Malibu Monsoon vs. Mercruiser Black Scorpion
kdaug...@aol.com
Since Malibu offers two, count 'em, two state-of-the-art engines, the
Malibu Monsoon and the Mercruiser Black Scorpion, I wonder which is
supposed to be the better of the two. By reading the test reports in last
January's issue of WaterSki Magazine, they seem to be neck and neck, one
slightly better than the other in one test, the other slightly better in a
different test. Is it merely the choice of which company one prefers,
Indmar or Mercruiser, or is one a much better choice than the other? Any
opinions?
Mark Kovalcson
kdaug...@aol.com wrote:
>
> Since Malibu offers two, count 'em, two state-of-the-art engines, the
> Malibu Monsoon and the Mercruiser Black Scorpion, I wonder which is
> supposed to be the better of the two.
The Monsoon is about 800 dollars cheaper. They also squeezed a 10 more
horseys out of it. The local Malibu dealer has not seen a Scorpion yet,
so it is obvious that either Malibu is not pushing the Scorpion at all
or the additional 800 bucks is keeping people away. I believe it is a
combination of both. Malibu has been very effective at shaving dollars
off of the price of their boats.
>Any opinions?
I believe that the Scorpion is a better built engine. Both are very
similar. The Scorpion has iron heads and I believe that you can get a
real Velvet drive transmission with it(ie. one that is a lot less noisy
than that French built thing they put on the Monsoon.)
--
Check out the Skiers of Knoxville Web Site
http://www.public.usit.net/kovalson
bare...@aol.com
[...]
<<<<The Monsoon is about 800 dollars cheaper.>>>
The price difference is also dependant upon the dealership's status with
Mercruiser. Some dealers (like the one I am affiliated with) are much
higher volume Mercruiser dealers, so the dollar difference is more like
$200.
[...]
<<<<They also squeezed a 10 more
horseys out of it. The local Malibu dealer has not seen a Scorpion yet,
so it is obvious that either Malibu is not pushing the Scorpion at all or
the additional 800 bucks is keeping people away.>>>>>
[...]
The Monsoon is rated at 320, the Scorpion at 315. (only 5hp diff) The
Scorpion has it on the top end, the Monsoon sometimes has it by 3ft out of
the hole. The only way to tell either of these are driving them side by
side. You can't feel any difference (except possibly smoothness). I also
agree with Mark in that the Scorpion is the better built engine, (and has
over 7000 dealers worldwide) which shows in our sales....besides promo
boats I think maybe 3 boats out of 100 had the Monsoon, while the rest
were Mercruiser (Mostly Mag's or Scorpion's).
Bare. :)
_____________________________________________
Smooth Water Sports Malibu Boats Promo Rep
In the business because I love the sport
Eagle * Straightline * Masterline * Bemman * Barefoot Co.
^_____________________________________________^
kengi...@aol.com
It seems like my local Malibu dealer has sold only the Monsoons. I don't
know why he ordered them in that way, I think he has had good luck but
wouldn't admit otherwise because I bought an LT-1 equipped MasterCraft.
It's kind of funny, a couple of years ago when I was debating MasterCraft/
Correct Craft/ Malibu, he used to really rip on MasterCraft for using
Indmar engines, implying how stupid I was to consider a boat with an
engine marinized by a company that is peanuts compared to the giant
MerCruiser. I stop by to visit him occasionally and to see his boats.
When he got his first Monsoon, I just had to razz him about the size of
Indmar and the risks associated.
Althought the Monsoon seems to be working out ok, I think I would go
Scorpion just to get an engine with a total integrated engine management
system from one manufacturer. Like using a GM ECM, sensors, and
components. Like my LT-1 has. Like a GT-40 has (Ford). With a Monsoon,
I would have too many flash backs to the PCM throttle body system, with
it's Holley injection, ProTec ignition, and GM sensors here and there;
resulting in rich running, fouling plugs, and hesitation.
In any case, they need to paint the Monsoon a real color. That grey looks
like primer.
Mark Kovalcson
kengi...@aol.com wrote:
>
> In any case, they need to paint the Monsoon a real color. That grey >looks like primer.
Reminds me of why the stealth bomber is BLACK. Their first rendition
was pastel blue and some general said "Real men don't fly pastels ! Make
it black !" Of course in this case there was a real reason to paint the
plane pastel blue, whereas the color of an engine is arbitrary.
I actually complained at the local Malibu factory a few years ago that
the grey that they used on the dash of the 93 and 94 Echelon needed to
be black. I can only assume I was not the only one with this opinion as
they changed the color in 1995.
Car and Driver had a survey of the type of people who bought different
cars a few years ago. It went something like this.
Black - is a power ego color
Red - is a flashy notice me color
Green - was considered more European although common now
White - was for clean-niks (currently the most popular color especially
with rental companies)
Grey - boring
tan - for people who bought whatever car they could get a deal on
deryl...@aol.com
After one season I am very pleased with my Monsoon. I bought because of
price/HP ratio, and decided that Indmar parts will be just as available as
Merc or PCM. Most Merc dealers near me are really set up for outdrives.
Kirby Hughes
In article <32A1CA...@usit.net> kova...@usit.net writes:
:
:I actually complained at the local Malibu factory a few years ago that
:the grey that they used on the dash of the 93 and 94 Echelon needed to
:be black. I can only assume I was not the only one with this opinion as
:they changed the color in 1995.
Hmm. Why are dashes black? Why would you want it to be? I wish mine
was white or anything cooler than black. I can't even open the glove
compartment because it gets too hot.
-Kirby Hughes
Greg Wait
You're not operating the boat in DAYLIGHT, are you? That could void the
warranty.
--
Greg Wait <zo...@ipass.net>
--------=====+=====--------
Verbing Wierds Language
Kevin Cook
Kirby Hughes wrote:
> Hmm. Why are dashes black? Why would you want it to be? I wish mine
> was white or anything cooler than black. I can't even open the glove
> compartment because it gets too hot.
>
> -Kirby Hughes
Obviously you haven't driven aboat with a white dash. When MasterCraft
changed their hull design for 1987 the dash was the same color as the
rest of the hull, so a white boat had a white dash. The white dash was
blinding in the sun, it also created a glare on the windsheild. They
changed this for 1988 and have made all dashes black since.
Kevin
Mark Kovalcson
Kirby Hughes wrote:
>
> Hmm. Why are dashes black? Why would you want it to be? I wish mine
> was white or anything cooler than black. I can't even open the glove
> compartment because it gets too hot.
>
Ever seen football players put black makeup under their eyes to avoid
sun glare.
White would reflect far more of the sun's light into your eyes while you
were intently watching your speedos or tach etc... Most dashes are flat
black with textured vinyl or plastic.
Have you noticed that most boats have made the whole area underneath the
windsheild black for this reason. Unfortunately most of these dashes
are still glossy which adds glare.
I have never experienced the problem of not being able to open the glove
compartment that had been in the sun for a while and we have some 100
degree sunny days here in Tennessee during the Summer.
Without coming off as too macho "I can't even open the glove compartment
because it gets too hot." sounds a little lame to me, but maybe that's
just me. Sometimes I get a little too wore out waterskiing and I can
hardly lift the boat at the back of my trailer to center it ;)
John
>Kirby Hughes wrote:
>
>> Hmm. Why are dashes black? Why would you want it to be? I wish mine
>> was white or anything cooler than black. I can't even open the glove
>> compartment because it gets too hot.
>>
>> -Kirby Hughes
>
>Obviously you haven't driven aboat with a white dash. When MasterCraft
>changed their hull design for 1987 the dash was the same color as the
>rest of the hull, so a white boat had a white dash. The white dash was
>blinding in the sun, it also created a glare on the windsheild. They
>changed this for 1988 and have made all dashes black since.
Hum... my 78 SN had a black dash. Does this rate for an
inovation that others copied?? ;-)
kengi...@aol.com
>Without coming off as too macho "I can't even open the glove compartment
>because it gets too hot." sounds a little lame to me, but maybe that's
>just me. Sometimes I get a little too wore out waterskiing and I can
>hardly lift the boat at the back of my trailer to center it ;)
Mark,
I know you aren't fond of MasterCraft (except for the MC pylons as I
remember), but here is another MasterCraft goodie: Trailers made to fit
the boat. Heck, my wife drives my boat on the trailer cause she can't
back the trailer. Sometimes there are some exciting moments (cross
winds), but once the nose is through the guides, she just gently gives it
the throttle and it centers up perfectly on its way to locking itself on
at the winch mast.
Another cool thing is brakes on each wheel on the tandems. Four, count
them, four brakes. At the bottom of long Utah mountain grades, the
trailer brakes and wheels are never hot.
All tube construction looks great and is strong, especially on the prop
guard. I hate to see those cheap trailers with strap guards that are all
bent up.
And last, the fiberglass fenders are great. I never have to yell at my
kids for stepping on them with gritty shoes, cause there's no paint to
scratch off.
Let's see, weren't we talking about Monsoons and Scorpions??
Mark Kovalcson
kengi...@aol.com wrote:
>
>
> I know you aren't fond of MasterCraft (except for the MC pylons as I
> remember), but here is another MasterCraft goodie: Trailers made to >fit the boat.
I Actually like three things on the MasterCraft better than other boats.
1. The pylon - good swivel, easy to slide a loop over, no grease or
tightening required.
2. The platform - good size, slots in wood are large enough for fingers
but not large enough for the wing on my tail fin to get stuck.
3. The trailer - integrated surge brakes are good, boat buddy is good,
easy to load a boat on. They actually smooth the welds before painting
and have very good finish work.
I have lots of experience with MasterCraft's newer trailers and they are
well constructed and work very well. You may have noticed I am a Boat
Buddy advocate and I am retrofitting a winch/boat buddy on my current
trailer next week. A local trailer shop that builds trailers for Bryant
Boats and some for Supra/Moomba will be doing the work.
I'll admit the quality of my 1981 trailer is not up to the standards on
the new MasterCraft trailers, but that is really no surprise. I'm just
keeping what I've got a little while longer.
By the way that was a macho joke. You took it a little out of context,
like you did some of my Nautique comments earlier. We even center the
new MasterCrafts after we pull them out of the water just to make sure
the side hulls aren't rubbing all the way down the highway. This
process usually takes two people.
seaj...@aol.com
are we confused? do we need a clue?
Kevin Cook
c...@ix.netcom.com (John ) wrote:
>On Thu, 05 Dec 1996 11:47:11 -0500, Kevin Cook
><"kev...@cris.com"@concentric.net> wrote:
>
>>Kirby Hughes wrote:
>>
>>> Hmm. Why are dashes black? Why would you want it to be? I wish mine
>>> compartment because it gets too hot.
>>>
>>
>>Obviously you haven't driven aboat with a white dash. When MasterCraft
>>changed their hull design for 1987 the dash was the same color as the
>>rest of the hull, so a white boat had a white dash. The white dash was
>>blinding in the sun, it also created a glare on the windsheild. They
>>changed this for 1988 and have made all dashes black since.
>
>
>Hum... my 78 SN had a black dash. Does this rate for an
>inovation that others copied?? ;-)
>
>
>John
>c...@ix.netcom.com
Sure. My fathers '75 MC had a white dash and two of my friends had '80 and
'82 MCs that were sand colored which is almost white (in a glare
situation) and there was never a problem with glare. I'm thinking those
near verticle windsheilds of the 70's and early 80's were the reason.
Kevin
kev...@cris.com
kengi...@aol.com
>Subject: Re: Malibu Monsoon vs. Mercruiser Black Scorpion
>From: Mark Kovalcson <kova...@usit.net>
>Date: Sat, 07 Dec 1996 22:41:10 -0500
>Message-ID: <32AA38...@usit.net>
>By the way that was a macho joke. You took it a little out of context,
>like you did some of my Nautique comments earlier.
Mark, I knew it was a joke. Just like I hope that everyone knows that I
joke too, like the time I said that I was worried that my "white-stuff"
coated rubber heater hoses were undergoing galvanic corrosion.
I guess I'm lucky, but my boat always centers up perfectly. We dunk the
trailer until the front clearance lights hit the water, and power the boat
on for the last couple of feet to the winch mast. I don't think my wife
would appreciate having to horse it around on the trailer.
By the way, I'm not a tough guy, but I used to lift the tail end of my
little old outboard to center it on the trailer. Yes, all boats have some
virtues. Unfortunately, that boat displayed its virtues out of the water!
Mark Kovalcson
You're my hero Ken !
david lawrence baxter
> I Actually like three things on the MasterCraft better than other boats.
>
> 1. The pylon - good swivel, easy to slide a loop over, no grease or
> tightening required.
We have had our malibu for 5 seasons now and have never tightened or
greased our pylon and it doesn't get grease all over like some have
said. It works great and isn't made of plastic like an MC.
>
> 2. The platform - good size, slots in wood are large enough for fingers
> but not large enough for the wing on my tail fin to get stuck.
Our mailibu is the same way it, is also removable which is great for
getting it in the garage and staining it.
>
> 3. The trailer - integrated surge brakes are good, boat buddy is good,
> easy to load a boat on. They actually smooth the welds before painting
> and have very good finish work.
Our malibu trailer is the same here too. Surge brakes and you drive it
right on and it is perfectly straight every time. This really helps
since our river can have a strong current at times.
> I'll admit the quality of my 1981 trailer is not up to the standards on
> the new MasterCraft trailers, but that is really no surprise. I'm just
> keeping what I've got a little while longer.
>
Our clubs 1979 mastercraft trailer is a piece. The fenders are made of
plasic and are falling apart. The boat never goes on straight and there
is no way to crank it up. We are always bouncing it to get it so it
doesn't rub. Ever try to load a boat on a trailer with out
a crank when it dies like the 79 does quite often, not real fun. It is a
very poorly designed trailer. I have noticed that they have changed
quite a bit now.
david.
dlba...@uiuc.edu