Help finding a new boat

[bobcat1973]

My wife an i are deciding on a new boat. We were looking at moomba, axis and MC. Need to stay in the 20-21 foot range for lake restrictions. We mainly surf, with some wakeboarding but rarely waterski.

I am VERY unfamiliar with Tige. But to be honest i haven't heard anything good about them in most conversations. They seem to have a bad reputation and i am trying to figure out why, if that was true and if its improving.

We are getting ready to order, and have decided on a Mondo, but a new 2018 Tige R21 hit our market. It has the 400 raptor, M2 tower, TAps 3, hidef command center, and R-ice premium sound system. So similar to how we would build our 2019 mondo if we ordered.

Before i make this decision i am looking for others to chime in. should i or would you recommend looking at this Tige? like i said, i am here to learn. I know nothing about them. I am coming from an older mastercraft that we are going to keep for skiing with friends on rare occasions.

[NHarp1]

Where are you located?
I am not sure where or who is telling you Tige has a bad reputation. Maybe from the competition of other brands of boats?
I have owned 3 Tiges boats and would put a Tige up against any boat on the market as it comes to performance, clean and adjustable wakeboarding/wake surfing wake, electronics, upholstery, reliability and versatility of the boat interior. I feel Tige is competitively priced to beat any other boat brands. As with any custom brand boats, you may have some warranty item that may need adjustment. Tige 5 year warranty gives you the peace of mind you are covered. I own a 21.6 foot Tige (Z1) and love everything about it as it does everything I need for my family and friends (wakeboarding, surfing, tubing, knee boarding or simply cruising around on the lake, throwing an anchor and swimming with the music from Wet sound! I think it will come down to your local dealer support, reputation and willing to agree on a $$ price for whatever boat you decide on.
Good luck and welcome to the sport!

[UNSTUCK]

I looked hard at Moomba, but I got so tired of, "No, you can't add that" or "No, that's not an option" Drove me crazy. They have their assembly line laid out to a tee, and won't even think about doing anything that would make someone on the line stop and think for a second. BUT, that doesn't matter much if you are comparing ordering a Mondo to an already built R21.

So here is my main advice: Surf and wakeboard both of them. While you are out there climb all over them. Look in all the little areas that can't be seen. That's where builders get lazy. See what that attention to detail looks like. Ask your dealer if you can tow them to the lake. See how they tow when hooked to your rig. Then crunch the numbers and decide which works best for you. What are you willing to compromise on and will you not.

[bobcat1973]

In Wisconsin. My dealer handles most brands. MC, Tige, Malibu at different stores. Not worried about dealer support because i have that. Just know nothing about Tige.. never even been in one. Usually not mentioned in most wake boat conversations.

[NHarp1]

Sounds like you have a great dealer to compare what you are looking for in a boat. I agree with UNSTUCK, get different brands on the water and see for yourself the performance, wake quality, attention to detail, and see what best fits your needs.
Is storage an issue with tower clearance, will the tower be folded on a regular basis?
Bottom line, whatever makes the wife happy so she will be excited to go out on the boat!

[bobcat1973]

Yes, i will need to fold the tower to get under a bridge and maybe if we purchase a canopy for our lift. That's one of the things i liked about Moomba, the A3 tower is very easy to lower, but it does sit in your lap as the driver. so does the tige however.

[KoolAid]

Best way to handle this is to get on the water with both boats. I of course will be biased on which one is better but at the same time I am completely confident you will come to the same conclusion. I personally feel the Z1/R21 has been underrated for a long time. To me, it's the perfect traditional inboard boat. Small enough that transporting a breeze, handles extremely well, produces an excellent surf wave, holds the right amount of people, fits in most garages, has plenty of storage space and is easier on the wallet.

[sandm]

my 02. spent quite a bit of time the 4 years i was in wisconsin on the fox in depere and out to longtail. winnebago a few times. all of the guys I rode with had moombas as the dealer in fort freemont had a good rep and the only other dealer in gb sold mastercraft but was expensive. tige dealer down in oshkosh doesn't represent the brand well and do not advertise up in gb.
I had a 22ve and my buddy has a '14 mondo. for surfing there was really no comparison. all the crew we rode with loved the tige wave over his mondo wave. granted difference in hull lengths but I know the 21ft tige hull will outperform the moomba hull.
wakeboarding I do have to give the edge to the mondo as his boat was more dialed than mine. we(gf and I) don't board at all so i never spent the time to dial the 22 hull in for that. we had 1 slalom skier in the bunch and he preferred the tige as he said crossing the wake at 35 it was "softer". don't know what that relates to but he was a solid skier. mondo does have a pretty decent seating area for a 20ft boat-typical crew on either boat was 5 adults. never kids so bow in both boats didn't get used much. I think the r21, to me, felt a bit narrow for a 102" beam in the one I sat in a few weeks ago(as we WERE on the hunt for a new boat as well ). mondo feels a tad wider.
I think fit/finish/materials will be similar as in '18 the r21 probably wasn't optioned out to a z series boat. he had 3some on his tower, I had 4 icon-8's on my alpha z. mine was easier to fold down. never used bimini on either boat in wisconsin so it wasn't in the way. both of us had them removed.
if I had both dealers in the same area and surfing was primary, I'd take the r21 all day over the mondo. wakeboarding only might have to give the edge to the mondo.
good luck and interested to see what you end up with.

[Rbuss4]

In Wisconsin. My dealer handles most brands. MC, Tige, Malibu at different stores. Not worried about dealer support because i have that. Just know nothing about Tige.. never even been in one. Usually not mentioned in most wake boat conversations.

We made the same move last year. Never thought in a million years i would ever own anything but a Mastercraft. Looked at Mondos, NXT20s, and R20/RZRs. After speaking to a rep at SkipperBuds, and learning a bit about Tige from him and on here; ended up in a 2015 RZR. Love the boat, and the quality that I never knew Tiges have. Feel free to reach out if you want to. I am also in WI.

[bobcat1973]

We made the same move last year. Never thought in a million years i would ever own anything but a Mastercraft. Looked at Mondos, NXT20s, and R20/RZRs. After speaking to a rep at SkipperBuds, and learning a bit about Tige from him and on here; ended up in a 2015 RZR. Love the boat, and the quality that I never knew Tiges have. Feel free to reach out if you want to. I am also in WI.

Thats great to know. I know of only one person on my lake that has one and he hates his boat. Never considered Tige so i didn't get into details with him. But am going to look at this boat tonight. Getting a test ride will be hard to do however as fall starts to roll in.

What i really need is a comparison of Moomba vs Tige. The dealer for moomba has a good rep and was mentioned on this post. Seem to know their stuff. But this decision will be long term for us. We want to make the right choice and not have to be running back and forth to the dealer for stuff even if under warranty. This is why we are keeping axis in last place. Great looking but for the money it just doesn't seem like the quality of others.

[BCRider]

Years back Tige took a lot of heat (mid 2000's or so) for saying all you needed was their Taps system to produce a great wake when everyone else was starting to provide ballast tanks/bags. That being said Tige was ahead of the times a bit by providing the ability to tweak the wake with the Taps plate. I couldn't imaging not being able to....cough cough MC, CC, Bu.....at the time.

Tige's also don't have a huge East Coast presence so that doesn't help with getting the brand name out there.

The Mastercraft, Nautique, Malibu fanboy's are by far the loudest.lol. Of course when you have the greatest market share anything else must be crap right? Ignorance is bliss after all.

MB, Centurion, Supreme, Moomba, Supra, and Tige have all been stepping up their game for years now and make some really great boats regardless of being bought out along the way by the big boys.

[bobcat1973]

We made the same move last year. Never thought in a million years i would ever own anything but a Mastercraft. Looked at Mondos, NXT20s, and R20/RZRs. After speaking to a rep at SkipperBuds, and learning a bit about Tige from him and on here; ended up in a 2015 RZR. Love the boat, and the quality that I never knew Tiges have. Feel free to reach out if you want to. I am also in WI.

Thats great to know. I know of only one person on my lake that has one and he hates his boat. Never considered Tige so i didn't get into details with him. But am going to look at this boat tonight. Getting a test ride will be hard to do however as fall starts to roll in.

What i really need is a comparison of Moomba vs Tige. The dealer for moomba has a good rep and was mentioned on this post. Seem to know their stuff. But this decision will be long term for us. We want to make the right choice and not have to be running back and forth to the dealer for stuff even if under warranty. This is why we are keeping axis in last place. Great looking but for the money it just doesn't seem like the quality of others.

[Rbuss4]

Thats great to know. I know of only one person on my lake that has one and he hates his boat. Never considered Tige so i didn't get into details with him. But am going to look at this boat tonight. Getting a test ride will be hard to do however as fall starts to roll in.

What i really need is a comparison of Moomba vs Tige. The dealer for moomba has a good rep and was mentioned on this post. Seem to know their stuff. But this decision will be long term for us. We want to make the right choice and not have to be running back and forth to the dealer for stuff even if under warranty. This is why we are keeping axis in last place. Great looking but for the money it just doesn't seem like the quality of others.

I tested the Moomba Mondo and the R20 before buying my boat. Tige produced a much better stock surf wave, and the slalom wake was much better too(although it still leaves a lot to be desired-all crossovers do). A listed R20 with no TAPS 3 or AVX made a better surf wave than a Mondo with their tabs and actuators. I have a friend with a Monda which he likes, but he is upgrading all of his ballast this winter as his wave does not come close to mine for push, length, height, or cleanliness.

[UNSTUCK]

We want to make the right choice and not have to be running back and forth to the dealer for stuff even if under warranty.

Forget a new boat then. Buy a good used boat with 100 hours on it and you probably won't see any time at the dealer. Seems to me too many boats (all brands) spend WAY too much time at the dealer getting tweaked the first season.

[sandm]

900's in a mondo will still not equal what I have seen of D&P's wave on his old z1. the mondo wave is pretty tall and lots of push but lacks length. granted I have not ridden a mondo with the new surftabs.
I can say tho that fort freemont is a good dealer. I rode with a mondo and mojo and 2 others had lsv's all 2012-2014. all spoke very highly of the dealer. I never had my boat down to skipperbuds for service as I did it all myself but they seemed up on the latest.

both boats will fit the bill. as mentioned above water test and 1 will come out as a clear winner. you're not a pro rider so I am betting you will have a good time with either surf wave and the family memories will be priceless either way. and if you're like most of us, the upgrade bug will hit eventually