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Sunsetter LSV/VLX


hatbrand

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Here’s an oddity. I bought a 2001 Sunsetter from the original owner. On the transom it says Luxury Sport V. On the sides/rear it says Sunsetter VLX. It was special ordered but the lady who inherited it in her divorce doesn’t know much about it. All the decals are factory original except the Malibu logo in the side I replaced. It is the Diamond hull. Comments?

Edited by hatbrand
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2 hours ago, hatbrand said:

 

Yep. Malibu made a Sunsetter VLX in 2000&2001. I’ve never seen one in the wild. I assume it’s the predecessor of a diamond hull Sunscape which was a very good skiing v-drive.

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The "Sunsetter" boats from 1995 through 2001 came in a total of three different models, two of which were direct-drives (LX and Lxi) while the third was a v-drive (VLX).  All came with the SV23 [diamond] hull.  After 2001, though, I believe that Malibu completely dropped the v-drive option for the Sunsetter, only offering it in their "Wakesetter" or "Sunscape" series boats.

Your boat was also called a "luxury sport v," a moniker attached to, I think, every v-drive in Malibu's lineup at that time.  That label was soon shortened to the acronym LSV, which tends to cause some confusion.  

Introduced in 2001, all of their "Sunscape" boats (21, 23, and 25 footers), were referred to as "LSV.''  But, only the 23 and 25 foot "Wakesetter" boats carried that designation.  The shorter, 21 foot version Wakesetter was called VLX, still paying homage to the original v-drive LX.  

I'm not sure of the difference, though, between the 2001 Wakesetter VLX and the 2001 Sunsetter VLX, unless that that was the first year that Malibu released a "wake" version of their hull.  Perhaps the Sunsetter had the SV23 diamond while the Wakesetter had the SV23 wake hull. 

The bottom line, though, is that you have what was a great boat at the time of its introduction (and potentially still is), and all the decals are correct.

 

 

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14 minutes ago, srab said:

The "Sunsetter" boats from 1995 through 2001 came in a total of three different models, two of which were direct-drives (LX and Lxi) while the third was a v-drive (VLX).  All came with the SV23 [diamond] hull.  After 2001, though, I believe that Malibu completely dropped the v-drive option for the Sunsetter, only offering it in their "Wakesetter" or "Sunscape" series boats.

Your boat was also called a "luxury sport v," a moniker attached to, I think, every v-drive in Malibu's lineup at that time.  That label was soon shortened to the acronym LSV, which tends to cause some confusion.  

Introduced in 2001, all of their "Sunscape" boats (21, 23, and 25 footers), were referred to as "LSV.''  But, only the 23 and 25 foot "Wakesetter" boats carried that designation.  The shorter, 21 foot version Wakesetter was called VLX, still paying homage to the original v-drive LX.  

I'm not sure of the difference, though, between the 2001 Wakesetter VLX and the 2001 Sunsetter VLX, unless that that was the first year that Malibu released a "wake" version of their hull.  Perhaps the Sunsetter had the SV23 diamond while the Wakesetter had the SV23 wake hull. 

The bottom line, though, is that you have what was a great boat at the time of its introduction (and potentially still is), and all the decals are correct.

Wasn't there also some buzz about a Wakesetter versus a Fakesetter if you added a tower or wedge after the fact, or did all of that come later?

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If it's a 2001 Sunsetter VLX, it has the diamond hull. Any other year and it has the wake hull. It became the Sunscape 21 LSV in 2002 and retained the diamond hull. 

My dad has owned a 2001 SSVLX since new. It's an extremely versatile boat and skis very well. I've skied it a ton, including in the course a few times. 

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2 hours ago, srab said:

The "Sunsetter" boats from 1995 through 2001 came in a total of three different models, two of which were direct-drives (LX and Lxi) while the third was a v-drive (VLX).  All came with the SV23 [diamond] hull.  After 2001, though, I believe that Malibu completely dropped the v-drive option for the Sunsetter, only offering it in their "Wakesetter" or "Sunscape" series boats.

Your boat was also called a "luxury sport v," a moniker attached to, I think, every v-drive in Malibu's lineup at that time.  That label was soon shortened to the acronym LSV, which tends to cause some confusion.  

Introduced in 2001, all of their "Sunscape" boats (21, 23, and 25 footers), were referred to as "LSV.''  But, only the 23 and 25 foot "Wakesetter" boats carried that designation.  The shorter, 21 foot version Wakesetter was called VLX, still paying homage to the original v-drive LX.  

I'm not sure of the difference, though, between the 2001 Wakesetter VLX and the 2001 Sunsetter VLX, unless that that was the first year that Malibu released a "wake" version of their hull.  Perhaps the Sunsetter had the SV23 diamond while the Wakesetter had the SV23 wake hull. 

The bottom line, though, is that you have what was a great boat at the time of its introduction (and potentially still is), and all the decals are correct.

 

 

This isn't accurate. Only the LXi had the diamond throughout. The VLX and Sunsetter (LX) were wake hulls for the majority of their lives. 

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01 SS VLX owner here. SV23 diamond hull with tower and wedge. I’m the second owner. Been great so far . Free ski slalom, wakeboarding and surfing. I chose it specific since it had the diamond hull. 

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Have the 99 VLX. It’s not the diamond hull. Would be nice but i like the ski wake on mine. I think that was a single year VLX option in 01. My year had the wakesetter option which were decals, tower and a few other options. My “luxury” boat has a table and the original owner opted for the 365hp “hammerhead” package. Sweet old boat.

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I love my 01 SS VLX. The versatility of this boat was the main draw for me. Skiing, slalom, wakeboarding, and the ability to set it up for surfing make it such a great boat. 

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  • 11 months later...

SRAB is correct. I am 70 years old owned several Malibus and currently own a one owner 2001 Sunsetter VLX with a diamond hull. Don't know how to insert pic

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On 7/4/2021 at 9:20 AM, braindamage said:

Yep. Malibu made a Sunsetter VLX in 2000&2001. I’ve never seen one in the wild. I assume it’s the predecessor of a diamond hull Sunscape which was a very good skiing v-drive.

The Sunsetter VLX was made from 1996 - 2001.

 

On 7/4/2021 at 9:33 AM, srab said:

 All came with the SV23 [diamond] hull.  

Incorrect.  Only the 2001 Sunsetter VLX had a diamond hull.  The '96 - '00 were on the wake hull.  '02 - 04 Sunscape 21 LSV were on the diamond, the Wakesetter VLX were on the wake hull.  The '05-08 Vride were also the SV23 hull in Vdrive format, all with the wake hull.

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