The Malibu 247

Take a look the the article about the 247.

http://www.texasboating.com/pdfs/NovDec.pdf

I am a glass is "half empty" kind of guy so here it goes...

1) Imagine that... another boat review where they liked the boat

2) The reviewer did say the wake would put you on cloud nine though... I wonder if he has ever put his feet in a set of bindings

Even if they had a hired gun to ride the wake and say great things about it... could you believe it? Shawn Murray will pose for photographs in a SAN220 one day and run an Xstar at his boarding camp the next.

Does that mean they are both great boats or does that mean CC is having a rough go with the 220 and needed some "paid for" credibility?

3) Yet another form of paid advertising. I wonder if Waterski America will run a similar article in say... Wakeboard Magazine? Probably not!

4) Dont get me wrong... the 247 is a sweet boat... just wondering when these reviewers will realize their sh*t don't mean sh*t

Kevin, before you go dragging names into it...

Shaun is sponsored by Correct Craft. If you go to his camp, more that likely you will ride behind his Nautique (used to be a 226) and sometimes at his house.

Travis Moye, his partner at the Boarding School, is the driver for all the pro events and is sponsored by Mastercraft, and he keeps his boat at the school, which is why you will see it there most.

Both are very nice boats, but very different wakes. Like you and I though, you ride behind what you have available that day...not always because it is a preference.


My thought on the BU is that it is a huge boat, which will take a lot of weight and produce a big and wide wake. If comfort, and size are your goal, this may be your boat. If having a great wake is, this probably should not be your first choice.
Eric

So it would seem that your glass is half full and I have my head up my ass

If what you say is true... I am sorry for picking the wrong "names" to make my "valid point" of watching out for stupid boat reviews and "hired guns" that get paid good money to sell you sh*t.

Detention must have been filmed before the CC sponsorship... as I'm pretty sure he was using a Supreme in that vid... I could go plug it in and check... but I'm too lazy. I'm not exactly the resident expert on Shawn Muray... hell I didn't even spell his name right

Happy New Year.

Murray used to be sponsored by Supreme and even had his own model of Supreme, before the Nautique days.

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/261853.html wake looks pretty good to me. I saw one with probably 15 people aboard on Lake Sammamish and the wake was gigantic. Have not ridden behind one, but it appears that Malibu definitely is marketing this boat as a wake specific boat.

Detention was made while Murray was sponsored by Supreme.

I LOVE the leather wrapped dashes and the wake does look good. There is a better picture of the wake floating around... I will try and find.

If you have a need for a boat that big... the 247 is pimpin... thats for sure. I looked at one and it was $95KCDN with 450HP, triple axle trailer, blade tower, etc. I just dont need a boat that big. I looked at an Xstar and a 23LSV and they were too big as well.

A VLX or 21V is the right size boat for me... us glass 1/2 empty guys dont ever have 14 friends at any one time

My original point is that I HATE boat reviews that say "the boat was good, the wake was good and there is lots of room for all your gear as well as your friends and family". Ya thanx...thats 5 minutes I'm never gettin back

Rich... ya thinkin of buying? Why the thread?

KV

Nope, I am the guy in the boat

Here is the pic of the dash.....I have every angle of that boat if anyone needs one.

I do agree with you Kevin---YOU DO HAVE YOUR HEAD UP YOUR A$$!!!!!
Have you been to the Boarding School???
If so, you would know that when you take your sets with Travis, you ride in the X-Star and when your sets are with Shaun, you are in the 226. Both are great boats and well represented by their sponsored riders. I don't see why you felt it necessary to drop names and talk ••••••••• you want to comment on the new 247, then stick to the boat review--and personal opinion on the boat.
As far as the 247, I drove and rode behind the boat with stock ballast(4 tanks-1250lbs.) and the wedge/5 people in the boat and the wake was OK. The boat is huge, and handles suprisingly well. I am impressed with Malibu's new speed control system. For me, I'll stick with my '05 VLX.

Chuck,

Thank you for confirming that I have my head up my ass... I wasn't sure... but now I am. I hope to, one day, be as smart as you obviously are about everything. I am sure being as perfect as you are that you have never made any mistakes in your life

Like I said in a previous post... "I am sorry for picking the wrong names to make my valid point of watching out for stupid boat reviews and hired guns that get paid good money to sell you sh*t".

When I said I was sorry... I meant it... if thats not good enough for you... TFB

Rich,

Nice boat! How about a few more pics? How many people do you normally go out with?

Kevin

What gives you the right to question someone's character--someone you don't even know or have a personal relationship with?

As far as the "head up your ass" comment, you said it--I only agreed!

Maybe you should stick to reading--not posting.

God bless
Happy new year

Chuck... I AGREE with you 100%... I judged someone without having all the facts... my mistake foresure. Thats why I said I had my head up my ass and then appologized... twice. If that is not good enough... I really dont know what else to do.

The thread seemed a little open ended (no specific question that I picked up on anyway) so I took it and ran with my glass 1/2 empty point of view and maintain that:

1) Most boat reviews suck and you can't base any kind of a logical or rational purchase on them whatsoever.
2) Some pro's do go where the cash is and do not care that some people will be influenced to purchase inferior products because they endorse them.
3) I had my head up my ass when I implied that Mr. Murray was lacking character in that respect. I dont know the guy; threfore, I had no right to speak of his character.

Lets get back to the 247 now...

That speaker on the dash will be the first place that water goes when it is raining outside or if you get into some very bad water (I have taken water on that went OVER my bimini at Lake Mead). Despite lots of cupholders, someone is gonna put a beverage on the dash and spill it.

I've seen some unbeleivable wakesurfing pics of that boat, but can't find them now. If no one else finds them, I'll search some more.

Kevin I agree 100% with your three points above. Those types of reviews rarely are useful because they can't say anything bad.

I don't mean any dis-respect KV, but most people know about the magazine review thing. We know, at best, it's propaganda for sales people and small spec guides for consumers.
It's not there to upset you. I don't know many people who will buy a boat because a particular pro rides behind it or because Magazine X says good things about it. In fact most buying guides for many products are biased towards the good, especially if they receive marketing dollars from that manufacturer.
It's better to buy what YOU like to ride behind and in. That way you'll always make the best choice! And, if you can't sift through the BS before buying a 60K boat, well you know the saying.

Here it is:


http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2289

And this:

Malibu speakers have been there for years. In 4 years I only ended up with water in the speaker once after I slipped up and took a DU over the nose. Rain was never a problem.

That is a monster surf wake...

I think those who are saying you need to find the right wake for you are correct. You also need to consider what you can/want to afford for your habit. I could afford a new X-2 but I am not sure I want to spend that money. My 92 Nautique does ok for the boarding I do and the place I do it. (hee-hee...I said "do it") This year I have ridden behind an X-star and 226 (thanks Boarding School!) an 04 X2, a new Malibu LSV, My Nautique, and a 90 supreme. Honestly, the best wake was when we had about 7 people in the Supreme. Steep, not too wide, and huge. Granted not much room, but our home base was my dock.

So that's the long way of saying the 247 will be a great boat in a lot of respects, but only you will know it's right for you. It will be overkill in many situations size wise, but then so would an X-star or 226 for most of us.

Eric

The trend is def. towards bigger boats. It seems a lot of the top pros are going with the 23' boats. I dont know if they like'm better or if the sponsors are wanting them in those boats.

Either way, I hope the trend continues and the prices start to chill a bit on the smaller boats.

I can honestly say that the pros like the bigger boats better. They like the bigger and wider wakes. You have to remember that most guys are riding 85 foot ropes at least, with some guys riding 87 or 90. The older and smaller boats just aren't as good for that type of riding. They want a more rampy wake, wider wake. The narrower, steeper wakes are less edging and lower back friendly. Not to say the smaller boats don't have a place, but for higher end riding I would say that you will see all the boys in bigger boats. I know Gerry Nunn would love to have that 247 parked at his dock.

Travis,

Do you remember if Gerry's boat was an LSV back in April? Just curious. We rode in an LSV in September, but his seemed larger interior wise.

He has the 23 whatever that is, but I know he rode the 247 during the catalogue shoot and loved it. We were joking around about trying to fit one into his dock.

Ligit question for you guys:

Is there a boating mag that REALLY reviews these boats??? Every mag I read (on-line or not) says lots of stuff like"has everything you need" about all the boats they review. If you really wanted to know the good/bad/ugly about a wakeboard boat.... what's a good source?

BTW - All the bickoring, followed by "God bless" is crackin me up!

Kevin,

I wanted to chime in on comments on the review of the 247. I didn't write the review, but I am the editor of the magazine and can tell you that yes, the reviewer has actually put his feet in a set of several bindings.

No, this review was not "paid" advertising, but the dealer is a customer. I personally decide each issue what boats get reviewed regardless of if they advertise with us. Of course, more people who advertise with us get reviewed. It just works out that way.

Our goal with doing these reviews is not to educate you, the expert, but to perhaps educate someone who is not as educated about a particular style of boat. We know we can't get everything, but try to hit the high spots.

As far as "when these reviewers will realize their sh*t don't mean sh*t" - We will keep doing our jobs as best we can to highlight cool new boats. We have a whopping staff of about 4 hardcore boating guys that give it our all each issue. I will offer no apologies.

However, I will offer you this: If you would like to write a well written, informative review of a boat that we have not previously reviewed, there is a good chance I'll put it in the magazine. We will need good quality photographs to go with it, if possible. You get the byline, and I get a good review. Everyone wins.

I'm not calling you out, just giving you the opportunity to do a "real" review. I can be reached at Travis@TexasBoating.com if you are interested.

Trav

Way to step it up Travis.

Can we get paid for the reviews?

i see irony in the making. the people who write these reviews are more than likely to review their own boat (or atleast a boat they spend significant time in/behind). therefore, most of the reviews will be resoundingly positive...the same thing that got this whole argument started

We need to start a review that only allows the negatives of your current boat.

Sorry, we don't yet have the budget to pay for anything but full length articles, and we are pretty squeaky even then.

You will however be able to tell hot chicks you are a published writer - That works almost as good as a puppy.

Good point Jeff - It's a tough line to walk. There is really no way to review anything without some kind of bias. You just try to limit it as best you can and be fair across the board.

Travis,

Well I certainly pissed a bunch of people of with that post... I am not going to apologize as it didn’t seem to get me any where with Chuck.

I will say that boat reviews are a bit of a pet peeve for me and perhaps I was overly harsh with my words. I woke up in a bad mood that day which obviously contributed to an overall BAD POST on my part.

What I look for in a boat review is:

1)List basic specs, length, beam, weight, etc.
2)How many hours spent on the boat
3)How many people were in the boat
4)What did they do with the boat (i.e. ski/board/skate/surf)
5)How much gear did they have
6)When commenting on wake… fill in the following blanks… ramp, vert, height, firmness, boat speed, rope length, # ballast, how many people, experience level of rider, tricks, HP, prop, etc.
7)How did the boat plane
8)Cross over ability
9)Fuel consumption
10)Storage w/ full ballast
11)Did you have to run extra sacks
12)How did it handle double ups
13)Comfort
14)Fit and finish
15)Options the boat could do without
16)Options you absolutely need
17)Warranty
18)Etc.

As far as taking you up on your challenge… it would be a piece of cake… all I would have to do is take a few good pictures and comment on the above listed points. I could do it on my new 21V… but who would believe me? Everyone will think I am justifying my purchase.

My intention was not to offend… the only thing I am guilty of… is being grumpy now and again and having a bad sense of humor.

Cheers.

Kevin,

Nope, I was not pissed at all, and I didn't intend to pose a challenge. Hell, we need all the help we can get around here!

I DO agree with you that many reviews are drivel. It's a harsh reality when your income depends on advertisers.

Not to say we whore out our reviews, but you really don't see many reviewers that bash the product. If you are Consumer Reports you can do that, we have a harder time. I will say that there is an advertiser we have that I won't review, because I don't have much good to say.

I would still invite your review - So what if it's your boat? Something well written and informative will make it in the magazine. No offense taken here - This is actually a bit of a wake up call to my staff to keep on their "A" game.

Travis,

Thanx for taking the high road and maintaining your professionalism... speaks to your character for sure.

I will put some hours on my 21V, do up a review and send it your way. I live in the frozen north... so it should be done by mid June.

I am no expert... but I will give you a solid, unbiased, informative review... through the eyes of a middle class, average (thats being generous), recreational wakeboarder.

Cheers!

I just checked in and saw the wake in Rich's post. Wow!!! That transition is beauuuuutiful-wish I could afford one.