Malibu Boats

[RickSE]

So my co worker has been talking about buying a new Malibu ski boat for a few years now. He's all excited, has the money, finds a deal on a new 25' with a 496 in Boston and goes for it. He's had the boat for about a month now and he's ready to sell it. :bonk: It's V-drive and the dang thing fills up with water pretty quick, auto-bilge pump comes on once an hour. I guess he was told to expect water in the boat due to the packing box but feels there is way too much water coming in. Next the boat has electrical gremlins; it'll start 1 out of every 4 times you turn the key and the radio buzzes when you run any of the heavy electrical stuff like the wedge. Worst of all though the boat is setup on a factory trailer and the tongue weight is way too light inducing a severe trailer wag. I haven't looked at the trailer yet but he says the tongue support is welded in place so he can't move the boat forward on the trailer. He's scheduled to take it down to a dealer in Phoenix after Memorial Day but is ready to ask them to sell it for him. I've been trying to tell him to keep his chin up and stick it out.

[yeller]

It's V-drive and the dang thing fills up with water pretty quick, auto-bilge pump comes on once an hour. I guess he was told to expect water in the boat due to the packing box but feels there is way too much water coming in.
RickSE, jets use packing as well and the compression is adjustable. I would think it would be the same on a V-drive. On mine, it's as simple as adjusting two 1/2" nuts. You don't want to compress the packing so much that no water passes, but I have mine adjusted so only a very slight trickle of water passes through when running. After 18yrs, I show some wear on the shaft, but nothing to worry about and I'm still on the same packing.

From my stereo days....the radio buzzing could probably be removed. It's all trial and error though. I say 'probably', because sometimes you can never fully get rid of the interference. I have a ton of buzzing with my system, but I only listen it to it when I'm stopped, so it doesn't bother me. Get him to talk to a stereo install shop.

The trailer post could be cut and rewelded. That's no big deal. Depends on how picky he is on color matching after it's done though.

Starting problem sounds like a bad starter solenoid.

Seems to me, all his problems could be fixed in a weekend and he'll have the boat of his dreams.

[Lenny]

Maybe get a Wakesetter or Brendella or Nautique ???

:confused:

My gals sister has a 26' Wakesetter in LA (Cali) with every option available, and they spend 3 months a year at Havasu. They have not had a single complaint and they drive HARD... and play HARD...

[ChromeGorilla]

Hate to hear things like this for new boat owners. Definately sucks. But I definately don't think this reflects on Malibu as a whole. My folks have a Malibu Response LXi and they love it. It's their second Malibu. The waterki show team my brother performs on has had a brand new Malibu every other year for a while now and they love them.

Sounds like just a poopy situation....oh.... was the boat brand new...or used?

If it was new wouldn't this be a warranty issue? If it was used.... I wouldn't fault Malibu on the water leak.... the previous owner may have bumped the drive shaft causing the leak....

Just food for thought.....

[LKSD]

Thats supprising, usually those boats are put together well.. Maybe the other owner fooled with things he shouldnt have, or like someone else said, maybe they bumped some stuff.. ?? :eek!: I hope it all works out for you coworker.. Jamie / Lakeside

[RickSE]

... Maybe the other owner fooled with things he shouldn’t have, or like someone else said, maybe they bumped some stuff.. ?? :eek!: I hope it all works out for you coworker.. Jamie / Lakeside

No, this is a brand new boat, he's the first owner. I told him to make sure he checks the batteries; they may show 12V but it doesn't mean they have the amps. He says the packing box is some new design that uses more water for cooling the shaft seal. It probably just needs to be adjusted. I just hate to see him talking about giving up on the boat this early in the purchase and I'm trying to convince him to stick it out. He should be able to get the boat issues fixed under warranty and then his only big problem will be the weight of the boat; he just doesn't have enough truck to tow this boat here out west. I see a lot of people make that mistake out here; they're fine on the flats but the 1/2-ton trucks just can't hang with the mountain grades and altitude.

Yeller, he did your trip last week, went to Havasu, Mohave & Mead. He had a bear of a time getting the truck & boat back up the hill to Flagstaff, knocked down to 35-MPH on the hill coming out of Havasu. He said he didn't care for any of those lakes, not much comment on Havasu but he said Mohave was windy as heck and the ramps were horrible at Mead. Sounds like Mead has not kept up with the ramp extensions as well as Powell.

[yeller]

If the boats under warranty, he should definately tough it out. Hopefully his dealer will take care of him.

I don't doubt that he didn't like any of the lakes. I don't think any of them would be much good for a ski boat, probably too rough. Did he say much about the ramps at Mead? I don't want to get stuck with my 2x4 truck. It almost happened at one ramp at Havasu because it was too steep. Luckily a couple big guys were near by and hopped on the bumper.