Thinking about buying a Tige, and have a few questions...

[IDBoating]

I looked a direct drives too, but I am very glad I ended up going V-drive. Unless you are a hardcore slalom skier I think you would happier with a V-drive.

Not a hardcore skier myself, but many of our close friends are (so much that they keep their skis at our lake home!). So it's a tradeoff. We have a HUGE collection of family and friends who use our lake home as their base of operations. Nice weekends will often see 30+ people having dinner at our house.

Actually, that's precisely what attracted me to Tige - the fact that the Convex-V hull and adjustable plate softens the impact of that tradeoff, permitting one boat to do multiple things. A "jack of all trades, master of many" sort of thing. Our current boat is a good all-around craft but we want to start emphasizing board sports and need a bigger wake.

I suspect that if we do move to a different boat, I'll take the first good deal that comes along whether it's direct or V. Whatever we choose will likely influence the purchasing decisions of a lot of other people too.

Thanks!

[b/w05]

I have a 2005 22i, bought in new. Virtually NO problems. Winterizing takes about 1 hour, de-winterizing 1/2 hour. Oil change about an hour (mostly drain time due to 3/8" hose drains a little slow. I usually let it drain over night and add oil next day,, EASY! Tiny bit of water in bilge (maybe a cup?) after hours of each use, helps keep the bilge clean. I just pull plug after pulling out of water and it all drains out.

Seating arrangement issue of Vdrive and this particular boat could go on for days. I really like it, it's as if everyone has thier own seat and your not sitting right next to someone but there are certainly excellent pros for the V drive confiuration. As you'll see in posts here, TEST DRIVE as many as you can and see what is right for your crew. The ski wake is fairly wide so if you are looking for a compettion slalom wake,,maybe not this boat. However, all around Wakeboard, surf, ski,tube (yikes) you can't go wrong.

[bolo]

Just a thought, if you are mostly waterskiing, will the lareger seating area of a V drive make any difference? I've not been in many V drives and therefore not sure where the pylon would be.

[IDBoating]

Just a thought, if you are mostly waterskiing, will the lareger seating area of a V drive make any difference? I've not been in many V drives and therefore not sure where the pylon would be.

In order of decreasing percentage of time, we:

1) Boardsports,
2) Inflatables (tubes), for the little ones and some teens
3) Ski

Importantly, skiing is NOT zero percent so it is a consideration. It's my understanding from this forum that direct drive yields a somewhat better ski wake when the TAPS is down. However, it's also my impression that the differnce WRT to V drive isn't so dramatic that I should ignore a good V drive if it comes along. This may be unique to Tige, though, and its ability to adjust the hull/planing relationship.

[NICKYPOO]

I'll probably end up with a V-drive for my next boat. Don't get me wrong, I love my D-drive but, now that I almost exclusively surf, a V-drive will be next. I got my 22i for very similar reason you are using to find your next boat. I still skied a lot at the time and had just gotten into wakeboarding a couple of years prior and surfing had yet to become anywhere close to mainstream. The Tige has served us very well in all facets of our boating lives. It's dragged us through the coarse, provided many happy double ups and has thankfully ended up as a pretty damn good little surf boat. It has battled Tahoe on 4th of July and come out no worse for wear. Best boat I've ever owned.

[jschnip]

In order of decreasing percentage of time, we:

1) Boardsports,
2) Inflatables (tubes), for the little ones and some teens
3) Ski

From our experience - I bet Surfing will get added to this list soon. Maybe find someone you can surf behind to see if it interests you (we just started this year - its tons of fun). It seems like for surfing, a V Drive is going to be your best choice (never tried behind a direct drive, but most people who want to surf more, are getting V Drives)- and yes, the TAPS at 1 does still provide a nice small wake for skiing (not competition, but not a ramp).

V Drive's really do open up your space to bring people - and when you have a Tige, everyone always wants to come for a ride (and a surf, pull, foil, etc). We've been running at 12-14 people most weekends (cap 16).