Tige 20V vs. Calabria Pro V2

[coach07]

I have a storage constraint depth of 20'6" so I've narrowed my search for a new boat to the Tige 20V and the Calabria Pro V2 which is also a 20 footer.

Both are in-stock 2007's, comparably equipped and attractively priced. I was able to test drive the 20V before they closed Folsom but I didn't discover the Pro V2 until later so it's not very easy to test drive it now. Loved the 20V on the test drive.

My wife and I are old skiers and our kids will ski or board. Not sure how the Pro V2 would be to ski behind - looks more like boarding only.

The Pro V2 does appear to have several pluses:
1. MerCruiser Black Scorpion 330hp (more dealers to service?)
2. Nicer fit and finish
3. Cool ballast system - no pumps (the 20V doesn't have factory ballast)
4. Slightly lighter for towing not heavier with ballast full
5. Dealer has great reputation
6. Roomier arena seating area but less bow area - rated for 11 instead of 20V's 10.

I know I can't go too far wrong with the 20V but the Pro V2 sure is tempting.

Comments or first hand experience with the Pro v2 are welcome. thanks.

[da.bell]

Test drive in the Sacramento River. There is plenty of water there.

[talltigeguy]

You asked for comments on the Pro V2, so you sort of posted this backwards. On the Tige site, you should ask for the 20V comments. I assume that is what you expected here.

I think the first obvious difference will be the rough water ride. The Tige is much more likely to give a better ride when out on a rough day.

Dealer support is very important, so interview them carefully. This is a huge purchase, so go back again and see how they treat you when you become just a little annoying with a lot of questions...

I would not worry at all about people being able to work on the TIGE engine. The Marine Power (I assume it has that) is pretty friendly to work on. If you blow something big, your trip is over and you should take it to the dealer anyway.

[mtnsmith]

Definitely try to get the calabria out in the same conditions. Also as far as the dealer goes, if they have a separate service mgr of shop mgr try to talk to that person as well to get a feel for what kind of after purchase service you will get. To me buying is the easy part, putting up with a crappy shop would absolutely kill me. I've been lucky that all my boat dealers have had great service and that makes the experience of owning a boat right there.

Comments on the calabria I will leave to Razzman, he seems to know a lot about them. I gotta say, it would have received a serious look from me if there was a dealer nearby. I've heard they are fairly bombproof boats, like the tige. The tige does have a little more freeboard, safer and drier. That ballast the calabria has still makes me smile, that would be awesome to not have to wait to fill everything up. At the same time, tweeking the boat ride with filling each ballast tank independently has been beneficial as my passengers tend to not recognize if we are riding crooked so I will level the boat out with the tanks sometimes. Good luck and let us know what you end-up with. There are no haters on this board so keep posting even if you get a calabria.

[maximus2003]

I have a storage constraint depth of 20'6" so I've narrowed my search for a new boat to the Tige 20V and the Calabria Pro V2 which is also a 20 footer.

Both are in-stock 2007's, comparably equipped and attractively priced. I was able to test drive the 20V before they closed Folsom but I didn't discover the Pro V2 until later so it's not very easy to test drive it now. Loved the 20V on the test drive.

My wife and I are old skiers and our kids will ski or board. Not sure how the Pro V2 would be to ski behind - looks more like boarding only.

The Pro V2 does appear to have several pluses:
1. MerCruiser Black Scorpion 330hp (more dealers to service?)
2. Nicer fit and finish
3. Cool ballast system - no pumps (the 20V doesn't have factory ballast)
4. Slightly lighter for towing not heavier with ballast full
5. Dealer has great reputation
6. Roomier arena seating area but less bow area - rated for 11 instead of 20V's 10.

I know I can't go too far wrong with the 20V but the Pro V2 sure is tempting.

Comments or first hand experience with the Pro v2 are welcome. thanks.

If you only have 20'6" of storage space then you probably won't be able to fit the 20V in your garage. My garage is 22' and if you look at the pics from this thread below, you'll see I only have about 3" to spare w/the tongue & swim grid removed. Good Luck!

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...light=marriage

[Wake Bandits]

The Calabria is actually built by another major brand & re-graphic'd is what we are led to believe. Correct us if we're wrong.
The Moomba as well we're told.

Comfortable ride and dealer support is everything in a purchase decision IOHO's.
We found that out the hard way.

[dogbert]

Go test drive, then make your decision. You can't go on specs alone!

[chpthril]

Does the 20V have the 315hp or the more popular choice 340hp?

Aftermarket ballast easy to add and gives you some flexibility. Would need to add weight to either to surf.

IMO, the weight diff will be noticed in the ride. Not saying the Calabria would be a bad/rough ride, but maybe not as soft as the Tige.

Calabria seems to be like Tige in that thier boats are made per PO's un like others that just crank them out.

Dont worry about getting the Tige/Marine Power worked on, both carry a 3 yr warranty.

If both boats fit your families needs/price, go with the best dealer.

[FIC]

The only other item you might look at is resale somewhere down the road get up on boattrader and do a comparison , I think you will find better percentages with tige.

[helmut]

After test driving just about everything in the last 4 months I don't think there is a better all around family boat out there. The TAPS system really does work. Good luck in the search

[Razzman]

Calabria's are great boats made in Merced, CA. They are a proprietary boat made by Calabria, not another mfgr. and have been doing so since the late 80's sometime. They are roomy and large feeling boats interior wise due to their 102" beam and layout. Calabria has a really unique patented ballast-on-the-fly system that fills and empties almost immediately. They really build a good boat and it handles the chop really well due to their hull design and the wide beam. The Pro V2 weighs about 3300 and the 20V is 3478 so they are close in weight. They do some really nice touches few others do but are priced to reflect it too.

Definately drive them both and go with your guts. The Pro V2 will definately feel different with the 20" and 102" beam vs the 98" beam and convexV hull of the Tigé. One thing i've noticed about the Calabria is that's one of the few boats not slammed over the web forums like most others and imo that's due to their reputation which is extremely solid.

[maximus2003]

The other point I forgot to add was about whether or not you are going to have small children in the boat. The Calabria's that I have been in, had seating much closer to the traditional ski boat style where the seats were very close to the floor. To me it's not as comfortable to sit in and it makes it feel like you are sitting on the boat and not in it. I think this is probably because the ballast tanks are in the floor, but I'm not positive about that. The 20V is very deep and is especially good when having young ones on board, you are down inside the boat, so IMO it's a safer ride.

[Razzman]

Try riding in my old skool Tigé ski boat! You have about 18-20" of freeboard in the back! It's easier to go over the side for a swim! Personally i don't consider that an issue as the grandkids know they don't get up when the boats moving and an adult is always in the back if they sit there.

[dmtvm]

I don't want to down-talk anyone's boat; everyone has their reason for choosing one over another. I do agree with the comment on the Calabria that the seats are very low to the floor.... to me, it's uncomfortable. Anyway, one concern I might have with the Calabria is that according to the State's registration numbers, they had a huge drop in their sales volume for 07. In fact, it was significantly more than the other brands. Calabria only builds a couple of hundred boats a year and I think they were down by about 60 or 70%. I would think it would be difficult to stay open with that kind of drop. I would be concerned about warranty and resale if Calabria was unable to stay in business.

Wake Bandit, Calabria is it's own company and Moomba is made by Skier's Choice that builds Supra at the same plant.

[coach07]

Which State?

Anyway, one concern I might have with the Calabria is that according to the State's registration numbers, they had a huge drop in their sales volume for 07. In fact, it was significantly more than the other brands. Calabria only builds a couple of hundred boats a year and I think they were down by about 60 or 70%. I would think it would be difficult to stay open with that kind of drop. I would be concerned about warranty and resale if Calabria was unable to stay in business.

Which State had that drop and how do you find those numbers? I know my local dealer (norcal) has 12 left after buying 40 for the year thus his great price. With the current economy it wasn't a good for any boat dealer - 2008 maybe even worse.