21 VLX Opinions

[Tolleson54]

What’s up Malibu crew! I have been reading these forums like crazy but still want 1 more set of opinions.  We are looking at 2 used 21 VLXs, a 2018 and a 2019 similarly equipped and low hours.  Neither seller can tell me if they are wake plus or diamond hull.

Our backstory: Long time inboard owners, most recently a Sanger v-215 that we loved but unfortunately met its demise Saturday morning (long story, 7:30 am thought we could get some runs in before holiday weekend amateur hours started… WRONG, got ran in to by a dude that owned his boat for 2 days).  Anyways, we had been toying the idea of trading up since the Sanger was getting up there in hours, just thought we would have all off season to shop.  
 

We are both aggressive waterskiers, decent wakeboarders, and generally just surf when it’s windy or busy on the water.  We would go with a 20VTX but really like the extra space of the 21VLX.   SO, lay some knowledge on me.  The good, the bad, the indifferent.  Is the wake plus hull skiable (35-36mph)? Clean wakes at 21mph and 65/70’ line length?  Any mechanical issues to look out for?  Any help is appreciated! 

[PNWoke]

I can't help you much with your VLX inquiries as I am not much of a slalom skier or VLX owner but I would bet that you would be happy with either the wake plus or diamond hull.  FWIW since you do all three (ski, surf, wakeboard) activities I would probably lean towards wake+, and then run a high speed prop on there for when you want to slalom ski.  IIRC most of the time diamond hull is enjoyed by slalom heavy boaters so if that's you then it might be worth the sacrifice in the other areas.  Typical stuff to look for when buying one of these boats is bubbling around the screens, pressure test the engine cylinders, and I would recommend having the catalytic convertors checked out just because they are expensive to replace.  Sounds like both options likely have some warranty left over from PO's, the newer boat might offer some better piece of mind if the warranty is transferable.  Really sorry to hear about your accident, glad that you and your occupants weren't injured and that you guys are getting back on the water as fast as you can.  New boaters can be really dangerous to be around!  Hate to hear about accidents on holiday weekends but that's just the nature of the beast sometimes.  Good luck with finding a good option, Im sure some VLX/VTX owners will chime in with better info than what I could provide but you might have to wait a day or two for them to get off the water and check TMC.  

[Jason63]

The 20 VTX is an extremely versatile boat but it depends on the year. The 2013 to 2015 were great, some say the best for slalom ski. I used mine (2013) on the course with 28 off being the sweet spot. I'm hearing the new 2022 is great at everything . I have moved up to a 22 VLX with the diamond hull. No more course skiing but again the sweet spot is shorter line lengths 28-32 off at 34 MPH. Surfing is great but I have zero experience on the wakeboard wake on either the VTX or VLX. Do a search on diamond verses wake, there are pics. Send those over to the sellers so they can verify hull type--easy to tell once you know what to look at. As you know demo is the best but not always possible. Hope this helps and good luck!!

[Five Cent Worth]

We started with a '17 21 VLX.  Great boat that surfed better than any 21' out there.  It was small and road like hell on our big lake.  But it was a great boat.  I would recommend if that is the size you are looking for.

(And do tell more on your accident!  Everyone okay, did you sink, that's scary!!)

[rakr]

I saw on a post a while back that on some earlier model VTX, the wake hull wasn’t great for slalom, and there isn’t much of a difference between the diamond and wake for surfing. 
 

there are plenty of posts on here about good v-drive boats for skiing.