LETS TALK RIDE QUALITY?

[WACKY!!!]

Ok I know I am not comparing apples to apples here coming from a 28 ft Mariah shabba with a normail inboard outboard motor. I purchased a R20 and on a choppy day on the lake cant seem to do more than 25 mph with out getting bucked around. Do the 21-22-23 ft tige's handle better in choppy water? Don't get me wrong I LOVE the R20, but miss being able to take other big boats waves at 45 and not have to worry about someone bouncing out of the boat... What do you Z1, Z2, And Z3 guys think??? How do they ride in choppy water? Better or is this just how direct drive boats are. I know I bought the smallest one available but I guess I am wondering if the bigger deeper hulls do better?

[WYTige?]

Loved my old Mariah, it was only a 20 footer but cut the waves like butta!!! But... I love my Tige more, the ride isn't there with these tow boats and their flatter hulls. I just slow it down and enjoy the scenery.

[boardman74]

Exactly. Tow boats are just not rough water boats. The boats with more "V" like a Tige are much better than some. You think that R20 is bad go get in an older V drive from the late 90's that were still styled after the flat bottom ski boats. Once the boat planes its almost flat. The bigger Tiges will be better, but they still won't compare to your 28 foot Mariah. They don't have the size or the steep angle deep V. If they did they wouldn't work as a tow boat.

[Ewok]

When the water gets rough I slow way down. On Lake Coeur D'Alene I usually cruise the rough spots at about 15 mph. I've got little kids and I try not to bounce them out of the boat. 15 mph keeps the bow high and enough of the heavy hull in the water that it cuts through big rollers without much trouble. Even though it's pretty slow it handles the rough water well, just have to take it slow.

[Z1josh]

The smaller wakeboats 20/21 footers certainly get bucked around more in the chop than a 23-24 footer. my Z1 gets bucked around too. I hardly go out in the middle of a weekend day, I tend to enjoy the early mornings or evening sessions for calmer water.

[Z1owner]

You said it right, comparing your 28' Mariah ride to a R20 isn't anywhere near a fair comparison. I just traded a Mariah Z212 Shabah for a new Z1. The z1 seems to handle the rough water a little better, albeit a bit slower, I think mostly due to the extra weight of the Z1. I miss my Mariah at times, especially around docks, but love the surfing and technology in the Z1.

[Z3CO23]

I agree with everyone here. A wakeboat hull is never going to compare to a normal deep v of a normal I/O. We were camping out in Glendo State Park, Wyoming this weekend (nice size reservoir). Winds were 20+ and had like 4 foot swells in the main channel. I never even put my boat in the water. I would have had to be at like 10 or 15 with the nose up and we would have been soaked and beat to heck. We were in a friends 30 ft Baja offshore and were getting tossed around it in. Love wakeboats but rough water is not their friend.

[JLG]

I have owned a 20i, 22ve and now a Z3 and obviously the Z3 is the best in chop water. We sold the last 2 because we couldn't be out on rough days. Our lake gets some large swells on a 15+mph wind day and was tired of the boat sitting on the trailer. This Z3 handles well but as stated you will need to slow as there is no comparison for what a Deep V hull can do. The Z3 is a ton better in chop than that R20 also.

[Bobert]

Rocking the R20 as well. Doesn't fare too well in the chop.. worst was in Cumberland for 4th of July. We got hammered with wind and poor weather, I just raised taps to about 4 and trolled at about 10-15 mph. Did alright with surfing, but 25mph was a no go...

[ericinmich]

My 22ve does OK, but not like any 18-24 ft IO I've owned in the past. I use cruise to hold slower speed, enjoy the ride and don't bang the boat around. My lake is 10x5 miles, kicks up a lot...

[ajnesbitt]

This discussion is driven by your prior experience. My RZ2 is the largest boat I have ever owned and by far the heaviest. I think it rides great. My first inboard was a '93 PS190 and it was all but unsable in rough water. That was fine because we bought it to ski behind, not pleasure boat. I have never had the desire to go 50mph across a rough body of water, I just want to be pulled around behind the boat. The v-drive and popularity of wakeboarding changed everything. No one would have ever considered buying an inboard over an I/O when direct drives were the norm. You either wanted the to ski competitively and would sacrifice almost everything else to get the best ski wake possible or you bought and I/O. With a v-drive, you can have the top watersports performance in a package that is decent for all around boating also. This opened up the inboard market to a much larger customer base. So if you came from a direct drive inboard you are happy with the ride of a larger v-drive, and if you came from a deep v I/O you fell like you sacrificed your rough water ride.

[chpthril]

Size matters in boats, speakers and....Wake specific boat ride comfort is the reason we are seeing run-about manufactures putting on extended platforms and engine manufacturers going with jet drives and cruiser boat pod drive like lower units. The want to retain this market share by keeping those that want the big deep v ride yet want to surf, etc. In the past 10 years, tow boat ride quality as compared to a similar sized run-about has closed the gap big time.

[355spider]

I live on a big wake lake. It really has to do more with the size of the boat. 28s run across big boat wakes no problem. 20s get beat to hell. On my lake(Lake Travis in Austin) it's pretty common knowledge you need to have at least 23 feet to be comfortable.