Hey all...1st post! I've been lurking all summer and decided to finally reach out for some advice. And yes, I've read every single post since early '04 and searched the archives accordingly (like a good newbie should). I've been going back and forth betwen the Outback Ddrive & Vdrive, mainly for cost reasons. A little about me...Live in Denver, married, 30 something, two kids, grew up on a lake in Iowa skiing, recently started wakeboarding...yada yada yada...Going down to talk to my dealer on Fri when he gets back from the Moomba meeting in Tahoe about ordering a new '07 sometime before the boat show in January, in order to avoid the early spring order rush. Don't mind her sitting in the garage for a month or two. Time to get aquainted, rub her with a diaper, sit and listen to the stereo while drinking a beer and dreaming about the warm summer months head, lol.

A couple quick questions if anyone woud be kind enough to throw in their .02:

1. New color scheme/graphics on the outback DD: Not sure if I like it? Is this a new two color scheme plus gelcoat color? Curious if I could do black instead of the blue and fossil instead of the yellow with the sandrock gelcoat color on the top and inside fiberglass. Interior upholstery would be sandrock as well with greay and fossil accents. Basically similar to the '06 XLV shown on this site. Is this possible? ps-liked the swirl logo better too I think but could live with either. Anyone hate their black hull because of the water spots? Talk me out of getting it?

2. I see a gravity III ballast option for the outback DD: Where in the heck would that go? Have they reinforced the area above the gas tank? Under the bow seats? SKi locker? Dealer told me on the '06 there's nowhere to put ballast except under the rear seat?

3. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Ddrive or Vdrive??? Many of the posts I've read say the Ddrive is adequate for beginner-intermediate wakeboarding. It's shown in the catalog with a tower and described as an entry-levle wakeboard boat...I know about the hull design, etc...but if I weighted it down enough (back to question #2) it should be decent dont you think? I'm too old to have ambitions of big air tricks so a moderate wake would suffice. The kids won't need a biger wake for several years at the soonest. Plus, I'd love the ability to get back to my roots and enjoy the perfect slalom wake every so often (good bye I/O submarine starts!!! yay) Lighter weight for towing behind my 4Runner is also a consideration.

On the other hand, as seems to be norm around here, the Wife likes the Vdrive better (larger sundeck, open layout, etc) Can't argue with her there. An extra $5k is definitely worth considering, but also a big chunk of change that could be spent on tower, stereo, wakeplate, etc.

Intersted to see what my dealer says on Friday but wanted some more opinions first...I'm inclined to think the Ddrive would be fine, but fear regretting that decision too soon and wishing I stretched my budget for the Vdrive.

Sory for the lenghty post but a guy has a lot of questions after drooling over everyone else's boats all summer

Many thanks in advance...Can't wait to own a Moomba!!!
Marc