Help with my new purchase 06 wakesetter

[Stringbean]

Sold my 1994 tigé 2000 flsm w/ merc 454 in the summer, as I wanted to get into surfing more and we tried everything to surf behind it but just couldn’t do it. I don’t have a family just a single male with his husky dog (gonna buy the Milwaukee cordless vacuum to keep the carpets clean from all her dog hair) 🤦🏻‍♂️ But we have family lake property that I will be parking any future boat at.
 

have my eye on an immaculate 2006 wakesetter lsv 23

1 owner

has optional 496 engine with 750 hours

illusion x tower

bimini top

heated seat

fiberglass swim deck 

manual wedge

additional 2 300lbs fatsacs for lockers 

 

the market is very different for me up in BC, Canada and the unit is 56k.

 

https://www.bowridgesports.com/vehicles/2006/malibu/wakesetter-23-lsv-/cochrane/ab/61328184/?sale_class=used

 

curious as to peoples thoughts on the 06 for surfing and if the additional sacs will be enough. I found a dead thread from 2010 with people talking about tossing 750 and 1100 lbs bags in the lockers so I guess there’s always room for improvement.

Is the 8100 / 496 a good engine? Any known problems?

 

Have my local dealer for audio already planning a new Rockford fox gate marine system for the boat and heise led light bars and mood lighting and underwater lights. But would likely do this to any boat i acquire. 
 

thank you everyone for your insight into my first possible Malibu. Excited to join the family soon hopefully 

 

Edited March 10 by Stringbean
Add information

[69charged]

10 hours ago, Stringbean said:

Sold my 1994 tigé 2000 flsm w/ merc 454 in the summer, as I wanted to get into surfing more and we tried everything to surf behind it but just couldn’t do it. 
 

have my eye on an immaculate 2006 wakesetter lsv 23

has optional 496 engine with 750 hours

illusion x tower

bimini top

heated seat

fiberglass swim deck 

manual wedge

additional 2 300lbs fatsacs for lockers 

 

the market is very different for me up in BC, Canada and the unit is 56k.

 

https://www.bowridgesports.com/vehicles/2006/malibu/wakesetter-23-lsv-/cochrane/ab/61328184/?sale_class=used

 

curious as to peoples thoughts on the 06 for surfing and if the additional sacs will be enough. I found a dead thread from 2010 with people talking about tossing 750 and 1100 lbs bags in the lockers so I guess there’s always room for improvement.

Is the 8100 / 496 a good engine? Any known problems?

 

Have my local dealer for audio already planning a new Rockford fox gate marine system for the boat and heise led light bars and mood lighting and underwater lights. But would likely do this to any boat i acquire. 
 

thank you everyone for your insight into my first possible Malibu. Excited to join the family soon hopefully 

 

Looks like a clean boat. I’m new to the Malibu family as well so I can’t help you on what to look for, but I did see this boat for sale as well when I bought mine. I just bought it a month ago. A 2011 VLX for the same price. But not as clean as the one you’re looking at. I have some lower cushions to redo. The people in my thread made some suggestions for setting mine up for surfing so they should be fairly similar in what’s needed? 
Mine will also require some new stereo equipment, mainly speakers after all the years. 
Good luck in your search. 
Clarence 

 

[69charged]

Here is my thread. Some good suggestions on what to look at for a used boat, and surfing setups. There is a good read on here about what to look for when buying a used boat as well. I read through that and that helped. 

 

 

Edited March 10 by 69charged

[Stringbean]

22 minutes ago, 69charged said:

Looks like a clean boat. I’m new to the Malibu family as well so I can’t help you on what to look for, but I did see this boat for sale as well when I bought mine. I just bought it a month ago. A 2011 VLX for the same price. But not as clean as the one you’re looking at. I have some lower cushions to redo. The people in my thread made some suggestions for setting mine up for surfing so they should be fairly similar in what’s needed? 
Mine will also require some new stereo equipment, mainly speakers after all the years. 
Good luck in your search. 
Clarence 

 

Thank you Clarence! What was the reason for picking the one you did over this one if you seen it? Price? Distance away? 

Looks like you picked up a lovely boat, and thank you for the links. I’ve started reading them and they will come in handy for sure.

I love stereo builds it’s another hobbie of mine and it can be addictive haha. Will be a world of difference with a new system!

[69charged]

1 hour ago, Stringbean said:

Thank you Clarence! What was the reason for picking the one you did over this one if you seen it? Price? Distance away? 

Looks like you picked up a lovely boat, and thank you for the links. I’ve started reading them and they will come in handy for sure.

I love stereo builds it’s another hobbie of mine and it can be addictive haha. Will be a world of difference with a new system!

Only 2 reasons were the size, and year. If I put a little work into this boat, if ever I decide to upgrade, I hope the year of it helps out in that department. And for the lakes around here, I hope the 21’ serves me better. I first fell in love with Malibu because of the 23 LSV. And literally because of the year you’re looking at. So I am a bit jealous!! 
As for stereo equipment, I was big into it years ago. Like, 20 or so. Just getting back into it with my vehicle. I just picked it up in January so it’s been a bit cold to do anything yet. But the parts are piling up. Helix DSP and amps, SI components, and some fibreglass work behind the rear seats when it gets warmer. For subs it will either be the SI BM-11 or the newer Hertz Mille pro’s. Not sure yet. 

[Steve B.]

That looks like a lotta future fun ! Everything is a little pricey in today's market. Maybe you can negotiate to sweeten the deal a bit.

[Nick55]

@Stringbean, I don’t think you can really go wrong with the 06 Wakesetter, BUT, depending on your budget, I’d give a serious look at that much newer Moomba Mondo the dealer has for $10k more.  That’s a great setup for surfing and it’s got the plug and play too. 

[redrooster]

Around 43k us?  Not bad.  I love my boat(2005 23 lsv), but you will need more ballast in the rear to get a nice surf wave going. My buddy has a 21' and the 2 extra feet make a huge difference  in floatation.  If we both fill our ballasts I still sit about 2-3" higher out of the water. The offset is we can have a lot of people on the boat and we don't feel cramped. 

The manual wedge is sometimes a pain if you have all new people on the boat who don't know how to put it up or down. 

Check your swim platform brackets.  I upgraded mine to the newer version and its worked awesome. 

[rennis]

Sounds like a cool boat.  Definitely get 1100lb bags for the rear lockers and a suck gate.  That thing will surf no problem. 

I don't know much about the 496 Malibu was offering but I remember that Epic Wake boats were having a lot of issues with the Mercruiser 496 due to oil starvation issues.  there were lots of new motor replacements in those.  My Brother in law had one and the motor was replaced under warranty.  I guess my point is, understanding why that motor had oiling issues and making sure it doesn't apply to this motor would be worth thinking about.  I am sure Paul at Bakes would know. 

[Stringbean]

On 3/10/2024 at 1:41 PM, Nick55 said:

@Stringbean, I don’t think you can really go wrong with the 06 Wakesetter, BUT, depending on your budget, I’d give a serious look at that much newer Moomba Mondo the dealer has for $10k more.  That’s a great setup for surfing and it’s got the plug and play too. 

Sadly 10k more is out of the budget. 

[Stringbean]

On 3/10/2024 at 2:15 PM, redrooster said:

Around 43k us?  Not bad.  I love my boat(2005 23 lsv), but you will need more ballast in the rear to get a nice surf wave going. My buddy has a 21' and the 2 extra feet make a huge difference  in floatation.  If we both fill our ballasts I still sit about 2-3" higher out of the water. The offset is we can have a lot of people on the boat and we don't feel cramped. 

The manual wedge is sometimes a pain if you have all new people on the boat who don't know how to put it up or down. 

Check your swim platform brackets.  I upgraded mine to the newer version and its worked awesome. 

Didn’t think of that, but we usually have a decent crew on the boat, 4-5 might not be much but usually pretty consistent. 
 

I’ve never used it myself but I’ll have to figure the wedge out myself first. 
 

I’ll look into the brackets. Are they usually weak? And is it on the wood and fiberglass decks or just one or the other? Thanks 

[Stringbean]

12 hours ago, rennis said:

Sounds like a cool boat.  Definitely get 1100lb bags for the rear lockers and a suck gate.  That thing will surf no problem. 

I don't know much about the 496 Malibu was offering but I remember that Epic Wake boats were having a lot of issues with the Mercruiser 496 due to oil starvation issues.  there were lots of new motor replacements in those.  My Brother in law had one and the motor was replaced under warranty.  I guess my point is, understanding why that motor had oiling issues and making sure it doesn't apply to this motor would be worth thinking about.  I am sure Paul at Bakes would know. 

Comes with 300’s but the bags arnt too expensive I’ll see how it does with them and then maybe think of changing to bigger bags but that’s what I’ve read as well.

I tried googling this and couldn’t find much under oil starvation but I’ll keep digging. And see if there’s any preventative stuff I can do. 

[Zippymbr]

I have an 07 23 LSV and its an amazing boat.  To get the best surf wave it will take some work.  I installed a GSA and then a FAE exhaust.  Then I put in 2 reversible pumps with 1100 pound bags in each locker.  I have about 600 lb of lead in bags I more around as needed.  If you are willing to put in a bit of work it will be a fantastic boat.

[redrooster]

On 3/11/2024 at 8:31 PM, Stringbean said:

Didn’t think of that, but we usually have a decent crew on the boat, 4-5 might not be much but usually pretty consistent. 
 

I’ve never used it myself but I’ll have to figure the wedge out myself first. 
 

I’ll look into the brackets. Are they usually weak? And is it on the wood and fiberglass decks or just one or the other? Thanks 

They were aluminum covered in something.  The coating wears off and tye tolerances get loose causing your platform to move up and down with each wave, then the bolts holding on tye bracket need to be tightened all the time.  And it let's water in.   

There is a thread about it somewhere.  I'll find it. 

[rennis]

3 hours ago, redrooster said:

They were aluminum covered in something.  The coating wears off and tye tolerances get loose causing your platform to move up and down with each wave, then the bolts holding on tye bracket need to be tightened all the time.  And it let's water in.   

There is a thread about it somewhere.  I'll find it. 

you should share your picture of the nearly worn through cable-end at the vdrive too.  that's a good wear item to check! 

[N49Boater]

That is a great boat. You will be able to surf it with some weight and some kind of surf gate. My sister and her crew have the same boat…. been in the family since new….. hasn’t had much use the last few years..….still pretty low hours at around 400,…...8.1 has been great, just regular maintenance and a set of spark plugs. Another one in our area with the 8.1…closer to 1,000 hours….... had some strange fuel system issue that was hard to diagnose and repair but they did sort it out….. not sure where you are at….. from Sask at this end. If you end up with this boat or similar, and need a hand, advice, or opinion, reach out anytime.  Good luck with your purchase! 

[redrooster]

12 hours ago, rennis said:

you should share your picture of the nearly worn through cable-end at the vdrive too.  that's a good wear item 

This

[redrooster]

On 3/11/2024 at 8:31 PM, Stringbean said:

Didn’t think of that, but we usually have a decent crew on the boat, 4-5 might not be much but usually pretty consistent. 
 

I’ve never used it myself but I’ll have to figure the wedge out myself first. 
 

I’ll look into the brackets. Are they usually weak? And is it on the wood and fiberglass decks or just one or the other? Thanks 

With the boat on trailer try to move the swim platform up and down.   You will know right away if the aluminum parts are worn, which at this age they might be.   Then call Bakes and have them set you up with the new stainless hardware.