Tige 24v, Malibu LSV 23 or X-30 ?

[xpjim1]

Wake Havasu

Thanks for the compliment!

Picture is at Cattail Cove at Havasu. Its about 15-20 miles south of the London Bridge. Less crazies down there. Most people want to launch by the channel. This ramp ussually fills up last and they have a good boat parking lot that my wife can handle.

Adlees does good work also. I tallked to them when I had my 20V about a new Bimini. The place in Henderson I believe is Harolds Custom Canvas. His section makes the front bimini look cheap. He uses stainless fittings for everthing instead of the plastic. Its the little things that show quality. He even put a zippered section in the original bimini so I could put a rope on the tower when both bimini's are opened

[Original Wing Nut]

I'll be at Powell next week with all three. We will be in escelante canyon from tuesday to saturday. We will also have an x-45 and a 24' reinell I/O. I'll post after the 25th on what each boats strong points are.

[Wake Havasu]

Awesome!

I am so jealous.

Let me know who each does in sloppy choppy areas, such as the "narrows" or in a tight canyon such as Navajo, when the tour boat like the "Explorer Canyon" drives by creating 4 foot waves!


I hope that the air is clear now for you!

[Original Wing Nut]

Got cooked

I'm back and feel like I'm well done. It was hot. We had a great tirp. The Tige' performed flawlessly. Opinions of other boats to follow, first I'd like to share some biass towards the other boat owners. The guy with us with the Malibu was one of the classiest guys you'll meet so I may give his boat more credit than it deserves, but he was willing to go out head to head and we'd switch boats for a morning and so on. So I have a better feel on how the Malibu compares. The X-30 was a no show they backed out on the trip, there 26 year old son and daughter came and I have their opinion. The x-30 kids said similar wake and all. The one thing they loved was taps, adjust on the fly. The x-45 is an awsome boat it rides like a 24V, it has a bigger and slightly steeper wake when ballast are full. We were only together for an afternoon so I was unable to get a ride behind or drive the X-45. I think if money is no object that may be the best boat of the bunch, but money doesn't grow on trees at my house. Now down to the Malibu it is a great boat, when ballast and wedge is down it throws an awesome wake, steeper and taller than the 24V with no ballast. I thought the wake was too steep, not rampy enough or something, launched more vertical, maybe I was just not used to it. The Malibu was a rougher ride in the chop, we were up at the Bullfrog end, the chanel down to Good Hope was pretty rough and we kept pulling away from the Malibu in the chop, it got to rough for them. The owner of the Malibu skied a couple times behind the 24V with 12 of us in the boat, he said the wake is smaller than his with 3 or 4 in the boat. He also loved the taps. We had kids from 12 to 26 and all wanted slightly different wake and speed etc. It was sure easy to get it where everyone wanted. The hit of the week was the wakesurfer the 24V with 12 adults is awesome to surf behind, if I had 6 more surf boards I could have gotten a premium for them. Well that's my opinion for what that's worth. Oh the Reinell 24 was great in the chop, got great fuel economy and was not used as much as the wakeboard boats, but that is probably the way the owner liked it. Good luck on deciding, my boat had more hours put on it than any of the others, I don't go to sit. I'm sure you can have fun behind any boat.

[xpjim1]

Original Wing Nut

Nice review. Glad your 24V issues seem to be resolved. Hows the fuel flow meter working out? We will be going to Powell next year. Have not been there for 20 years - Never wanted to lose 2 days on the lake for the longer trip!

[johnbandrews]

Original Wingnut

Thanks for the great review ... what year is your 24V? I have an 01 23V and am looking to upgrade to either an 06 24V or Malibu 23 LSV. Do you have cruise control, and if so, does the 24V hold just about any speed? Ours planes at about 20MPH, so the cruise has a hard time holding a steady speed. Our wake curls up to about 22MPH which is slightly faster than my wife likes to wakeboard.

I've been told that the newer hull design on the 24 (starting in 2003?) is much better as far as wakes go, but I haven't been on one to see. A buddy of mine has a 2001 Malibu 23 LSV and the wake is great, but the fit and finish of our Tige is better (In my humble opinion).

We can surf behind our boat with taps all the way up and drive in a straight line. I'd hate to lose that surfing wake if the Malibu can't deliver!

[Original Wing Nut]

I have the 05 24v I have perfect pass and it holds speed great at all speeds. The wake is very shapable all the way down to around 16 or so we can usually get it right, no wash. After my week at Powell I would definately buy the 24 V again. I love the 06 with the rear storage and a place to sit while helping the rookies. My friend with the Malibu has a 2003, if buying new he would take a serious look at the 24V. His is a great boat and for now he plans on having it for years, so I have a while to convert him over to the Tige' way of life. We both agree the Master Craft X-30 is over priced and is at least comparable on fit and finish. It is his sons father in-law that owns the X-30. The son thinks the Malibu is superior to the X-30 in wake hieght and shape. he says the wake is the same as mine. Which in my earlier review I thought was superior to the Malibu. That's boat owners mine is always best, isn't it?

The fuel flow meter works great. The fuel gauge is still not worth having, but now I at least have something that works. The Flowscan is a great addition.