Malibu Armada at Lake Mead with Tony Stracke

We were introduced to Tony Stracke (@20ARMADA09) back in late May when he sent Malibu Boats (@MalibuBoats) an amazing letter about how he loves his Malibu vRide, wakeboarding and Tilly's Marine.

Tony and his Aramada Wakeboarding Team took a trip to Lake Mead in late August and we sent him a Malibu Boats banner to put on display. Here's what Tony emailed us about the trip.

We put the Malibu stuff you sent to good use. Myself and 8 other people from So. Cal. headed out to Mead for a camp out with the guys from WakeLV. The camp out part kind of fell through due to weather in the upper basin (apparently it's monsoon weather there) where we were going to camp so we just found a different part of the lake to ride and take photos. I have a small wakeboard apparel team, Aramda Wakeboarding Team (@20ARMADA09). It's really just a group of friends promoting wakeboarding right now, but who knows where it will go in the future. We taught 6 people to wakeboard on the Mead Trip, one of which was jumping the wake on his second set. One guy I have riding for me, Nick Nichols, is in Brooks College down here which is a film school. He is studying to be an editor, but had one of his friends, Kate Ybarra, come out with us and she took about a thousand pictures of the whole weekend. (We have posted a few on the Malibu Boats flickr.com site. We'll be posting more.) My buddy had his boat which is an '06 Wakesetter and my '07 vRide were both used as tow boats and chase boats.

Glad the Lake Mead was successful, Tony! And thanks for promoting Malibu Boats the way you do. We're stoked Aramada Wakeboarding is a part of our team!

Tags: Malibu Boats | Tony Stracke | Malibu vRide | Tillys Marine | Lake Mead | Wakesetter | wakeboard boat | Malibu Factory | Armada Wakeboarding | wakeboard team

Matching Corvette Pulling Matt Minor's Malibu Wakesetter

We received this e-mail and photo from Matt Minor last week. It is a great shot!

My name is Matt Minor and I am the proud owner of a 2003 Malibu Wakesetter. While hitching the boat up for a weekend on the lake, my friends & I decided to get a little creative. Inspired by Malibu's recent 'Corvette Edition', we were able to round one up of matching color & year to pose as an unlikely, but very catchy tow vehicle. We were amazed how well the shot turned out. It seemed fitting that we share this photo with you so that others could enjoy.

The photo was taken in our small hometown of Fort Recovery, nestled between the rows of corn & soybeans of western Ohio. The Corvette belongs to Dan Timmerman of Ft. Recovery. We roll with a crew of die-hard boating fanatics who truly believe in the quality of boats Malibu puts on the water.

Thanks so much for sharing, Matt. Your photo is definitely in the running for our Fav Pic of September. The shot was a great idea! Nice looking Wakesetter and beautiful Vet too! Also thank you for the kinds words about Malibu Boats. At Malibu we all work hard to "Build the best boat.." and we pursue that goal with owners like you in mind. Thank you for believing in the Malibu Difference. We are proud to have you as a part of our family.

If you capture or come across a cool Malibu Boats-related photo let us know. We would love to post it here on the Malibu Boats Blog and Flickr Channel. We will even Tweet about it on Twitter. E-mail blog@malibuboats.com with links and/or images. Also make sure to include the name of the person who took the shot and give us a short description of the photo's contents. If you do not know this information and you are only forwarding a link, we can track it down. Thanks!

Tags: Malibu Boats | Matt Minor | Wakesetter | Corvette | Ohio | Fort Recovery | wakeboard boat | towing | Malibu Difference | boat owner

Unbelievably Short Malibu Illusion G3 Fold-down Tutorial

No need to settle in for this one. The Malibu Illusion G3 Fold-down Tutorial is short and sweet, not to mention easy and safe. The gas spring assisted design of the Illusion G3 renders the tower weightless for an unbelievably convenient fold-down procedure. We have created a short video to illustrate this fact. The star of the video is the Illusion G3, but the gal that makes it all happen is Nicolette. Nicolette is the receptionist at the California Malibu Boats Factory and she was given very little instruction before filming commenced. When watching the video you will notice just how easy the fold-down process is. It can be accomplished by a single person with next to no experience.

Fold-down Procedure: 1) Unscrew the Allen bolt one either side securing the tower to the bases. 2) Pull the tower to the folded position.

That about wraps it up. Any questions?

The process is so simple we threw in a quick tutorial on Titan Spinner Rack operation and the "Slide-off" removal. That's easy too.

Tags: Malibu Boats | Illusion G3 | Illusion Tower | wakeboard tower | forward-swept | easy fold-down | weightless | gas spring | wakeboarding | wakeboard boats | wakesetters | spinner rack | Titan | wakeboard racks | Alpha II Speakers | tutorial | instructions | tips

Malibu Boats Revolutionizes Wakeboard Towers Again

Malibu Boats Illusion Series tower design has advanced many aspects of wakeboard boat towers over the last 7 years to include better forward visibility, unique styling, easier function and greater strength. For 2010 Malibu has added to this list with the new Illusion G3 tower. This new wakeboard tower is standard on all Wakesetter models and features standard Titan Slide-off Spinner Wakeboard Racks, 3” stainless steel tube and billet aluminum construction along with an innovative weightless fold-down feature that folds to standard garage height.

Check out this gallery of Illusion G3 images on the Malibu Boats flickr channel.

The new Illusion G3 can be collapsed in seconds with little instruction. The gas spring assisted design of the G3 tower allows for weightless fold-down. A single person can collapse this tower and does not have to be strong to do it. The Illusion G3 is so light, even with optional accessories like two pairs of Titan Alpha II speakers and an extra set of Titan Slide-of Spinner racks installed the tower can be folded with fingertips.

When a Titan Slide-off Spinner Wakeboard Rack is in use a slight tug on the swivel pin directs the rack to spin and lock for easy loading and unloading of boards. Pull the pin again and the rack swivels back into place. Complete with combo forks, the Titan Slide-off Spinner can accommodate both a surfboard and wakeboard on each side. The racks can also slide off their tower mounts for quick storage. And the first pair of Titan Slide-off Spinner racks are standard on every Illusion G3. The tower can host as many as four racks while preserving its weightless fold-down feature.

The new Illusion G3 takes tower design and you to new heights with hybrid construction that marries the strength of all-weather coated billet aluminum with the resilience and beauty of 3” stainless steel tubing. The billet tower bases and wings add another unique element of strength and style to this exclusive tower. The first tower to combine these two materials, the Illusion G3 is as much a product of strong components as it is a precision built Malibu wakeboard boat feature.

The new Illusion G3 tower preserves the innovative characteristics of Illusion Towers past with the forward-sweeping design that produces the look of sleek motion even when the boat is completely still. This design also affords the driver more visibility, which is priority #1 on a busy waterway. The G3 even features pre-routed wiring so accessories additions are a snap.

Visit your local Malibu Boats dealer to experience the 2010 Malibu boats with the new Illusion G3.

Tags: Malibu Boats | Illusion G3 | Illusion Tower | wakeboard tower | forward-swept | easy fold-down | weightless | gas spring | wakeboarding | wakeboard boats | wakesetters | spinner rack | Titan | wakeboard racks | Alpha II Speakers