mkerzie Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I purchased a 2008 Malibu Response LXi 2 summers ago and i've begun to feel like my wake is bigger than similar BU's. It seems like some days the wake is non-existent and absolutely amazing. And other days I can notice a big difference with an increased wake size. I cannot for the life of me figure out what is casuing this inconsistency??? Ive skied behind plenty of '08, '09 and '11 models and they ALL ski amazing... The boat does have a slalom tower, wedge, stereo system with amp and a sub woofer under the observer's sear storage area as well as the rear seat in. Lately Ive begun to think that all of these "extras" are adding weight to my boat and just increasing my wake size, but when the boat is "on" all of these things are still part if the equation. I keep the tank under half full to try and keep the weight down as well. I also had my prop re-done last year, could this cause a change in the wake? Please help, I am at a loss and I havent heard of anyone with a similar problem :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller 6balls Posted July 19, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 19, 2011 Are you taking on water in the bilge? Is your auto bilge functional? Is the wedge secure? If not weight of some sort hard to explain the on again off again wake. Is your skiing the factor ie) some days not handling the pull angle as well and thus getting jacked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuney Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Maybe your just skiing better on some days than others? The boat obviously isn't changing and you seem to keep a close eye on variables(gas) so I'd say it is either in your head or your skiing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Bill Gladding Posted July 19, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 19, 2011 I don't know what the weight in yours adds up to but we ran ours without the tower, wedge installed or other gear and kept 100 pounds of play sand under the observer's seat unless we had two crew. The boat rides high and seems pretty light so was a little weight sensitive. Do you keep you ski bags and several skis aboard and do you keep them on the same side of the motor box? I noticed with ours that if the boat wasn't level it would make the wake a little hard going one way. Have you crew if any slide back and forth as necessary to level the boat when it is running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller skibug Posted July 19, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 19, 2011 not keeping ski on edge through the wakes some days? more gas? weight distribution side to side (i.e. a non-level boat can cause the wake profile to change and be more abrupt from one side - as stated above)? Prop damage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller slalom frog Posted July 19, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 19, 2011 What line length are you at? I own an 06 RLXi and I notice a big difference at 22 off when my form is not good. When I am skiing well, I barely notice it. Other times when I hit the wake with bad form I launch off of the first wake. At 28 and 32 I don't notice much difference ever, regardless of my form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Ham_Wallace Posted July 19, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 19, 2011 How big is your cooler and how well stocked is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller ForrestGump Posted July 19, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 19, 2011 Do you use the wedge? Every malibu with a wedge I've skied behind had a terrible wake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old MS Accout Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Remove the throttle knob and replace everything under it with a Carbon Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Roger Posted July 20, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 20, 2011 The biggest contributor is probably lateral balance of the boat. Are you skiing with just a driver? If so, do you have a weight on the passenger side to balance the boat? You would be surprised just how much the wake can be effected this way. At Okeeheelee, we are very careful about boat balance for tournaments for this exact reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller rodltg2 Posted July 20, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 20, 2011 Probably not much help here, but I had a beautiful 05 Lxi loaded with all the goodies. The wake was a bit bigger and harder than other boats, so I removed the tower, wedge, stereo and it made a big difference. Do you notice the difference at different lakes or does the water level fluctuate?. Water depth can make a difference. Before: http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b265/rodltg2/buandtruck.jpg After: http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b265/rodltg2/DSCN0770.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkerzie Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thank you so much for all of the feedback! rodtg2, i am very tempted to strip the boat down to purely slalom form like you did yours. I do trailer my boat to different lakes and club tournaments and now that you mentioned it, it seems to ski great on lakes that are shallow (6 feet and shallower) and seems to be a bit bigger and harder in deep water public lakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkerzie Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 6balls- Its funny you mentioned that, as soon as I put my boat away and came home (im about 3 hours from private lakes where I store my boat) it was one of the first things i thought of. It will be on the top of my list to check on my next set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Ed_Johnson Posted July 20, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 20, 2011 mkerzie, I had an 05 LXi with all the goodies and found if you add about 75 - 100 lbs in the nose, under the front cushion, that will make a huge difference in the wake........Now use 50 lbs in the nose of my CC200 and there is virtually no wake bump at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkerzie Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 I will definitely say that my skiing needs major improvment and could be a factor. I am a new course skier and currently ski at 36mph. It can be a little intimidating hitting the wakes at that speed and there are times that I definitely feel like I compromise my "stacked" position behind the boat and my edge through the wakes for fear of going over the front (which ive done so many times, lol).. but this is usually just me being impatient and grabbing the handle before the ski finishes in the turn and not allowing myslef to get into a strong pull position. I do have a wedge and keep it stowed in the upright position, and unless I am spening a day on the lake with family and friends I do not keep anything in the floor cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agustafson Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 mkerzie I also own a 2008 LXI minus the tower and power wedge, but do have the manual wedge.. Most times I ski I have the boat really striped down wedge off, back seat out and all the bow cushions out.. wake is really nice but as stated above from another post when we only have one person in the boat you can feel a difference but nothing to throw you off or freak you out, but we also ski with everything in the boat at times and never have a big bump problem! I have a buddy that had the same year LXI with tower, pwr wedge and and all the seats and that boat had a much bigger wake then mine, the tower and pwr wedge ad alot more weight in my opinion but still not enough that would get sketchy.. I would look to see if you are getting some water leaks from your skags or anywhere else. Just my 2 cents worth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Ed_Johnson Posted July 20, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 20, 2011 I swear, if you have a Wedge, it is heavy, and you have to counter-balance that weight by adding to the nose. It makes a HUGE difference in the wake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller ForrestGump Posted July 20, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 20, 2011 I agree with Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thompjs Posted July 20, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 20, 2011 This is starting to sound like a bunch of whiny trickers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller ForrestGump Posted July 20, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 20, 2011 Jim, go to cypress and ride behind McCormicks boat. Last years with the tower, stereo and wedge had a big nasty wake that was hard as cement. I've heard this years is just as bad. Same last year with that boat that Malibu gave Chad temporarily that had the tower and wedge. I have no issue with Craig or Dave's or yours and in all actuality would rather ski behind them than a 196 or MC197. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Hugh Nichols Posted July 20, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 20, 2011 Put 3 concrete blocks in the nose, that fixed my 02 RLX...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thompjs Posted July 20, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 20, 2011 Shane, is his a 6 liter? My 09 had Wedge no tower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller ForrestGump Posted July 20, 2011 Baller Share Posted July 20, 2011 No, McCormicks is a 5.7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ DW Posted July 21, 2011 Baller_ Share Posted July 21, 2011 I would certainly remove the wedge at least to make a test run. There are three factors that will influence the wake (weight effects): 1. total weight 2. pitch (where the weight is located) 3. balance The wedge is most detrimental in terms of adding weight particularly to the "wrong" end of the boat for a slalom wake. I would suggest two things, removing it to compare the wake with and without, but also look to see if it is not actually partially engaged in the water causing the inconsistency, does it droop down some causing it to be partially in the water at times? The tower will also have an effect, it is heavy and tall so the air resistance caused by the tower will tend to pitch the nose up or tail down, particularly if you have wakeboards and other "stuff" on it. Does the inconsistency arise from the tower being loaded or unloaded with perhaps things you keep on it, just a thought. I put a lot of effort in reducing the weight of my boat, a Malibu, and it has helped immensly, removing the rear seat and seatback made a big difference which amounted to over 50#. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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