2017 RZX 3

[BLucas86]

man this thing is beautiful! One question... Is there only one cleat on the side? Am I missing it in the picture?

The bow cleat is on top of the top deck, in front of the windshield.

[talltigeguy]

Yes, mine makes a whine when you put it in neutral as well. We are running the 575. I felt like it was the Supercharger whining.. Our 2016 RZX was a complete mess.. It's been towed in twice. I have had more problems with it than the previous 6 boats I have owned.. Everything from stereo issues, fusses blowing, ignition problems, tower cracked, water leaking, among many other things... Very disappointing... The problem is we are not starting off well with the 2017 now... Tige is sending some factory techs to look at things this week.. By the way we have had issues with the touchscreen in the 2017.. Tige actually said they were aware of the problem mine had and are putting a new screen in.. If they can't fix it this week we are doing whatever it takes to get a refund... I sure hope you got a better one than me!!

Warren, Do you have a picture of where the tower cracked? I would like to see it.

[ajbpilot]

man this thing is beautiful! One question... Is there only one cleat on the side? Am I missing it in the picture?

There are two per side but I ordered it with a third under the tower. Oops. It didn't get put on. On my Z3 I always wrapped a rope around the tower to hang on to while standing on the dock but it scuffed up the tower some. This tower is way to beautiful to do that so I will put the cleat on when the season is over.

[ajbpilot]

I finally have a few minutes to collect my thoughts. After 3 days on the RZX here are my thoughts and comparisons to the Z3 (single taps).

THE WAKE
First and foremost, I loved my Z3. It had a great wakeboard wake for us. It was good at most speeds and for all levels of riders. The RZX isn't as clean at slower speeds like high teens but it is just fine. At normal speeds they are comparable but the RZX seems a bit taller and thicker. I'm no expert on this stuff but my son is pretty good and he thought the ramp was longer. This was in intermediate setting on TAPS. I rode both intermediate and pro just for grins. Pro was way to much for me. There was a noticeable difference between the two. PRO had a sharper lip on it and was steeper. For most people the RZX is very good I'm sure.
Surf Wake - the RZX wins hands down. Taller, smoother transition, longer. It was very easy even for me and I'm not that good. My first day behind it was my best surf day ever. That is standard ballast win no PNP. Our Z3 we put 700lbs on the floor for extra help. Of corse TAPS 3 is a big difference too and that can be had on newer Zs also. Regardless, the RZX is a better experience and the best part is not fooling with bags at all. My lockers were empty but for a few life jackets.

Wake conclusion- RZX wins surf by a good margin and wakeboard I'll call a marginal win but with with much less hassle overall.

[ajbpilot]

RZX VS. Z3

INSIDE THE BOAT.

Both are great boats. I like the Z3. Spacious, stylish, drives good, dry ride, decent storage, deep seating....

The RZX is a different type of boat. The major diffences are numerous. The seats are narrower but not too narrow. That opens up the floor quite a bit. It was the first thing my Father in Law noticed... And he doesn't notice a thing.
It is much taller. It sits at the dock with authority and finally the fenders can hang properly to the sides. I never liked that about the Z.
The bow,as you might expect is great, but that comes with a price of a little more spray than the Z. It isn't bad but we seem to get more spray than we used to. I had four grown teenagers up there with room to spare. It sits off the water in the front at the same height or higher than the Z3 but it's taller flanks gives it a totally different optic driving than the Z. You feel like the nose is going to dive in but it really is just that you are sitting so much higher at the helm. I will get used to it.

The reverse seats are awesome. I have both reverse side bench and the back bench options and we love them. I think the Z3 side benches are more comfortable. They have more backrest on them and the wider seat base makes them more useable but at the expense of floor space. I can't fault the Z here at all but it doesn't have the configuration options and I think I like the floor space. After I get used to it I think I'll give an edge to the RZX. The interior styling is a personal preference.. My wife and I lean towards classy not flashy so we toned down the color options and we love it.

STORAGE - Need you even ask. The RZX is way better. Full use of lockers and now bow storage and under floor storage. The side storage is a little more shallow because of the underfloor ballast I guess but not by much. I cannot explain to you the relief of not messing around with ballast bags all day. It made the day effortless. My son and I kept shaking our heads at how easy it was to change settings. By the time a new rider got ready or you changed out a rope the boat was ready. And with the lockers not impacted, literally all you had to do was push a few buttons and chill for a moment while the next person got ready. Totally awesome. The RZX gets an easy win here. all of our prior gear fit fine and we had extra room. And thank goodness there is finally a place to put an anchor!

Driving - the RZX is more maneuverable by far. I don't know why but it can turn circles around the Z3 at low speed. In the marina it isn't even close between them. There is a little lapping of water under the RZX nose idling out with the occasional splash but when you get up to speed it handles chop way better. It rides over stuff with little fuss. That low keel really works well. The Z did ok I thought but to not smack bumps I had to keep the nose lower to get the "V" to cut the chop and given the option I would rather ride higher. I do notice the RZX drifts more in wind it seems. I suppose it is the tall sides. The RZX turns better at speed too but I feel the Z3 felt very solid cruising on smooth water. The Z3 did have a weird tendency to roll under power. In aviation speak we call it p-factor from the prop. The RZX does not do so that I can tell yet so I will say it tracks better than the Z at cruise.

The new tower is really awesome looking. It feels very solid but it not being one piece I would not expect the same rigidity. That being said it doesn't wobble or shake and performs great. I don't have a real need for a folding tower but it works well. It is only for storage. It looks very classy and just has a very upscale look to it. It matches the boat well and should complement all the boats in the line. So far I'm very happy with it. And it comes with the new BIMINI. that thing is an enormous improvement over the old one. Soooo much easier take down and put out. Actually a one person job instead of three. It has better coverage I think and it looks nice. It is higher up because of the taller tower and attaching ropes can be a challenge but we managed fine. I like the integrated tow pylon and light. Nice piece. Should be more reliable than the flip mechanism was.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
The dash that replaced the instruments is hideous. It looks good in pictures but when you touch it, it is a Hyundai part on a Mercedes S Class. It is a plastic you don't find anywhere else on the boat and it shows water stains after getting splashed. Even the black vinyl around the steering column is way better. The little cubby is a joke. If you stack more than one phone the top one is likely to slide out under acceleration. I have medium hands and I can barely get them in there. No big deal you say... Well your aux and usb radio jacks are in the back of it. Pack your patience with that exercise. And try not to scrape your hands on the plastic edges when you pull your hand out. I hope you have a 5 year old onboard to plug in your phone for you. And once you do get it plugged in you will have a usb cord catching on your legs when you're entering and exiting the driver's seat because it is too frustrating to try to stuff it in the cubby every time you pick up your phone. You could use Bluetooth but then you can't advance song track from the remote soooo.... Truly, a complete fail. It is so bad I hope they offer a retrofit when they figure it out. So many better options for that space and for the rest of the boat being utterly fantastic I just cant understand how this made it to the final design.
Tige, please offer me some kind of fix... Call me I have some great ideas!!

[ajbpilot]

AND THE BIG SCREEN - It sure looks cool. It works well. Good response time. I don't detect any real lag or frustration trying to get it to except an input. I have to do the occasional double stab but overall I would call it very good. The software is pretty darn good and with a little effort should work well but I can already see room for improvements.

SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR POLORIZED GLASSES. The screen is completely invisible in the driver's seat with polorized glasses.

Also, everything, and I do mean everything goes through the screen. One of my two biggest disappointments with this boat is there are no radio controls on the passenger side cockpit. I am quite angry about this actually. With an aviation background I feel this is a safety issue. THE DRIVER SHOULD BE DRIVING THE BOAT not messing with the radio. At least at a busy lake like ours. The driver should have override ability for volume and maybe some basic functions when it is safe to use them but my darling wife is the master of the radio and she is not happy about this development. I sure hope tige comes up with a fix for this. I hope the screen can except a second remote (transom being one) at least to put on that side. There is a somewhat accessible mute function but you cannot change song track without switching to the audio screen. This is a complete bonehead design. Nuff said.

I do like some of the radio functions like independent volume controls for bow, aft, tower, and sub. Nice feature. And when you are on the audio page it is easy to use. They just need a remote on the passenger side..... (I'm screaming right now)

Cool backup camera page with a second tower camera option. You can watch somebody surf on the screen. Pretty cool but I found it handy with passengers on the back and I could still see the rider. As long as the pax don't put their leg over the camera...

All this takes a little getting used to but it works well. I just hope my wife can drive the darn thing and find what she needs.... Like a radio remote on the passenger side.....
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[BLucas86]

Great write up. Keep the pros and cons coming as you find them. As another Z3 owner, with an RZX on the way, we need to keep a list of things going so we can speak up to Tige. They work very closely with Murphy and have endless capabilities with this new screen, just a matter of implementation, and a flash....

Regarding your wife being boat DJ, don't forget that she can change tracks, and adjust volume via the cell phone that's connected to Bluetooth. A lot of my friends adjust things like this all from their cell phone to keep the driver focused on the task at hand.

Cheers and enjoy!

[007]

Regarding your wife being boat DJ, don't forget that she can change tracks, and adjust volume via the cell phone that's connected to Bluetooth. A lot of my friends adjust things like this all from their cell phone to keep the driver focused on the task at hand.

Cheers and enjoy!

Ok @Blucas86, now I need to play with my phone more. I can change tracks on my phone, but didn't think I could change volume from the phone (iphone5)

[ajbpilot]

One can change volume from the phone but I've always felt it was better direct. Plus my wife struggles with the little volume slide on the phones. Heck, she struggles with anything electronic. Poor thing has to call me when I'm on the road to figure out the tv remote.
I didn't like BT on my Z3 because it didn't have the AUX master power switch that came out in 2014 so everytime I turned the motor off I lost BT. Maybe I need to be more open minded myself.

[Germaine Marine]

dont tell me they put the cheap axis like black plastic on the dash. If you do ill cry.....

[Timmy!]

Great write up! I too noticed that about that cubby. My hands were a little big to try and plug in the aux cord on the test boat and when the stereo died in it, it was near impossible to figure out if it was the cord or not. That design needs a few revisions for sure but probably too late in the development cycle at this point.

[IDBoating]

SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR POLORIZED GLASSES. The screen is completely invisible in the driver's seat with polorized glasses.

That will not be unique to Tige. It means Murphy (their helm vendor) is using an LCD based display. LCD's work by selective polarization to block their backlight; they have a fixed polarizer and then the liquid crystal layer has its polarization rotated (by selective application of electric fields) to control optical transmissivity.

Moving to an LED based display, such as an AMOLED like is present on many phones and tablets these days, would correct this. LED's emit light rather than block it, so they don't need nor have polarization. You can wear your favorite polarized sunglasses and still see the screen. And not that it matters in this application, but LED based displays are also more power efficient because they only illuminate the pixels actually in use, rather than backlighting everything and then blocking the "off" pixels via crossed polarization.

Bottom line: It's not Tige's fault you can't wear sunglasses.

[UNSTUCK]

Well, Tige did choose to use it so....

Is this something that was overlooked or was it the only option? Did they think no one wear these types of glasses on water?

[Timmy!]

As far as polarized glasses are concerned, I wore my Oakley 2 Face with polarized lenses the entire time I drove the boat and didn't notice any issues. I wonder if it has to do with seating position or angle?

[Dandy]

Many cars with touchscreens have this same issue. With my phone, if I have my glasses on, I can see it orientated one way, but if I change the orientation, I have to take my glasses off to see it. I wonder if it was viewed sideways if it would be visible. If so, and Tige was willing, they could change the orientation. Granted they would need a new dash, but from the comments, it sounds like that might be preferred anyway.

I honestly don't think this was overlooked, I just think the options for the marine industry are limited. LED technology for things such as this is still fairly new tech and I don't believe it is being widely used as "the standard".