Help with potential Tige purchase (1994 boat)

[Douge]

Hi all. I missed buying a Ski Nautique by a few hours and came across a 1994 Tige with low hours for the same money. I have been doing a little research and while I know now that they have been around for many years, they were only building boats for a few years when a 1994 model would have been popped out of the mold. Can I get some opinions on this old school machine? Appearance wise it looks very nice. Engine has just under 300 hours and its a mercruiser mag 350.

Any feedback would be great, but looking for potential problem areas. Also wondering if Tige was using any wood in the construction in 94.

TIA

Doug

[dogbert]

There are plenty of the older Tiges still running strong. The boat is built like a tank, but throws one of the better ski wakes out there...even by today's standards. I'd have the engine checked out by a certified Mercruiser technician.

[da.bell]

Not entirely sure where you live and what your price range is. Have you checked out this boat for sale? http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9880

The stringer would more than likely be wood at this time re-enforced by a ton of fiberglass around it. I haven't heard of any Tige stringers going bad either.

[Fit to be Tige]

Hi all. I missed buying a Ski Nautique by a few hours and came across a 1994 Tige with low hours for the same money. I have been doing a little research and while I know now that they have been around for many years, they were only building boats for a few years when a 1994 model would have been popped out of the mold. Can I get some opinions on this old school machine? Appearance wise it looks very nice. Engine has just under 300 hours and its a mercruiser mag 350.

Any feedback would be great, but looking for potential problem areas. Also wondering if Tige was using any wood in the construction in 94.

TIA

Doug

Where are you located?

[Douge]

I am in Phoenix. I was wondering if the stringers were glass encased wood. Typical construction and certainly not problematic, just want to know.

I have been looking in PHX, LV, SD and greater LA.

[dogbert]

I am in Phoenix. I was wondering if the stringers were glass encased wood. Typical construction and certainly not problematic, just want to know.

I have been looking in PHX, LV, SD and greater LA.

The wood stringers are completely fiberglass encased. They are stiffer than the composite stringers being used now. The older Tige boats are tanks. Not much you can really do to them.

[Douge]

I bet the boat is rock solid. My only issue at all and you guys are probably the wrong ones to ask, but with it being a relatively early build, I wonder if people don't give it a lot of respect on resale?

But for your POV the construction is top notch? Stringers, engine mmounts, seat frames, windshield? Any weak points?

This is an older boat, there must be something?

The one I am looking at is not a steal but it is a pretty good deal considering the year and hours.

[Joeprunc]

Not sure how much I can help with your questions...But I've got a 1995 2000SLM Comp (probably the same setup). Its my first inboard, so comparing it with others is well...hard. As far as value of the boat, its already depreciated. I'm sure if I were to sell mine now, I could get the same for it as I bought it.

I love the boat, here's what I like about it:

• Amazing water ski wake.
• I love the look and style of the older boats.
• Runs very good and strong (540 hours on the motor) (well except for my trailer )
• Handles like a sports car on the water.
• Built very solid.
• Pulls skiers out without a problem
• With the closed bow I really really like the design of the front swinging windshield.
• It doesn't have a tower...I really don't like having a blingy boat and I love the ski only weekends when I go out and don't bring the wakeboards or pole. If you wakeboard a lot, a tower is really nice, but extra things to be worried about when towing ans storing. I can't wait to covert everyone to skiing .
• This website (great people & great information)

Things I've learned or wouldn't mind changing:

• More room for people is always very nice. I've had 6 on the boat and its crammed. 4 is a great number to have aboard.
• The closed bow is a love hate thing, great for storage (although its hard to access some things that get shoved way up front). But it would be nice to have people ride up front.
• The wakeboard wake isn't all that great. As soon as you hit 22 mph the boat plains and the wake is quite small. I've got a Fat Sac (Tube Sac) for the rear, which helps alot. But since the allowable weight you can have it your boat isn't like what the newer boats can handle, I'm afraid to put much more in. But since I've been getting into skiing, I'm loving the wake.
• When it gets choppy the boat holds its own especially when compared to other older ski boats, but is no where near an I/O. I just take my time and slow down.
• Its a ski boat so the profile is very low and sleek on the water (which I love), but if you have someone behind the wheel who is a novice at driving, you can dunk the bow pretty easily.

With all that said and done...I love my boat, and after I saw it screaming down the hwy in front of me a few days ago, I really realized how much I love her.

[Razzman]

I'm guessing it's a 2000slm comp closed bow? Or maybe a 2000FSLM open bow? As already said they throw an awesome ski wake, but that's about it unless you weight the heck out of it and then the top of the gunwales are REAL close to the waterline. They are real performers and drive like a sports car mostly due to the rear flat hull design and light weight (around 2400lbs).

Yes they are all wood and built very solid. There's nothing to be afraid of as far as wood goes, afterall wood was the standard before composite. I had a 2000slm comp for two years and while mine was abused before i bought it i restored it to glory and it performed flawlessly, the new owner still raves about it.

As far as resale goes if that's your main concern then maybe another boat is for you, afterall it is a fifteen year old ski boat and they'll never have the following the Nautique 2001 does. These boats were built by Fineline (Centurion) for Tigé until they got their own factory. When i restored mine i pulled everything out and at 700 hours on the 350 MAG the wood floor only had wear through spots in the high traqffic areas. I re-resined and all was good. Stingers were rock solid. For the record i bought mine for around $6500 and resold it for $12,000. Even after restore i still made a bit of a profit but i had somebody who wanted the boat bad too. Hope this helps a bit.

[Douge]

Thank you guys for your feedback. It is very helpful and I appreciate your time you are taking to give me your insights!

[Tequilasun]

I've always found the older boats to be quite solid.

I was kinda sad to see the wood stringers go.

Biggest concern on low hours older boats is that theve set for a number of years...check when it was last run.

[abrown]

I've got the same year boat but with a 400 hp mercruiser. It's the BF Comp model. We absolutely love the boat. Got it with 370 hours last Spring and haven't had any problems at all. True, the wakeboard wake isn't the biggest, but get a few big guys in the back seat and it's pretty respectable. Ski wake is as good as it gets and barefooting is awesome. We purchased our boat for $7500- by far the best deal we came across- especially considering the hours and the great overall shape it's in. Good luck with your purchase.

[Douge]

I've got the same year boat but with a 400 hp mercruiser. It's the BF Comp model. We absolutely love the boat. Got it with 370 hours last Spring and haven't had any problems at all. True, the wakeboard wake isn't the biggest, but get a few big guys in the back seat and it's pretty respectable. Ski wake is as good as it gets and barefooting is awesome. We purchased our boat for $7500- by far the best deal we came across- especially considering the hours and the great overall shape it's in. Good luck with your purchase.

That sounds like a damn good deal! This one has the 300hp/Merc 350 I think that its just the base boat, all three models look the same to me. I would be stoked to get one for 7500 though!!!

[dogbert]

That sounds like a damn good deal! This one has the 300hp/Merc 350 I think that its just the base boat, all three models look the same to me. I would be stoked to get one for 7500 though!!!

The 350 is plenty of power for that boat...trust me.

[Douge]

The boat I was looking at sold.