Malibu's Wakesetter 23 XTi Earns Another Boat Of The Year Award
PRESS RELEASE:
(Sarasota, FL) – On May 1, 2004, the Malibu Wakesetter 23 XTi was named Power Boat Magazine’s Tow Boat of the Year and became the third Malibu XTi Series boat to win the award in as many years. Malibu’s trophy case is now crowded with a tenth PowerBoat Magazine Tow Boat of the Year Award all of them received during the last twelve years.
The first XTi was introduced in 2002 and the industry was stunned. Malibu Boats had taken two seemingly different direct drive and V-drive boat designs and mixed them together to give consumers the best of both worlds. The 2002 Wakesetter 23 XTi earned a Tow Boat of the Year award from PowerBoat Magazine for its extreme watersports versatility, direct-drive control and v-drive comfort.
In 2003 the success of the XTi spurred the creation of a smaller cross training alternative. The 21XTi was created to give 21-foot boating enthusiasts the ability to have their cake and eat it too. The Wakesetter 21 XTi captured the 2003 Tow Boat of the Year Award for dynamic water sports performance and a comfortable social seating layout.
Not to be outdone by its 21-foot brother, the Wakesetter 23 XTi was back on the scene in July of 2004, bigger and better than ever before. All though this relatively new model had taken the industry by storm that did not stop Malibu engineers from taking the Wakesetter 23 XTi to a new level.
“Malibu didn’t need to redesign its Wakesetter 23 XTi. After all, the existing 23-footer took this [PowerBoat] magazine’s 2002 Tow Boat of the Year honor… But that did not stop the company’s design team, which has proven itself to be long on ambition and short on complacency, from revamping the direct drive model,” PowerBoat Magazine.
The 2004 Wakesetter 23 XTi sports an intimidating footprint of 23 feetin length and a 100-inch beam. With room for 16 passengers and the gear that normally follows, this Malibu exhibits storage and comfort that rivals the industries 23-foot V-drives. But the center-mounted power plant gives the Wakesetter 23 XTi the control of a much smaller inboard ski boat.
Even after relaxing in the boats accommodating interior, PowerBoat Magazine testers could not say enough about the Wakesetter 23 XTi’s performance. “Our ski tester gave high marks to the boat for its flat, soft wakes... On the wakeboarding side, the Wakesetter 23 XTi was phenomenal.” The testers continued, “Our ski and wakeboard pilots raved about the boat’s drivability.”
“Raising your game is tough, but once again Malibu pulled it off. The Wakesetter 23 XTi is first rate,” PowerBoat Magazine.
Malibu Boats engineers work tirelessly to design the boats that families and water sports fanatics demand. The Wakesetter 23 XTi is just one of 16 models Malibu offers to take the tow boating experience a step beyond.
