Dacon62

I'm a Malibu guy my ski buddy is a Nautique guy. We both own a boat but are considering selling both of them and purchasing a boat together as we ski together 95% of the time. We are both fussy boat keepers and have similar views on maintenance and care. Looking at a very gently used 200 or TXI. We both normally slalom at 15/22/28 off on a smaller lake with an annual families trip to a larger lake where more room and higher freeboard are an asset. Assuming the wakes are similar I think the overall edge goes to the Malibu for roominess, versatility (wedge), higher freeboard, etc. What do you ballers say...

We ski at 34 mph at 11 (add last years 28-32 off 4 ft. length to the line) and 28 off. This is to avoid the rooster tail kick of 15 and 22 off. The VTX wake, as you mentioned is wider, taller and harder than a DD. Soft knees are helpful. The drop off the 2nd wake as you cut through also make holding position more challenging. Having said all that it is still a pretty decent wake for a 3500 pound rear engine boat. Recently skied behind a 86 Malibu skier, 99 Malibu sportster and an 02 Nautique 196 made me realize what I was missing. At 50 years old skiing behind a boat with a smaller, softer wake will be less taxing on the body.

Have a 20' V-drive Malibu VTX now with the diamond hull but as a slalom skier at heart it is time to sell and buy a real slalom boat. Is it worth spending the extra dough on the TXi (2012 or newer) or is the Lxi (2007-2011) good enough. Our ski crew all ski long line (15/22 off).

Here you go...looks like it is used in combination with the 'Ramfill' quick ballast fill system to shape the surf wake...very cool old tech made new again...

One of the guys in our ski troop had a pair and one of the glove straps tore at the wrist stitching first time out. Looks like a little more engineering or care in the stitching process should fix the problem. Masterline replaced them N/C.

Thanks for clarifying

And the topic was...

Thanks for that @Jody_Seal. Very cool looking for its time. Someone really put a lot of effort into it.

Chalk that comment up to, as mentioned, lack of experience with any mounting systems. It sure does a better job than the guys I ski with!

Don't have any experience with these camera mounts but it would appear to me that some built in dampening would be benifitial to smooth out the picture as the slight bit of slack is being taken up coming out of the turn.

Direct injected, high compression, aluminum block/heads, VVT, AFM, it's in cars now am looking forward to all this stuff being mainstream in boats. Think the 5.3 and the 6.2 will be the weapons of choice.

Yup...as mentioned earlier in this thread...it would give you the ability to run unweighted for long liners giving them a low wake and as the line shortens run more weight (strategically placed ballast) for the guys that really yank the boat around. Ultimate versatility. What's not to love about that?

Preach it @BrianCinAz - Somebody puhhh...lease build an Aluminum tournament boat. Make it look something like this. http://www.edgemarine.com/newphotogallery/SportLXImages/_MG_6277.jpg

@ShaneH - Building a "tank" as you called it, referring to a 200, is not the end all be all. A good engineer will design a boat to be strong enough without being over built. Sometimes that means a boat will have a bit of flex engineered into it. Over building is costly and unnecessary. Love both boats just saying...for an all around boat I would pick the TXi.

I want to come out. Have Strada boots. Fairly snug bottom, not tight at all top. Don't need to crank the top because of the fairly stiff sidewall for good lateral support. Always do a heel lift test on both before jumping in the water. Last crash ended up with one liner on my foot. The other one stayed in the ski. Had them loose enough.

Probably a few reasons for the low supply out there. - The guys who unfortunately could not afford to keep their boats due to the economic down turn have dumped their boats by now. - Because of the economic down turn people are being more responsible with their disposable income and buying a used, clean, low hour boat is smarter and just feels more responsible. - Sticker shock of buying new not to mention the instant depreciation as you leave the lot drives people to explore used. - As already mentioned. Time of year.

@jhughes - Was the sportster you skied behind set up for barefooting with the SSP (Scarpa Suppression Plate)? It's an adjustable trim plate attached to the wedge bracket. That kills the slalom wake. Take it off and it's a whole other animal. Small, soft and sublime.

I am totally on board with the engine under the floor concept. Just not sure how a manufacturer would deal with either the intake or exhaust system so close to varying amounts of bilge water? You gotta keep this stuff away from H2O. Not to mention the high probability of water being sucked back into the engine because it would be located at or below the water line when at rest. Guess that's why we have engineers.

Running surface of a Malibu SV23 hull or...insert your favourite hull brand here. Lighter weight Aluminum hull. Let's get this thing down to 2200 pounds or less. If you need more weight for better tracking have strategically placed ballast tanks. 300 HP 2.6 liter supercharged inline 6 (like the Mercury Verado or similar) mounted vertically with a tranny mounted below. This would reduce the drive shaft angle, improve prop efficiency, improve holeshot, increase walk around room, decrease weight, etc. Include the Nautique style saddlebag ski storage of the 200 and put in a single lid transom locker for vests, ropes,etc. that has dual position opening (either from the boat or from the transom)....Hit it!

We have a weekly guys ski night. It's light till 10ish at the peak of summer up here in BC. I tow the boat to the lake, have it fueled and ready to go. Usually everyone will go 2 sets. 1 slalom/1surf and at the end of the evening each person will help wipe down, clean up and hand me a $20 and someone in the group, other than myself, will bring the 'beerverages' and the ice. I'm happy with that! I made the decision to buy a boat because I like to own one. It is sure nice though if your friends appreciate the experience you are offering them.

Diesel stinks! And it doesn't wiped off well because of its oily composition. You are going to get it on your hands, shorts, etc. when.... Fueling with a jug, Wiping spilled fuel up etc. Then you spread the filth to your seats, steering wheel, etc. Yuck. I won't even buy a diesel P/U again because of that. I'm sticking with gasoline thank you.

You will have a tough time finding a DD that surfs well (and by well I mean actually letting go of the rope and surfing unaided) and then only maybe if you load it up with so many fat sacs that you won't be able to move around not to mention almost swamp the boat because of the fairly low freeboard. Beware that some may say they can surf behind their inboards but don't qualify that by mentioning that letting go of the rope is likely hit and miss. You, my friend, are exactly where I was years ago. Love to slalom but wanted to surf as well. Something has to give. Impossible to find a boat that will do both very well. I picked up a 20' 2008 Malibu Wakesetter VTX with the ski (diamond) hull, built in ballast and power wedge. It is good (not great) at everything. I would imagine that a Sport Nautique 200, Mastercraft X-2 or Tige RZR to name a few would be very similar.

Fart in a wind storm....not enough of a dif to worry about.

Something is just not sitting right about this...If you buy a brand new old boat (196/Response, etc) you would definitely take it in the shorts when it's trade in time because of the very limited amount of buyers out there. Most buyers want the latest tech or hull design. Dollar wise you are probably better off finding an older 196/Response with low hours. Who really, when it's time to take out the cheque book, is going to sign up to pay just about as much for a 196 or Response as a 200 or TXi and know they just bought the previous generations technology and design? Economics and Pride my friends, it's where the rubber meets the road!

@MattP - The price you pay for a flatter, frothier, softer wake? The Hydro-Brake (aka Hydrogate), as I like to call it, is ONE of the likely culprits increasing fuel consumption on Nautiques equipped with them. This is not a dis to Nautique just an observation that when you place a flat plate of steel into the water it does create a fair bit of drag.