semi-maiden voyage of our new Tige

[rjcruise]

Well, it isn't the maiden voyage because we had already taken her out to left-turn-only Puddingstone a few weeks ago, but this past weekend we headed out to Lake Elsinore with a few friends and were out for the entire day.

Boat ran great, everything worked they way it was supposed to work, Taps, stereo system, etc.(thanks Tige MD - Greg!). Pulled a few wakeboarders with eight people on board (4 adults 4 kids 13-10-9-9) and the boat seemed to do it without a problem.

Now, I am still new to this so yes, as I came around to our downed boarder I did manage to wash out the bow of the boat a few times (note to self - power through our own wake and then slow down ) Very cool to see the difference in wake by using the Taps, of course for my kids I had it set all the way to 1 - beginning wakeboarders.

Quick question: Is it normal when you turn the boat to go and retrieve your rider and get on the throttle to experience some cavitation. I don't think I was power turning, but rather just applying some throttle to accelerate towards my rider while turning - it seemed as if I eased back a little and then throttled up again it would catch and propel us forward. If I recall prop is an ACME #381 13 x 17.5 four blade. I never went full throttle when out on the lake (should have to see what top speed was) but I do remember getting it up to 40 mph and being just below or at 4K RPM (was following my buddy in his Malibu - he really like the Tige).

Anyway, had a great time out on the water, kicking back listening to the tunes and watching the kids up on their boards. Never went over by the Channel, but they were running the hydro boats all weekend, you could hear them all over the lake.

I've never owned a ski boat before but I am enjoying the heck out of my Tige!

Here are a few pictures of my kids on the water. Not quite as impressive as most of the others that I have seen here, but heck, they got up

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[da.bell]

The smile on your son's face is priceless!!!!!

How fast were you going. There isn't a wake behind that boat? There should have been something.

[shake-n-bake]

When your rider falls if you will cut the power and maybe even reverse a little, take just a momemt and let the waves pass you then go back and get your rider. Then you dont have to worry about taking a wake over the bow.

[Duncan]

I vote impressive for the kids

Congrats on the new Tige!

[dogbert]

When your rider falls if you will cut the power and maybe even reverse a little, take just a momemt and let the waves pass you then go back and get your rider. Then you dont have to worry about taking a wake over the bow.

I'll second this. Power turns are bad...better to wait until your wake passes you by and then turn to pick up your rider. This means you come completely off of plane. I usually throttle back to neutral and then, just as my boat drops off of plane, just bump the throttle forward with the wheel turned all the way in one direction. Your wake will actually push the back end of the boat around as it passes you by and then you just putter to pick up the rider. The rider will especially appreciate the fact that you're not drowning them with waves either.

If you ever get a chance to ride with some pros, do it. They'll be happy give you boat driving tips.

[Joeprunc]

I'll second this. Power turns are bad...better to wait until your wake passes you by and then turn to pick up your rider. This means you come completely off of plane. I usually throttle back to neutral and then, just as my boat drops off of plane, just bump the throttle forward with the wheel turned all the way in one direction. Your wake will actually push the back end of the boat around as it passes you by and then you just putter to pick up the rider. The rider will especially appreciate the fact that you're not drowning them with waves either.

If you ever get a chance to ride with some pros, do it. They'll be happy give you boat driving tips.

X3...if you keep and eye in the mirror, you should see the rider fall before your flagger. I cut the throttle and start turning, driving back almost at a no wake speed.

But being at a crowded lake you may need to make a power turn if there is any possibility of danger to your down skier. That's why it is always good to know whats around you.

[rjcruise]

Yeah, I guess I was playing it a little on the paranoid side in regards to wanting to quickly get back to the rider. Can't say it was extremely crowded, but there were a few times when my rider went down and at the same time I see another boat approaching with its bow high up in the air, just an easy feeling that he/she does not see my downed rider, even with the flag up in the air. And also - what ever happened to the common courtesy "hand-in-the-air" I acknowledge your flag and rider in the water to give the driver (me) a little sense of ease that they are not going to run over my kid! That part was a tad nerve racking, especially when it was a couple of guys on a jet ski and you could tell that the driver had no idea what he was doing on the jet ski.

Da bell, IIRC, think we were at around 15-17 mph, had the Taps tab all the down, if there was a zero on my gauge I would have been on it. But yeah, I see what you mean by the pictures, no wake at all.

[thtrog]

Congrats!...nice pics, start them young

[dogbert]

Yeah, I guess I was playing it a little on the paranoid side in regards to wanting to quickly get back to the rider. Can't say it was extremely crowded, but there were a few times when my rider went down and at the same time I see another boat approaching with its bow high up in the air, just an easy feeling that he/she does not see my downed rider, even with the flag up in the air. And also - what ever happened to the common courtesy "hand-in-the-air" I acknowledge your flag and rider in the water to give the driver (me) a little sense of ease that they are not going to run over my kid! That part was a tad nerve racking, especially when it was a couple of guys on a jet ski and you could tell that the driver had no idea what he was doing on the jet ski.

It's still faster than doing a power turn, trust me on this. Once I'm turned around I can always buzz back and place my boat in between the rider and the oncoming boat if absolutely necessary. It's safer too, because you need far less room to get back to your rider.

We ride on Lake Austin all the time and there simply isn't room for power turns most days.

[da.bell]

The hand signal is not used in most cases. You have to either hurry back or hope that they see the rider.

I usually sit in the area for awhile checking out the other boats to see if they are powerturning or not paying attention. You would be amazed that in 10 minutes, you will see if the drivers are aware of things or their are being idiots. 10 minutes is the amount of time it takes to put the board on, get the ropes ready, and pull the flag out.

[Jason B]

Just put the kids up front and SOAK 'EM!!

[Matt Garcia]

Congrats.

I posted a thread called "How to share a line" a while back. It discusses how to share a line with other wakeboarders or skiers. It discusses driving and power turning.

View it here. http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...325#post202325

[rjcruise]

Thanks for the info and tips fellas, every little bit helps. I want to be a safe and courteous boater, making sure my riders are having a good time and that I am not causing problems for other boaters out there....we all gotta share the water right .

Also, forgot to mention, not sure if it matters, maybe I have the rope at the wrong length, but......perhaps why there is no wake seen on the pictures is because my wife was zoomed in on the kids and they were out 70', that is the maximum length of the rope we had [possible run-on sentence]. Is that the correct length for beginners such as my kids, and for that matter both my wife and I?? I pulled by buddy at that length but he is a much more experienced rider, just kinda left the rope there.

[da.bell]

IMO, 70 feet is a good length when kids are trying to get up and they are not comfortable with going over the top of the wake just yet. You can move the rope in when the speed increases and the abilities increase.

[MoneyPity]

IMO, 70 feet is a good length when kids are trying to get up and they are not comfortable with going over the top of the wake just yet. You can move the rope in when the speed increases and the abilities increase.

Keep on having fun safely. Your kids must of really emjoyed the boarding behind your first inboard.

Have a blast and post often,