Thinking about upgrading

[twitchee2]

I think it is time to really start considering what my next boat is going to be.  Ive been in my 01 SS LXI since 2015. I made sure to buy it the year before I got married!  its been a great boat.  I don't use it a ton but we have put ~260 hrs on it over the years and the use has been more limited lately now that there a lots of kids involved in our group of friends.  It has gotten very small since kids started joining us + 85lb yellow lab that I swear takes up the space of 3 people. 

We mainly use it to open water ski and some wakeboarding and now tubing (yuck) for the kids.  Wakeboarding has taken more of a back burner due to none of us can do more than 360s or attempted back flips that typically end with landing on my head. We also are not in our 20's anymore...  We have tried to surf and I really think that is where we will progress, but the Sunsetter really does not handle surfing well at at all.

From a financial point of view, there is no way I can get a new boat.  I think I will likely be in the 2012-2017 +/- range. 

I am trying to figure out what the best option would be for me.  A VTX seems fairly logical, but I am worried it will not solve the space problem. Going from a ~22ft skinny direct drive to a 20ft wider v drive, the cabin space will feel bigger but I cant imagine it will be much.  If I can find a VLX with diamond hull, that might be a really solid choice.  I really wish you could get an Axis with the diamond hull,  I think the T22 would be a no brainer if it skiied decently.  @ahopkins22LSV, what do you think? I know you went from a Response to VTX and now a 22lsv.

[ahopkins22LSV]

So let me start with this, do I miss skiing my own boat? Yes, without question. However, if we still had our response would I be skiing it? Not likely. Our lives have changed so much since we had our daughter 6 years ago that I can’t even find time to get out with the friends I have in our lake to ski with them behind their responses. So I don’t regret going to a bigger boat at all. It allows us to enjoy our time on the water much much more than we could have in the response. 
 

On the VTX size, it will still function better than your sslxi imo because there is more open seating, and more storage. Being able to surf, wake and ski the same boat quite well without major modifications is also a plus. We really liked our vtx’s and I still miss the 2020. It skied and surfed great. And I felt the storage was better organized than the 2016-19 model years. Our 19 was a great boat though too.
 

That said, now that we have the space of the 22LSV, I don’t get how we made the vtx work lol. Especially when our friends who all have 1-2 kids would come out. We would put size adults and 3-5 kids in our boat at a time though. I haven’t skied our LSV and I don’t think I’m going to. Even though it has the standard prop, it is really aggressive and is running super high rpm’s at 34mph where I ski at. It is also the wake hull. That said, the wake does flatten out pretty good at that speed so open water would be completely doable from my perspective. It surfs amazing and handles rough water 10x better than the vtx too. I didn’t think I’d care about the rough water ride that much but we have been going up north more to some pretty big lakes and to be able to cruise through 1-2’ chop with the wedge in lift at 20mph is very nice. It is so much more comfortable to be in with multiple people as well. We have had 6 adults with 3 kids in it and it was much better. The storage is so much better too. 
 

I think with the crew and sports you described going to a VLX would be best. You will greatly appreciate the space and storage and your experience during your time on the water will go up overall in my opinion.

[Slayer]

I agree with @ahopkins22LSV statements.  I just sold my 2006 RLXi because we weren't using it very much.  We had a 22 VLX and being the same relative cabin space as the 22LSV, it's a winner.  We loved the boat.  Went from that to a 23LSV and now to a 25LSV.  

With that said, there are several 22 VLX options available, model years 2015-2017, in the market for a reasonable price.  There are also several good 23 LSV options for reasonable prices in the market.  Significant improvement in space on the 23LSV. 

[Woodski]

Kudo's on keeping the kids on skis, my vote, keep a good ski boat and train the next generation of youngsters to be proficient skiers:-) 

A little inspiration:

 

[twitchee2]

Well you hit pretty much everything on the head for me. My daughter is 3, everyone else that comes out with us has 1-2 as well.  My boat has been out 2 times this year with my family.  Finding the time is #1, #2 is its not exactly a comfortable hang out boat.  I am sure I can find people to ski with, may be harder since I don't live on a lake.

Thanks for the info on the VTX, that is probably what I needed to know on it.  

The big water lake statement just hit home too, we were at a lake this last weekend that going out after noon is pointless. You will get rocked with the waves and surfing wouldn't be fun, all you can do is foil. We went out for a booze cruise and had to keep it at 10mph just to keep the nose up and we were still getting splashed.

In the Sunsetter, Legal limit is 10 people, 8 was more of the limit in my eyes. How many would be comfortable in a VLX with a legal limit of 14?  I am also considering going in on a boat with one of my best friends from college. 90% of the time we are on the water, he's on the boat with me or I am on his boat (87 Skier), he has 2 kids now as well. Would that change your opinion from the VLX to consider the LSV more?

Edited July 13, 2023 by twitchee2

[shawndoggy]

24 minutes ago, twitchee2 said:

Well you hit pretty much everything on the head for me. My daughter is 3, everyone else that comes out with us has 1-2 as well.  My boat has been out 2 times this year with my family.  Finding the time is #1, #2 is its not exactly a comfortable hang out boat.  I am sure I can find people to ski with, may be harder since I don't live on a lake.

Thanks for the info on the VTX, that is probably what I needed to know on it.  

The big water lake statement just hit home too, we were at a lake this last weekend that going out after noon is pointless. You will get rocked with the waves and surfing wouldn't be fun, all you can do is foil. We went out for a booze cruise and had to keep it at 10mph just to keep the nose up and we were still getting splashed.

In the Sunsetter, Legal limit is 10 people, 8 was more of the limit in my eyes. How many would be comfortable in a VLX with a legal limit of 14?  I am also considering going in on a boat with one of my best friends from college. 90% of the time we are on the water, he's on the boat with me or I am on his boat (87 Skier), he has 2 kids now as well. Would that change your opinion from the VLX to consider the LSV more?

I feel like our A24 gets cramped with more than 6 on board (granted there's probably a dog or two in the mix as well).  I can't imagine fitting 8 peeps on a dd.

I'd love to know someone with a dd ski boat to do early morning sessions on flat water.  However, as we use our boat (to the lake for 6-7 hours on a weekend) a DD would never work. I think that's how most of us "trailer sailors" do it in the west... longish tows to the lake, spend the day, come home.  As wake boats in general are getting bigger, and especially as more people gravitate towards surfing, a dd just isn't a viable "day at the lake" boat for folks who want to go on the weekends.  We felt this especially acutely in 2020 in our "big" (by comparison) T22 on Bullards Bar.  Remember, 2020 was an insane year, and that applied to people in boats too. We were finding that there were so many newer big mega surf boats on the lake that even our T22 was feeling outmatched by competing rollers. 

T22 skis like poo if you are wondering (that said we had floating wedge... maybe 2017+ with pw in lift would be marginally better?).

Especially if you are considering going in on a boat for two growing families, I'd be looking at the T23 or 23LSV.  T23 feels a little bigger IMHO.  Think about the fact that as your kids get older, they'll want to bring friends to the lake (and you'll want this too... it was absolutely my favorite way to get to know my kids' friends).  T23 has a LOT more freeboard than the T22 and feels OK in bigger water.  You aren't going to want to have it out on Tahoe on the biggest days, but it could definitely do OK in mid-summer tahoe boat chop.

 

[Slayer]

3 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

I feel like our A24 gets cramped with more than 6 on board (granted there's probably a dog or two in the mix as well).  I can't imagine fitting 8 peeps on a dd.

I'd love to know someone with a dd ski boat to do early morning sessions on flat water.  However, as we use our boat (to the lake for 6-7 hours on a weekend) a DD would never work. I think that's how most of us "trailer sailors" do it in the west... longish tows to the lake, spend the day, come home.  As wake boats in general are getting bigger, and especially as more people gravitate towards surfing, a dd just isn't a viable "day at the lake" boat for folks who want to go on the weekends.  We felt this especially acutely in 2020 in our "big" (by comparison) T22 on Bullards Bar.  Remember, 2020 was an insane year, and that applied to people in boats too. We were finding that there were so many newer big mega surf boats on the lake that even our T22 was feeling outmatched by competing rollers. 

T22 skis like poo if you are wondering (that said we had floating wedge... maybe 2017+ with pw in lift would be marginally better?).

Especially if you are considering going in on a boat for two growing families, I'd be looking at the T23 or 23LSV.  T23 feels a little bigger IMHO.  Think about the fact that as your kids get older, they'll want to bring friends to the lake (and you'll want this too... it was absolutely my favorite way to get to know my kids' friends).  T23 has a LOT more freeboard than the T22 and feels OK in bigger water.  You aren't going to want to have it out on Tahoe on the biggest days, but it could definitely do OK in mid-summer tahoe boat chop.

 

I agree completely.  If you can find a good LSV or T23 @twitchee2, you will be more comfortable than in a VLX.  We had 10 on our VLX before and it did feel craped.  10 in the 23 was slightly less cramped so long as  you have your storage configured well.

[twitchee2]

1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

I feel like our A24 gets cramped with more than 6 on board (granted there's probably a dog or two in the mix as well).  I can't imagine fitting 8 peeps on a dd.

 

 

Perfect case of run what you brung!  We also go boat in camping with the little dd at bullards, and the little boat gets the job done.  But yes, being in norcal, it is a trailer to the lake for the day use case. 

[twitchee2]

Well I posted the ss Lxi up on marketplace. If anyone is interested pm me for details.