How good are the mid 90s Malibu Echelon LX for WB

I've seen a few Malibu Echelon LX boats with towers for sale and it seems like an inexpensive way to get into an inboard/WBing.

so what do you think? Have you ridden behind one? Anything bad about these boats?

They can have a good wake, but have low freeboard and aren't exactly roomy.

i wouldnt say good wake, not terrible but not good, 2001 wake will smoke that wake.

Much better ski boat than a wake boat. Like trace said it doenst have much freeboard so you are very limited to how much weight you can safely use.

Pretty good family boat, but not that great of a wakeboarding boat. Not as much room as I'd like and the wake isn't that great for wakeboarding at more than a beginner/ low intermediate level, even with lots of weight.

Shop around and you'll find much better boats out there for the same price.

Wake limited buy low freeboard. I had a 97, and you could only do about 1000 lbs. I did do 1200 or so with the Wedge a few times and it was super sketchy, and the wake was only good.

Nice boats though. I loved mine

the wake is sick! its the same hull as the original wakesetter. This is how we weight ours... 540lbs on both sides of the motor box pulled back twards the rear seat, 500lbs in the bow and 300lbs of lead in the back under the seat. if we only have 4 people in the boat we throw a 300lbs sac on the back seat too. We have the wedge, but it makes the wake steep and soft so all we used it for is surfing. I used to own a 1988 ski nautique 2001 and i prefer the malibe over the 2001 wake. Its got a nice shape. Only thing you gotta watch is taking water over the back...but that goes for any old ski boat.

^^my understanding was that the sunsetter was the first wake setter hull...

I'm also pretty sure the echelon bottom eventually turned into the original wakesetters. I always loved the wake on the echelons. I had 3 friends with them back in the day and we put around 1800-2000 lbs in them.

The Echelon and the Sunsetter and the Wakesetter all use the SV23 hull. The SV23D diamond hull on the other hand is not so good for wakeboarding. The Response and later model sunsetters use the SV23D hull. You can get all the malibu hull info here http://www.wakesiderides.com/malibu/viewArticle.php?id=148

Now if I had a choice between a Sunsetter and an Echelon, I would go with the Sunsetter. The boat is bigger, you get a ski locker (Some Echelons come with a ski locker but mine does not have one) But you will get the same wake from both. Nick I am going wakeboarding tomorrow night so I can take a photo of the wake for you if you want to see it?

^^ that would be great. BTW, how can the boat be bigger and have the same hull? Is it just longer, wider, bigger on the section that is out of the water?

what hull did the euro f3 have?

Well its the same hull shape, they probably made the beam wider and the sides taller. I don't know about the Euro F3. The echelon was the first boat with the SV23 hull.

I agree with Kyle. If weighted correctly this wake can kick. My first boat was a Echelon LX (so open bow) and I would put it up against alot out there. We ran a fat sack on each side of the engine box, tub sak in the ski locker and a side sac up the walk through. Heads up, just have a good driver.

Keep in mind the hull on this boat was only 93" so when weighted it displaced water great. As Kyle said the Echelon, Sunsetter, Wakesetters, VLX and early years of the response were all on the SV23 Hull, so they all had very similar wakes when weighted properly.

I would go with a close bow Echelon too. The reason is you get WAY more storage than with the open bow, and if you dip the nose a little, you are going to stay dry. Mine is a closed bow. My buddy had one with a open bow. It was nice cause more people could sit up there, but there was no storage space, and because when you slam the boat with weight there is a chance you can splash water over the bow. Our close bow Echelon has a auto fill/empty 560lb fatsac in the bow and a huge 12in sub box plus the heater. There is still TONS of room to put bags, clothing, towels and gear in the bow too. You won't get that with the open bow. Just something to think about...

Not all SV23 hulls were created equal and I'm not referring to the later diamond model.

The sunsetter hull truly became the first wakesetter hull and is different from the response.

Look at the hull specifications and pretty much all the mid 90's Malibu's had the "SV23" hull, but there are large differences in the actual size of the boat so they are not equal in wake making ability.

You can see the difference in length, beam, draft, etc here

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?autocom=tutorials&article=66

The Echelon makes a nice clean wide wake that I ride at 85 ft back. Its wider then a ski nautique 2001 wake which is what i used to ride a lot. Its got a nice ramp...not too steep but not too mellow either. Its a good wake. Nick, I'm not going out until Saturday so I will post some pics up Saturday night or Sunday of the wake. If I forget just email me k.chinn@slingshotsports.com.