04 Wakesetter VLX or 04 Tige 24V or New Mobius LSV

Buying my first boat in the next week or so. Need some advice from the seasoned pros. Which one would you go with if everything was equal w/ price and options? Thanks in advance!

Here we go. This will open a can of worms....

I think you will get better responses around here if you demo the different boats, narrow down the selection, and list what specifically you are looking for in a boat.

Sorry, didn't mean to come off like that either. It's just that these questions come up and then there is a battle of "what manufacturer makes the best boat" every single time. I agree with Kevin.

I understand and I plan to test drive all of these boats. I guess I am really deciding between the Malibu and the Moomba at this point. New Moomba for the same range as the used Malibu? Its proving to be a tough decision. Thanks for your candor.

Make a choice of what you are looking for in a boat and test the boat with those ideas. Make sure you weigh each idea from a scale of 0 - I don't care to maybe 5 - Must have... Then you can be a smart boat shopper. The prices on these boats will all different I am sure.

VLX, but I am biased.

Well, I'm a Tige fan.... but do we all really need to go there?

(Message edited by dabell on April 25, 2007)

04 VlX has the diamond hull which need more weight to get big compared to the V25 wake hull(Hull on new wakesetters). I would say look at an '05 VLX withe the V25 wake hull or get an 04 LSV.

Closedtoe, that is incorrect. The 04 Wakesetter VLX is on the wake hull. That hull is different then the 05 VLX, but it is not the diamond hull. The diamond hull (for that year) would have been on the Sunscape 21 LSV.

See this hull chart...
http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=hulls#2004

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Patrick is correct. The 04 Wakesetters were built on the V23 wake hull. That is the same hull on the 05 and newer vRides and iRides. My family has an 05 vRide and I love it. I would say I am an intermediate rider and with the stock ballast and the Wedge down the wake is great. If you load the boat up with people and the ballast the wake gets quite large. I have also ridden behind an 06 Mobius LSV. I'm not sure if anything has changed for 07 but the wake was steeper than my boat. It was also big, but very wide and it wasn't as clean as my wake. I would have to say go with VLX if it is similarly priced as the Mobius.

I had the 03 and 05 VLX, I promise you will not have a problem with wake size.

If price and options were the same I'd go with a 24' boat.

I own an SV23-hulled VLX, and I love it, but given the choice I agree with Lucky275 and would go with the 24V. The wake is a little wider than an SV23 VLX, but just as if not more massive with less added ballast, and a shade peakier too. The 24V also has a TON of interior room and storage, and the best rough water ride I have ever experienced in an inboard.

Moomba builds a nice boat too. I've been in a lot of Moombas, but not a brand new LSV yet. I understand they have fixed the low freeboard and seat height issues. I would still go with a Tige or 'bu if they're close in price based on build quality and styling. You will also lose a lot less depreciation with a couple-year-old boat.

It isn't really a fair comparison, you have two 21' 3300# boats against a 24' 4500# boat. They may be similar in price but it is hard to compare them apples to apples. I will say that if the used boats are in great condition they are probably a better bet just based on depreciation.

The '04 VLX has one of the best stock wakes out there. It will resale very well.

tige

I have an 04 VLX, I love it.

Though, the storage (people and gear) room of the 24' would be *really* nice.

good luck

pull the trigger, order the Moomba with exactly every option you want and the color you want and while your at it have the dealer get you the bigger bags. Its crazy why those other boats are so much money for a 3 year old boat with no warranty. If you go with bigger bags make sure you get perfect pass. IMO You will be much happier.

It's not really that crazy. That 04 24V was a $60,000 boat when new so I'm guessing he's looking at about $43,000 or so. $43,000 for a new Moomba is a very fair price on a great boat; it really is a tough decision.

I would go with the tige over the BU based on size alone. THose boats are huge, and you can never have to much room.

If you want to put it in your garage (if you have one) go with one of the 21' boats.

You have to have an extended-length garage with a 16' door, folding tongue, and possibly remove the swim platform to fit a 21'. If you care about value retention, buy a couple year old boat. All the teething issues will mostly be worked out, not much use for warranty anyway. Most boats spend more time in the shop in years 1-2 than they do in years 3-10. If you care about color schemes and new-car-smell, buy new.

Put the deposit down on the VLX. It is a f...ing sweet ride. No doubt Malibu has the competition covered. I'll be dipping it next weekend. Thanks for all the input!!!

Congrats, what color/options?