How Does Tige' Build Quality Compare?

[shiskowd]

I'm considering buying my first inboard towboat and have been intrigued with the Tige' design and the multisport capabilities of the 20V. This forum has been helpful - I've learned a bunch from all of you!

A local Mastercraft dealer has nicely equipped '06 20V for a reasonable price (for Canada) on their lot that I looked at today. Boat looked great (80 hours) and was very clean. However, the salesguy who I have some respect was pretty quick to run down the Tige' brand in general even though they want to move the thing off their lot (they own in - not consignment). He claims Tige' is an inferior towboat maker compared the other marque brands (including MC, of course). Comments included the hull construction (Tige's are heavier but only due to inferior particle board construction?), the interior vinyl is low end and the padding is thin and too soft. He claims he has know Tige' owners who have had fibreglass crack around the tower mounts. He has nothing to gain by dragging down Tige' as he had few other boats in my price range. He strongly recommended that an '05 Supra Launch SS (22' DD) they had on hand for simlar cost would be a superiorly constructed boat and would look better 5 years out and be worth more.

He showed me the ski pylon mounted to almost nothing on the 20V compared to a similar sized '05 MC X2 that is well supported (you have to wonder what Tige was thinking). Makes you wonder how the rest of the unit is put together...?

This may be a silly question on such a biased forum, but if anyone has owned a few different brands and can compare how the boats hold up? The folks I've talked with how own Tige's have nothing but good things to say.

Also, anything to we wary of in an '06 20V?

Thanks a bunch for your help!

[donwarwick]

lol he is talkin rubbish, tigé hulls are 4 times thicker than a mastercraft! when mastercraft brought out their new models, tigé bought some, striped them down and made improvements on them and putt them on the tigé boats! you can watch videos on how the boat is made on the tige website, at the bottom click on the plant tour. as for the quality....no other boat manufacturer offers a lifetime warranty which covers any structural failure, degradation or delamination, tigé will REPLACE YOUR BOAT! According to tigé there has never even been one incident of structural failure ever..which i doubt other manufacturers could claim.

Tigé also has the patented convexV hull and the taps2 system which is very good as it allows you to adjust teh size of your wake without losing any handling of the boat or reducing fuel efficiency. The tige hull contains more fibreglass, is thicker and stronger than any other inboard or I/O and im sure if u live near anyone in these forums they will give u demos on their boats!

u can tell i have read that tige booklet alot ...man im sad

[chpthril]

First, Like Don said, go to Tige.com and watch the videos.

2nd, there is no wood in that boat. The weight is designed into the boats to give them a solid but comfortable ride in rough water (far better than any other manf.). The added weight, over other boats, compliments the Convex V hull which allows Tige to produce a clean, sizable wake without ballast and or drag hardware.

Hull thickness: there are pics floating around of one brand with their Wadge ripped off, seems the be a common problem. Also others that have a tracking fin ripped out of the hull due to striking an object.

Next, Yes, the ski pylon is a little weak compared to other brands.

I wonder if the Supra was on consignment, and his new boat deal hinges on selling it?

Sales pitch: I worked our boat show this Feb with my dealer. I spent some time walking around looking at the other boats. Bashing the comp seems to be the way these guys are trained to sell their boats? My guess is that because their boats aren't $20k better than a Tige, they have to bad mouth them to close the deal. What's funny, that attitude seems to be passed on to many of the owners. You can see this on some of the other wakeboarding forums.

Tige is not the only quality boat out there, but we felt is was as good as the others (the big three) in most areas and better than some in other areas, but for far less $$$.

[FIC]

Im a dealer in florida, all inboard ski boats are made well , there are always going to be differences in the the designs and how every manufacture approches consumer needs. At our dealership we are certified in every power plant , sponsor the local ski team with a 20 i going into its 3rd year of some heavy duty abuse , I am also a former owner of multible different boats over the years, by far the tige line of boats has been very impressive for there performance and durability. When we are at the boat shows we are constantly having to listen to the rediculus comments made by sales people with nothing to back up there statements. Example: At the last show a custermer came up and ask if there was any wood in our boats? cause thats what he was told, I asked if there was ,would that be a bad thing, for who ever said that would be saying that all of his older boats from the 90s on back must be falling apart and I dont think thats happing but in answer to his question no there built with pensky extreme a synthetic.

[Tanner]

I've noticed ALOT of dealers are very quick to bash Tige. Actually I walked away from a centurion enzo before I bought my Tige because I told the dealer it was between the tige and the enzo. He began bashing the tige. If you have to bash another product, it's because your scared of it. Let your product sell itself. There's a reason Tige has a 90% closing ratio w/ customers when on the water.

Just some food for thought.

[kko]

drive them all the boat will do the talking. tige will out perform them all hands down!!! have you driven any of the inboards yet? thats the best way to figure out the best boat. fill it with people and gear and drive/ride it. when you drive them all you will realize how much better tige really is. not to mention more versital and better fuel economy by far. i think i would listen to people who you know over some sales person who could have his best intrest in mind not yours. but it really comes down to driving them you will see what im talking about.

[Jeff T]

That makes me laugh. I can't add anything that hasn't already been said, but the ignorant bashing still makes me laugh. Put this way...I'm on my second Tige and it won't be my last. The short pylon is a miss on Tige's part. Nobody here will disagree with that. I will say that I would be VERY surprised if that isn't corrected very soon because Tige listens to their consumers. FWIW, I didn't buy my boat to ski or tube...so my biggest beef is just that I wish I had a good option to remove it period.

[shiskowd]

Thanks for the feedback - I should have figured as much coming from a MC dealer. I'd like to drive a bunch of these machines, but the ice is just coming off the lakes up here now and many of these used units will be history before too long.

Question - how long has Tige' been using the Penske material in the hull construction? Would this '06 have it?

Thanks again!

[chpthril]

Thanks for the feedback - I should have figured as much coming from a MC dealer. I'd like to drive a bunch of these machines, but the ice is just coming off the lakes up here now and many of these used units will be history before too long.

Question - how long has Tige' been using the Penske material in the hull construction? Would this '06 have it?

Thanks again!

Not sure when they started with the Penske, but I know the 06 has it.

[wakeboarder247]

That makes me laugh. I can't add anything that hasn't already been said, but the ignorant bashing still makes me laugh. Put this way...I'm on my second Tige and it won't be my last. The short pylon is a miss on Tige's part. Nobody here will disagree with that. I will say that I would be VERY surprised if that isn't corrected very soon because Tige listens to their consumers. FWIW, I didn't buy my boat to ski or tube...so my biggest beef is just that I wish I had a good option to remove it period.

I'm with you Jeff. Just ordered our second Tige and it will not be my last! The quality that we have experienced from our Tige, as well as the feedback we've heard from other Tige owners, is IMO unparalleled. Sure other manufacturers our there like MC, Correct Craft, etc make great boats.. but for me the quality of the Tige boats are top notch! The bottom line is, you WILL NOT be disappointed if you buy a Tige.

BTW what is the problem with the pylon? It is too short? From Jeff's above quote "I didn't buy my boat to ski or tube" I'm guessing the rope possible rubs on the transom a little bit if it is being pulled down close to the water? (i.e. tube) I have never and will never have a tube in my boat so if that's the problem I am fine!

[Jeff T]

A) it isn't reinforced and B) it isn't easily removable w/o leaving an eyesore. Some boats like Malibu's have a retractable short pylon, which is a great feature. For me, still isn't that big of a deal...I was just commenting on the original issue raised by shiskowd.

[wakeboarder247]

A) it isn't reinforced and B) it isn't easily removable w/o leaving an eyesore. Some boats like Malibu's have a retractable short pylon, which is a great feature. For me, still isn't that big of a deal...I was just commenting on the original issue raised by shiskowd.

Ahh I see.. thank you for the explanation Jeff. It's even less of a big deal than I thought!

[talltigeguy]

The pansy pylon is what I call it. I have started late last year and this year pulling my tubes off of it. I have a 5 man water weenie and it has not given me any grief yet, but I half expect it to. It is just not designed for more than what one man can pull (a single slalom skier).

Now that I got that off of my chest, I own a Tige because of the versatility: it is one the best wakeboarding, skiing, rough water handling, general family boating boats out there. Other boats will miss it one one or more of those features. Tige nails them all very well. The boat is heavier because the fiberglass is thicker, period.

Wood was last used in 2002 or 2003, I believe it was 2002. I owned a 2002 with wooden stringers, and I honestly think they quit using it because they got tired of defending it, even though there was never a problem with it.

The 20V storage is big for a boat of its size.

You would likely be plenty happy with the Supra as well, but I would beware of the motives, (I bet if the Supra sells, the owner is planning on a new MC).

I hope that you can get out and test drive, that will convince you more than all of our ramblings...

[Jeff T]

The rough water handling is key. I forgot about that one. Also, I really like how deep you sit in the Tige. I noticed in other boats I felt like I was sitting real high and that I would fly out if we hit a big one...

[Tequilasun]

Well, I think you got your answers. Talltigeguys is the most staunch opponet to that pylon design. He really dislikes it! He's right though, it certainly does look whimpy compared to some of the others.

No one here mentioned the fiberglass cracking issue, around the tower feet. First it isn't a fiberglass issue, its a gelcoat issue. Since gelcoat is brittle, all boats are prone to spider cracking in high stress areas. Tige's are not imune to this, but because Tige's have thicker fiberglass, they are better at stiffining the gelcoat = less cracking. All manufacturers have made huge strides in this though. The most important thing to do, is to moniter the tower foot bolts, and make sure they are tight. I check mine 4-5 times a year, and they loosen just a bit from time to time.

Everyone else did a great job explaining why they bought a tige, I hope you come to a similar conclusion.

I would tell that sales guy that if he can find particle board in that 20v that you would eat it, if not he has to knock 5 grand off the price.