Talk me off the fence... ;-)

[CradGen2]

You will be happy with your descion. Nice looking boat.

Also get some fenders for the trailer Yellow_Flash_Colorz:

[2gofaster]

I have 2123 hours on my 1997 Ski Nautique. Used it in ski shows last weekend, will use it again on Tuesday.
If I need them, I can get parts for my 1997 Ski Nautique. Can you get parts for a decade old Malibu?
In these economic times, do you want a boat company that has been around since 1925, or a company that has overproduced their product, and has had to lay off their workers.

Heck, we can't get an M decal for the back of an 05 Malibu Response. Geez, every malibu made for 6 years had the same decal and we've been waiting for 3 months.

[JohnE]

i'd never buy anything with an indmar engine. they suck

Can you elaborate?

[SkiTower]

A good test for you would to be go to each dealer and drive a year or two older Super Air and VLX with a lot of hours on each. Feel the difference in the handling, vibration, and rattling noises in the boat. My experience is that the Nautique will handle better, be much quieter, and feel much more solid than the VLX. Make sure each one has a good number of hours on it.

Any new boat can drive good for a little while!

Just my 2 cents.

Doing this should eliminate all doubt. Better yet, instead of 2 years, find some 5 years old. I can honestly say my truck is as tight as the day I bought it 90K miles ago. Can't say that about other makes...

[dizzyj]

nice boat. dont forget to put the plug in (its in the cup holder)

I have an 07 236 and its just a downright phenomenal boat.

[DWhitt]

That's a gorgeous boat, I just saw it at CBOA a couple of weeks ago. You're going to love it!

[Nautiquehunter]

Sorry I'm late I was out of town enjoying my 210. I think a closer comparison would be a 23Bu . I looked at the 23Bu and wanted it to fail so bad but it didn't . The deciding factor for me was looking at 3-5 year old boats the Bu's seemed to loose the luster all that carpet gets matted down all the electronics scare me once out of warranty. The fact that you have to go to extreme to get a good wake with the Bu. Nautiques dont need as much.
And finally I didnt want just another boat. Since I got my 210 I have met more people at the gas pump, parking lot and launch ramp asking about my boat. All the attention is not hard to take. Good luck with your 230 I thing you made the right choice.

[TylerO]

Beautiful.....a few months from now, on the lake, chillin in that awesome boat you'll be thinking...why was I on the fence??? I now it's more apples than oranges but I have a friend with a 2006 VLX and I have a 07 SV211 Team. Just about everyone prefers the wake on my boat over the Malibu. I was surprised to see you felt the other way. In short, nice choice!

[lion90]

Beautiful.....<snip> I was surprised to see you felt the other way. In short, nice choice!

Thanks! Don't get me wrong, I like the shape better on the 230. I just feel it needs a little more weight as stock ballast is only 800lbs where the 09 VLX has 1300 + wedge. I have mixed feelings about the wedge. I ride my buddies 07 LSV and the wedge doesn't make the wake bigger, but more peaky (like the Nautique is naturally).

I will play with the weight and then plumb something in, no biggie.

[Bevan]

Very nice 230...

[rivercowboy]

Dont get why being the only Nautique is a bad thing. When we travel to lake norris and cumberlain all you see are malibus. They all look the same. You will love being unique in your nautique. Nice boat!

[Nautiquehunter]

Dont get why being the only Nautique is a bad thing. When we travel to lake norris and cumberlain all you see are malibus. They all look the same. You will love being unique in your nautique. Nice boat!

River
I just got back from Barron River Lake it was the same Lots of MC and BU but only
1 other CC . I got nothing but attention and complements almost like they have never seen a Nautique before.

[lion90]

Being the only Nautique in the neighborhood is a good thing in many ways. The reason I listed it as a negative is just because our community has a community marina where we each own a dock. Since there are so many Malibu's, that dealer makes regular stops up here for onsite service for free or a deep discount. They have incentive to provide above and beyond customer service.

I am sure the Nautique dealer will treat me right too, its just that they don't have the economy of scale to be able to drive up and do many winterizations or such at once.

Not a big negative. Hopefully that makes more sense since I agree, being unique is a plus.

It obviously didn't influence my decision too much. :razz: