Hello Everyone My name is Raffi and I am pretty stoked to own my first Tige.
I have been in and out of this website non stop for over a few years now. With so many different boat manufacturers out there, it is so hard to really believe in a certain brand until you have tested one out yourself.
One of my brothers owned a 1999 Tige 21i and we just loved it. His kids (my nieces) were a bit young to really enjoy it. As most of you all know raising children is tough as it is. Let alone throwing a "boat" in the mix. With the boat never really getting much use, he decided to sell it about 5 years ago.
This was probably the saddest day for me. My wife and I kept telling each other, one day we will just get one. It was just too much fun for us to stay away from the river/lakes.
So this year, we decided to buy a 2003 Tige 22V Riders Edition. With much help from this forum. A lot of my questions were answered I already had a feeling on what I wanted to get so I wanted to look for a boat that was basically bare. (no graphics, no stereo, no upgrades) I wanted to do it all myself.
I purchased this boat from Fresno CA from a Marine Company.
I mean as you can see from the outside it was just white. Being a graphic designer I knew this was my empty canvas that needed some color.
With the Stereo Forums on here, it seemed as though the best speakers and tower setup to go with was the Wetsounds speakers. So I installed (4) pro 80's on tower (4) sw650 for the components. I installed a 12" wetsounds sub for some boom! With two kicker amps. I knew I should install a minimum of 2 batteries. So I currently have 2 blue top optimum batteries powering the system and a regular marine battery on its own circuit to start the boat. I wanted to keep the batteries separate just in case I run out of juice I still have power to start the boat.
I know most of you will get very upset at me about this next picture. I'll explain....
basically, what we did is, cut a hole underneath the cockpit and instead of building a box around the speaker. We cut a square off and slid the box in that section. I could have went through the time and did that correctly by building a box around the speaker then seal it from the rear compartment but I just didn't. I already had the box pre-made.
I then bought some board racks and a mirror to go with the tower since the tower came completely bare. I also installed a rear remote control to be able to listen to some tunes and change tunes without having to jump in and out of the boat every time.
You can't be in a boat without tinted windows so we went ahead and limo tinted the windows.
Now being a designer, It is so hard to design something for yourself. I had a few things in mind that I needed to make sure i fulfilled. My nieces love the water, having no kids of my own, I wanted to make sure that I take them out to the lake all the time.
With them in mind, my first thought was, well they are 11 and 7 and they love pink, as most girls do. Unfortunately with pink, putting skulls and eagle wings and all that was out of the picture.
I thought of something that would basically welcome them as well as some of my friends to the boat by doing something a little colorful and something a bit more bold.
With about a month of design this is how I wrapped the boat....
From the start: I simply removed all the stickers, all the cleats, the grab handles, exhaust vents, anything That I can access I took off.
After that we started to wrap....
Please excuse the contrast of the picture. I made a HUGE mistake. When i setup my camera I did NOT adjust my shutter speed and with that, you can see how bright the pictures came out. I setup the camera to do a time lapse which I will still put on here. It was alot of fun!!
A few more finished pictures....
So I entertained the pinks in the back, But I also added a strong almost graffiti type font on the Tige logo to make a bolder statement.
Nevertheless, I was really happy how the wrap came out. I know everyone has their own opinion, but before I get yelled and screamed at. Remember I had to do this with my wife, My sister in law, nieces and brother and not to mention 30 friends to give their "design opinion" in mind. I love them all dearly and they basically made my life that much more stressful!!!
So after I was finished with the wrap, as you all know the fun never stops.... I was visiting one of the websites to buy some fenders for the boat and came across a fender that sat flush. it was not a round bumper rather a square pad. I just thought to myself, the help with it. I dont want my wrap to be not seen cause of bumpers. I made me some "wrapped fenders".....
Tomorrow is a big day for me, I'm doing this "mud run" type event called Tough Mudder.... up in Snow Valley CA (Big Bear CA) IF I survive this crazy event that is 10 Miles with 20 different British Force made obstacle courses, the plan is to take it to a day trip to the lake on Monday.
I hope you all enjoy the effort that was put into this boat. I mean I can say the last month or so I have constantly worked day in and day out to make this thing be ready for Monday. (Memorial Day).
Upgrades are still underway, I want to get with mike so he can build me a ballast system for the rear and front. I am stoked and for those who go out to Lake Havasu, Parker AZ. I hope to see you all out there soon!
I keep visiting the Events forums and hoping that one appears soon so I can meet some of the other TO.
Thank you all for your posts to help me build my dream boat.
I have been in and out of this website non stop for over a few years now. With so many different boat manufacturers out there, it is so hard to really believe in a certain brand until you have tested one out yourself.
One of my brothers owned a 1999 Tige 21i and we just loved it. His kids (my nieces) were a bit young to really enjoy it. As most of you all know raising children is tough as it is. Let alone throwing a "boat" in the mix. With the boat never really getting much use, he decided to sell it about 5 years ago.
This was probably the saddest day for me. My wife and I kept telling each other, one day we will just get one. It was just too much fun for us to stay away from the river/lakes.
So this year, we decided to buy a 2003 Tige 22V Riders Edition. With much help from this forum. A lot of my questions were answered I already had a feeling on what I wanted to get so I wanted to look for a boat that was basically bare. (no graphics, no stereo, no upgrades) I wanted to do it all myself.
I purchased this boat from Fresno CA from a Marine Company.
I mean as you can see from the outside it was just white. Being a graphic designer I knew this was my empty canvas that needed some color.
With the Stereo Forums on here, it seemed as though the best speakers and tower setup to go with was the Wetsounds speakers. So I installed (4) pro 80's on tower (4) sw650 for the components. I installed a 12" wetsounds sub for some boom! With two kicker amps. I knew I should install a minimum of 2 batteries. So I currently have 2 blue top optimum batteries powering the system and a regular marine battery on its own circuit to start the boat. I wanted to keep the batteries separate just in case I run out of juice I still have power to start the boat.
I know most of you will get very upset at me about this next picture. I'll explain....
basically, what we did is, cut a hole underneath the cockpit and instead of building a box around the speaker. We cut a square off and slid the box in that section. I could have went through the time and did that correctly by building a box around the speaker then seal it from the rear compartment but I just didn't. I already had the box pre-made.
I then bought some board racks and a mirror to go with the tower since the tower came completely bare. I also installed a rear remote control to be able to listen to some tunes and change tunes without having to jump in and out of the boat every time.
You can't be in a boat without tinted windows so we went ahead and limo tinted the windows.
Now being a designer, It is so hard to design something for yourself. I had a few things in mind that I needed to make sure i fulfilled. My nieces love the water, having no kids of my own, I wanted to make sure that I take them out to the lake all the time.
With them in mind, my first thought was, well they are 11 and 7 and they love pink, as most girls do. Unfortunately with pink, putting skulls and eagle wings and all that was out of the picture.
I thought of something that would basically welcome them as well as some of my friends to the boat by doing something a little colorful and something a bit more bold.
With about a month of design this is how I wrapped the boat....
From the start: I simply removed all the stickers, all the cleats, the grab handles, exhaust vents, anything That I can access I took off.
After that we started to wrap....
Please excuse the contrast of the picture. I made a HUGE mistake. When i setup my camera I did NOT adjust my shutter speed and with that, you can see how bright the pictures came out. I setup the camera to do a time lapse which I will still put on here. It was alot of fun!!
A few more finished pictures....
So I entertained the pinks in the back, But I also added a strong almost graffiti type font on the Tige logo to make a bolder statement.
Nevertheless, I was really happy how the wrap came out. I know everyone has their own opinion, but before I get yelled and screamed at. Remember I had to do this with my wife, My sister in law, nieces and brother and not to mention 30 friends to give their "design opinion" in mind. I love them all dearly and they basically made my life that much more stressful!!!
So after I was finished with the wrap, as you all know the fun never stops.... I was visiting one of the websites to buy some fenders for the boat and came across a fender that sat flush. it was not a round bumper rather a square pad. I just thought to myself, the help with it. I dont want my wrap to be not seen cause of bumpers. I made me some "wrapped fenders".....
Tomorrow is a big day for me, I'm doing this "mud run" type event called Tough Mudder.... up in Snow Valley CA (Big Bear CA) IF I survive this crazy event that is 10 Miles with 20 different British Force made obstacle courses, the plan is to take it to a day trip to the lake on Monday.
I hope you all enjoy the effort that was put into this boat. I mean I can say the last month or so I have constantly worked day in and day out to make this thing be ready for Monday. (Memorial Day).
Upgrades are still underway, I want to get with mike so he can build me a ballast system for the rear and front. I am stoked and for those who go out to Lake Havasu, Parker AZ. I hope to see you all out there soon!
I keep visiting the Events forums and hoping that one appears soon so I can meet some of the other TO.
Thank you all for your posts to help me build my dream boat.
Can't say I dig the graphics, but to each their own and you did a bang out job with the boat!
Great work. 
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