ATX Part II

[mdk681]

First off, hi lee! Haven’t conversed with you in a while. Hope all is well.

What I’d like to see out of new boat line up is NOT another F’ing surfboat. Just about every boat out now, especially from Tige is built for surfing. You know what I rarely see? People who can surf worth a chit. For the most part it’s a bunch of band wagoners. It’s driven the industry to build surf boats. All of em. Is there anyone who doesn’t have their latest and greatest surf system installed on everything they sell? There’s a whole world of water sports out there besides wakesurfing.

...and still, not one manufacturer will build the one ground breaking surfboat that no one has. You want to change the industry? Built it. Until then, “new” surfboat has zero meaning to me.

What I would like to see is a simple boat with gauges and switches. No touch screens. Simple to work on. Easy to maintain. Easy to upgrade. A good slalom wake (think GS22). A simple, sturdy tower that you can get color matched to the boat. A decent surfwake that is automatic (think 21v). Less freeboard!

I agree with this. I LOVE the fact that my 21v is simple, has switches, easily accessible wires, etc. An average person like myself can do all of my own work and not worry I am going to destroy some high dollar electrical system. The only thing I would change about my 21v and the reason I would like to upgrade is the freeboard. I would like to sit a bit higher out of the water as we keep our boat on a very busy lake. Otherwise keep it SIMPLE like you said...!

[IDBoating]

Just about every boat out now, especially from Tige is built for surfing.

There's a reason for that. Last time I checked the stats, fully 80% of wakeboat purchases were driven by surfing. No one can ignore a market bias like that.

Surfing has been a gift like none other to the inboard industry. It appeals to every age category. We've had kids down to 5-6YO and adults in their late 70's behind our boat surfing for their very first time. What other towsport can claim such a spectrum? It's that full-family appeal that helps folks justify the $100K+ price tags.

...and still, not one manufacturer will build the one ground breaking surfboat that no one has. You want to change the industry? Built it.

We're working on it. I promise. But this industry has a weird personality trait: Everyone wants an exclusive on new technology, but nobody wants to be first! They want some other manufacturer to do it, to prove it's wanted in the market, but then they want a lock on it all to themselves. If you think about that, it's easy to understand why things move slowly in this industry.