X15 2012 or Malibu LSV 2012

[Aric'sX15]

Originally Posted by willyt

not true whatsoever. Grid stringers vs longitudinal stringers, foam filled stringers vs hollow, deck/liner construction vs 3 piece, are all build differences. No qualitative assessment on any of those, research for yourself. i'm just calling an apple different from an orange.

I'm talking about hull thickness/rigidity. They're nearly identical in terms of weight and thickness. MC probably does have a better ride because of the insulated hull, I'd just never buy another 15 after owning one for 3 years. I've been in more Malibu's than I've been in mastercraft's and I couldn't tell much difference in ride and quality vs mc. Probably because the quality of my 15 wasn't up to MC standards.

[mastercraft1995]

Can't go wrong with either boat. I would buy which ever one you get the best deal on.

[02ProstarSammyD]

Its all in what you want out of a boat. Personally I think alot of people have hit it on the head that the wake is going to be better on the lsv. Its also a bigger boat. I would buy the bu but I also wouldn't be choosing between those 2 boats. I'd ride both and sit/drive both. If you don't like the interior of the bu/mc on either end then it doesn't matter what anyone says.

Don't cheat yourself on lesser of a boat because of a brand name

[bamabonners]

Those that know my screenname know that I am a Malibu fanboy. I just sold my 2012 Malibu LSV this weekend. I had a 2011 VLX before that. The VLX was on the market for about a week and the LSV was on the market for like 2 weeks. I only sold it because we did not need a 23 foot boat and didn't want to pay to store it. Both boats were quality boats with EXCELLENT wakes for both wakeboarding and surfing. I was always impressed with the wakes, even at low speeds. Neither of them ever sounded like a bucket of screws going across the water, neither of them ever had any major issues . I had one warranty issue that Malibu went above and beyond to fix - vinyl was discoloring for some reason. They replaced the vinyl pieces and threw in a new factory cover just in case it was causing the problem. The issue did not return.

My touch screens never once gave me any problems and neither did the Indmar engines.

We looked at the x15 when I bought the VLX. The VLX felt bigger inside, the LSV felt like a limo inside. Both were very comfortable. I prefer the styling of the Malibu interior. It is very pleasing to the eye and is very functional without being gaudy or over the top. Both brands use the same weight marine vinyl and gortex thread.

Malibu G3 tower is amazing. Very stylish and sturdy. Accessories are easy to be found for it.

The differences between the two are this - the little touches on the interior. MC has more depth and probably more storage (between comparable size boats). MC uses billet pieces where malibu uses some kind of chrome plated plastic that will eventually pit and look bad. Things like the glove box door on a MC is a better design. My VLX door eventually would not stay shut due to the design. Plus, it leaked water into the glovebox. Malibu uses a bag cooler where MC gives you an Igloo. This is an advantage for two reasons for me: Some like the bag, but we hated it - it was no fun trying to carry a melted bag of ice water. Other reason is that we would have to bring a cooler along with us, which took up floor space.

You won't go wrong either way, you just have to make a list of what you MUST have and pick the one that checks the most boxes for you. No boat will check all of the boxes...