Long retired social skiers like me – though there are probably not too many ex-permanent learners – used to consider the ideal ski boat as one that belonged to somebody else, had a bigger motor than the typical fishing boat of the day, and had ski hooks in the transom. As for wakes: well, they are what boats make aren't they? You live with them.

 

It's all different now, and Lou Sloot of Bonney's Water Ski Park filled me in on what current tow boats can do for their towees in terms of wake, and at the same time demonstrated the Wakesetter VLX: one of the Malibu range for which he is now the agent.

 

We were in water that Lou could hardly know better – the Ski Park's lake – so he had already obeyed his first piece of advice. "You need to know the water you are using, know that it's suitable for the boat. A lot of boats have depth gauges, but they tell you how deep it is below you not what's coming up. You can lose a lot of propellers that way."

 

Before we even started making a wake, Lou told me of one of the times when you stop making one. "If a skier falls, don't go tearing off back to pick him up; stop. Then let the wave pass and amble back. Everybody wants calm water."

 

But eventually we got on to wakes. "Wake boarders and skiers want fundamentally different wakes that used to be impossible for the same boat to provide. Boarders want a high wake with sharp edges, skiers want it flat, slightly rounded on the edges."

 

He opened the throttle and barely a fraction of a second later said, "That's a skiing wake." Sure enough nicely flat, and I'd concede that the edges were rounded.

 

"What the Malibu and other specialised boats do is artificially create the wake for boarders. Basically you drop the tail using water ballast and a power wedge at the stern." The wonders of electronics came into action here as Lou dialled up quantities of wedge, and the desired speed on the auto pilot. Sure enough, there was the high, square edged wake even without the ballast.

 

"When you put it in neutral the wedge comes up. But your settings are in the memory so, on demand, you are back at the right speed with the right wake. (Who said it was automatic? He had to turn the key didn't he?).

 

We then got onto the other qualities of a good ski boat. "You could be spending a lot of time at the wheel, so you want a quiet hull – this one's foam-filled - and you want a smooth ride: like this." True enough, this was smoothness to sleep in. "And you need good vision for the driver and observer." I was in the observer's seat and could confirm my panoramic rear view, but was still in danger of falling asleep as the seat was actually a high-backed couch.

 

Sleep became an impossibility when Lou started demonstrating the Malibu's speed, acceleration and agility. Fair enough, you won't be skiing all the time, and this is a great play boat. And, like all good wake board tow boats, it is a very acceptable party boat; wake boarders are social creatures. All the seating, cold storage, drink holders and sound system you could need are here.