LSV vs. XLV

[mmandley]

but only after Peeing

When you pee after drinking beer, your only proving we have over fill protection. You drain some then refill. Its a way to make sure the beer is fresh doing in all the time.

[jmvotto]

depends on where you pee.

[moombadaze]

Gotta remember to never borrow Ed's wetsuit

[501]

I bought the 09 XLV because of it's size AND I got a sweet deal on it. Too bad the season is over.

**501, what type of ballast/weight setup do you have?

I have 2 X 750's in the rear and the 1150 in the bow. It's a lot of weight and the boat is kinda sluggish with them all full, but if you want big wakes for wakeboarding, you won't be dissappointed. The best part is all 2650 lbs are hidden away and basically factory. With the front filled up about 20 percent and a 750 full, the surf wave is also very large and easy to ride.

The upgrade was easy with the plug and play ballasts and was only a couple hundred bucks.

[Hillbilly]

501 is the 1150 in the floor locker? If so the xlv must have a larger locker, My locker bag pushes up the door before it's full and it's only a 400 . I run the triangle sac on top of my cushions though so I still got it dumped...lol

[Ian Brantford]

is the 1150 in the floor locker?

Yes, it is much bigger. It is longer and twice as deep, because the playpen seating gives you a knee-high surface all the way through the bow opening, back to right beside the driver. In fact, there is room to spare on top, so I throw my extra-large fender in there after we leave the dock. I wish that there was a ballast bag of about 1400+ lbs that I could put in there. It would fit.

[Hillbilly]

That would be sweet. You could always have one made custom! kinda spendy though !

[jclevoy]

When I was trying to decide, these were the factors that I considered..........

--Did you realize that the rear lockers are actually smaller in the XLV vs the LSV? The LSV lockers are not much larger, but they are a little larger. The guys measured them for me at the showroom.

--The price of the XLV. It was going to cost me ~$10,000 more for a used XLV vs a used LSV.

--The one major benefit, and I mean it is a BIG bonus........is the front locker. It is WAY more roomy for a larger ballast bag than the LSV. The front Playpen area in an XLV is EXTREMELY nice. My friend has a SUPRA 21V with the same configuration. At first, I didn't care for the bow seating since there was not a small aisle. Now, after seeing the benefits of the larger locker..............I would go XLV if possible. At some point in the future, I will probably upgrade to at least a 23ft boat if not longer. My current philosophy has become, "if you have somewhere to keep it, the bigger/heavier the boat, the better"

Just my 2c

[Bcoutsfly]

Is it true the XLV is a little sluggish? I figured it would be because it has the same engine set up as the LSV. I was also told the wake rolls over a lot. I was told of this by the salesman that I bought my LSV from. I did however like the bow set up alot more than my LSV.

[Ian Brantford]

Is it true the XLV is a little sluggish? I figured it would be because it has the same engine set up as the LSV.

No. I did upgrade to a lower-pitch prop after upgrading the ballast. After the prop upgrade, the throttle is hilariously responsive when the boat is unloaded -- you have to get used to it all over again.

I was also told the wake rolls over a lot.

I'd say that that is a fair assessment below 19 MPH, especially if the ballast isn't carefully balanced. Around 19-20 MPH and up, there is no problem that cannot be addressed via balance, as with any other boat. The LSV appears to have better wake control at lower speeds, so it may be better for beginners, especially children. I teach lots of adult beginners with my XLV, and there is a an issue with them wanting to do some jumps before they can ride at a suitable speed for a nice crest.

The converse is that I have had some intermediate riders, trained on runabouts, ask me to let out some ballast. They were just plain scared by the size of it at 22-24 MPH.

I was told of this by the salesman that I bought my LSV from.

As with most other statements by a salesman, confirmation via a personal observation, or at least by experienced owners, is the only thing that makes it useful.

I did however like the bow set up alot more than my LSV.

It is a great set-up. My XLV can sit three across -- me, and one woman under each arm!

In my case, there were a number of differences in the interior that pushed me from the LSV to the XLV. The playpen seating/ballast was one. Others were the LSV's oddly low seating, the XLV's higher tower, the XLV's seatback on the stadium seat, and just the overall larger space. Because of the big engine compartment, the LSV's interior wasn't that much larger than that of my 18' runabout.

That was in 2005. The LSV was more like the Outback then. The LSV has since been upgraded and is a deeper boat, so the seating height would no longer be an issue. I am not sure what else would have changed about the interior, but the LSV is now firmly a "mid-sized" wakeboard boat, rather than a small one. It is only about 300 lbs lighter than the XLV. It used to be 600 lbs lighter, so that's a clue as to how much the 2006 upgrade affected it.