Best "wake" boat for low 20s?

[Carso]

Hi.
I'm wanting to get your opinion on what boat I should be looking for or what to stay away from. I'm wanting to stay in the low 20s or lower would even be easier to sell my wife on Am willing to take a trip to the states so that might help with selection and price.

Am wanting an "all around" boat. Ski,board,tube. I'm the skier. Kids like to tube and board. I'm not a fussy skier though - some wake to go over would be fine. So leaning more on the board side would likely work - kids have a lot more boat days ahead of them than me. Something that would seat 8+, I just north of Calgary where decent lakes are hard to find. Often we go to shallow "ponds" so something with a shallow draft would be nice.

I've looked. A bit at the tige 21i. Seems to be a good fit with some older ones in my budget. If this is a good choice are there some better years than others?

Malibu's system to make wakes also sounds interesting. Any comments?

Any others? I guess I would need/want a boat that can create wake without using its mass. That's why I'm asking here in the wakeboard forum.

Thanks much for your time.

 

[deejaycee_2000]

Re: Best "wake" boat for low 20s?

The tige 21i is a great boat that's built for wakeboarding, the malibu is a great all rounder, but not as spacious as the tige I find ....

 

[SeanT]

Re: Best "wake" boat for low 20s?

I would buy a Tige if I found a good deal. The nice thing about direct drive and V drive ski boats is that they _tend_ to be well cared for, and so you can get a great deal on an older boat that will last a long time. I bought my boat when it was more than 10 years old, and the only feature I really miss from newer boats is that I don't have a heater. I guess ballast would be nice but that's easily worked around with people or fat sacs..... anyway, if the Tige is in good shape, you'll be happy.

 

[rallyart]

Re: Best "wake" boat for low 20s?

The newer Tiges are much better than the older ones. I looked closely at the Tige D-drive boats in 2006 and they had a nice wake for most sports, tended to be very easy to stuff the bow compared to others, and were heavier than their competition. This time of year you can start finding good deals but prices near Calgary are higher than most other places so look around. Getting a boat in from the States is easy but the trailer needs to go through the RIV process although it is much easier than for a car.
If it were me, and it was it 2006, I would get another brand than a Tige from the early 2000's Of course, if the price is right they are still solid boats. You can find many good V and D drives for prices near $25k. There are some excellent boats available for 20 also.

 

[Lake Lizzard]

Re: Best "wake" boat for low 20s?

I like Tige boats. My buddy has one and it's been a great boat. His is a 22' boat and he's never had a problem with it.

 

[jafo9]

Re: Best "wake" boat for low 20s?

i don't have any experience at tiges. when i was in the market i looked real hard at master craft, nautique and malibu. i didn't like the seating arrangement of the bu's so i didn't shop them real hard. both the MC and CC (nautique) lines have some solid boats. i'm not as familiar with the CC but what you are looking for would be the original SAN (super air nautique) hull. its a 210 model and came in both DD and V-Drive configs with different nomenclature. for MC the original Xstar was the 97+ prostar 205 hull. for low 20's you could get into a 2001+ XStar or X10. I prefer the 01+ models as they get a more modern interior and a split sun deck. the X10 is more of a cross over hull that will give you more room. for a classic wake the original XStar is hard to beat. Same can be said for the SAN.

whatever you shop, try to find something with the tower already in place and perfect pass installed. i'd be less concerned with ballast as most of the factory ballast is either too slow to fill/empty or not big enough and you'll likely be upgrading that first. to add a tower or PP is pretty expensive. to add ballast isn't too bad and it can be done piecemeal.