inland

I'm going to see the 2006 RLXI tomorrow and put it in the water for a lake test. I'm taking cash and a purchase agreement with me.

I've been searching all over. You can convert the 07 RLXI and it involves an ECM replacement. No big deal really, just money.

I don't like that sound at all. I would pull all the plugs and turn the boat over manually and see if you can isolate the sound.

I agree, @gregy however that's simply not going to happen. We can swing it financially, but the CFO is not into spending that much. I've pushed that as far as is comfortable already.

Thanks @JMN. You've confirmed my fear of the 197 and have also confirmed my fear of the 206.

I've not skied the 206 either, but it was on the list due to the spaciousness of it with the open bow. I'm not a fan of the 197 in the areas in which they fit my budget. They're just too small for the family.

So, I sold my 1997 Malibu Sunsetter LX. I'm in the market for a new to me boat. I've found a 2003 Response LXI in great shape with very low hours. Because of our family, we need the walk through open bow and we're limited to about $23-25k. I'm interested to hear from fellow ballers on potential boat choices. In order of interest, I have the following. 1. Malibu Response LXI, 2003-2006. 2. Ski Nautique 206 3. MC Prostar 197 What say the ballers about the boat decision?

I second Sethro's comments about the Sunsetter LX. I thought my old SSLX skied better than the PS205 I regularly ski. It's just my opinion however but the SSLX seemed much softer than the PS205 and a smaller and less firm -22 bump. I was very surprised at how well that boat did for its size as it's really a big boat.

I'm interested to check this out. I have a COX, liked it so much I picked up an earlier version of the superlite. This new one is very interesting.

I ski a '97 Sunsetter LX several times weekly and a 94 PS205. I would prefer to ski the Sunsetter. The 205 wake is more firm and the 22 off bump is unpleasant. Regardless, when I'm offered the pull, I take it. Both of those boats seem very weight sensitive. Low fuel levels and a small crew improve the weight issues with both. One thing to consider in the evaluation I offer is the prop can have an affect on the wake characteristics. The Sunsetter wake was greatly improved after replacing the stock prop with an ACME 525.

I ski a '97 Sunsetter LX several times weekly and a 94 PS205. I would prefer to ski the Sunsetter. The 205 wake is more firm and the 22 off bump is unpleasant. Regardless, when I'm offered the pull, I take it. Both of those boats seem very weight sensitive. Low fuel levels and a small crew improve the weight issues with both. One thing to consider in the evaluation I offer is the prop can have an affect on the wake characteristics. The Sunsetter wake was greatly improved after replacing the stock prop with an ACME 525.

Have you thought about buying a used one? I bought mine used for $1300. Something to think about. Good luck.

I've had this thing for four years and have a green light from the CFO for an upgrade. She's done me well but the time for her to do another family well has arisen. She's got ~880 ish hours, on a single axle elete trailer with a spare, a few new bunks, and new bunk carpet. The boat is well maintained, hoist kept, and had a new steering cable this past season. Typical oil changes every 50 hrs or every season, or both depending on how things shake out, trans fluid change annually, plugs, wires, cap, rotor last season, and a full polish and wax twice annually. Cosmetically, this is what you would expect of a boat of this vintage. It's got all original vinyl and carpet. Most is in good shape. The rear seat stitching is starting to come apart at the piping but otherwise it's pretty good. I think this is due to the previous owner not removing the seat. It's rarely been in the boat since I've owned it. Gel coat is pretty good also. A few nicks here or there, but nothing major. I'm the second owner of the boat and have all manuals that she came with from the dealer. It's a great boat, particularly for a family just getting into water sports. If you, or anyone you know is interested, please let me know. She needs to go. Here's a link to my SIA add. Thanks for looking.

I hope to see one at our boat show. Last year, only one DD was shown and it was a TXI. They year prior, 2 were shown....TXI and SN200. Kind of disappointing that the DD's are so infrequently shown at shows in my area.

I can't help you on the lack pad on the platform. As for the decals, tread lightly with them. They can be pulled right off when buffing or they can simply be damaged. I used to use boat bling and I still like it. I've since started to used performance boat candy and I like that much better. I also like the performance boat candy polish and wax products. I find that the cutting compound and wax both work very well. For vinyl, I've used the boat bling product, performance boat candy, and 303. All work well and the jury is still out in my mind. Hope it helps.

@Horton I could not agree more. There is a local ski club 2012 TXI for a great deal here that I would love to grab, but......alas......the divorce attorney doesn't want to drop that much cash and refuses a finance. I partially agree with the finance issue.....but.....the skier in me says "hell with it....drop the cash!"

How does all of this work when your wife is a divorce attorney and could give 2 craps if you get a killer wake or not??? The only way it works for me is to get the kids involved who are 2 and 5. The 5 year old has been behind the boat and loved it, so this year it's time to get her behind the boat more.

That's a great deal. Need to get the wife off the wallet!

I'm pretty happy to see Ford back in the marine game. I'm a Ford guy at heart however I hate to see the SBC go away from the marine market.

Since I get a lot of free skiing in each season, I like to try to focus on technique. As said before, I think it will bring more buoys.

With the crew I ski with, we always rotate boats and don't give each other gas or money. A simple pull behind another boat will do for us. For friends who are not in our club or on our lake, we don't request it but gladly accept their offers.

@mwetskier.... Outstanding soundtrack on that video, btw. I really like the analogy of snow skiing here. Makes a world of sense.

I learn something new every time I ski. Sometimes I learn more about how to retain what I previously learned, if that makes sense. Most importantly, this season I learned the following. 1. Handle low at the hips at all times, hips forward. 2. Stop pulling past the first wake. 3. Zero ball! No drifting. 4. Cold water makes the ski do goofy things. I learned more, but 1-3 are most important to me right now.

My name is Chris and I've become an addict. Is there a support group for us??? As a kid, my family always had boats, but never direct drive tugs. We always had I/O or OB fishing type boats but always drooled over the DD boats I saw. I was able to ski on a combo set ok and drop one from time to time. Never was able to get up on one. The last time I did that, I was 13. Fast forward 21 years. Wife and I live on a sweet little semi private lake with a ski club! Light bulb on, boat purchase eminent. After many discussions with the CFO, we settled on a value and specifics (she needed open bow) and we pulled the trigger on a boat. That was 3 years ago. With some help of the guys here in the club, I started to ski again. Last year, I started getting into the course and the addiction grew ever more severe. So much so that I was accused of being "obsessed" by the wife. Well....she's right. Every chance I get to run the course, which is difficult with work and family considering the course can only be in M-F due to permit issues, I run it. I'm now running -15 @ 32 MPH and have made a full pass twice and once at -15, 34 MPH. Next year, at 40, I plan to start running the local tournaments with the guys from the club. I'll be able to take my little dude with me, too! Oh yea....I need a better slalom tug, too. CFO is not real happy with that. In her world, ours is good enough. In my world, the wake is slightly larger than I'd like it to be.

@MAD11...sick boat for sure. I completely agree with @6balls on this matter. I'm in the market right now for an upgrade and I'm looking at 8-10 year old boats in the $20-25k territory and I don't think any of them will hold back my skiing. Bang for the buck is certainly key. Plus, for most of us, this is a luxury toy. Hard to want to finance a huge nut like that for 20 years to make it seem reasonable. JMHO, but $70k is a tough nut to swallow.