SN 206 or Response LXi

[Hollywood]

What boat do you look at in the garage, on the trailer and in the water and think to yourself "hey sexy".

I get it, some guys like fat chicks. :mrgreen:

[MARK-S]

skisix,
I agree with all. No crack though. The big diff I noticed in driving my 206 vs the 196 is around the dock and slow speeds. But tracking at 34 and 36 mph in the course was the same. I dont get to pull into 38 very often, but I would argue that its harder to drive a 200lb guy at 28 off then me at 38. I do like the 07 LXI drive/pull. I spent a weekend with Chad Scotts boat in november.
Efight/SGY
Sounds like Steve is doing well selling Malibus. I was going to try to hook up with him at the BD finals, but never got any info before I left minn. Is he getting ready for a M3 comback. It would be nice to see him on the tourny trail again.
Does anyone know if the closed bow Malibu is the same as the RLXI or did they leave it alone. We would like to go to a closed bow for our club boat in the future and need to look at all of the big 3 closed bows.

[M3Fan]

We would like to go to a closed bow for our club boat in the future and need to look at all of the big 3 closed bows.

One thing I love about the CC closed bow is that they push the windshield and driver up as far forward as possible. The other two brands (Response/LX and PS190/197) keep the windshield/driver back so that their boats can be built open or closed bow with minimal effort/cost (that's an assumption but it makes sense to me).

Back when CC had the SNOB, they moved everything back in the boat, even the engine, just to get that tiny little open bow space. That's because there is no way you could just cut out an SN closed bow to make it OB. There's just nothing up there. The SNOB was basically a totally different boat, besides the wetted surface. I like that the SN CB boat is truly ONLY a CB boat, which narrows it down to 1 choice if you go CB IMO.

[skisix@38]

Mark, I don't know which boats you've been driving but and certainly I can see that you could get a really well put together 206 and a not so good a 196 that would close the gap in how they drive. The very difference that M3fan noted is the big difference between the 196 and ALL the other boats- CB or OB. For that reason they had to move the driver and obvservers back which cost a tincy wincy bit of drivability that will go un-noticed by most. At least that's MHO.

Put a good driver in a 196,206,RLXi,RLX,197 and It's all up to me!!!!!

To answer your RLX question the RLX has never been the same boat as the RLXi and between the RLX and the 196 - I would choose the 196- After closing up the bow there's just too many reasons to get the 196.

[MARK-S]

ski6, I would agree. You could add the PS190 to the list. I skied/drove behind one this summer and liked it alot.
We will have to price all the baots and let the club decide what to buy. Right now we have a maxed out 06RLXI, heated seats, tower and the whole gig. We just do not need that for a club boat. We want to go with a closed bow, heater, tower, ballast and thats it. Nothing fancy. I have my 196, so to me MC or LX would be nice so that I have the option of not skiing behind the same pull all summer. But with closed bows, you almost have to go with a 196 just for resale. If people go closed bow, they go 196. I have not seen new LX on a lift for a few summers. I wonder how many they make/sell per summer.

[FLlongball]

well, i hear that ryan has indeed ordered his 07 LXi with a tower. apparently all started because the malibu dealer in his area took way too long to get back to him, like possibly months. then he even had to go to the dealer and forcefully put his money down because the dealer wouldn't return calls to schedule a time. now there's a man who wanted the 'bu. get it serviced at a cc dealer and enjoy your ride, drive and pull.

Eficht -

You must have been talking to Carlson to get the info? You are all over the board on me...05 LXI, 07 LXI and 206. YOu sound somewhat confused. Right?

[SGY]

Ryan, what did you decide?

Mark, seems to me that if you want a closed bow, you gotta stick to the 196. Not because I'm advocating its better, but because that's the closed bow you'll see at tournaments--at least that's the case around here. Frankly, I've only been in this game since 2001 and I can honestly say I've never seen a late model BU or MC closed bow--anywhere.

[MARK-S]

SGY,
I skied behind a 2006 190 in Baton Rouge this summer. I thought it was just like the 197. It drove/tracked a bit better though. I have not seen a new BU CB for awhile. Our club will decide, but I think that the 196 will win out. All of the women on our lake always want to ski and drive my 196 because they dont feel like they are driving a barge around. And the few K you save out front will be lost upon resale.
And now for another 196 question. Has anyone skied a 196 that has a tower on it, and will it have an impact on the wake?

[Quinner]

IMO the wake on my 206 is affected by weight somewhat, don't know if it just me but I feel like the wake changes when there is 2 observers as apposed to 1 or none. Now my boat is probably a bit heavier than most in that it has a tower, bimini, floor mats, ballast tank, some stereo equipment, etc. I would guess that all could add up to another person or 150lbs or more. In my case, not a real big deal since I only ski recreationally and do not compete.

When you guy's compete how many persons beside the driver are in the boat?

[MARK-S]

Driver, judge and safety at any E,L or R. For C tourneys, just a driver and judge/safety can be the same. A while back there was a weighting issue thred on skifly, it looks like the AWSA is looking into what will be allowed as far as weighting. I think they plan to release a statement by spring. I know at the BDs it became a big issue with the 196s. Some of the drivers like to add some wt to the bow for better driving. Some skiers were not happy.

[SGY]

I'd heard about some drivers adding weight to the bow of the 196. How much does this help the driving? What affect does it have on the wake?

[MARK-S]

I have not done it. Most people dont and that what upset some skiers. They practice all week behind an unweighted boat, and then at the compition they have them weighted.
I would think there would be some change to the wake for the skier as well as the feel for the driver.

[skisix@38]

I have not done it. Most people dont and that what upset some skiers. They practice all week behind an unweighted boat, and then at the compition they have them weighted.
I would think there would be some change to the wake for the skier as well as the feel for the driver.

I'm not taking exception to your remarks Mark but, why would you care and how would you know? You is meant as any skier, not you in particular. In going to tournaments I've skied behind some boats that are better than others and as a skier I don't have a choice to say "hey that's no good, I want a re-ride". Personally, I don't mind if the driver wants to make the boat better for him to drive for me, I'll probably get a better ride. Where I draw the line is if there were enough change that a practice pull was very different than a tournament pull.

[LT206]

This weighting the boat issue has been debated ad nauseum over on skifly.com - apparently a hotbutton issue....

I'm fairly confident the wake on an air 206 is much different than on a ski 206 due to the weight of the tower, and tanks. I have a very noticable bump at 15 off 36 mph, and from what I've heard this is not the case for the ski 206. During course sessions I usually end up running with less than 1/8 of a tank of fuel to compensate - this really makes a difference. We usually have three people in the boat and one on the line - 4 total...

[MARK-S]

I dont have any problems with it. I was just stating what was happening at the BD and other record tourneys I have been at. It is a huge issue with the tow boat committee right now. But the skiers who were bringing it up to the officials could kick my tail pretty much every day. They say they could feel it.
To me, that stuff cannot play with your head on the dock. Its bad enough worring about wind/starting line ect. When I am running 39 I will start to bitch about weighting the bows.