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2018 + LSV 22 vs LSV 23 Wave Question


SurfinDog

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SurfinDog

New Here and thought it would be a great place to ask a question considering i'm planning on spending $120k + on a new boat. 

Here's the situation. I just sold my older Malibu LSV and I'm looking for a new 2018 + 

My last boat was my first boat and I learned that I loved surfing and being on the lake. I'm hooked! 

I'm out here searching in this tough market and the fact is I just want a sick wave! So here's where i'm at and could use yall's help. 

For people that have owned 2018 + LSV 22 and / or 23

What puts out a better wave? 

We surfed the hell out of my 2001 21' LSV. We put 400 hours on it in two seasons. It ran a pretty good wave for a small boat. 
We put 1600 lbs in the rear lockers, 450 in the middle and 300 in the front with the wave shaper. Yup. Ballasted the hell out of it and it put out a decent little wave. 

Now we're ready to do some airs, get back there on the wave and have enough push. 

The market being what it is the 23' LSV is slim pickins. It would be my choice for sure. But there are a lot of 22' LSV's out there better priced and with better color / option combos that i'm looking for. 

Now for the question. Will I notice a difference in the wave between the 22' and 23'? if so Where? has anybody surfed both? 

I can't make up my mind. Ive watched all the video's etc and I even called a guy selling a 2020 LSV 22' and he said he's selling for a 23' for the same reason.. more push. 

What's your guy's two cents here? Should I wait and be patient for the right 23' to come along? Summer is coming up! 

- Surfin Dog

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Our crew with one exception had never surfed before.  We have had somewhere between 15 and 20 different people behind the boat.  From a serious surfer standpoint I can't give you any feedback.  We did have a 2020 22 LSV and now have a 2021 23 MXZ and put over 90 hours on the 22 LSV and 80 on the 23 MXZ.  I think the difference is significant both from a wave standpoint and between the extra foot plus the bow the 23 MXZ feels a lot larger when people start getting onboard.  Below is a table I put together when we were shopping for the 23 MXZ.  Since the most talks about thing on this board is probably weight note that a 23 MXZ is about 1,000 pounds heaver dry than a 22 LSV.  The length of the boat does translate into wave length so it is not all about weight, just some interesting numbers.

 

These are 2021 model year numbers.  1,500 of the ballast is wedge and not actual ballast

                  Dry.       Ballast.    Total.    Diff from previous boat

22 LSV     4,900.    4,170.      9,070

23 LSV.    5,200.     4,250.     9,450.     380

23 MXZ.   5,400     4,670.     10,070.    620

25 LSV.     5,600.    4,800.     10,400.   330

24 MXZ.    6,000.   4,885.     10,885.    485

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PNWcubbies

I'm not sure that you spending $125K+ on a 2018 or newer LSV is going to create a wave that is much better than your 2001 21 LSV. My buddy has a 21 VLX that is probably 12-15 years old, but has the wave dialed in, and makes a better wave than pretty much any boat I've been on. If you had your 2001 21 LSV wave dialed in with all that ballast, I hate to break it to you, but I would be willing to bet that a newer 2018 22 or 23 LSV isn't going to blow you away. Yes, it's a nicer boat inside with much more tech, but you might be a little disappointed if you are expecting a massive improvement in your wave.  This may be part of the reason why a Malibu tow boat that is 17 years old is still selling for around $40K.  Just my 2 cents.

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looks like that 2001 has a dry weight of 3400 lbs -- stepping up to either of your recent model options, and slamming it with ballast (and lead like i project you will), should mean a couple thousand pounds more water displacement; combine that with growing from a beam of 8 to 8.5 ft, and it seems logical to expect a meaningful jump in performance once you tweak to your liking.  combine that with a Power Wedge for even more displacement and quick tuning, and surfgates for easy transfers and it should be a big overall improvement in the surf experience for your crew.

i haven't surfed either boats you mention, or any Malibu for that matter (i need more friends)...but if big/modern wave by this summer is the objective, you may want to consider opening your shopping to Axis too.  Your 120k budget would basically buy a brand new Axis with a warranty and every option they offer - albeit with obvious its-not-a-malibu tradeoffs like less convenience/tech, fit/finish, vinyl limits, etc (see many other posts on here). 

good luck!

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I had a 2018 21VLX and now own a 22 23LSV. I know its not exactly what your after but from the little time I have had on the new boat there is a big difference in the wave and power. The 18 had the raptor 410 and the new boat has the M6. What a difference!! I haven't dialled in the wave with lead yet, so pretty excited what it will do. I found the wave to be taller, longer and controlling the boat with the bigger prop a breeze. As others have said the extra room and storage is night and day. My2c

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Thanks guys! So I pulled the trigger on a boat this morning.

You know how it goes when the right one comes along you gotta grab it. I have to strongly disagree with the wave on my old boat vs whats now the new one. I've surfed the 25' LSV and the wave is massive with a ton of push from front to back. I can only imagine the 23 is slightly less that that since the 25 has a higher draft and a little more weight which I can make up for with ballast and lead. 

Here's what I picked up. 
2018 23LSV 233.3 hours on the 6.2 liter M6DI . $115k.  Super clean dad's boat essentially. I felt like this was the right price given the amount of research i've done and the amount of boats i've looked at. 

I did consider the Axis A 24 as I heard they throw out just as good of a wave minus the features.. But I like the features and as the sober captain for the last two years i'm all about the convenience of everything. 

As far as the wave setup goes. I think I have enough experience and understanding of how it works to figure out it i'll have to get out there and mess around with it a bit between the hard ballast PNP bags and any lead I wanna add. 

I did read a little bit about the Power 2 vs 3 wedge but at this point I think the new boat is going to be leaps beyond what I had. What's been your guys personal experience in the 2 vs 3 wedge whats the big differences? 

 

 

 

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ahopkins22LSV

The differences between PWII and PWIII are not anything to regret your purchase about. I really like the integrated surf pipe, the foil is bigger so positions 1&2 are more effective and I think the lift feature is more productive. That said PWII is very very good and still helps create and tune a ton. 
 

Although, no one is going to believe you about buying a boat with pictures…

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1 hour ago, SurfinDog said:

Thanks guys! So I pulled the trigger on a boat this morning.

You know how it goes when the right one comes along you gotta grab it. I have to strongly disagree with the wave on my old boat vs whats now the new one. I've surfed the 25' LSV and the wave is massive with a ton of push from front to back. I can only imagine the 23 is slightly less that that since the 25 has a higher draft and a little more weight which I can make up for with ballast and lead. 

Here's what I picked up. 
2018 23LSV 233.3 hours on the 6.2 liter M6DI . $115k.  Super clean dad's boat essentially. I felt like this was the right price given the amount of research i've done and the amount of boats i've looked at. 

I did consider the Axis A 24 as I heard they throw out just as good of a wave minus the features.. But I like the features and as the sober captain for the last two years i'm all about the convenience of everything. 

As far as the wave setup goes. I think I have enough experience and understanding of how it works to figure out it i'll have to get out there and mess around with it a bit between the hard ballast PNP bags and any lead I wanna add. 

I did read a little bit about the Power 2 vs 3 wedge but at this point I think the new boat is going to be leaps beyond what I had. What's been your guys personal experience in the 2 vs 3 wedge whats the big differences? 

 

break 

 

Congrats on your new purchase!  I agree with @ahopkinsVTX didn't happen without pics.  Let's see some photos of that new boat!  Love looking at boats.  I just sold a 22' and am about to pick up a new 23LSV.  Not sure what the difference in surf performance will be but I'll let you know my thoughts once I break it in and load it up!  I think a lot of it has to do with your ability and willingness to try different setups.  I had a 2017 VLX and recently surfed behind a friends 2022 A24.  I was shocked to see essentially the same wave.  I felt the A24 could have been pushing a much taller & longer wave.  Sounds like you are into dialing your shtuff in so I don't think you will have any issues.  Let us know how it goes.  Congrats on your new boat and welcome to the crew!  

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8 minutes ago, dalt1 said:

Most 18 LSV had the Raptor 6.2 not the M6DI.

Still learning here! I know for sure that it's the 6.2 liter. Whats the big difference between the Raptor and the M6di? 

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Thanks for the reply! I'm glad to hear, I didn't want to break the bank too hard for the newest of the newest but i'm glad you say that the P2 still pumps. I just wanna push buttons and surf and monster wave! :lol:

Whats the purpose of the surf pipe? This one doesn't have it for sure and I've seen them but whats their function? 

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Hey thanks! Hope I'm reply properly on here, I just click the quote button? Anyway Cheif thanks! I'm hesitant to post pics because I haven't picked it up yet! All approved and the owners holding it for me i'm set to pick it up Sunday and you never know what lookie loos on here might want to jump in and swoop it. Man i'd be bummed! As soon as I grab it i'll post some pics. Glad to be here and always happy to learn more! 

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30 minutes ago, SurfinDog said:

Still learning here! I know for sure that it's the 6.2 liter. Whats the big difference between the Raptor and the M6di? 

Ford Raptor and GM M6di

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38 minutes ago, SurfinDog said:


Whats the purpose of the surf pipe? This one doesn't have it for sure and I've seen them but whats their function? 

Puts the exhaust fumes into the water so a surfer isnt smelling/inhaling them.

Edited by CaptainMorgan
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12 minutes ago, dalt1 said:

Ford Raptor and GM M6di

ohhh makes sense. Any issues with either people have had? or things to look out for? 

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3 minutes ago, CaptainMorgan said:

Puts the exhaust fumes into the water so a surfer isnt smelling/inhaling them.

That's awesome.. never really thought of that. Guess i'm used to the smell of gasoline and exhaust. That's really cool. I'll have to look into that for sure. 

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I have an 18 23 LSV also and love it.  It has the Raptor motor and we added the surf pipe when new.  It has been rock solid for the 180 hours we put on it aside from the catalytic converters needing to be replaced under warranty.  I replaced a 14 23 LSV with this one and it is great - but we are absolutely no surf pros at all, so whether it has the best wave ever is of no real importance to us.  I just love the overall package - there’s a reason it’s the #1 selling surf boat every year. 

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I had a 2018 T23 with the raptor motor. It was loud. I had a surfpipe installed, and there was a noticeable and very appreciated drop in decibels.

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On 5/10/2022 at 3:07 AM, ahopkinsVTX said:

I disagree with this. 2018 23 lsv is way bigger that holds way more ballast with the power wedge II that can tune the wave on the fly. It was also the second generation hull on the 23 that was designed around surf gate and optimizing the wave performance. It is going to be longer, have a bigger face to surf on and have more push. The 2018+ 23 wave is some of the best surfing out there. It got even better in 2021 with the latest redesign. 
 

To the OP, the 23 is going to be better than the 22 in all years you are looking, but the 22 will still be very good. It will probably require more bow weight than the 23 depending on how much rear ballast you run and you crew. Personally I’d be shopping for a 23 if you can swing it with your towing vehicle, dock, storage, etc. I’d be looking for a 2019+ though if you can. Power wedge III is quite the improvement.

I agree... even using 23LSV to 23LSV... the new boat wins by a mile.  My older gen 23LSV had surf tabs, bit bags, etc and the wave was very dialed in.... but the new boat ('19 23lsv) is in a different league.  The biggest difference is that the new boat is perfect every time, the older boat that was "dialed in" was a lot more susceptible to weight shifts, etc that took it away from the sweet spot.  The surfable pocket on the new boat is 2x what we could surf on the old boat.  The upgrade was worth every penny.

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