from '99-'04. The hull change that you refer to took place in '05. Furthermore, the Sunsetters & Sunsetter LXs that were built through many of the same years as the LXI were built on the SV23 (non-Diamond), so be careful to look for the LXI moniker. There were a few Wakesetter LXIs made in '02 (I think) on the SV23 Diamond, but those are hard to find.

[lakewaterjunky]

Hey guys,

I could use a little help making a decision if you dont mind. I am looking to purchase a boat before next summer and am having trouble deciding which one to focus on. Here's why. Wife and I like to recreation slalom and would like the option of wakeboarding also. We have two kids and friends that also like to go along so room is a small issue. I have found a 2001 Sunsetter VLX (diamond hull right?). I love the room, but my concern would be will we be happywith the wake for somewhat aggressive recreational slalom skiing? I know the perfect boat would be the sunsetter lx or lxi but I can't find one I really like at a decent price. Hope all of this makes sense. Thanks in advance.

If your into slalom a little more than wakeboarding, you need a little more room and are going to purchase used, I highly recommend a 2002 or prior SV23 diamond hull direct drive sunsetter (standard or lx only) the newer sunsetter lxi's are larger and heavier. The standard sunsetters of these few years have a competition class wake for running a course or serious open water slalom, they weigh the same as a Response lxi (very close to the same slalom wake also), they have a little more room inside and if you get a wedge(or have one added) you will love the wake it is capable of producing, especially if a fat sack is onboard or a few adults are lining the back seats. A standard sunsetter of these years is the buy far the best bet if your skiing hard much of the time. With a tower, wedge and a fat sake (or two) theses boats can't be beat. Our 2002 sunsetter has been fabulous and we have slalom as the main focus on the water, but our friends want to wakeboard behind ours because of the wake the wedge gives them. We researched the same issues long and hard before deciding on which Malibu to get and we could not have made a better choice, in fact our regular people on the water are just as happy with our choice since the boarders are behind our boat more than their own. I don't know where you are but we found ours at eastcoastflightcraft.com (they had some advertised on boattrader.com while I was looking last winter). I just spoke to the salesperson who sold us our sunsetter earlier in the week and he said they have an 02 and a 99 or two in stock that have not been listed yet, he deals with long distance sales quite a bit and they where the best price we found anywhere, his name is keith and he was very pleasant to deal with. If you're going to buy, I encourage you to hold out for one of the standard sunsetters. When you get one you won't regret it, we love ours. (check out the dimensions and weights etc. on these years compared to the others with the specs page from this sight)

Actually what you're talking about are the Sunsetter LXIs that were made from '99-'04. The hull change that you refer to took place in '05. Furthermore, the Sunsetters & Sunsetter LXs that were built through many of the same years as the LXI were built on the SV23 (non-Diamond), so be careful to look for the LXI moniker. There were a few Wakesetter LXIs made in '02 (I think) on the SV23 Diamond, but those are hard to find.

O.K. Here is the low down: The recommendation and opinion I expressed was on the fact that the basic sunsetters (2002) were still utilizing the SV23 DIAMOND hull but were slightly smaller (1/2" width and 8" or so in length) along with being 100 lbs or so lighter than the sunsetter lxi models. The 2002 basic sunsetter weighs the same as a 2003 Response LXI, is 1/2" narrower, and is only 6" longer. Another perk of this year (according to our spec sheet) is that the basic sunsetter also had 6 more gallons of fuel capacity than the sunsetter lxi. Starting in 2003 it seems you could no longer get a basic sunsetter, only the lxi (which is still an excellent choice with slalom in mind first). Yes the older models had a different hull design than the sv23 diamond and if you buy a 1999 through 2001 or a 2003 through 2004 you have to get an LXI model soooooooooo

It seems that 2002 may have been the only year that this slightly down sized DD sunsetter with the SV23 diamond hull was available ???? (all I know is that I'm happy with mine)

If a person wanted to spend much more money for a newer used boat of the same slalom wake quality that had family and room in mind, you would have to open your wallet to a response lxi which of coarse has the choice slalom wake but slightly less room, lower gunwalls and lower seats making it a little less compfortable for a family.

The long and short of it all is that for the money (favoring a slalom wake) ; The Direct Drive Sunsetter With SV23 Diamond Hull is a great choice for a true crossover boat that any family would enjoy.

MY 2 CENTS

[WakeGirl]

O.K. Here is the low down: The recommendation and opinion I expressed was on the fact that the basic sunsetters (2002) were still utilizing the SV23 DIAMOND hull but were slightly smaller (1/2" width and 8" or so in length) along with being 100 lbs or so lighter than the sunsetter lxi models. The 2002 basic sunsetter weighs the same as a 2003 Response LXI, is 1/2" narrower, and is only 6" longer. Another perk of this year (according to our spec sheet) is that the basic sunsetter also had 6 more gallons of fuel capacity than the sunsetter lxi. Starting in 2003 it seems you could no longer get a basic sunsetter, only the lxi (which is still an excellent choice with slalom in mind first). Yes the older models had a different hull design than the sv23 diamond and if you buy a 1999 through 2001 or a 2003 through 2004 you have to get an LXI model soooooooooo

It seems that 2002 may have been the only year that this slightly down sized DD sunsetter with the SV23 diamond hull was available ???? (all I know is that I'm happy with mine)

If a person wanted to spend much more money for a newer used boat of the same slalom wake quality that had family and room in mind, you would have to open your wallet to a response lxi which of coarse has the choice slalom wake but slightly less room, lower gunwalls and lower seats making it a little less compfortable for a family.

The long and short of it all is that for the money (favoring a slalom wake) ; The Direct Drive Sunsetter With SV23 Diamond Hull is a great choice for a true crossover boat that any family would enjoy.

MY 2 CENTS

I see what you're saying now. Nearly all of the boats in the '02 lineup were on the diamond hull, with the exception of the Sporty, VLX & Wakesetter direct drive. This was the only year that I know of this to be the case. I don't know that the weight differences really make that much of a difference between a Sunsetter & its LXI brother from that year to the wake quality, but there is probably a small difference. Most people would favor the LXI because of the trunk - that additional 8" is all in the trunk & because of the way that it's cantilevered (sp?) out the rear of the boat, it retains the same wetted surface of its smaller brother. For this reason, the wakes should be nearly identical, yet the LXI has a much bigger, roomier trunk for storage.

[Malibudude]

The weight differences is 100 lbs. between the SLXI and the SLX and not really noticeable in wake size. As WG pointed out the wetted surface between the two models is the same on the with is changed at 93.5” vs. 93” . The SLXI is a great choice if you need to carry a lot of gear and typically take more than 4 adults. Granted it’s a slalom boat and three is plenty but still there are times that the space is needed. The SLX does have a larger fuel tank and that’s a plus but it really comes down to space both are very good slalom boats and I’ve spent a lot of time in the SLX (non-diamond hull) and it’s a great DD.

[relentless]

you also might want to look at the suscape lsv

it is what we have. i board and my cousin slaloms. he is on the U of A ski team and he loves our wake. but not compared to the prostar they run