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Old     (JohnnyK)      Join Date: Jan 2018       11-29-2018, 9:25 AM Reply   
Wanted to get your opinion’s on the two boats. We have been trying decide between these two boats for a couple months now. They both have things we like and want as options. I wakeboard mostly but surfing more, these almost 40 year old knees can’t take the hard landings like they could 20 years ago. My wife surfs solely and my kids surf and wakeboard equally. Only considering these two because of garage space and dealer sells Nautique and Malibu not keen on other dealers that sell different brands in our area. Any feed back would be grateful. We are coming from an A22 so we are familiar with the Malibu brand, wake and waves
Old     (denverd1)      Join Date: May 2004 Location: Tyler       11-29-2018, 9:43 AM Reply   
buddy has an '18 MXZ. the auto wedge makes wake and wave super adjustable. in your position, pulling riders of widely varying levels, that would rank pretty high for me. we didn't board a ton, but I'm pretty sure you can create rampy transitions to soften up landings. sry don't have much experience with the G's...

either way, you're gonna end up with sweet ride! enjoy the buying process. you designing or buying off the floor?

Last edited by denverd1; 11-29-2018 at 9:47 AM.
Old     (JohnnyK)      Join Date: Jan 2018       11-29-2018, 10:57 AM Reply   
We are going to order. My wife really likes to pick everything out.

I guess my biggest question is in the quality of the brand themselves. Engines are basically the same with different decals. I know Malibu had issues with there screens when they first came out but seem to have fixed them, not to familiar if correct crafts had issues anywhere. They are priced very similar(expensive) so it will be a boat we have for 10+ years so want to be happy with it and get what we truly want.
Old     (Ttime41)      Join Date: Nov 2011       11-29-2018, 2:22 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyK View Post
Engines are basically the same with different decals.
I don't think this is the case. From what I've heard, Nautique (PCM) would not sell Malibu their modern engines, so Malibu is using older spec models that Nautique used in the mid to late 2000's. Someone on here may be able to better clarify the details, but you may want to dig a little more on that.

I'll leave you with this. If you plan to own this boat for 10 years and inevitably own it with no warranty, I would consider a lot of other brands before Malibu. Do yourself a favor and when you get in any of these boats, look where you're not supposed to look and touch what you're not supposed to touch. You can tell really easily which brands care about quality when you look below the surface.
Old     (fullspeed)      Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Santa Cruz County CA       11-29-2018, 4:11 PM Reply   
I agree with Ttime. Not a huge fan of Malibu like I was before. I have custom ordered two of them in the past. I think for me the quality went slowly down hill about 5 years ago. My past Malibu seating was thick cushioned, it wrapped around the gunnel with more of a rounded finished look and is was secured very well. It felt solid and well built. I don't feel that way with the newer Malibu line.
Old     (thejean)      Join Date: Aug 2018       11-29-2018, 4:29 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by fullspeed View Post
I agree with Ttime. Not a huge fan of Malibu like I was before. I have custom ordered two of them in the past. I think for me the quality went slowly down hill about 5 years ago. My past Malibu seating was thick cushioned, it wrapped around the gunnel with more of a rounded finished look and is was secured very well. It felt solid and well built. I don't feel that way with the newer Malibu line.


100% agree. Could have bought a 2018 LSV for $30k less than MY demo 2017 G23, and well, you know the rest...
Old     (simplej)      Join Date: Sep 2011       11-29-2018, 6:06 PM Reply   
G21 wake is tooooo finnicky.

MxZ for sure
Old     (migs)      Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: SF Bay Area       11-30-2018, 1:52 PM Reply   
G21 wake finiky??? Are you kidding???
Whatever G21 you were on that had a finiky wake, the owner probably forgot to put the 150lbs of lead under the observers seat to counter the prop wash.
G21 wake is SUPERB.
Old     (T_A)      Join Date: Feb 2013       11-30-2018, 5:43 PM Reply   
I’ve ridden and owned (and still own) many Malibu’s but I would take a g21 in a second if I had the option. G Wake is hands down the biggest/best out there.
Old     (scottb7)      Join Date: Oct 2012       11-30-2018, 5:47 PM Reply   
jeez, i own a g21. the g21 wake is kind of medium finicky in my opinion. so i kind agree with simple j. the g21 is definitely more flakey than the axis stuff.

i guess my question is what are you trying to accomplish. you say coming from a22. well, why are you selling? that is the real question imho.

i don't surf a whole lot, but i feel like the malibu and axis stuff dial in a surf and wakeboard wake much easier.

the nautique has way less bow rise for a comparable size wakeboard wake...

low speed clean wakes the axis wins for sure, by miles compared to g series...
Old     (JohnnyK)      Join Date: Jan 2018       12-01-2018, 2:45 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by scottb7 View Post
jeez, i own a g21. the g21 wake is kind of medium finicky in my opinion. so i kind agree with simple j. the g21 is definitely more flakey than the axis stuff.

i guess my question is what are you trying to accomplish. you say coming from a22. well, why are you selling? that is the real question imho.

i don't surf a whole lot, but i feel like the malibu and axis stuff dial in a surf and wakeboard wake much easier.

the nautique has way less bow rise for a comparable size wakeboard wake...

low speed clean wakes the axis wins for sure, by miles compared to g series...

The wake and wave of the axis are great, no complaints at all. The main reason is that we wanted to get it a more plush boat. IMO coming from a Chevrolet to a Cadillac. We put a lot of hours on the water and with my work hours I’m not afraid to spend the money on something the whole family enjoys and uses a lot.

Do you mean low wakeboard speeds for the clean wake? How fast do you have to go to clean the wake up?
Old     (simplej)      Join Date: Sep 2011       12-01-2018, 3:39 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by migs View Post
G21 wake finiky??? Are you kidding???
Whatever G21 you were on that had a finiky wake, the owner probably forgot to put the 150lbs of lead under the observers seat to counter the prop wash.
G21 wake is SUPERB.
150???

Lol needs like 450
Old     (Stazi)      Join Date: Sep 2011       12-01-2018, 4:55 PM Reply   
Are the G’s still snapping driveshafts and dropping props all over the joint?Seems like a real issue to me based on the numbers of of G owners that had this happen to them.
Old     (scottb7)      Join Date: Oct 2012       12-01-2018, 7:46 PM Reply   
yes, they are still snapping driveshafts i think including 2018 boats. don't know how much but definitely have to put weight on port side to make up for prop torque, some of the new boats, maybe 2016 - you can check - have so called "ballast shift" feature to adjust. But it is pretty disconcerting when you first get your g and your go down the lake the first time all empty, and you are sideways...only boat i ever saw do that. of course also only boat breaking shafts.

not great for kids...you gotta go probably 18 mph to clean up both sides.

https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...-prop-fell-off
Attached Images
 

Last edited by scottb7; 12-01-2018 at 7:53 PM.
Old     (migs)      Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: SF Bay Area       12-03-2018, 11:07 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by simplej View Post
150???

Lol needs like 450

hahahahahahha
Old     (DatTexasBoy)      Join Date: Aug 2012       12-03-2018, 11:36 AM Reply   
If you have bad knees and want soft landings. DO NOT GO G21!!! That's my personal opinion from riding this boat for a few months last year. MXZ or G23 will be much better.
Old     (davey_boy)      Join Date: Dec 2005       12-04-2018, 4:32 PM Reply   
I'm a G21 owner and personally i love it more than any other boat...perfect boat for me. But, based on what you've said it doesn't sound like the right boat for you. G21 wakes on both surf and wakeboard are almost complete opposite from malibu/axis. G21 goes from big-and-steep to bigger-and-steeper depending on weight and settings. There's no mellow settings for the wake from that boat...it will launch you. And as others have said it doesn't allow for the low speed clean wake you can get from a malibu/axis. At a minimum you should try it out before you buy it as the wake is very different. If you want to go Nautique, check out the GS22 or GS20 if the 22 is too long. I've not spent a ton of time on these boats, but I think the wakes on the GS series would align better with what you re looking for and still give you the Nautique build quality.
Old     (simplej)      Join Date: Sep 2011       12-05-2018, 6:23 AM Reply   
Look theres no doubt the wake is absolutely kickin' when its set up right.

But its generally a huge PITA to get it. I've put at least 100 hours on one now.

G23 is THE boat, not the G21. I would put a new MXZ over the G21 as well, they feel much bigger and the wake is pretty money.

My favorite boats of all time are easily.
1. G23
2. Axis t22/a22/Bu VLX/23 LSV, older MXZ hull (all kind of the same wake really)
3. OG Pickle-star

Last edited by simplej; 12-05-2018 at 6:31 AM.
Old     (davey_boy)      Join Date: Dec 2005       12-05-2018, 7:15 AM Reply   
In terms of setting it up, I've personally not found the G21 hard at all to get a nice wake. I have a G21 and my buddy has a G23. They are both nice but we find the G23 needs more weight than stock for both wake and surf wakes if you don't have a crew of people which we typically don't (note that his G23 is a 2015 so before the changes for the surf wake). The only thing to note on the G21 is there is a big impact from the prop torque. When we go out with just the two of us (so only the driver in the boat) you need 400lbs on the passenger side to offset the driver and prop torque. I have this in lead under the passenger seat. Once you do that, I've had no trouble producing nice and clean wakes anywhere from 20mph on up. I personally ride with ballast full, 23,7mph, NCRS 3 and it's perfect every time. I had a 230 before this boat and yes that boat was fickle to set up the wakes. In any case, I don't think the G23 is an option for the OP because of length restrictions.
Old     (DatTexasBoy)      Join Date: Aug 2012       12-06-2018, 6:34 AM Reply   
The G21 is not hard to set up at all. However, It is a big-steep wake. Its not a super friendly take off or landing if that's what your looking for. Great boat overall, but you need to really like that type of wake to make that purchase.


An MXZ or even a Supra SA would be the ticket.
Old     (simplej)      Join Date: Sep 2011       12-06-2018, 6:43 AM Reply   
I disagree whole-heartedly but maybe I am not riding fast enough because it is not 2008 anymore.
Old     (wombat2wombat)      Join Date: Sep 2018       12-07-2018, 6:54 AM Reply   
Get an MB B52. Great wake but needs to be over 20 mph to clean up & is weight sensitive. The surf wave is every bit as big as the G23 if not bigger but can be mellowed out as well. The length & power of the wave is also twice that of the G23. We demoed the MXZ's, much better wakeboard wake but the surf wave was not on par with the G's or the MB's. Our decision in boat was based solely on surf wave & it was the MB B52 or the Centurion Ri237 that was head & shoulders above the rest.
Old     (onetogofast)      Join Date: Jun 2012       12-08-2018, 6:18 AM Reply   
Love my MB wave!
Old     (Padge)      Join Date: Feb 2017       12-08-2018, 8:08 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by wombat2wombat View Post
Get an MB B52. Great wake but needs to be over 20 mph to clean up & is weight sensitive. The surf wave is every bit as big as the G23 if not bigger but can be mellowed out as well. The length & power of the wave is also twice that of the G23. We demoed the MXZ's, much better wakeboard wake but the surf wave was not on par with the G's or the MB's. Our decision in boat was based solely on surf wave & it was the MB B52 or the Centurion Ri237 that was head & shoulders above the rest.


An mb will not out surf a new mxz. New mxz has potential for a huge surf wave.
Old     (Ttime41)      Join Date: Nov 2011       12-08-2018, 9:39 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by Padge View Post
An mb will not out surf a new mxz. New mxz has potential for a huge surf wave.
Unfortunately, huge does not equal push
Old     (Padge)      Join Date: Feb 2017       12-08-2018, 9:44 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ttime41 View Post
Unfortunately, huge does not equal push


I know what a good surf wave is. A properly ballasted Malibu will put out a huge wave that has tons of PUSH
Old     (brit_rider)      Join Date: May 2004       12-11-2018, 7:30 AM Reply   
The MXZ wave is much longer with more 'field of play' than the G21, whic has a much shorter wave to it.

Quality of both boats is extremely good. perhaps Nautique does bits of interior better but I see the Malibus stand up better in the long run to hours and abuse. The Command centre on the Malibu is such a deal winner; makes the linc system look overly complicated and hard to use.
Old     (denverd1)      Join Date: May 2004 Location: Tyler       12-11-2018, 10:20 AM Reply   
was also impressed with Malibu fit and finish. Will it look as good in 5 years? Who knows, but the new materials stay cool in the sun and look great. friends boat has a lot of black and dark interior, was really surprised it didn't even feel warm. all the metal trim components looked very well done.

agree, MXZ wave was super long and had great push beyond what I would consider the pocket. can also make it tall and steep, if that's your thing.
Old     (Mike88)      Join Date: Aug 2016       01-08-2019, 1:33 PM Reply   
Sad to Say but i’ve passed From a 2015 Bu to a 2017 Nautique and i Will never go back. Maybe the wave can be comparable, but the quality, fits and finish, PCM engine, etc. Not a chance.
Just my 2 cents

Last edited by Mike88; 01-08-2019 at 1:35 PM. Reason: Tapping
Old     (thejean)      Join Date: Aug 2018       01-08-2019, 7:58 PM Reply   
^^^This!
Old     (hunter991)      Join Date: Jul 2016       01-09-2019, 5:57 AM Reply   
IMO, the SAN will be of higher quality. I looked at both recently. BU has gone the wrong direction in quality.
Old     (wombat2wombat)      Join Date: Sep 2018       01-09-2019, 6:50 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by Padge View Post
An mb will not out surf a new mxz. New mxz has potential for a huge surf wave.
Surfed them both & there is no way in hell an MXZ (unless it's the 24) is out surfing an MB with GSA. I liked the 22 MXZ wave lip, it's pretty, has a good pop but has no where near the amount of push & power that the MB wave creates. I could have bought either or, we went with the MB solely because the wave is far better.
Old     (Padge)      Join Date: Feb 2017       01-09-2019, 6:50 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by wombat2wombat View Post
Surfed them both & there is no way in hell an MXZ (unless it's the 24) is out surfing an MB with GSA. I liked the 22 MXZ wave lip, it's pretty, has a good pop but has no where near the amount of push & power that the MB wave creates. I could have bought either or, we went with the MB solely because the wave is far better.


You must be the only person I’ve ever heard that from
Old     (Stazi)      Join Date: Sep 2011       01-09-2019, 7:12 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by Padge View Post
You must be the only person I’ve ever heard that from


Seconded. First person I have seen that touts ANY MB surf wave is better than a Malibu...especially a newer Malibu.

I’m not a Malibu fanboy, I actually prefer the SC boats, but I can not deny that Malibu and there damn patent on the Surfgates is hard to beat, especially with the addition of the new power wedge.

Every other boat manufacturer out there is trying to do the best they can to make the best surf wave possible; working around that patent.

I bet money that as soon as the patent expires, everyone will be running side gates. Why? Because the trim-tab design is inferior as it causes stern lift, which is counter active to ballast.

You can argue that till you’re blue in the face, but you cannot argue against physics.....sorry.
Old     (wombat2wombat)      Join Date: Sep 2018       01-09-2019, 9:58 AM Reply   
The only people I hear defend the surf gate over others is people who have never ridden a boat with GSA. Surf gate is killer, anyone would enjoy riding behind a vast majority of boats. We demoed A LOT of boats & the MB wave beat them all out. Pretty sure the B52 just got second at Polar Bear if I remember correctly & the centurion won. Malibu wasn't up there...
Old     (eubanks01)      Join Date: Jun 2001       01-09-2019, 2:07 PM Reply   
Drop in quality from Malibu? Not sure what you guys are looking at but this is grounded in nothing but perception IMO. There is a reason Malibu continues to sell more boats than any other brand.
Old     (Stazi)      Join Date: Sep 2011       01-09-2019, 3:20 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by wombat2wombat View Post
The only people I hear defend the surf gate over others is people who have never ridden a boat with GSA. Surf gate is killer, anyone would enjoy riding behind a vast majority of boats. We demoed A LOT of boats & the MB wave beat them all out. Pretty sure the B52 just got second at Polar Bear if I remember correctly & the centurion won. Malibu wasn't up there...


My buddy has the GSA system on his XLV, and it blows goats in comparison to another buddy’s little VLX21. ****, even my other friends RZR20 makes a better wave.

The GSA tabs are ridiculously oversized, and as I said previously, counteract with ANY ballast in the rear. They simply produce far to much transom lift. Newton’s 3rd law of physics - you can not argue against it.
Old     (wombat2wombat)      Join Date: Sep 2018       01-09-2019, 5:20 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stazi View Post
My buddy has the GSA system on his XLV, and it blows goats in comparison to another buddy’s little VLX21. ****, even my other friends RZR20 makes a better wave.

The GSA tabs are ridiculously oversized, and as I said previously, counteract with ANY ballast in the rear. They simply produce far to much transom lift. Newton’s 3rd law of physics - you can not argue against it.
They're also two different hulls. I own it, there isn't any transom lift. Curious where the position of his tabs & which hole the actuator at the pate is set at? That makes a huge difference. We had a 21 VLX before this boat.

Last edited by wombat2wombat; 01-09-2019 at 5:23 PM.
Old     (Stazi)      Join Date: Sep 2011       01-10-2019, 5:25 AM Reply   
We have the plates set right on the hull line as close to the edges as possible. Actuator is set on furthest hole on the tab so that it moves as less as possible with the actuator deployment.

I agree hulls make a difference for sure, but you cannot say there is no hull lift. It’s physically impossible.

At the end of the day, if you like it on your MB, then great, but other than a Centurion, I’ve yet to see another boat make a better wave, comparing pound for pound and foot for foot than a Malibu, and it kills me to say that!

Their patent on wave convergence delay is the best design out there. That’s way Correct Craft pays them royalties on every NSS system they sell.
Old     (hunter991)      Join Date: Jul 2016       01-10-2019, 10:31 AM Reply   
I don't know about that. i wouldn't say its the best. It has drawbacks such as fighting the steering wheel, overuse of fuel, and in previous Bu's i have been in, one single wave profile. Its not that adjustable like MC's Gen2 is.

Any boat these days with the right amount of ballast and whatever surf system is going to produce a surfable wake. Some may take a little longer to setup sure, but for most people posting on a site like this, that's a given.
Old     (onetogofast)      Join Date: Jun 2012       01-12-2019, 4:41 PM Reply   
G vs Bu and now talking MB and GSA. Y’all have answered your own issue here. You brought a gun to knife fight. 2019 MB B52 for the win. Or even a 2012 F21 at that!!!
Old     (dakota4ce)      Join Date: Oct 2015       01-12-2019, 5:43 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stazi View Post
We have the plates set right on the hull line as close to the edges as possible. Actuator is set on furthest hole on the tab so that it moves as less as possible with the actuator deployment.

I agree hulls make a difference for sure, but you cannot say there is no hull lift. It’s physically impossible.

At the end of the day, if you like it on your MB, then great, but other than a Centurion, I’ve yet to see another boat make a better wave, comparing pound for pound and foot for foot than a Malibu, and it kills me to say that!

Their patent on wave convergence delay is the best design out there. That’s way Correct Craft pays them royalties on every NSS system they sell.


Stazi—you’re my guy but I can’t agree with this. I have felt the kick of the well done GSA, and we ride a SLAMMED and perfect 2017 23LSV all the time.

Stern lift or not, the difference is that the tab style surf system has really no upper limit. More weight equals more wave. The side gate variety like a Malibu has an upper limit when too much water washes over the top of the gate and you can no longer maintain wave quality.

If you were experiencing appreciable stern lift with the GSA tab they were deploying too far. I owned a 2013 F24 with GSA and the least tab possible was always the best product. Like, pretty much even with the bottom of the hull.
What’s more is I directly tested it head to head versus a surf gate style system. On the same boat. The GSA wave was a good bit better.

The testing was a major hassle, but was very meaningful, because I was considering switching over to an automated slapper gate system if it was better. And it wasn’t.
Old     (dakota4ce)      Join Date: Oct 2015       01-12-2019, 5:44 PM Reply   
If/when that patent does expire, you may see some sort of hybrid. I can see that occurring. But the pure side gate is not the superior design in my experience.
Old     (thejean)      Join Date: Aug 2018       03-02-2019, 7:04 AM Reply   
I had a 2013 LSV and it was a nice looking boat but that’s about as far as I will go. The gate design was revolutionary in 2013 but by forcing others to design around it, they have come up with better and more tuneable configurations.
Old     (infinitysurf)      Join Date: Apr 2017       03-03-2019, 5:55 AM Reply   
Surfgate makes a pretty wave and it is easy to dial in and control, but you can tell a difference in push when you get behind it. I regularly ride behind a Malibu that has GSA and also a SurfGate Malibu (also a Malibu with a Mission Delta suckgate)....all of the waves can look exactly the same but when you get behind them, the GSA system is far superior on being able to tune the wave and there is no comparison on the push, GSA hands down. Some of that is cause you can add all the weight you want and the GSA Malibu (2006 247) is pushing 5k of ballast. The 22ft Malibu with Mission suck gate is pushing about 4k of ballast and is also an awesome wave with excellent push and I am on those 2 boats thru entire summer for the last couple years.

To the OP's point, if you do a lot of wake boarding and the kids are learning and riding freqently, I cannot dispute that surf gate boat can be easier to dial the wakeboard wave in a way so its more mellow and doesn't just kick you toward the sky, so there are some benefits to SurfGate in that regard. The downside to SG is like Dakota said, if you add too much weight to surf gate, the water flows over the top of the gate and your pretty wave is gone. Also, when you combine SG and the wedge, the boat will swallow gas like nothing you have seen before, tabs are much more efficient when it comes to fuel usage. I know plenty of people "don't care" about fuel consumption, but the difference can be pretty dramatic depending on the brands you are comparing, with the MXZ being one of the worst. Course the G boats are not very efficient either cause of their tab design. I have seen fuel usage numbers in high teens, low 20's on GPH with SG boats running full wedge (not to mention the engine "screaming" between 4200-4500rpm which to me is the biggest downside when the owners manual specifically says not to run the engine over 4000rpm for "extended periords", compared to surf tab system boats running 6-7 GPH with more ballast on board and engine purring along at 3200rpm - 3400rpm.
I don't have an automated system on my 2014. I have a Nauticurl suckgate and pushing close to 5k of ballast on my 24ft boat going 10.8-11mph, I am at 3400rpm with average of 6 GPH surfing.
If I remove the suckgate and just list the boat for the surf wave (dropping roughly 1000lbs ballast on non-surf side between the rear locker PnP bag and Ramfill), my rpm's drop to between 3100-3200 with all other conditions the same. Personally I prefer the wave/push of the 1st set up tho and plan to add an automated surf system at some point in near future when I can afford it since I have seen such good results on other boats and it would be nice to be able to do transfers. I cant complain at all about the Nauticurl set up tho, its been very good to me and allows people with older boats to have an excellent wave without spending tons of money to buy a new boat.
Old     (Shakarocks)      Join Date: Mar 2013       03-04-2019, 9:26 AM Reply   
Check out InfinityWave.net for a tab alternative.

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