Please help talking a friend off a cliff

[bigskymudflaps]

He wants to buy a 20 foot 50k natique direct drive. He has a family with young kids who like to tube right now. I'm sure the children will grow to like wake sports as well. He's really set on a direct drive because he likes to slalom ski. He doesn't run buoys and isn't competitive by any stretch. Is there anyone out there that has some photos, video, or personal accounts of slalom skiing on a tige vdrive?

[Coop]

I don't have any photos but do have personal experience. I'd consider myself an "advanced recreational" skiier. I've never run buoys, but I do go at it pretty hard when I ski. I've had the 24V and RZ2. With Taps all the way down and running at around 32 mph, I don't have a problem with wake. It's certainly not a DD wake (which I've never ridden behind), but it doesn't slow me down much either.

[Timmy!]

Has he slalomed behind your RZ2? I really don't know if our RZ2's are any good for that or not.

[Coop]

If he has the time and opportunity, he should go out and ski behind both.

[Bruizza]

If his kids like to tube why isn't he looking at a Mastercraft???

[bigskymudflaps]

Having such a beautiful surf wave on my rz2, I just use my slalom ski for ballast. I also just had the boat winterized or I'd take him out. I think a z1 could be good, but I can't find any good evidence. Tige says good things, but there are no photos or video anywhere. I think he's nuts to drop 50k on a direct drive boat if he has kids that like to go boating. I have even tried to get him to buy two boats, a 10k ski boat and a big vdrive.

[houstonshark]

If his kids like to tube why isn't he looking at a Mastercraft???

[skippabcool]

Just my opinion, but I agree with you. Is he in Utah? This must be a fairly new Nautique? I have watched KSL for s number of years now on boats. I have seen the same ones for sale, many of them direct drives. Many of them extremely nice looking but right or wrong a v drive is going to sale easier than a direct drive. My buddy had a direct drive and slaloms. He was going to buy a newer direct drive but then changed to a v drive and he is glad that he did.

[zany]

I have a 24ve and I ski every outing. I consider myself an aggressive skier and have run buoys in the past. There is a considerable wake at slower speeds but normally I ski between 34 & 35 mph and once you get use to the wake is not an issue. My daughter skis between 30 & 32 and can easily manage the wake. As you can see from the attached picture of me skiing behind my boat, I do ski aggressiveness.

[b/w05]

We had a 2005 Tige 22i (direct drive), my wife will only slalom skis and that's one of the main reasons we bought the direct drive. We now have a 2012 22ve and she likes the wake even better than our direct drive. Now granted, the wake on the 22i was not nearly as good as our 1995 Ski Centurion but still not bad. We also have a friend that has a 2000 Tige 21i and his wife also loves to slalom and she really likes the wake on our 22Ve. Looking back, I wished we would have bought a Vdrive to begin with, but there was no way back then I could concieve that a Vdrive was the right boat for our needs. Tell your friend more than likely, him, his kids and his wife will like a Vdrive better; more room, more versitile, better retail, and the average to intermediate slalom skier will work great.

[yllw20]

the other thing to consider is the room inside. my 20i was cool when it was me and the wife, when we added kids to the mix she was and has been annoyed by the motor in the middle. Our next boat will be a v-drive for sure. tell him to take the wife and kids out in an i drive and then a v drive.

[talltigeguy]

he will hate the direct drive once he has friends on the boat and only 1 or two of them can sit within talking distance. His kids will hate it even more, except that as they grown older, they will all try to squeeze in on the back bench and dad won't be able to hear what they are saying.

The V-drive will still ski better than any I/O he has ever been on. So depending on where he is coming from, it will still be an improvement. He needs to quit thinking of himself and get on board with what the family will want.

[kko]

Look into a 20v. Get the a better layout inside. Nice wakes all the way around ski/wake/surf. If you want a 20fter its hard to beat the versatility of the 20V. One of my favorite Tiges.

[lancehon]

I love skiing behind my 08 22ve! The bump is soft at about 33 and taps at 2. Way smoother than my old pre2150 was. Just my

[MoneyPity]

I was an advanced recreational slalom skier. I skied behind direct drive Mastercraft and Ski Nautiques and there is no question that the wake on a direct drive is flatter than a vdrive for various reasons. Direct drive inboards have little if any v at the transom. They tend to be flat in order to provide a flat wake. The difference you see between direct drives is typically how big the rooster is in the middle of the wake.

Before I sold my 20V I skied behind it for a couple of years and as a recreational skier with taps at 1-2. A pull through the wakes was more than do-able. At 15-20 off and at 31-32 mph I still could make 2-3 buoy's at 51 before I blew my left knee (forward leg).

A direct drive was easier to run across the wakes but most recreational weekend skiers are not laying it out during wake crossings.

What should be thought about is the other trade off of a direct drive vs v-drive. Typically a direct drive rides like a rock in rough water due to flatter bottom. Interior room is typically less especially when towing a skier with tow point in middle of the boat. A direct drive planes slighly faster with all being equal.

With kids and the assumption that this would be a family boat and that the slalom skiing is probably weekend skiing a v-drive IMO is a better choice. Better ride, more seating room even when pulling a skier and a sunpad make for a great flexible inboard that will last a long time. My only complaint skiing behind my 20V was that the pylon was too short and when pulling multiple skiers hooking up multiple ropes on short pylon was limited. Handling was as good as a direct drive. As others have said ski behind a direct drive vs. a vdrive and check out seating and other uses of the boat as the family ages. At 50k you want to have boat you enjoy for all of its uses. It gets a little expensive to change your mind a couple of years down the road.