Malibu Sunscape 21 LSV

A good social skiboat sets out to deliver three key things: driver pleasure, passenger comfort and a wake to get the creative juices flowing. Transport the boat on a trick trailer to a river somewhere and, as sure as a V-eight has mumble, you will find fun times afloat.

But while most skiboats deliver pleasure at the helm - because they are mostly made by old skiers who prefer to steer these days - few go beyond the basics. You might get good seating, nice steering, a mock carbon or walnut dash. But then what?

Not so the new Malibu Sunscape 21 LSV. The boat scores heavily on the aforementioned three key elements, but also on innovation, luxury and a boatload of inclusions that run the gamut from helmseat lumbar support to a stitched vinyl anti-glare dash.

Made under licence from the US parent company, the Malibu Sunscape is built from a lot of American components. It has an American-designed hull, a Yankee inboard of course, but also terrific Australian craftsmanship from an Albury-based boatyard.

What's more, this 21ft bowrider isn't confined to towing skiers up and down a river somewhere. The boat has a terrific hull that lets you cross a big bay or harbour for a social gathering at a far-away beach. In short, it provides more pleasure than we have come to expect from a run-of-the-mill skiboat.

ALBURY LICENSEE
Foreign, but hardly unknown, Malibu has been making sportsboats in the US for a couple of decades. The Albury-based licensee didn't start building them for the local market till 1993. Since then, it has steadily been making more Malibus each year.

Last winter, after they doubled factory size, Malibu Australia increased production by 28%. Initially, they made just one model; now they offer eight for water sports from barefooting to wakeboarding.

While using US technology is nothing new for local skiboat makers, the Australian-made Malibus are almost identical to the original thing. This means you get the backing of a big US company, one with a marketing budget of US$1 million a year, and its six people who work full-time on R&D alone.

The local licensing arrangement also means you get Australian build quality - not a production pop-out - a local dealer network and after-sales support, and a boat at a lower price than one imported from America, which is subject to duties and the exchange rate. A win-win deal for the boating industry and consumers.

SUNSCAPE MAKE-UP
Since its release in January this year, Albury-based Malibu has been trotting out the new-for-2002 Sunscape 21 LSVs. Marketing manager Simon Hill says the 21-footer has probably doubled its V-drive sales already.

"The V-drive is popular for making slalom wakes and wakeboarding, but it also appeals to the pleasure boat/cruise end of the market," he says. This brings us to pleasure point two, the cockpit - but first some words on construction.

The Malibu Sunscape 21 LSV - an abbreviation of luxury sports vee - is made a little differently to most skiboats. For example, this year the company has introduced a new acoustic film encapsulated in the hull laminate to deaden sound.

The so-called Malibu Sound Suppression Technology claims to reduce drive-train noise by as much as 15%. While the vee-drive was wonderfully quiet, with none of the whirring I've heard in other boats, sound was muffled for other reasons, too.

A glassed-in cockpit floor, Plexus fusion-adhesive bonded hull and deck, fibreglass engine chassis and hollow or box-section fibreglass stringer system provide unity and stiffness. Coremat is used in the floor and deck, some underfloor chambers are foam-filled, and the hand-done lay-up is a combination of chopped strand and woven rovings.

There is not a splinter of timber in the Sunscape 21 LSV, except for the removable oiled-teak swim platform. Instead, six different types of synthetic panelling are used, including aluminium honeycomb in high-load areas and (virgin) polyethylene for the seat bases. So the boat is low-maintenance.

RUNNING SECTIONS
With a sharp 23° entry tailing back to 7° at the transom, the Sunscape cuts the swell beautifully. It chomps over wake without transmitting the chomp back aboard. It also has a high degree of freeboard in the bow, so you can cross boat wake at idle without taking water.

Silky smooth rack and pinion-steering, slightly biased to starboard as with most Tournament boats, gives instant response at the helm. A turn on the wheel translates to a turn of the boat, so I always knew exactly where I was driving the Malibu.

The hull has down-turned chines that blend into the running surface with a curve not a hard edge. There is a single strake each side and, together with the flattish run aft, the boat tracks straight, stays dry and has good hole shot, especially for a rear-mounted motor.

There is only the briefest amount of bow lift when you apply the throttle. Underwater running gear - twin fins, a big bronze rudder and four blade 14x18in Acme prop - lets you drive the boat in a sporty manner, as tight as you would ever want to go, without the prop unduly letting go or winding up.

DETAILS MATTER
Attention to detail is evident everywhere. The cockpit lounge, for example, has plastic bases with trick breather vents to help dry the foam cushions. Storage nets are strung about the boat, an armrest cover hides the stereo, and courtesy lighting in storage hatches and under the gunwales are details that help set the Malibu apart.

The bow is tipped with a central split nav light, stainless grabrail either side of the seating, four drinkholders, and storage in three under-seat lined compartments (one is just big enough to hold an anchor). With infill cushion you can create a little sunlounge for one adult. As it is, two kids will thrill from the ride in the bow.

There are vents under the windscreen that direct air through the box-section stringers to the engine and then back out again. The stringers also contain gear-shift cables and wiring looms, which help keep things neat underfloor.

A nice touch was the perspex divider that slots into the bowrider walkway to seal it off and protect the cockpit. The divider has its own storage bag and there are plenty of holds to stash it away when you are chasing fresh air on a sunny day.

Subtle though it is, the five-piece curved safety glass windscreen has camber from its bottom to its top edge. Good supports ensure the windscreen is held firm, and it is at the right height when driving, so you don't have to duck to see ahead.

While most of the thick vinyl and perforated vinyl is stitched here in Australia, other design features are imported. Things like the storage nets either side of the walk-through windscreen, the matt beige sewn dash, and combination Kaiser/Medallion gauges branded Malibu are all nice touches.

Behind the tilt-adjustable sports wheel is the big tacho and speedo, which has two pick-ups and a push-button calibrator. Alongside is a combo oil pressure, engine temp, fuel and volt meter for the Inmar motor. The switch panel is special, with symbols denoting horn, nav lights, the seven courtesy lights, bilge blower, sound system and dash backlighting for night driving.

The Morse gear shift is linked to a Hurth transmission with a Walter V-drive. The shift is nice and smooth and the boat slips into gear with no clunking whatsoever. On top of this, the driver has a rubber floor mat instead of carpet, which scuffs up, a drinkholder and a hip-hugging helmseat with lumber bag and slide adjustment. See what I mean by a cut above?

A wide-view rear-vision mirror and glare-free windscreen add to a helm that is as close to perfect as I've encountered. Driver and observer are also positioned under an after-market bimini top. It may affect the boat's style, but it makes sense year-round.

The passenger or observer, meanwhile, has an aft-facing benchseat that continues into the aft-lounge. There is a lockable glovebox, the lid lifts on a gas strut, and a huge storage area beneath the observer's backrest, which also lifts on a gas strut.

The giant lined locker is big enough to take picnic gear, a doona, pillows, change of clothes, whatever.

The only thing I could fault was no grabrail for the observer and a sharp edge on the wire stay for the bimini. But boy am I being picky.

SOCIAL COCKPIT
Without a centre-mount to look over, the surround cockpit seating makes for a pleasant social boat and a nice ride for up to five passengers. The seating lifts to reveal storage and there is a locker for skis or wetsuits in the floor, which is fully carpeted.

Recessed drinkholders, a four-speaker stereo and, smart thinking, a cockpit table that mounts on a stanchion, held in a bracket under a seat, add to cruising comfort. The table is kept in one of the two storage wells either side of the engine bay, which have lockable Perko catches.

The centre aft section of the passenger lounge gives access to the V-drive, while the sunlounge lid lifts, on gas struts again, to reveal the engine and its easily accessible freshwater flush connector. The battery is to port, but without an isolator, while underfloor is a 125lt polypropylene fuel tank. Deck fuel fillers on both coamings means it doesn't matter which side of the bowser you park.

A 12V accessory plug in the cockpit lets you run a video, while a second socket at the helm could be used for the mobile phone. A giant icebox under the starboard side of the lounge can hold two slabs of lemonade.

The lounge bases are topped with firm foam that is contoured in such a way that it provides back support. A stubby central ski pole with swivel head is mounted through an aluminium girder.

Aluminium is used for the lids on the sun lounge and engine bay so you can walk over them.

There are options for wakeboarding towers and three ballast tanks (dubbed Malibu's Launch System) if getting air is your thing. The oiled-teak platform is removable and, with a folding trailer neck, you can reduce your rig's storage to 21ft 6in.

An option, a heater, is said to make the cockpit beautifully warm in winter. A small hatch in the wooden swim platform is used to access an optional wakeboarding wedge. This is the way to go if you are really chasing maximum hang time.

TURN-KEY AND TOW
The Sports V Diamond Series hull comes standard with a 325hp 5.7lt EFI Malibu Monsoon motor, which is made exclusively for the company by Inmar. The engine has mock-carbon and chrome trim, with a Silent Ride wet exhaust and muffler system that helps keep the mumble in check.

There are options for upgrading to a 375hp or 425hp V-eight. But with the standard motor, the Sunscape isn't lacking anything on the throttle. I recorded 76kmh on the speedo. At 51kmh, it has a sweet slalom wake and at 39kmh it is holding plane for wakeboarders.

But it was the drive that I found most impressive, even in tight circuits that would leave a skier floundering.

Ergonomically, the boat is faultless. I loved the drive and might still be out there had it been fitted with a double bed, bathroom and home office.

Instantly, it provides pleasure at the helm and comfort for passengers, and there are a lot of refreshing design touches. On a two-pack painted Easy Tow trailer, the boat is priced from $56,000 to $59,000 as seen here. That's more than a basic ski package, but look what you get for your money.

But for its US alliance - and the fact it didn't enter the Awards - the Sunscape 21 LSV would have won the Australian Ski/Performance Boat of the Year hands-down. It is a thinking man's skiboat and one which everyone can enjoy all year round.