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Boat replacement machinations


Butarsky

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I have a 2000 sunsetter vlx that I bought in 2007.  It’s been a great boat and is still in excellent shape.  My kids are getting bigger and we are starting to outgrow it.  I have been starting to look at 2010-2013 range wakesetter 247s.   I have a daughter who likes to wakeboard and slalom.  My sons are young and one is just getting into skiing and the other doesn’t want to do any but tube.  I pretty much only slalom at thIs point.  
 

Do people have thoughts on these boats in general?  Things that are mechanical issues that are specific to that year range of the model? Engines to stay away from?  
 

Anyone ski behind one?  Does the wake flatten out over 30? 
My other concern revolves a bit around maintenance.  I can fix most issues with my current boat.  How prone are the electronics to failure?  

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I have an 07 and I love it!  I don’t have all the electronics or screens…besides cruise control.  The boat is very versatile in my mind.  I have to be honest though…I still ski and the wake flattens a little….it is certainly not a competition ski boat.  It was made for big wakes.  The room and the storage is great and maintenance is pretty straight forward.  I can’t really answer question about electronics in those years you mentioned.  I know they have much switches that could go out.  I am not sure about screens in those years.  I hope this helps.  Make sure you have a significant tow vehicle.  The 247 is pretty heavy.

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A friend as a 07 as well, but is the unicorn 247RX version.  I've always enjoyed the boat - large with tons of room for people, but also pretty nimble and easy to maneuver.    He had to replace an ECM, but otherwise no real issues and he's running the 383 Hammerhead.  

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I don’t expect a dream wake just something serviceable.  I also have a 1985 ski nautique that I’m finishing up a motor rebuild on.  Hopefully that will be nice for slalom.  
 

thanks for the replies.

 

btw what is makes the 247 Rx unicorn special?

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33 minutes ago, Butarsky said:

btw what is makes the 247 Rx unicorn special?

It is a direct drive setup rather than v drive. In a boat that big it wasn’t too popular although we grew to love the “two cabin layout” when on the water with kids and found it still threw a great wakeboard wake.  We don’t slalom but guess most skiers scoff at the notion of a DD that big laying out a flat wake.  

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Not sure but I think Malibu started using touch screens in 2011 and it is a question of when it fails not if. Lots of info on this site about it. 
 

My neighbor just bought a 2012 and had to replace the $2500 screen right off the bat. 

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There were a lot of issues with the first generation (2011-2014 ish) screens delaminating.  They replaced those screens with a new model in 2014-2015 which have been better.  I don't think I have seen reports of the same issues in those screens and hopefully it stays that way.  Not to say there are no issues with the newer screens, but I think they are more of a program issue than mechanical.

Do a search for screen delamination issues on here and you will see more on the issue. 

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50 minutes ago, gahvey said:

There were a lot of issues with the first generation (2011-2014 ish) screens delaminating.  They replaced those screens with a new model in 2014-2015 which have been better.  I don't think I have seen reports of the same issues in those screens and hopefully it stays that way.  Not to say there are no issues with the newer screens, but I think they are more of a program issue than mechanical.

Do a search for screen delamination issues on here and you will see more on the issue. 

2014 screens are still prone to failure. My touch screen is delaminating and my Maliview did a few years back. The Maliview was around $2200 and I got lucky and found a new touch screen on here for the bargain price of $1800. It’s boxed up in the basement waiting for my current screen to get bad enough to change. 
 

I believe they are all currently on back order so a boat with a bad screen could be pretty much unusable. It’s a terrible design and a shame that Malibu never stepped up to the plate to make things right for their owners. 

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3 minutes ago, RyanB said:

2014 screens are still prone to failure. My touch screen is delaminating and my Maliview did a few years back. The Maliview was around $2200 and I got lucky and found a new touch screen on here for the bargain price of $1800. It’s boxed up in the basement waiting for my current screen to get bad enough to change. 
 

I believe they are all currently on back order so a boat with a bad screen could be pretty much unusable. It’s a terrible design and a shame that Malibu never stepped up to the plate to make things right for their owners. 

I totally agree - with the number of issues, it is a shame that Malibu didn't do something for these customers....but at this point there isn't much you can do other than replace them when they delam. 

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I replaced my original screen in 2019 and fingers crossed, it is still functional and not delaminating.

I think that Malibu missed an opportunity to “require” Garmin” to develop a medallion replacement in exchange for placement on the 2022 (and forward) models.  They essentially could have absorbed the cost of fixing this problem in a price increase and regained some goodwill.  Maybe there are IP issues, but seems like a missed opportunity.

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I read about the screen issues previously.  When I go to look at the boat I’ll check it out closely.  I figure I’ll be in for eventually but if its bad already and they are backordered into oblivion it may be a deal breaker…

The good part is my VLX is still a great boat so I don’t really have any pressure here.

 

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I would try to ski behind one and see what you think. It depends on what you want. 

I use my 21 LSV in the course.  For an acceptable wake, I have to be 3/8 fuel, 200# observer and another 150-200 observer in the bow running 34 MPH and 15 off. 

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