Cheating on my Malibu

[bamabonners]

I feel like I am cheating on my Malibu. The wife and I are going on a test drive Saturday in a 2012 22v. We currently have a vlx, but we are looking for a few features that we don't currently have.

My only concern is the ballast. I have heard that the bags can be a pain in the butt and I have heard that some love the bags. Of course, hard tanks have their plusesand minuses as well. Do you have to pull the bags out to let them or the compartments dry? Do you have to clean them out?

I already have a list of things i want tomlook at and I will be crawling around and checking out build quality as well.

Any particular things I need to know, pay attention to, notice, or checkout compared to the Malibu?

[OneCent]

I never had any problems with the bags. But i would not store a full cooler on top of it when i want to fill the bags ;-).

[McDye]

I have no complaints about the bags, but I have not had a boat with hard tanks either. I do take my bags out to completely let the compartment dry out on days when there has been a lot of water dripped down from the sun deck. It is funny, my kids have started teaching the newbies to drip drain on the platform prior jump in the boat all the way.. I don’t "clean them out" the bags. When I do take them out, I do try and get all the water out I can. In the off season, I have heard some put a little bleach in them.

[iwakeboard]

I'm a huge proponent of the bags. I had an '03 and an '04 X7, and rode regularly behind an X-45, all three of which had hard tanks. We'd always fill up the hard tanks but we'd then throw bags on top of them (and in the X7 around the floor), which meant using throwable pumps, which meant having to do stuff instead of clicking switches. I've got three 1,100lbs bags in my Launch 24SSV and they come on with the click of three switches. My lockers don't get any more wet than the hard tanked Mastercraft's, the bags have o-rings and are plumbed well, they don't leak. Only downside to 3,300 lbs of plumbed in ballast bags is you lose some locker space when they're completely full, but you deal with the same thing if you're throwing additional bags on top of hard tanks. The standard factory bags still leave you with storage when they're full, I'm just talking about the larger bags. One of my favorite things about ballast bags is that you can plug and play with different kinds really quickly and easily.

[cigars n scotch]

I just read your post on WW in the Malibu vs. Axis thread. Now you're looking at Supra huh? So can you share with us what the Bu lacks that you're looking for in terms of options/creature comforts/trim or what?

I own a 2008 21V with the Gravity III ballast system, which comes with two 400 lb. bags for rear lockers and one 650 lb. for the playpen locker. I love the pnp option. I also see the benefit of a hard tank but I don't have any experience with this, my friend owns a VLX and I've been in and ridden behind his boat. He doesn't put any extra weight in though on top of the hard tanks. I am planning to upgrade my current bag setup to the 750's for the rear and an 1,100 for the playpen locker. I've only one complaint, but it's not really that big of a deal. My bags fill fine, however when I drain them the rear bags do not drain completely UNLESS I engage in forward and do about 11-12 mph to get the bow up in the air and allow gravity to push the water to the back of the bag at the outlet drain. This method drains my bags practically empty but not bone dry.

After a day of riding, the next day I always open up the lockers and pull out the bags to air out the compartment and dry the bags. This is more of a precautionary measure because I keep the boat on the trailer during the week and it's at my fathers house about 20 minutes away, so I can't really just walk outside to open up the boat if I wanted to at any time. This helps to prevent mold from forming while sitting under a covered boat for a week.

Other than that minor nuisance, I really enjoy the bags and am looking forward to upgrading. I don't think 1,100's will fit right in my '08 lockers so I opted for the 750. I know that folks with 09+ models are able to fit the 1,100's easily, and if you're looking at a 22ssv then you'll have a bit more space.

Are you looking at a brand new one or used?

[bamabonners]

After having the VLX for a year now, I can say that the boat does seem to be built well. The tower is rock solid and it feels very solid in rough water. I love the maliview. It really is pretty slick - those of you with the Vision system know what I am talking about here. The interior is large for this size boat and is super comfy. There are a few irritations that bug me, but they are minor and I can live with most of them. Things like no cleats on the front half of the boat, the bimini is a pain to put up and down (no z5 option), no storage up front. While we realize that no boat is perfect, we also realize that there are some things we must have on the next boat. We have been looking at several brands this week online (tige, Supra, Nautique, MC, and MB). So far, the two that we really like are the Supra 22v and the Nautique 226, with the MB third in the mix, and the MC x30 forth. The Nautique is about 25k more than the supra (same with MC) and I just don't think that my wife digs the MB or Tige. She feels they are a little too over the top styling wise. We have been in the Nautique and we are going on the Supra this weekend. We have looked at moving up to a bigger Malibu, but the 23 LSV is identical to the VLX, just longer with no additional features. Here are a few things we will be looking for in the next boat:

1. Easy to operate and reliable Ballast

2. comfortable interor with seating options

3. walk over transom - My parents often come out with us and they don't do well walking across the vinyl and stepping down into a seat cushion

4. A place to put the cooler or a built in cooler. We bring a hard cooler because the bag cooler is a pain in the butt, but the hard cooler then takes up floor space.

5. Need storage up front for anchor and other stuff

6. z5 - we still kneeboard alot and it would be great to have somewhere to put those things. They won't fit in my rear lockers so they have to go up front.

7. better driver's position. I am short and my wife is even shorter. I have to ride around on the bolster to see clearly.

[Lavinder]

I have a 2007 22 SSV and have had no problems with the soft bags. I do air them out so the carpet can dry underneath. I wish they didn't carpet the back compartments, seems silly. We can fit my sons Hyperlite kneeboard in the back compartment when the bag is 1/2 to 3/4's full. I would like to get a Z5, but my wife doesn't want a fixed bimini. We have surf racks on one side, and board racks on the other. The built in cooler along the port seat is HUGE. Almost too big. I am going to configure a divider so i don't have to have 10 bags of ice. THere is a small cooler under the back seat over the ballast pumps, but we use that as a wet storage for gloves and such.

[22supra]

I am not sure about the 2012's but my 08 22SSV has the transom walkover and the entry steps which is also a built in cooler that will hold at least 48 beers not sure about much else. The wife absolutely loves the steps keeps peeps from walking on seats.

[Diggs]

I am a big advocate of the bags if you plan on adding ballast. It makes it so much easier to add more weight all at the push of the button. The new pump system is powerful and will fill any bags you throw at it fast. 4 minutes for a stock system, so add a few more minutes if you upgrade your bags. Ideally I would love to see a hybrid set up, but the way it is now is nice. I will usually go months on end and then occasionally pull my bags out for a good detail and it is generally dry back there, but depends how you use your boat and how much water you bring on. Simply pull them on occassion or even easier roll them up when not in use and it allows it all to dry, but generally speaking I don't think most people remove their bags unless it got real wet back there for some reason. I really love the interior of the new 22.
Certainly Malibu makes a nice boat, so no one will tell you one the Supra is a better boat. It is a comparable boat, but my personal opinion is you get much more boat for the money and it is a sweet boat. The Supra will be much less money and will come LOADED with the LCD screen and all the components that are options on Malibu. It is also more comparable to the Malibu LSV cause it is quite a bit bigger than the VLX

[docdrs]

In 2009 supra upgraded to the jabsco reversible pumps. They fill at 100lbs a minute per pump and same for empty. 1000 lbs takes 10 minutes but when your not using the bag you have the space for storage. With tanks the space is gone wether full or empty. Both can fail and the pump n bag system is far easier to fix, I've had both. An 1100lb bag gives you lots of versatility when you dont have a crew of peeps in the boat. Buy what you want after you test drive they are all good boats. Sounds like you are well versed in what to look for and best wishes. Let us know what you decide.

[DAFF]

I always like expert in the field knowlege, rather than buy now and ask questions when its in the driveway!!! This is the way to shop everyone....

[tg0824SSVGG]

Not sure about where you live, but here - we have to deal with the threat of quagga/zebra mussels. It's VERY easy to show the inspectors that your BAGS are empty and
dry -- for the folks with hard tanks, they are getting the "sterilization treatment" each time they go. It's a hassle (worth it to keep the little buggers out of here, but ...)
I always wanted hard tanks to just not have to mess with it - but at the moment, I don't use the bags very often - so I like the lower hassle factor. Your mileage may vary

Todd