'09 VLX Captures Malibu's 8th Boat of the Year Award

Malibu Boats just received their 8th consecutive Boat of the Year Award from Powerboat Magazine for the 2009 Wakesetter VLX. Award winners were selected after the magazine's rigorous Performance Trials in Parker, Ariz., and Fort Myers, Fla. Thirty-two performance boats were evaluated independently by two teams. This year’s award represents Malibu Boats 19th Product Excellence Award from Powerboat Magazine, the most earned by any boat manufacturer.

Powerboat Magazine summed up their choice of the VLX as the 2009 Boat of the Year with this opening sentence, “If we tested a more complete product, across all classes, than the Malibu Boats Wakesetter VLX during our 2009 Performance Trials, we sure don’t remember it.” – Powerboat Magazine

This honor makes Malibu the only boat company in the history of Powerboat Magazine to have earned eight straight Boat of the Year awards. Paul Singer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Malibu Boats, was recently notified of the company’s 19th Powerboat Magazine Product Excellence award.

Since its inception, the pride Malibu Boats has taken in its products has netted recognition throughout the industry. All told, the company has accumulated 19 Boat of the Year Awards and 26 design and performance awards. Yet, Malibu’s restless spirit and motivation for perfection never stops.

Singer explains this phenomenon, "These awards are a great pat on the back for us, but as soon as the high fives are spent, we get right back at it. There are so many more innovations that our engineers are working to perfect. They are competitive by nature and these awards just push them to develop that next industry first."

The new 2009 Wakesetter VLX was delivered to the testers with, “… useful and imaginative features…” And according to Powerboat Magazine, “…performed beautifully…”

Aspects of the VLX testers were impressed with included the new MaliView Dash System with 6.5 LCD and video capability. This boat also featured the patented wake-making Power Wedge and customizable Rider Presets that work in conjunction with MaliView to accommodate different styles and levels of riding. In addition the uncompromising visibility of the forward-swept Illusion XS tower, handling and rough water ride excited the entire evaluation crew.

The affection the testers seem to share for the Malibu Wakesetter VLX was not based on cool functional features alone. They specifically point out the overall construction quality of the boat. “…Build quality for the Malibu Wakesetter VLX was outstanding.” – Powerboat Magazine

“The Malibu Wakesetter VLX is more than a modern, fully equipped wakeboard boat that does its job exceptionally well. It’s the product of a group of people—the construction and design team at Malibu—who never seem to be satisfied with what they’ve done in years’ past. Thank heaven.” – Powerboat Magazine

The Malibu Wakesetter VLX is profiled in Powerboat's special June issue.

Tags: Malibu Boats | Wakesetter VLX | 2009 | Boat of the Year | Powerboat Magazine | BOTY | 8 straight