My 09 OBV Test Drive

[Guma]

Let me preface this by saying I have never even set foot in an inboard boat before yesterday. I have owned two I/Os and loved them to say them least.

So yesterday I headed up to Land O Lakes Marine and met up with the owner, Dave. Tossed out Moombadaze's name and he instantly told me that now he would have to tack on an extra $10K to the price of the boat. Just Kidding Stacy, Dave said he knew you very well and yeah 4 boats sounds about right...

There are salesmen who know their product and could not care less about it, and then there are salesmen who know their product and are excited to talk about it, answer questions, and help in any way possible. Dave most definitely falls into the latter group of salesmen! He is a an awesome guy and answered every single question I had very thoroughly and then some! He also took the time to tell me about things I wasn't asking about. Simply put, I can't wait to hand this guy my money for the boat, and that is they you should feel on a large purchase like this. To top that off, it is a family owned business and even in today's economy he assured me, that they were here to STAY!

So on to the ride... Hooked up the tractor and towed the boat off the showroom floor down to the dock just outside the shop. Funny that all 3 of us checked the plug too. Back her in and Dave immediately starts telling me how inboards don't back up straight and how to compensate for this. This was something I had absolutely no clue about before he told me. He even walked me through pulling up to a dock or another boat. Of course he did it perfect and told me it would take me about a day on the lake to get used to the idiosyncracies of driving an inboard.

Get her out on open water and open it up and goes through the cruise control, really nice feature too! I hop in the helm and take the controls. First thing I notice, and I had read all about it, was the very minimal bowrise and just how fast it got on plane. Really amazing to me having spent years with I/Os and losing sight of the horizon for 4 or 5 seconds out of the hole. I was a bit tentative with the throttle and the wheel but I drove around for a good 10 mins taking a few sharp turns and checking out the wake at certain speeds.

Dave jumps over and says hold on...Here comes the FUN! He opens it up and turns the wheel and I felt like I was in my Stage III Roush doing laps at Sebring. I should have had a video camera on me because I know the smile on my face was EAR TO FREAKING EAR!

Needless to say, but I am sold on the Moomba OBV for us! I only wish I did not have to wait 3 or 4 months to get it, but until then you guys will have to put up with my incessant drooling and questions.;)

[sandm]

what's with the wait???

summer will be over by then...

[newty]

Awesome! Keep us updated on your purchase! Did you get any pics?

[Guma]

what's with the wait???

summer will be over by then...

Summer is never over in Florida!

The wait is I am leaving for a job overseas in a few weeks and will be gone for 3 to 4 months. I have already got it ironed out where I will place my order about 4 weeks before I return so it would be ready or almost ready when I return.


Sorry no pics...

[moombadaze]

Glad to hear it all went better than expected.

[jester]

It is very hard too buy a moomba after a test drive. Out of all the boats out there the Moomba is by far the best boat for the money. It is great to hear yo had a good test drive.

[wolfeman131]

wonder if SC will walk us thorugh guma's build like they did Ed's? I loved that thread!

CONGRATS!!

Good decisions to go with a Moomba!

[Guma]

wonder if SC will walk us thorugh guma's build like they did Ed's? I loved that thread!

CONGRATS!!

Good decisions to go with a Moomba!

Who could I contact after I place my order with Dave to try and set this up? I can think of no more satisfaction while waiting than to watch it all come together.

Can you also point me to the thread?

Ed G - If things work out with our schedules, I will definitely try and take you up on this offer. Don't mind if I bring the wifey along do you?

[Mikey]

I loved your story about the test drive and then the fun part of the ride. I remember yrs ago going for a ride in my friends MC and him telling me to try it out and see how it handled. We both came from Outboards etc and i kinda knew what to expect untill my friend kicked me outta the drivers seat and really showed me how his boat handled. Fun wasn't the first word that came out of my mouth.More like Holy S@#$. I was sold.
My wife missed her chance to go for a ride that yr but the next season came up and my friend gave her a ride in his boat , and after my wife came back all she could say was what are we waiting for ,lets get one of those boats,so soon enough our order was in.
We have an Outback DD which corners like a sled on rails, slightly different than the Vdrive but pretty similar.

I still get a kick outta giving THRILL rides when conditiond allow, just remember to forewarn others To HANG ON TIGHT.

[mmandley]

Great stories i love to hear things like this.

Last year all i did was talk about buying a boat this year. We were putting almost 1500 a month in savings and my stocks to save enough to pay of the truck and allow the purchase of out LSV.

Claudia was ok with the idea but not thrilled as she has never realy been on boats.

Very similar story to your Guma with my dealing at AWS.

When we got to water test our first LSV Sean my sales guy drove it and gave me the run down. I was completely in glee at driving it. I have always owned big muscle cars like Z28s Trans Ams and such so im used to power and seat of pants rides.

Well Clauida sat there enjoying the ride even thought it was a cold January day. When she got in the drivers seat, whoooo

She punched it all the way to 40mph and all she could do was smile ear to ear. Sean said turn around, do a 180, so Claudia backed off the throttle, Sean said i didn't say slow down i said do a 180. Claudia cranked it hard as fast as she could and that boat spun around as we all held on and i was in aww.

After that one of the pro team riders that tagged along drove and really showed us how the boat handles and tracks and turns.

When we got to the dock Claudia looked at me and her exact words " Malo we are buying an LSV go give them our money " LOL

[deerfield]

Outback DD ... corners like a sled on rails ... forewarn others To HANG ON TIGHT.

Yes indeed!

[deerfield]

I have always owned big muscle cars like Z28s Trans Ams and such so im used to power and seat of pants rides.


mmandley - Then you can appreciate this one. My middle son's pride and joy. - Deerfield

[mmandley]

Ohh yes sir thats what im talking about. Looks like a 02 or 04 Z28 very nice car. Last of the true muscle cars IMO. I like Mustangs but to me they are still posers.

The only cars to live from the 60s till 2004 and always had a V8 powerplant as an option was the Trans Am and Z28s.

Back in the 70s the best Mustang could do was that weak as 4 banger Cobra.

They lost my vote when they let the Gas wars dictate a 4 cyclinder muscle car. Also it took Mustang till 91 to recover from that. There great little rockets now but i will never own one.

Make sure your son holds on to that car, he will never forgive himself if he sells its. Its like the GTOs and RoadRunners of the late 60s. Cant beat a car like that from light to light out of the factory

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

wow what great stories! i took a 5 hour drive to michigan to see the boat i have now...and after 1 look i knew its what i wanted. big step to make with the money but its well worth it so far. i didn't get to experience the test drive like you guys did cause moomba dropped this place to locate somewhere bigger and he had 2 left on his lot to sell. he didn't spend a lot of time with me on the the do's and don'ts and what she can do when on the water so being a first time boat owner and the first person out of family and friends that has an inboard i'm kinda learning on the fly. i guess i missed out on some very good knowledge you guys are lucky to have great salesmen where you are! another question from the dumbie... i can run wide open and turn at will as long as everyone is hangin on tight and conditions are right?

i must say the loading and docking of these boats are quite different from what i'm use to!

you guys on here have been so informative to me and are making my first boat purchase such a breeze!

are there many others from ohio in this forum and do ya ever get together on the lake with others like the guys in florida do ?

[Guma]

Ed G thanks for the link to that thread, simply awesome!

gus - yes, tell everyone to hold on tight, go full throttle and spin the wheel as fast and as far as it will go. I would suspect you might feel more comfortable doing it the first time with just you, or you and one other person in the boat. I know that is probably what I will do the first couple of times just to get used it.

[jester]

Ok so you should try it once or twice so you know how the boat will feel when you do this. I would say do not do this often. It can be very dangrus.

[moombadaze]

[quote=gus 08 mobius lsv;71281]another question from the dumbie... i can run wide open and turn at will as long as everyone is hangin on tight and conditions are right?

[quote]

Yes you can but dont advise it very often. and if you ever get the chance have a direct drive owner do that in there boat-talk about some g-force

[skiyaker]

i didn't get to experience the test drive like you guys did cause moomba dropped this place to locate somewhere bigger and he had 2 left on his lot to sell. he didn't spend a lot of time with me on the the do's and don'ts

sounds like the guy in MI I was going to buy from until I told him I'd like to come drive the boat to see if I liked it. His response? "I can't just let you come up here and run around on it." He actually hung up the phone on me when I said I didn't want to buy without a test drive. Maybe I should send him a pic of me and my new OBV.

[mmandley]

sounds like the guy in MI I was going to buy from until I told him I'd like to come drive the boat to see if I liked it. His response? "I can't just let you come up here and run around on it." He actually hung up the phone on me when I said I didn't want to buy without a test drive. Maybe I should send him a pic of me and my new OBV.

OMG there's no way im putting 40 or 50G down and not driving it or a model the same.

As for turning under full power. Yup you can do it, it wont hurt the boat as a generally rule but keep in mind the more weight in the boat the more stress your putting on it. You can just as easily go 25 or 30 and do S turns and impress everyone and that wont cause nearly as much stress on the boat.

I do it every so often to remind myself the way it handles but most of the time i drive it pretty normal and save those big speed moves for when its needed like debris in the water i didn't see till the last minute.

All in all you have to try it a few times and get the feel for how it handles, these boat are insane for all the stuff they can do but they truly are a sports car on water as well.

I was seriously considering buying a new Corvette last year as a new toy, then i decided to get a boat because more people can enjoy that with us. Man i don't regret it for a second, and the boat fill every need for speed, loud stereo, and entertainment i can ask for.

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

sounds like the guy in MI I was going to buy from until I told him I'd like to come drive the boat to see if I liked it. His response? "I can't just let you come up here and run around on it." He actually hung up the phone on me when I said I didn't want to buy without a test drive. Maybe I should send him a pic of me and my new OBV.

what was the place? was it in coldwater mi yeah not the ideal situation but a have the exact boat i wanted for about 4 or 5 grand less then anywhere else i looked