Comparison between 97’ PS205 and Malibu sunsetter LXi

[pjnyk]

Hey guys. Looking at getting in on the used tow boat market and narrowed it down to two options. The PS has about 800hr and 140hr on a rebuilt engine. The Malibu has 1585hr. I typically slalom ski and barefoot. Not running the course with this boat. Malibu is priced at 22k with tandem trailer and PS is priced at 18.8k with trailer and boom. Both are in pretty immaculate condition. Just looking for general opinions, leaning towards the Malibu at the moment.

Thanks in advance

[DW]

Very comparable boats, if barefooting is a priority that would tilt the needle towards the Malibu. You might peruse the Malibu Crew forum and see feedback from Sunsetter owners, they seem to really like them. The MC is also a good boat, I don't think you would be going wrong with either.

[Nole_Skier]

I have a 1999 Sunsetter LXI and it's been a great boat. I use it for slalom only and at 15 off it's got a good wake from 26-34mph. I've pulled other skiers up to 35 off and while it's not the same wake as the newer boats, they were still able to run the course. The prior owner used it primarily as a barefoot boat, so I would assume it's good for that. The price seems pretty high, I'm getting ready to list mine with around 820 hours and was going to start a few thousand below that.

[UWSkier]

What year on that LXi? Seems a bit high unless it's completely loaded and has had money into it lately

[S1Pitts]

If the malibu has the monsoon motor and a wedge then the price is not high. This is one of the best all around hulls you can find and they don't last long around here when they come to market at the price you quoted. You can ski , trick, wake board, surf and barefoot all on one boat. Probably toss in jump too but none of us do.

I have two ski partners with one (2003 , 2005) - both are excellent and would be great for what you are after.

[Ski_Dad]

we love our sunsetter LXI - great slalom wake for the 15-22 off skiers in my boat. I agree that price is high - i paid less for a 2003 with 400 hours a few years ago.

 

With that many hours I would want to see a compression check and see numbers at least 160 PSI per cylinder. They had 4 engines choices so that makes a difference. I would also want to see some maintenance records

[pjnyk]

@Nole_Skier @UWSkier @S1Pitts @Ski_Dad thanks guys. So keep in mind this is in CAD, it comes with the wedge and the ad says it’s got a 350hp motor, not sure if that makes it the monsoon or not. And it’s a 99, stored indoor through the winters. Was still thinking 22k is high considering the hours.

[powbmps]

Not to geek out, but......

 

For some reason the Sunsetter LXi isn't in the 1999 Malibu Brochure. Only direct drive version is the LX. The base motor was 350 cubic inches and 310 h.p. Monsoon 325 made 325 hp. No 350 hp motor available. Sunsetter LX is 21' long with a 93" beam.

 

The Sunsetter LXi shows up in 2000, but same base 310 hp motor and Monsoon 325. Still no 350 hp motor. LXI is 8" longer and 1/2" wider than the LX model. Back end of the hull "overhangs" (notched out?).

 

Last two digits of the hull number will tell you the year.

 

 

[Wayne]

Careful with the Sunsetter LX. I believe most of those do NOT have the SV23 Diamond hull and are not the greatest for slalom skiing.

 

All Sunsetter LXIs are on the Diamond hull and ski great as mentioned above. I had a 2002 Sunsetter (not LX or LXI, just a plain Sunsetter which was made only in 2002). It was available with the SV23 Diamond hull or the SV23 Wake hull, I had the Diamond hull version. Exact same running surface as the LXI but the trunk was shorter in the back. Skied identically to the LXI and was a foot shorter so it fit in my garage.

[sixball]

One of my ski partners has A 99 SS LXI Carburetor engine 310 HP. The injected version was also available I thought 335 HP. but not sure. Its on the SV23 hull and is a very nice ski. And not a bad footer boat but then I have footed but am not A footer guy so I think its a good setup for both. The last good SS LXI for skiing was the 04. I think the DD came out mid season 99.

[ALPJr]

205

[powbmps]

@sixball aaaaahhhhh, that would make sense. The 1999 brochure was probably already out when they released the LXi version.

[braindamage]

I love my ‘00 SSLxi. The wake Is Great and it’s very roomy. $22k is $16.5k is, so price is about right. With that many hours I agree that a compression test would be a good idea.

[pjnyk]

@powbmps it’s the LXi for sure, has the overhang at the back with the larger trunk. Person making the ad could have it wrong I guess, hopefully it’s the monsoon as I’ve heard plenty of good things

[pjnyk]

@Wayne it’s the lxi so it has the diamond hull. What do you usually ski at? How was the wake?

[Nole_Skier]

Price seems much more reasonable in CAD. I also didn't consider wedge value, I believe you can add but it's around $2k.

[UWSkier]

Engines would be 310 HP carb or 325 Monsoon most likely. Not sure if they had the Hammerhead in 99 but if they did, that'd be 365. These are all bloated Indmar ratings of course.

 

Hope for the 325 Monsoon. Those are bulletproof.

[aspski]

I have an 01 Sunsetter lxi with the 325 Monsoon and its an amazing boat. Plenty of room for friends but still has very good slalom wakes. I would highly suggest that the SS lxi is the way to go

[Wayne]

@pjnyk I skied 34 and 36 MPH behind my Sunsetter. In 2009 I traded it for a new Response LXI. In my opinion (28 off skier) the Sunsetter was not holding me back. The wake is just a tad bit better on my Response but not to the point where I skied better.

[pjnyk]

@UWSkier got in touch with the guy and he says it’s 350 fuel injected. Ever heard of that?

[UWSkier]

@pjnyk it's probably a Monsoon 325. Only other option in 1999 were two Mercruisers which were both also multi-port injected like the Monsoon. Very few boats came with Mercruisers.

[pjnyk]

@UWSkier probably a dumb question but when I go to take a look I should be able to tell which motor it is when I open up the hatch and look or by checking out the serial number right? Don’t want to end up with a carb.

[UWSkier]

Yeah. Easy to tell them apart.

 

Monsoon will look like this (only hopefully cleaner than this sample).

 

 

Carby will look like this.

 

[Siouxcitysmitty]

My guess is that the seller is confusing cubic inches (350) with horsepower. I have an '04 Response LXI with the Monsoon 340hp (350 ci). As far as I know, that was the max horsepower for the Monsoon at that point in time (short of the hammerhead, which I don't believe was branded Monsoon). Pretty sure there wasn't a 350 hp monsoon available in '99.

 

BTW, have ski'd a friend's Sunsetter LXI and love it. Was shopping for one but ended up with my RLXI, as the SSLXI's are very rare. As others have stated, be sure to get the diamond hull.

[bhammer]

SSLXi is a better slalom and barefoot boat with out a doubt, I have been behind both a lot. Also depending on what barefoot speeds you want, the 205 is slow. WOT was usually 40/41 with a footer. Another thing to find out on the 205 is what was actually done to the motor, people use the term rebuild a lot and means drastically different things. I would want to see documentation on what was done and parts used. My brother has an 03 SSLXi and I have a 05 RLXi, my wake is better but not a huge difference and both run 46mph at WOT.