Considering an 02 21i Type R - need input

[nb9966]

I'm considering purchasing a 02 21i Type R w/Taps. I'm an old school slalom skier, my kids will be wakeboarding and wake surfing. In the past I had a Ski Nautique (sweet slalom wake)(not so sweet wakeboarding wake), I'm willing to give up a little on the slalom wake to get a better pop for the wakeboarders. Can I get some input on both wakes (ski & wakeboarding) and some input on the 02 21i Type R itself.

[Joeprunc]

To get a truly good wake board wake a V drive would obviously be better. But I've seen a lot of decent wakes behind the 21i if weighted well. There are quite a owners here that have a better grasp on the 21i, hopefully they will chime in too.

[nb9966]

Thx Joeprunc! Am I correct assuming that the Slalom wake would be better behind the 21i than the 21v? I don't want to get thrown off my slalom ski at 34 mph behind a V. I haven't skied behind a V lately, I know there has been plenty of advancements in hull design, but again I'm looking at a 02 hull.

[lohe]

I had a 98 21i first and it had a decent Wakeboard wake but I had to weigh it down to get it. The 21v is much easier to get a good wakeboard wake.

My father in law is the only one that slaloms behind my boats the 21i was defiantly a small wake but the 21v at 31-33mph is much bigger at all.
And the 21v cuts the rough water a lot better.

[Roostergolf]

Hey, I had a 02 21i type r for my first Tige. The wake for skiing is great!! It really lays low running about 33. As for the surfing....not so great. You would have to put tremendous amount of weight in it. Then you will have lost a bunch of room for seating ect.. They "the ballast" take up a lot of space. Some of my lighter weight riders seem to do better surfing without the rope, while my other riders struggled. Wakeboarding...it's okay. You will be able to build the wake with the taps.

Not many people ski as much as they used to. Everything is leaning toward riding a board. So we decided to go with a 2010 22ve. Hope this helps. If you need anymore info on the boat, feel free to ask. All in all, it is a great boat, but just some limitations.

[nb9966]

Thx lohe & Roostergolf for the info!
Yeh - I'm a little old ski with the slalom thing!
My priority in order would be;
1. Wakeboarding
2. Slalom
3. Wake surf
The 102" beam I like, Gull wing storage a bonus. I'm not looking to break the bank (reason for the 2002). Summer family boat.
Great to see the Tige community is so helpful - Thx again!
Should anyone have more input - please post!

[NICKYPOO]

I always considered the older 21i as one of the nicest Tiges ever built. I've never been in one on the water but, that boat always just felt right every time I sat in one. It was last D-Drive I really liked from Tige.

You should get pretty decent slalom wakes out of it. Wakeboard wakes should be fair with some basic ballast in the trunk and a shorter line. Surfwakes will be there as well but, they certainly aren't going to be huge. My advice would be to invest in a good board. With a smallish wake, you need a fast board. It will make it so much more fun. So far as weighting it for surf, the closer you can get the rubrail to the water, the better it will be. Also, put an FAE on it. Your family is going to be back there huffin exhaust fumes if you don't. Just do it and be done with it. Factor it in to your budget.

Always good to have another slalom guy around. Long live the fire stick!

[huntingwiley]

In 2002\2003 the changed the hull of the 21i. the 03 and up has high freeboard and boat weighs more. I have the newer hull and if weighted correctly get a great Wakeboard wake and decent Surf. But it is not the slalom machine the older one is. I run the course a lot and the wake is manageable but not near as good as a true slalom boat.


Definitely check to see which hull it is. the older one has spray pockets. Mine has an 02 Vin but is the 03 Hull. If you look under the model specs for the 21i in 02 it does not Exist.

I love mine it is a great crossover boat. We Slalom, Wakeboard,Surf and Barefoot. This summer we are going to try out Wakeskating.

[kottenmouth21]

02 21i

I currently have an 02 21i with about 130 hours. It is a very nice boat. My FNL slalom's behind it and loves it. We wakeboard behind it and it throws a decent wake. We also throw down some fat sac's to surf as well as whomever is in the boat.

Let me know if you have any questions or need more info....Happy to help.

[H20SKIER14]

I had a buddy with an '03 22i and thought the boat was a great all around boat. The wake board wake wasn't bad with 8 people in it, and with only driver and passenger @ 34mph the slalom wake was descent. I was very impressed with the surf wake and no ballast. When moving people around correctly the wake was very clean and had plenty of push to surf without a rope.