New-to-me 2022 23 LSV

[EchelonMike]

Well, after years of owning "OG" Malibu boats (Echelon LX, 23 XTi, VLX and 247 LSV), I finally moved into the modern era and picked up a 2022 23 LSV yesterday at Lake Martin in Alabama.  One owner with 20 hours on it.  Had everything I wanted including the color combo, and I feel I got a great deal.  The boat's flawless and things like the surfband, the PTM mirror, cooler, etc. were still in their boxes.   

My dock mate has a 2021 25 LSV, so I am fairly familiar with the controls and general operation of the boat.  But I had a few questions for this group:

1.  The boat has PNP ballast and has Sumo bags in the lockers.  If I disconnect the Sumo bags on weekends where we have a big crowd and need more storage space, are the hoses valved so that water won't come out of them with the bags disconnected?  Or is there a valve I need to turn?

2.  Can the dealer or Malibu get me a copy of the original build sheet using the HIN?  It would be nice to have the full list of options, the actual names of the colors, etc.

3.  Does the heater now circulate engine coolant vs raw water (ie - does not need to be in the winterization process for draining)?  I thought I read somewhere that it circulated coolant now, but wanted to confirm on the M series engines.

4.  Does anyone use the Malibu brand 5w-30 oil, or just the full synthetic of your choice?  I'm a Royal Purple fan and their spec meets or exceeds Malibu.  I saw the filter housing changed in mid-2020, so I will get the small filter cartridge in the fall when I need an oil change.  The dealer just changed it again before I bought it.

5.  For winterization water drain, looks like there are 4 blue plugs (V drive, each side of the exhaust manifold and the heat exchanger), plus the sea strainer on the 2022.  So much easier with the block filled with coolant.  I am excited about that easier process.  Anything else to do?  The manual said to turn the engine over after plugs are removed "for no more than 30 seconds" which seems like an eternity to run a dry impeller.  Maybe for a second or two.  What do you guys do for the M engines?

6.  Water flush connector - also excited to retire my "fake a lake" and use the flush connector.  Do you hook up the hose and run the engine or do you need to turn a valve to block the raw water under-boat connection?

Speaking of warranty, I did that paperwork yesterday and they should finish that up today.  Pretty easy (although expensive) process to transfer it.  Hopefully I never need to use it.  :-)

Hope everyone is off to a great New Year!  Here are a few pics:

[bcoppess23]

Congrats on the new sharp boat!!  See comments in line.

1.  The boat has PNP ballast and has Sumo bags in the lockers.  If I disconnect the Sumo bags on weekends where we have a big crowd and need more storage space, are the hoses valved so that water won't come out of them with the bags disconnected?  Or is there a valve I need to turn?

No, there is no valve.  One could be added but I would recommend just keeping them installed and only filling 50% ballast if you plan to use it.

2.  Can the dealer or Malibu get me a copy of the original build sheet using the HIN?  It would be nice to have the full list of options, the actual names of the colors, etc.

They should be able to do this.  If you know the original dealer, call them up.

3.  Does the heater now circulate engine coolant vs raw water (ie - does not need to be in the winterization process for draining)?  I thought I read somewhere that it circulated coolant now, but wanted to confirm on the M series engines.

Yes, heater circulates off the coolant and no longer needs to be winterized.

4.  Does anyone use the Malibu brand 5w-30 oil, or just the full synthetic of your choice?  I'm a Royal Purple fan and their spec meets or exceeds Malibu.  I saw the filter housing changed in mid-2020, so I will get the small filter cartridge in the fall when I need an oil change.  The dealer just changed it again before I bought it.

For specific reasons, I use the Malibu brand oil and buy from my local dealer.  But, others use other brands.

5.  For winterization water drain, looks like there are 4 blue plugs (V drive, each side of the exhaust manifold and the heat exchanger), plus the sea strainer on the 2022.  So much easier with the block filled with coolant.  I am excited about that easier process.  Anything else to do?  The manual said to turn the engine over after plugs are removed "for no more than 30 seconds" which seems like an eternity to run a dry impeller.  Maybe for a second or two.  What do you guys do for the M engines?

Only other thing besides what you have listed is run the ballast pumps.

6.  Water flush connector - also excited to retire my "fake a lake" and use the flush connector.  Do you hook up the hose and run the engine or do you need to turn a valve to block the raw water under-boat connection?

Best to turn the valve under the sea strainer, turn on the water, then start the boat.

[Slayer]

Awesome boat, @EchelonMike!  Congrats!!

As a follow up to @bcoppess23 suggestions, which are all accurate to my knowledge, I use Royal Purple in my boat and have since I got it.  I also use the specified canister filter.  No issues there.  With respect to winterizing the ballast system, be sure to both drain and fill when you run the pumps.  Drain everything out, then switch to fill to make sure no water is left in the pump.  I would confirm with the dealer that the 20-hour service was done as well.  

 

Otherwise, congrats again and enjoy that thing!!

[dizzygti]

Lake Martin is nice, that's the lake I grew up on.    While I don't get people who buy a boat and only put 20 hours on it in two seasons, congrats on the nice pick up!    All your questions have been answered, but I'll add you can use any Dexos2 rated 5w30 oil, I use Mobil1.   30 seconds isn't needed when cranking after removing drain plugs, I basically fire it and shut it off immediately.   No need to worry about the heater unit, and close the sea strainer intake before using the flush connection.    Enjoy!     

[Woodski]

Congrats on your acquisition.  2.  either the dealer or Malibu should be able to get that info, for cars there are several VIN finder sites that can give you the build sheet.  4.  No, its a small block Chevy long block, a good synthetic at the viscosity recommended will work.  Malibu branded oil is simply someone else's rebottled, a very common practice.  I don't think they have enough volume to justify a specific additive package but if someone knows they do, perhaps they will chime in.  On a separate note, a popular oil, Shell Rotella, appears to have dropped the gasoline engine designation.   

[EchelonMike]

16 minutes ago, dizzygti said:

Lake Martin is nice, that's the lake I grew up on.    

My first time there and it was beautiful!  I bought the boat from the local Nautique dealer (Russell Marine) - super nice folks and a beautiful facility.  The Ridge neighborhood by Russell Marine has some amazing homes, I drove around a bit to check it out.  Singleton Marine is the local Malibu dealer and they're doing the inspection and warranty transfer.  

[dizzygti]

2 minutes ago, EchelonMike said:

My first time there and it was beautiful!  I bought the boat from the local Nautique dealer (Russell Marine) - super nice folks and a beautiful facility.  The Ridge neighborhood by Russell Marine has some amazing homes, I drove around a bit to check it out.  Singleton Marine is the local Malibu dealer and they're doing the inspection and warranty transfer.  

Yes, The Ridge is nice, Spring House is a great spot to eat, and Singleton is the same dealer network as up here in Atlanta.   

[Five Cent Worth]

Congrats!  Looks good! 

[rennis]

Beautiful boat!  congrats on the upgrade! 

[kstateskier1]

Beautiful colorway!  Congrats.

[EchelonMike]

Any of you deal with Singleton Marine?  I bought the boat from Russell Marine (Nautique/Sea Ray/Chris Craft dealer) and they could not have been better to deal with.  But they don't do the warranty transfer so I needed a Malibu dealer.  Singleton service center is about 30 minutes away.  I called them a few weeks before I bought the boat, explained what I was buying, and needed the transfer done.  They said of course, do it all the time, etc.  I made an appointment, and they were ready for me when I arrived, all good. 

They called me today when they were done with the inspection and told me they'd send the $750 to Malibu as is the process, but told me I needed to give them another $600 to send to Indmar for the engine warranty.  Ummm, the engines are no longer Indmar, they're Malibu.  I told them that was not right, the boats don't use Indmar in them since 2019 or 2020.  They said they'd double check on that and call me back.

Long story short, they called me back to say I was right, their mistake.  But I couldn't help but feel like they were trying to screw me out of $600 bucks.  You're a Malibu dealer and you're the service manager...and think the boat has an Indmar engine?  Shady.  If you deal with Singleton, I'd recommend you keep your spare hand on your wallet.

 

[dalt1]

You can get the plugs that go in the PNP fill/drain ports if you want to remove your bags. I gave mine away when I got rid of my Malibu but I bet someone here will have a set. I have full use of my storage with full BAllast! No bags to get in the way.

[ahopkins22LSV]

Beautiful boat that looks very well optioned!

If you really want to go the route of removing the PNP bags I am pretty sure I have a set or two of the plugs that I can mail you. I wouldn't though and just run 50-75% ballast as mentioned above. The new hard tanks go all the way up the side of storage area now so they are effectively measuring the total rear ballast amount now, and not just the hard tanks under the PNP bags.

[EchelonMike]

2 hours ago, ahopkins22LSV said:

Beautiful boat that looks very well optioned!

If you really want to go the route of removing the PNP bags I am pretty sure I have a set or two of the plugs that I can mail you. I wouldn't though and just run 50-75% ballast as mentioned above. The new hard tanks go all the way up the side of storage area now so they are effectively measuring the total rear ballast amount now, and not just the hard tanks under the PNP bags.

There are some plugs in the glove box so I assume that's for the PNP hoses.  I'll leave them in for now!  Appreciate all the good info!  Bring on spring!

 

[NWBU]

Congrats on the great looking new boat!

Those are the PNP plugs in the dash.

[Ronnie]

For the rear storage, I have started using HyperRyd's Locker Storage Nets. 

[EchelonMike]

18 hours ago, Ronnie said:

For the rear storage, I have started using HyperRyd's Locker Storage Nets. 

Those look great, thanks for sharing @Ronnie!

[dizzygti]

On 1/5/2024 at 11:52 PM, EchelonMike said:

Any of you deal with Singleton Marine?  I bought the boat from Russell Marine (Nautique/Sea Ray/Chris Craft dealer) and they could not have been better to deal with.  But they don't do the warranty transfer so I needed a Malibu dealer.  Singleton service center is about 30 minutes away.  I called them a few weeks before I bought the boat, explained what I was buying, and needed the transfer done.  They said of course, do it all the time, etc.  I made an appointment, and they were ready for me when I arrived, all good. 

They called me today when they were done with the inspection and told me they'd send the $750 to Malibu as is the process, but told me I needed to give them another $600 to send to Indmar for the engine warranty.  Ummm, the engines are no longer Indmar, they're Malibu.  I told them that was not right, the boats don't use Indmar in them since 2019 or 2020.  They said they'd double check on that and call me back.

Long story short, they called me back to say I was right, their mistake.  But I couldn't help but feel like they were trying to screw me out of $600 bucks.  You're a Malibu dealer and you're the service manager...and think the boat has an Indmar engine?  Shady.  If you deal with Singleton, I'd recommend you keep your spare hand on your wallet.

 

I wouldn't assume shady as much as just unknowledgeable.    They don't seem very on top of things, but that's a different branch/service department than you dealt with.   

[bcoppess23]

On 1/6/2024 at 2:59 PM, Ronnie said:

For the rear storage, I have started using HyperRyd's Locker Storage Nets. 

I second using these as well as the Surf board racks under the bimini.  We do more wakeboarding and also like to keep the surfboards out of direct sunlight under the tower. 

[Stevo]

A word of caution for the under Bimini surf racks, if you are over 6ft 

the racks are very well made but pose a very real head wound opportunity. I’m 6-4 and the corners of the rack were going to win any match up with my head , let alone once I input a surfboard up there.

the TMC member that we ended up installing them on loves them.

Edited January 10 by Stevo

[EchelonMike]

I think the bimini has the above-bimini surf pockets and clamping racks.  Like @Stevo I'm 6'4" so don't want to bash my head on anything tower-related!  :-) 

[bcoppess23]

22 hours ago, EchelonMike said:

I think the bimini has the above-bimini surf pockets and clamping racks.  Like @Stevo I'm 6'4" so don't want to bash my head on anything tower-related!  :-) 

Yeah.. I don't have that problem..  HAHA

[Five Cent Worth]

34 minutes ago, bcoppess23 said:

Yeah.. I don't have that problem..  HAHA

Me either...  LOL.

Often wondered if putting under the bimini racks would allow me to completely eliminate my PTM board racks....  I use the above pockets and put the surf boards in surf socks to eliminate direct sun.  three to four spaces is all I need.

[Sixer]

On 1/10/2024 at 8:15 AM, Stevo said:

A word of caution for the under Bimini surf racks, if you are over 6ft 

the racks are very well made but pose a very real head wound opportunity. I’m 6-4 and the corners of the rack were going to win any match up with my head , let alone once I input a surfboard up there.

the TMC member that we ended up installing them on loves them.

Are you talking about these things?  I've never seen them in person. 

 

https://www.malibuparts.com/blogs/news/upgrade-your-surf-storage-with-the-hyperryd-xr-1-surf-racks

[JeffK]

This was surprisingly convenient when we had a long weekend with some surf families that all wanted to bring their own boards. I didn't use it too often over the summer, but it was great for a quick deploy. We used it to carry all the boards down to the boat and then just strapped it to the top. We originally grabbed this just because in my family of 4, we all wanted to bring a couple boards for each trip.

https://www.wakemakers.com/products/ronix-bimini-rack-wakesurf-board-carrier?_pos=36&_sid=a3f2e9d31&_ss=r

And this is melon-safe in @Stevo's case

Edited January 11 by JeffK