Oh decisions, decisions. Need some input amigos

Hey guys. This is my first post on WW, but i have read posts on here for a long time and i love the advice that is given.

I am looking at purchasing my first (personal) boat here in the next month or two. I have done my research and read my reviews and im really looking heavily into a 05 MB B52 team, 06 malibu vlx, and also Epics 23v. Im gonna be talking to dealers and such this friday at the boat show but my predicament is with test driving. I live in Utah and its in winter lockdown right now so a test drive is imposible on these boats. My only real interest is a solid wakeboarding/ wakeskating wake, not into the whole surfing gig. So if any owners of these boats can send me some pix of your wakes and any other good info, it would be much appreciated. Thanks for the help you guys!

Drag them down here to St. George and get a test drive once you narrow it down. If they are serious about selling this time of year they might have to make that investment.

If you are in winter lockdown, you won't be able to use the boat now anyway. Why don't you just wait till spring?

Well if all works out accordingly i want to take a spring break trip and use it. Plus we usually start wakeboarding the first week of april. I just dont want to spend half the summer test driving and making up my mind. But thanks talltigeguy, i hadnt really considered that. Ill have to talk to the guy who is selling the MB when i check it out this weekend. I will definately test drive whatever i end up buying for sure. But I would love more info and personal opinions on these boats.

MB all the way love there boats just my .02. that is what I would by if it was my money.

here's a pic to an 06 B52 V23 with the triple up ballast and (I think) some extra in the nose...

http://home.comcast.net/~dan.michelle/MBWake.JPG

Edit to say: Pic courtesy of Dan.Smith on MB Boat Owners.

(Message edited by wakereviews on February 08, 2010)

Thanks Onlyinboards. Thats one of the reasons im leaning really hard towards MB. Their wakes are just monsters! How is the lip on the wake? Can you control the lip by adjusting the ballast in the boat? The Malibu that i have ridden behind (23 lsv) was awesome too! No complaints, but that is one feature i relly liked on the Malibu was the ability to adjust the type of wake it had with the power wedge.

Kent ~~ The MB is a really solid boat from what I seen a rode. Just had a buddie pick up a 07 B52 23V this summer at a killer deal. When you say you found a 05 it is the one Austin is selling out in Provo, the red and gray one?

The wake on the 07 that I rode seemed pretty mellow since I usually ride a 02 SANTE. I know we had the ballast full and about 350 in the nose and it was WAY mellow for my liking. We took out a chase boat for the MB and got a few pic at http://dftrdownfortheride.ning.com/photo/album/list it's the albums that start with Flyin Ryan and goes to AZ Dave.

Kent, I would take a good look at the Epic 23v. All three of your options are good, but have very different wake characteristics. The Malibu has the rampiest of the wakes, followed by the slightly steeper MB and then the peaky Epic wake. The Epic wake is about as big unloaded as the other two loaded. It just takes so little effort to launch off of an Epic wake compared to the other two. Ya gotta charge them hard all the time.

Performance-wise when loaded, the Malibu will drive like a school bus, the MB like a station wagon and the Epic like a sporty sedan. Unloaded, the Epic drives like a Ferrari (in comparison to the others). An '06 VLX will also chine lock like crazy when fully loaded down.

I've ridden them all, owned a VLX and just sold my 2009 Epic a few months ago (baby on the way). Optimizing wakes are my passion.

Josh, Yeah its Austins MB that ive been checking out. Have you ridden behind that boat. To me it just seems like that boat has everything i want in it. Plus it seems like a killer deal for the price!

tuneman, thanks for filling me in on the epic. I have really been looking at them alot recently. There is an 09 for sale in flordia at a killer price. Its a little far away but it would be worth the drive if it was the boat for me. This is the boat i am most excited to check out at the show this friday. do you have any pix of the you guys riding behind the epic?

Kent ~~ I have not been in that boat, my buddie that bought the 07 was from Austin. The man gets the best deals on boats and passes the savings on. Let me know if you want me to check out the boat for ya. I talk to him at lease 2 to 3 times a month and he would be happy for me to run over and uncover it for a bit.
I would also take a hard look at the Epic, the boat is just amazing...

Kent, here are a couple of videos I did when I first got it.

First up is Dan Henning giving it a go on a kneeboard. Notice the acceleration with almost 4k in ballast:
http://www.kneeboardworld.com/movies/Dan_Henning_and_Epic.wmv

This video has some of my wakeboarding and wakesurfing peeps take a ride for the first time. The wakesurfer, John, is about 6'2" tall. Standard ballast.:
http://www.kneeboardworld.com/movies/Epic_session_1.wmv

In both videos, you'll see a little washout on the port side (what everyone points out). Both of these videos were shot in the first week I had the boat. We fixed the wash within a few weeks. The biggest factor is that we weren't going fast enough. When you put 4k pounds of ballast in a boat, you can't go at your normal speed, regardless of which boat you've got.

Hey Josh, I appreciate that man. Ill get in contact with you if i dont get a chance to make it all the way down to provo this weekend. Im up in logan so it is a bit of a drive.

Tuneman, thanks for the vids brotha! Its nice to finally talk to someone who has owned one. I usually ride at about 23-24 mph. Would that speed ride clean with the 4k in the ballast? Plus that transom stereo is one of the coolest features on the boat for me. How did you like it?

LOL Tuneman. That kneeboarding is great. That has got to be some hard freaking landings.

I'd pick the Epic out of the line up given.


They are all pretty good boats. I didn't know the VLX' had chine lock issues though...

Kent, at 26+mph, full ballast, it was clean to 80+ feet back. If we wanted to slow it down, we'd just have to dump a little ballast. Honestly, most guys didn't want full ballast. It's just too big for many.

As an example: I volunteer for a wakeboarding ministry and we used my Epic. The kids were between 13 and 16 years old and the wake scared the crap out of them. Even the more advanced riders. And that was with the front tank about half full, no ballast in the rear.

Yeah, the older VLXs chine locked slightly with a lot of ballast in them. Then the '05s -'08s were pretty bad. We're talking extra ballast here though (comparing it to Epic ballast). They fixed it on the new VLXs. First hand experience with this, not hearsay.

Epic all the way, get the most boat for your coin, not to mention the best wake around!!

Epic, no way anything else compares.

Any of the other boats will need more... no other way to put it... they are NOT ready to put out a serious wake.... the EPIC is.

Tuneman, thats the info i needed. I dont plan on riding with the full 4k anytime soon. But I just dont want to be limited on ballast. My biggest pet peave is fat sacks all over the floor. I think its about time companies start putting stock in the boats what everyone wants. More Ballast!

Kent ~~ Heck I might run into ya at the boat show this weekend. I'm planning on Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun. I got word that the local riders will be hitting the rail up on Thur and Sun. Don't get any ideas from them new shiney boats, LOL! What Epic are you looking at, I haven't seen any come up here locally.

Dude, I hope i do run into ya bro! I know Parks Bonifay and Shaun Murray are gonna be going to the Utah show too. The Sulivan Center hosted them at Ifly and Flowrider today. It should be sick! Thats cool if they are showcasing some local riders too. But the 23v im looking at is in Flordia. Far away I know, but the price is right.

http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=818817

Kent ~~ If you have made it to the shows in the past we usually get a really good line up. Park, Shane, Henshaw, Robbie, Grub, Lyman, Randall, Harf, Murray, Ruck, Jeff M, Pat, etc...

Come on tuneman an MB "station wagon???" and a Malibu "school bus???" You've got to be kidding me! Take off your epic sunglasses and take a better look.

All three boats are great. Pretty much comes down to who took care of their rides and who didn't... Go over each boat with a fine tooth comb. Ask a zillion questions! Buy someone's Baby, not their Beater.

PM me if you want a check list that Surveyor's commonly use.

MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB MB

Its been a couple of years. But it feels like Christmas all over again! In the past it was just kinda daydreaming ya know. Now im actually shopping so there is a totally different feel! But watching those guys ride is always a trip.

I've spotted that navy epic as well... unreal price for an unreal boat. '09 with 100 hrs should make for a nice, clean, safe boat purchase. Having said that, do your due diligence as it almost seems to good to be true.

(Message edited by epicwinnipeg on February 09, 2010)

another sick epic deal

http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/boa/1577671271.html

great price on the epic but it is in florida make shure it has not seen salt water if it has keep looking

Jezz what were these things new? an '09 for 33.5k?

wow, epic for the price above for sure!!

Thanks Ian. Ill give this dude a call a probe into it more. But that price is stellar! I talked to the guy last night for awile on the phone who is selling that navy blue one. I guess he has a deposit on it already, but he has an identical red 09 like the one in the picture above he is selling too. He is sending me pics so ill post em when i get em.

That one in miami looks like a scam. If its not, there has to be something wrong with it.

Nope, not a scam, 100% ligit. And I know the owners of those boats take anal care of them too.They just get new every year.

(Message edited by roomservice on February 10, 2010)

Are they salt boats? That price is way low for that boat(or I am just jealous I am not in the market now!)

BTW, that profile pic is f hillarious.

That 33.5K price is without trailer.

On a side note: The US economy is in the crapper, in case you weren't aware. That's pretty much the going rate for a used '09 Epic. New list was $72,500.

All the manufacturers and dealers are letting '09 boats go dirt cheap, especially Centurion, with the exception of Nautique.

Yeah, the economy is down, but a boat shouldn't lose half its value in one year. Thats the problem you get with a less known company.

I would kill myself if my '09 230 lost 1/2 what I paid for it in one year.

That is one scary thing about purchasing an epic i guess. I dont want to be upside down in my loan in one year. But majority of the Epics i have looked at are more around 45k.

This is the MB that ill be looking at this weekend. Its a great deal on a stellar boat! But at least i know this boat will hold its value as well

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=9498763&lpid=&cat=147

(Message edited by Kentharmon on February 10, 2010)

Paul, what can I say...I dont like cats.

But the story on the Miami boats is that they were used for the Board-up Miami tournament, sold at a reduced rate for promotions, now the owners/tourney promotions are getting new Epics for this year. Not that the boats lost half their value, just a good deal on the boats to start with makes them good deals now. They originally had Don Q wraps so that's why no graphics, but I believe they have the graphics in a box.

If that boat is as advertised, I don't see how you could get too upsidedown.

Thanks G, that explains alot. When i called them up they are selling them through a Correct Craft dealer. I was talking to the guy at the dealership, but he didnt fill me in on the details of why the price was so low. This is definately something i am looking into a little more serious now. It would be kind of dumb not to spend a little bit more to get ALOT more. But ill see. I still want to check em out in the show, and even more, RIDE in one first before i make up my mind. There are so many good boats out there, Im happy i have it zeroed down to two.

(Message edited by Kentharmon on February 10, 2010)

Yeah, what roomservice said. Nobody paid even close to list price for any new boat last year.

That makes since. I would be all over that at that price Kent.

Kent ~~ Show opens tomorrow and we will have local riders in the rail jam. Opens at 2pm and the riders will session at 3,5 and 7pm. Just a heads up.

Dude Josh, just out of curiosity do you ride for Wakeology? Or are you just associated with the company? Just wondering caus i might be making a purchase of their new Stoke board. Gotta support the local companies ya know. Anywho, Ill be heading up on Friday bro. Ill keep an eye out for ya man

Kent ~~ I do ride for Wakeology and their wake army team. I have my eyes on the Sick LE 140. I might get a chance to session the prototype types, I will let you know if I do when the ice breaks. Right now I'm riding the WO OG 143

Here's the boats at board up last may.

http://www.board-up.net/

I know, after you watch it you're going to say "there was a boat in that vid?"