Decisions maristar or vlx
 

Lookin at a 00 230vrs and a 02 vlx.
I've lake tested both and the 230 definitely has more interior space and is wider but the handling feels kind of different. I know it doesn't have tracking fins and was wondering if the same vintage x30 didn't have them also??? The bu has pp and ballast(both need repairs) where the 230 doesn't but I have sacks and most of a pp system. What is everyone's opinions of the wakes and differences of them? I mostly do surfing we ran a 400 bag in the vrs on the test ride but it could have used massively more. The vlx looked good also using the mls ballast alone.
They are both listed at the same price but I know they will go down quite a bit on the maristar.
Also the 230 looked like the trans and v-drive is in the same package and has the ltr engine.
How are those two?
How will the re-sale be on a maristar compared to the vlx? I know the maristar is the same hull as the x30 but definitely doesn't look like it and wasn't sure if that would hurt resale?
Any help would be appreciated.

I can't speak for the maristar, but I just sold my 02 vlx to upgrade, and I loved that boat. Wake was great, we really had to weight it to surf, but then again im not a little dude by any means. I thought it had plenty of room, and we'd normally roll 5-10 on a regular basis. (Of course some were chicks, so 10 wasn't to bad). Handled great. I had titan accessories on mine and it was solid. My only complaint was I didn't have a wedge. I didn't really know much about riding back when I bought it. I'm a bit biased, but all I really know is the vlx. Just make sure it was well maintained. I had 515 hours when I sold it and the only thing to ever go wrong was a broken belt. Either way Im sure you'll be stoked.

Mastercraft 20,000 or walk

BU 23,000 or walk

Some one please help this guy he is driving his friends and family crazy:):):):):)

Chris your the one driving me crazy!!! lol
and 23 on the bu if they get me a new prop and cover!!

:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:( :eek:

as I said in the other thread, if the vlx doesn't have the wedge, it's not going to be easy to surf. I made the mistake this summer when we had 10 people in the boat of jumping in to get a surf set and not putting the wedge down. The wave looked awesome, but once in the water it had no push. for this hull the wedge really is a must for surfing. For wakeboarding I don't really like the wedge down, but I'm not that good either. I much prefer weight up front for wakeboarding ... then the wake gets super firm and rampy.

How much and how hard would it be to install the wedge?

Depends on whether or not the boat already has a wedge plate on it. Mine did not and when I inquired about it, my dealer said it was quite labor intensive to get the plate on because of where it was located, which meant expensive. I went without. If you have the plate on, I believe the price was about $600. I may be wrong on that price though as I inquired about it 4 or 5 years ago. but it the plate is there, just order it and slap it on

Ya no plate or signs of a plate on it.
The more I read it looks like the 230 isn't all to well known for it's wake yet looks like without the wedge the vlx isn't to great either.

My buddy bought boat the same boat I did, but his had a wedge. The main difference was with the wedge, it seemed to give a little more of a "lip". We had mixed opinions. I personally liked it better with the wedge, others in our group did not. To this day I still like the wedge on my new boat, and the same guys who didn't like it then, still have me put it up when they ride. For surfing, yes it helps, but like I said, I didn't have a wedge and we just weighted the boat and we did fine.

I would have to disagree that the vlx is bad without the wedge. Properly weighted, it will be a great wake, some just prefer with and it's an easy way to add ballast. Does the maristar have a tower. The no pp and ballast would suck especially initially. nothing you couldn't fix but that could bring the price close to the VLX. It will probably have lower resale because not being wakeboarding specific x makes it more of an all around boat. I would say a wake boat costs more because of the additional equipment. Just like a sunscape or regular sunsetter is just a base model of the wakesetter. My vote goes for the VLX.

The maristar has the factory tower and board racks.
The maristar has been obviously much better cared for but like you just stated I wasn't sure how much less I would get even if I loaded it out like a x30.

To be clear, I didn't say the vlx would suck without the wedge. I said it will suck for SURFING without the wedge. I never put it down for wakeboarding and we get a very nice (and scalable) wake out of the boat. But to get push out of the wake FOR SURFING the wedge is very helpful.

When you say it was better cared for, what do you mean? Vinyl can be cleaned, but severe engine problems would be a deal breaker. Scratches in the hull are negligible, you will get those no matter how well you care for the boat.

I can get behind the surf wake wedge. i do think it makes it better. i do however think it is possible to get a good surf wave without it, just have to play around a little more with weight placement. more up front to make the pocket longer and firmer for more push.

The gel looks nicer, the vlx was obviously kept on a lift and even has a dent in the top of the tower where they hit something when lifting it.
There is no spider cracking on the gel on either but even after detail of the vlx the mc gel and interior look better just wish it was the x scheme. But guess anything is fixable with a wrap.
Guess I'm mostly worried about re-sale between the two a and how the wave is behind the 230vsr. I've watched lots of video's of the vlx online and hear great things from ya'll.

maristar 230 became the x30. Neither had tracking fins for many years, not sure on more recent x30's. The 230 is a obviously a much bigger boat - more beam and length. You're going to have to run more weight in the 230 whether you're surfing, boarding, whatever. Its just gonna take more weight for it to perform. LTR engine is solid.

FYI unless you find a used manual wedge its been discontinued as of '07 the floating wedge replaced it. Installing the wedge plate isn't that difficult....I bet you could pay cash to the guys after hours from a dealer to do it...

After talking with my banker and seeing what bottom dollar was on the star I'm going to get the bu.
There is a manual wedge on ebay, whats the difference with the floating wedge???

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/m...tml?1166051390

Old school thread discusses the manual, floating, and power

I have an '00 230 VRS and I'd have a hard time settling for anything smaller now that I'm used to it. We will go out after work with 6-8 boarders on the boat and never feel cramped. I love the wake but I'm not a wake connoisseur. The normal setup is just a pair of 280 lb fat buddies in the back. Sometimes one of the guys brings another set of fat buddies as well as some Straight Line lounge seat (something like 675 lbs). We throw all the fat buddies next to the engine and then the lounge chair in the bow/walkthrough. With that weight (1020 lbs in the rear and 675+ a person in the bow) IMHO it's pretty spectacular.

Most of the guys who ride in my boat spend a lot of time on an X2 and they really like my wake too. I haven't spent enough time behind anything else to get enough of a feel to develop a preference but I consistently get 9'+ of air on my wake.

So far I've added a tower and Perfect Pass Stargazer. I plan on a full auto ballast system in the future but I have to save up money for that. I will likely do a pair of 750s in the back, a 650 lb integrated bow sack and then move the fat buddies to the ski locker.

The LTR has a good reputation as do most of the 5.7L GMs. I haven't had anything major to deal with on it but it's only got 290 hrs on it. You are correct that the v-drive and transmission are one unit. I actually didn't know that was unusual until I spent some time on this forum.

Resale will not be as good as an X boat but hopefully you get it on the front end for a good enough price that the current owner absorbs that instead of you.

When I was buying the next best deal to my 230 happened to be an '00 Malibu VLX but it had a lot of strikes against it. Ugly tower, ugly green and tan color, higher price, etc. so I went with the MariStar.

Oh and the X-30 of that generation didn't have tracking fins either. They really didn't look that different. Just a big X-30 circle decal and the colored portion of the gelcoat is pulled down closer to/below the water line.

X-30 for sure if you like bringing friends out with you, it gives you all the room you could want to have a party on the lake!