Wakeboard boat advice please and thank you

[riot138]

I sold my 2007 23LSV last week.  I still don't know why because  I absolutely loved everything about it.  I just felt it was time to upgrade.  We got 5 great seasons out if it so I can justify the upgrade to my wife and she's on board.  The thing I'm looking for the most are the things my boat did well.  I have a 7 year old who is learning and I like to ride a little slower now and he could ride at 15mph with a clean wake and I could ride at 19mph with clean wake.  My wife surfs and will not settle for anything smaller than what we had.  I also want to be able to tow with Ram 1500.  My budget is 100K.   Any advice on what fits the bill.  So far a newer 23LSV (2015ish) and 2018+ Axis A24 seem to keep popping up in my search for boats that meet the above criteria.  Anything else in the line up that can keep a clean wake at slower speeds? TIA

Has anyone moved from an 04-08LSV into an A22 OR T22 and found the size similar?

Edited August 18, 2022 by riot138

[shawndoggy]

I'd look for the newest T23 you can find.  As a former T22 owner, I think you're going to find the T22 to be smaller than the 23LSV.  Same for an A22, especially behind the windshield.

If surfing is a priority the longer the boat the better.  T23 is a big boat but is still reasonably towable with a 1500.

A24 is a great boat (you'd want 2020 or newer, preferably, which is the current hull).  However, I don't think you're going to get a clean wake at 15 or even 19, to be honest.  Too much prop torque from the 17" prop.  Ours doesn't really clean up on both sides till 22 (granted we aren't really wakeboarding much anymore either, so I haven't gone bleeding edge geek out trying to get it perfect).  Surfs like a boss and has room for days.

Nothing wrong with the malibu choices at that price point but I don't have enough info to give good guidance there.

[riot138]

@shawndoggy Thank you so much for the reply.  That really throws a wrench into my shopping.  I was thinking the A24 with no weight would be clean at 17ish for my son to eventually go wake to wake and maybe 1/2 ballast full for me at 19-20mph.  The A24 has been at the top of my list but I'm going to take that boat off if it's not going to work out wakeboard wise.   Too many ruptured ear drums and sprains to ride a monster wake at 22MPH.

Edited August 19, 2022 by riot138

[rennis]

Not exactly a T22 but we have a T220 and we also have a hard time getting the wake clean at low speeds.  Very easy to get one side clean under 20mph just by moving human ballast around. But to get both wakes clean we're going at least 21mph. For casual riders that only really need a clean heal-side ramp it works fine at lower speeds.  

Surf wave is killer for a 22' boat and half-ton towable.  

Edited August 19, 2022 by rennis

[shawndoggy]

10 minutes ago, rennis said:

Not exactly a T22 but we have a T220 and we also have a hard time getting the wake clean at low speeds.  Very easy to get one side clean under 20mph just by moving human ballast around. But to get both wakes clean we're going at least 21mph. For casual riders that only really need a clean heal-side ramp it works fine at lower speeds.  

Surf wave is killer for a 22' boat and half-ton towable.  

Even with our 16 T22 it was hard to get clean on both sides under 21. 
 

IMHO having a prop that can push a couple of tons of surf weight is going to impact the low speed wakeboard wake. You can have one or the other but not both. 
 

happy to be proven wrong with some gps verified low speed clean wakes.

[anutami]

I had the same boat as you and still miss the stellar wakeboard wake it provided.  The 06/07 year year hull on the 23 lsv for wakeboarding is a thing of beauty.  I went to a 2015 23 LSV and was a bit more geared for surfing but still great wakeboard but now have a 2018 25 lsv and in my opinion is too much of a PIA to wakeboard.  I found putting the wedge in lift mode helps. I recommend finding a 1 owner 2018 or 2019 23 LSV for 100k.  They are out there just have to be willing to travel and jump on it as soon as it comes available;)

Edited August 19, 2022 by anutami

[rennis]

1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

Even with our 16 T22 it was hard to get clean on both sides under 21. 
 

IMHO having a prop that can push a couple of tons of surf weight is going to impact the low speed wakeboard wake. You can have one or the other but not both. 
 

happy to be proven wrong with some gps verified low speed clean wakes.

 

For whatever reason our friend's A20 (2019) produces a much cleaner wake under 20mph than our boat.  Substantially better.  It's really nice. 

[windy1]

only consider Axis with a power wedge. you will need lift mode for planning out at wakeboard speed. It will struggle with a manual wedge.

[CaptainMorgan]

i've got an A24 (2019 hull, with power wedge) - love it for size and other reasons, but not much wakeboarding.  I did toy with wakeboard wake a couple times (not exhaustively) to explore wake for younger riders.  At 15mph, it was basically mush regardless of what i did with speed, wedge, ballast.  There was some hope in the 17-18 range, especially if you are ok favoring 1 side to be good and other side to be "meh."  But if you really want something crisp on both sides, memory says >20mph is much better.  there may be some magical setup i didn't try, but if there is, it must be a pretty small operating window to hit.

[granddaddy55]

my small a20 with wedge did have clean at 15-22 with or without stock tanks full with 700 lead and driver but it was small, big boats just don't do that,  my 23 tab boat can do this using quick launch up until 17 mph, but it turns off above that  

[riot138]

6 hours ago, anutami said:

I had the same boat as you and still miss the stellar wakeboard wake it provided.  The 06/07 year year hull on the 23 lsv for wakeboarding is a thing of beauty.  I went to a 2015 23 LSV and was a bit more geared for surfing but still great wakeboard but now have a 2018 25 lsv and in my opinion is too much of a PIA to wakeboard.  I found putting the wedge in lift mode helps. I recommend finding a 1 owner 2018 or 2019 23 LSV for 100k.  They are out there just have to be willing to travel and jump on it as soon as it comes available;)

Thank you for the advice! @anutami were you happy with the 2015 23LSV?  I've been really looking and I'm thinking my budget will get me into a 2015-2016 23LSV. 

Edited August 19, 2022 by riot138

[anutami]

7 hours ago, riot138 said:

Thank you for the advice! @anutami were you happy with the 2015 23LSV?  I've been really looking and I'm thinking my budget will get me into a 2015-2016 23LSV. 

Absolutely! I was bummed when it sold for sure.  Loved the ls3 corvette engine it had power wedge 2 is amazing and the blue and white colors;)

[riot138]

8 hours ago, anutami said:

Absolutely! I was bummed when it sold for sure.  Loved the ls3 corvette engine it had power wedge 2 is amazing and the blue and white colors;)

Awesome, thank you! Great colour choice on that one!