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Stern drive


Lowrider

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Stern turn? The system that turns the boat without moving forward? 

Is it a must have? My Malibu doesn't have it. My brothers 2019 LSV 25 doesn't have it and we are still here. I guess it depends how you store it and where you drive. I could see it being very handy if you're going in and out of a marina slip.

You can add it post production if you want. Think it's like 7k or something.

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I agree with @qbeam.  We drove an inboard for 13 years.  It is great for tight spaces or pulling up to a dock.  It isn't necessary but does make it easier.  The biggest pluses for us is the quick turn around to get a rider and also we have the side pulls for the surf rope and it makes it really easy to get the boat lined up for new riders without dragging them through the water.  It's crazy though to watch the battery voltage on the dash drop when you engage it.  Also if it is pretty windy, it isn't as effective if you are trying to spin the back end around against the wind.

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Not a must have in my opinion.  But if you want it then go for it.  In my opinion anything 40ft or under doesn’t “need” a thruster. 

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I have it on my m220 and it is a nice thing to have when docking in the right spaces at the marina.   

Also let's you pick up riders quicker.   I agree with other poster that it is less useful in the wind.    Also it does have a tremendous draw on the battery.   I just use short bursts rather then holding the button down.    The burst are usually more then enough to spin the stern around quickly if you are a decent driver.  

However, it is nowhere near a must have.   I consider it a nice luxary item and some insurance Incase you get a tight spot.   A high-end radio is much of must have for me.  

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I have heard that the stern turn has a fairly significant impact on the wave.  I was at a dealer's boat show and he said he wouldn't add it because it messes with the wave too much.  Is this true?

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1 hour ago, Hemmy said:

I have heard that the stern turn has a fairly significant impact on the wave.  I was at a dealer's boat show and he said he wouldn't add it because it messes with the wave too much.  Is this true?

Wow I have never heard that… I will ask my dealer… thank you 

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I haven’t noticed that it impacts it. My buddy has a 21 24 mxz and our waves are really similar. Here is a video I took. It’s just my wife and daughter on the boat. All stock ballast and plug and play is full. Wedge was on 2. This was when we first got the boat so it wasn’t fully dialed in.

https://youtube.com/shorts/CEEorQZzaXk?feature=share

 

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3 hours ago, Hemmy said:

I have heard that the stern turn has a fairly significant impact on the wave.  I was at a dealer's boat show and he said he wouldn't add it because it messes with the wave too much.  Is this true?

Isn't it out of the water while underway? It's on the stern so nothing should be in the water while driving.:dontknow:

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I added an EZ Drive Thruster aftermarket to my 2019 23 LSV.  They are the same manufacturer who makes Stern Turn for Malibu.  It was about $8 grand installed when all was said and done.  I think it was well worth the money.  In calm waters it's not necessary, but where we dock it gets choppy and windy in the afternoon and it really helps.  I wouldn't call it a must have, but I'm damned glad I have it.  I also added larger capacity batteries as it does have quite a drain on the battery.  

For more advanced drivers and surfers, it's not really that important for surfing / getting to a rider IMO.  It's pretty nice for positioning the boat for beginners though (i.e. for me surfing it's easy to pop over the wake to get to port side, but for the kids who need to start port side, it's great to move the boat a little bit).  

I have noticed zero impact to the surf wave from having it on the boat.  Everyone surfs regular and it's on the starboard side of the prop, so I can't comment about disruption to goofy side wave.

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I would be very careful for anyone consider adding EZ Drive aftermarket and not ordering it with your boat if you want this option.  Going forward, Malibu is taking a very strong stance and voiding all warranties relating to anything electrical on the boat if the EZ Drive/Stern Turn is added aftermarket and not selected as a factory installed option.  I have a '22 25LSV on order and was considering ordering the boat with all my options and then buying the EZ Drive system from the company in FL and having my dealer install afterwards.  Would have saved me ~$1500 but they told me they cannot do it anymore before Malibu decided to take a strong stance on this and will void any warranties going forward if they are not installed by them.  This means if your Maliview screen goes out in year three they will not cover it.  I ultimately decided that it is not worth it having to try and fight Malibu if something goes wrong with anything electrical related (even if it may or may not have been caused from EZ Drive) so if I do go this route I will have it installed at factory.  For now, I opted for the LT4 supercharged engine instead of Stern Turn so I think I will just live without this option.  It would be really cool to have while docking but this will be my 4th Malibu and have been just fine without it so far!

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I’m not familiar with what Malibu is running on the GM engines but on the raptors if you get the thruster is comes with the larger 230A alternator which is needed to power the thruster. 

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1 minute ago, Cole2001 said:

I’m not familiar with what Malibu is running on the GM engines but on the raptors if you get the thruster is comes with the larger 230A alternator which is needed to power the thruster. 

To my understanding the alternator is not what powers the thruster, it is your battery bank.  The higher power alternator just replenishes your batteries back to full power quicker because the thruster has a very high draw rate.  For example, if you had an extra dedicated battery for it, the standard alternator would work just fine as long as you use a large gauge power wire such as 1/0.   I was told by my dealer that the current newer models come with a 115amp alternator and the older ones were 95amp but if you order stern turn it also requires you to upgrade to the 170 amp alternator as well as battery group 3 which has some kind of automatic switching in the banks to automatically replenish the banks that are the most drained. 

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EZ Drive specs states current draw is 245 Amps. That's more than many V8 starters draw so can see why it's putting quite a load on the battery when operating. If using the thruster often a good alternator is essential to recharge the battery quickly

 

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On 6/16/2021 at 8:35 AM, Hemmy said:

I have heard that the stern turn has a fairly significant impact on the wave.  I was at a dealer's boat show and he said he wouldn't add it because it messes with the wave too much.  Is this true?

100% NOT true. Used our boat plenty before and after install of stern turn, no difference in the wave. 

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Have five days on the water with a 2021 23 MXZ with stern turn, last season was my first with an inboard on a 2020 LSV without ST.  ST is not a "must have", and you do have to learn how to effectively use it, it is not hard to use but just having the button is not the end of it.

I do not agree that some people do not need it because they "know how to drive an inboard".  

It does cut the time it takes to return to the rider, no question.  You might or might not care.

If you are picking up a surfer that can be ready quickly and really does not need to wait for ideal water or boat position not a big deal for riders.

My reality was illustrated by the last rider today.  Kid is youngish learning (and did get up) on wakeboard.  Boat position mattered, fair amount of traffic that we had to wait for multiple boats to pass before each try each with a wake that was pushing the boat around, plus a breeze.  Before traffic cleared used the ST to keep the boat generally oriented, traffic cleared, few touch of the ST and throttle and boat was straight and ready to go.  If you are pulling inexperienced riders it is a LOT easier to give them a very consistent starting angle with minimal to no dragging with ST.  

We have the first surf boat in our family friend circle and we like having people around, between that and three of dating age relations I don't see running out of new riders for the foreseeable future.  For the new/young/small rider the driver can be more consistent, is it "must have", no, does it make a difference, yes without a doubt.

In the case of docking, it is very handy depending on circumstances, small places, cross current/wind and the like.

For me it is worth having just to make pulls consistent for the new/less experienced riders.

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I have a thruster on my new boat and yes it’s an awesome feature that can be handy at times, but for me I completely forget it’s there.  Spending so much time on the water in tight marinas and rough conditions it’s just become natural without it. My boat launch is a double lane with two docks on either side that extend quite far out, with the thruster I am able to keep straight even with a wind and back straight out. Then again half the time I forget I have it and make it work just fine not using it. 
 

Is it needed? Not necessarily. Is it super helpful? Yes of course. 

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  • 2 years later...

Just bought a used 2021 Malibu 24 MXZ with stern turn. I did get a factory warranty transfer. Used it a bit during the docking process on day one and it quit on me. One week later I’ve finally gotten out again and tried stern turn again and it wouldn’t work. Somebody told me about breakers located in the aft port side engine compartment but I didn’t see anything specific to stern tern. I also found the stern turn equipment box behind the engine but didn’t get a good look. Does anybody here know how I might troubleshoot? My next step is to call the local Malibu mx shop to ask them. I’m dreading having to pull it off the lake to have them look at it. Incidentally I guess it will make be a better driver in tight spaces without it for the time being.

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