Tige 22VE 2008 vs MasterCraft 2006 X45

[OnLakeTime]

Hello everyone,

First time boat purchase, though grew up in Northeast along the water & now a little inland in lake territory.

looking at a few used boats from a dealer Tige, mastercraft, Centurion Enzo & Avalanche

all similar very good condition, fresh water only boats, w/ approx. 300 hours on engines all w/ trailer though ours will be in a slip & will take out for cleaning & maintenance.

Any imput on the Tige 22ve , full cover , nice stereo, tower w/ bimini top, wakeboard racks, mirror, speed control, Marine power 340 hp v8, bow filler cusion, ballast system 34699 out the door

or mastercraft x45 Indmar 450 hp 8.1 L + all the above + 5 fitted vest, 2 tubes w/ ropes,and combo skiis w/r 1 year free winterization, shrink wrap and storage free 45349 out the door

both boats have been completely serviced w/ tranny seals recently replaced, although the Mastercraft has had 10K in retail service including new manifolds and risers,motor mount, batteries, bilge pumps, bloer starter , balyst relays and sending units, heater and full trailer service & more .

waiting to see Centurions before we pull the trigger

these are buy and hold forever boat for my young family of 5 w/ kids 8,10,12 interested in tubing now and getting older and interested in wakeboarding. Boat will be walkable from house so frequent summer use .

any imput would be greatly appreciated , sales person is excellent and no presure- all boats will be fun, but MC will hold value longer engine is most important to me..............

have a great weekend everyone.

Thanks !

[chpthril]

You had me at "2 tubes" Just kidding

both boats have been completely serviced w/ tranny seals recently replaced, although the Mastercraft has had 10K in retail service including new manifolds and risers, motor mount, batteries, bilge pumps, blower starter , ballast relays and sending units, heater and full trailer service & more .

This has me scratching my head. 300 hours on a fresh water boat?

MC will hold value longer

Thats really a myth. As it is now, they are only $10 apart and thats with an 8.8L in the X45 and a 5.7L in the 22Ve. That 8.1 would have been $15K difference alone at new retail. I would bet they X45 was $30 more new then the 22Ve. Sorry to through an iceburg under the mastercraft

EDIT: the X45 is also a pickle fork bow and 24ft.

Is the 22Ve ballast OEM or aftermarket? IMO, the OEM ballast is a con in that year if you want a surf machine. Can you water test any of these boats? The tige speed-set has been known to fail, so thats one area that needs to be looked close at. Other than that, the 22Ve is a heck of a boat, rides great, very comfortable for a family and towable with a typical truck/SUV.

[OnLakeTime]

Thank You Cheapthrill,

Good points! Maybe the MC was abused?

Up here in the Northeast the MC's have a bit of a cult following.

Unfortunately can't water test, both boats are in a huge climate controlled warehouse andwe were able to board both w/ kids and both are roomy.

The MC obviously had a touch more room due to layout & extra 2 feet.

Knowledgable friend said engine condition should be the most important thing, in addition the annual state "luxury" tax will be a bit less on the Tige. Dealer said we will have a blast on either boat really comes down to $ and preference.

These are for family fun and teaching kids to ski & wakeboard, no competion or serious stuff.

Thanks again for your time & input.

oh, is pickle fork bow OK or is that not good regarding design?

[chpthril]

The 24ft pickle fork X45 should have a crap load more room compared to a 22ft traditional bow Ve. The Tige RZ4 would be comparable in that regards.

The pickle bow design is great. I mentioned it and its 24ft length because its two more layers that gives the X45 one more reason to be more expensive. My point being, dont by the MC due based on the resale myth, by it cause its the right boat and its at a market price. It started off more expensive and should always sell for more providing its condition is good. Break it down to a % and you will find that they really dont hold their value better.

Tough call when you cant get the boats on the water and demo them as you would use them. At face value, id take the X45 because its the larger boat and bigger engine as long as both are priced right and in reasonable condition for an 06. On the other hand, I know what kind of surf wave the 22Ve can produce, and I dont think the X46 can come close.

[culrich77]

I have a Tige RZ2 and absolutely love it, I have a friend that has an X45, yes the extra room is nice, but based on what you want to do and your family size I would buy the Tige. My surf wave is 10x better than his, plus my boat is a heck of a lot easier to drive, the X45 feels like you are driving a tank,and he blew his engine out towing his boat to Lake Powell last fall and I easily pull my boat with my RAM 1500.

[dakota4ce]

I recall the older generation X45 feeling "shallow"--especially in the bow? Seemed to me like a kid could bail over the edge really easily. Maybe I am mistaken, just a memory of mine.

Either boat is sweet--the Tige seems like a more frugal play for a better wave IMHO.

[killerbren]

I have a 2006 22ve and love it. I know nothing about the master craft.

If you're worried about the space, the 22ve is rated for 14 people. I have had 14 in my boat before (8 adults and 6 kids, driving out to a beach) and it wasn't that tight of a squeeze. If you only have 3 small kids + friends I don't think the 22 will limit you on space.

The Tige will give you an insane surf wave. If you don't think you are into surfing now, you wait, you WILL be hooked. I believe when I was doing research last spring the master craft will put out a better wake boarding wake, but I'm not a wake boarding professional and the wake on my boat seems pretty big and scary to me...

Watch the cruise control on the Tige, if it is the Speed Set, which it probably is since you have the MP engine, there has been nothing but problems with it. Make sure it works. There is a few people on here who have been toying around the idea of building a new speed control panel that will replace the speed set panel, but so far that is just an idea that has been kicked around.

What kind of ballast does the tige have?

[talltigeguy]

I recall the older generation X45 feeling "shallow"--especially in the bow? Seemed to me like a kid could bail over the edge really easily. Maybe I am mistaken, just a memory of mine.

Either boat is sweet--the Tige seems like a more frugal play for a better wave IMHO.

Correct. I used to have a 2006 X45. Great boat, but the seats are pretty shallow in the front. Not a huge deal, but I would not let a 2 year old roam around up there while the boat is moving.

I have a 2006 22ve and love it. I know nothing about the master craft.

Watch the cruise control on the Tige, if it is the Speed Set, which it probably is since you have the MP engine, there has been nothing but problems with it. Make sure it works. There is a few people on here who have been toying around the idea of building a new speed control panel that will replace the speed set panel, but so far that is just an idea that has been kicked around.

What kind of ballast does the tige have?

I am pretty sure the cruise was much improved on the 2008. It was 2006 that there are some major issues with. It had Tige's first edition of the its own cruise control. By 08 it was much better, IIRC.

I have a Tige RZ2 and absolutely love it, I have a friend that has an X45, yes the extra room is nice, but based on what you want to do and your family size I would buy the Tige. My surf wave is 10x better than his, plus my boat is a heck of a lot easier to drive, the X45 feels like you are driving a tank,and he blew his engine out towing his boat to Lake Powell last fall and I easily pull my boat with my RAM 1500.

10X better? I would beg to differ. The X45 makes a very respectable wave. I just put a 750 in the rear locker and 400 up front and it was a very good wave. The RZ2 might have been better. But 10X would be a gross exaggeration. With a bunch of people it was even better.

[culrich77]

10X better? I would beg to differ. The X45 makes a very respectable wave. I just put a 750 in the rear locker and 400 up front and it was a very good wave. The RZ2 might have been better. But 10X would be a gross exaggeration. With a bunch of people it was even better.

Ok maybe 5 , and in all honesty no matter what we do in my friends X45 we cannot get a surf-able wake on the goofy side, we have tried everything and the wave is flat and shallow, just my opinion.

[dakota4ce]

I have a 2006 22ve and love it. I know nothing about the master craft.

If you're worried about the space, the 22ve is rated for 14 people. I have had 14 in my boat before (8 adults and 6 kids, driving out to a beach) and it wasn't that tight of a squeeze. If you only have 3 small kids + friends I don't think the 22 will limit you on space.

The Tige will give you an insane surf wave. If you don't think you are into surfing now, you wait, you WILL be hooked. I believe when I was doing research last spring the master craft will put out a better wake boarding wake, but I'm not a wake boarding professional and the wake on my boat seems pretty big and scary to me...

Watch the cruise control on the Tige, if it is the Speed Set, which it probably is since you have the MP engine, there has been nothing but problems with it. Make sure it works. There is a few people on here who have been toying around the idea of building a new speed control panel that will replace the speed set panel, but so far that is just an idea that has been kicked around.

What kind of ballast does the tige have?

I wrote up a replacement of the 2006 speed set system. I use a Hydrophase RideSteady GPS control system and the results were phenomenal. For $1300 you can install a system that leaves nothing to be desired. For the record.

[killerbren]

I wrote up a replacement of the 2006 speed set system. I use a Hydrophase RideSteady GPS control system and the results were phenomenal. For $1300 you can install a system that leaves nothing to be desired. For the record.

Yeah I saw that thread. Although I am handy enough to do most of my own work on the boat, i'm not sure if I'm handy enough to do that. Im ripping out my speed set panel this winter and I'm going to send it to IDBoating to have him look at it and see if its fixable. If its not I would definately go to your system before spending another $1000 on a terribly designed speed set. He was also talking about designing a better panel that would replace the panel that is in there now. I think that is the best option, if he ever gets there. Maybe we should set up some crowdfunding

[dakota4ce]

He did take a little bit of ingenuity, but is not super technical. However you have to have the right mindset for it of course.

[Thegerman618]

Another very very happy 24Ve owner

[talltigeguy]

Ok maybe 5 , and in all honesty no matter what we do in my friends X45 we cannot get a surf-able wake on the goofy side, we have tried everything and the wave is flat and shallow, just my opinion.

That could be part of the problem. I am not sure I ever recall even trying to surf on the goofy side. It's called goofy for a reason I've taught my family and everyone else I know to surf the correct side. You may be right, maybe that side never does clean up well.

[D&P Powell]

...I've taught my family and everyone else I know to surf the correct side.

Ouch!!!