Pro's and con's on Tige 24V

[kenr08]

Hi all,

New to the site so go gentle on me.

The wife and I (well really me) are looking at getting a new boat and are considering a Tige 24V as well as the Malibu 24LSV and Mastercraft X30.

What I would like to know from some Tige owners is why they purchased a Tige instead of some of the other brands, particuallary the "big 3" (Malibu, Mastercart and Skiers Choice).

Let me give you a little background. We currently have a Coblat 252 that we have really enjoyed. We have three kids ages 11, 8 and 5. The reason we are looking for a new boat is that we want better water sports performance. Now with that said, we actually do not wakeboard or waterski at this time, mostly tube, but all the kids want to start doing other water sports.

I would like to know the good, bad and ugly about your boat and experience with your dealer as well as Tige factory. As you are aware, this is a big purchase and I am just trying to do my homework.

And last but not least, can someone give me a ballpark figure on what they believe a 24V that has all the options should cost?

Thanks for your time. I appreciate it.

Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!

[tigeaz]

Hi Ken,

I am a Tige dealer in AZ. Putting aside all the watersport reasons to buy a Tige, the ride alone could be the reason to go with us over Malibu or MC. Because of the deeper V hull, heavy construction and having a deeper cockpit, a Tige will out perform any other inboard hands down when it comes to a comfortable ride. Additionaly, although the TAPS system is designed to enhance watersport performance, it has the added benefit of allowing you to adjust the way the boat runs in the water. This will enable you to fine tune the ride in different water conditions. Then of course, there is Tige's quality, value, warranty, versatility, etc., but I'll let our owners out there comment on those aspects. Good luck in your search and hope to see you become a permanent member here!

Happy Holidays,

Kevin Barrett
Tige Performance Boats
Mesa, Arizona

[David]

As well as what Tigeaz said, and having ridden in and behind the 23LSV, I can vouch for the Tige for many reasons.

In the 24v you will get more storage that most or even all boats. More places to put vests, tubes, ropes, boards, skis, food, and other equipment.

With the Taps2, you can change the wake shape whether It be for boarding, skiing, or tubing.

As for the x30, we looked at It and the MC Dealer told us himself that If we wanted the x30, we should wait, because the hull design hasn't changed in a few years and is going to change soon, which would not be good for a resale value on the boat as the whole hull has changed.

Not only that, but out of all the boats we tested, Tige made the best wait and was the best for an all around family boat.

If I were you, I would try to demo as many boats as possible, and test out the driving and riding and everything else.

Good luck.

David

[roo]

Most important thing is to get them all out on the water. Then you can find out which one suits your family the best. That is the only way you will be toatlly happy with your purchase. Because when you see another boat at the lake you will be able to say,"those boats are nice but we didnt like it because.........whatever. And we chose this one because.....whatever".
We chose the 24V over the others for its interior layout, deep freeboard, great handling in all water conditions, wake and it hands down had more useable storage than any of the others. We also liked the playpen/walkthrough bow. So many of the others were playpen only and that can suck. It all about versatility.
The look of the interior upholstery was the only thing I thought could have been better and they took care of that this year . The 05 interior is sweet.
It is the perfect boat for me and my family and thats all that matters. We are totally pleased and there is not another boat of its kind that we would rather have.
We got an 04 fully loaded w/ all the extras except stereo and ballast system.(we use sacs if we feel the need. saves space) out the door for $55,000.
Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Tequilasun]

I think the others hit on some great points. But the dealer was the one that put us over the top. The other boat dealers around here are at time arrogant and obnoxious, but the Tige dealer was first rate. Friendly, reliable, honest, etc.

We personally went with a 22V, mostly for storage reasons, by that I mean the 24V was just a little large for our garage.

I do love the Taps2 as well, coming from I/O's it was nice to have something that helps smooth the ride across the rough lake, as well as fine tunes the wakeboard/ski wake.

I don't belive there is a better all around watersports boat on the market. You can go from world class wakes to butter smooth slalom wakes in a matter of seconds.

[Paublo]

I believe that you have narrowed your search down to 3 of the top boats at that size. I am on my second Tige, but before I bought my 22V eleven months ago, I did an on the water comparison between Tige and Malibu. My decision was based on the same advantages mentioned by the others, and the dealer.

Don't underestimate the importance of good dealer support. My friend has a X30. It is a very nice boat- great finish and feel, but on the water it doesn't compare. The malibu is also nice, but not as deep and won't handle rough water like the 24V. Coming from a 25' Cobalt, I think that you would be much happier with the Tige. Have fun.

[canucktige]

As you are coming from a Cobalt you are used to a certain level of fit and finish and you may want to take a look at the Nautique SV226 or SV211. The 226 is closer in size to the 24V.

I have nothing against the fit and finish of the Tige. In fact I just purchased a new 22i but I can appreciate that the Tige's fit and finish is not up to the standard of the Nautiques.

We just came from an I/O and it was the Taps system as well as the storage space that convinced us to purchase the Tige. There are pros and cons with each make of boat and no one boat is perfect in every respect. You just have to make a decision based on what is important to you.

[talltigeguy]

You may find the Nautique to be superior in quality, but only very mildly so IMO. The 226 is barely in the same ballpark as far as size goes. Going from your big Cobalt to any sports boat is going to be difficult enough. I could put a 211 inside my 24V without any problems. The Nautique will cost extra, however.

I find the ride of the 24V to be better than all the others mentioned and have been thrilled with mine. I wakeboard, I ski, I recreate and find it fits tons of people and gear with room to spare.

Dealer support is important for any boat. You need someone to go to if you have any problems. Most of us don't have any major problems, but it makes a huge difference if you have someone who treats you right to go to. When you test drive, evaluate the dealer as well.

You should be able to get a very nicely equipped boat for 55K.

[zeda]

My two cents worth.......I selected Tige because I liked the dealer in my area more than Malibu's or MC's. I purchased a 22V Riders Edition rather than the 24V because my wife and I like to pull out the slalom ski every now and again. If your looking for multi sport, check out the 22V also. And by that I mean the wake. You may find, as I did, that the 24V wake is a bit larger than the 22V wake at slalom speeds. That may not be a big factor for the 24V owners, but I need all the help I can get on my slalom ski.

I think you will find that Tige has a superior rough water ride (over Malibu or MC). However, coming from a Cobalt you will think they are all a bit bumpier. I love my Tige and will buy another when the time comes.

[canuck]

Ken:

Got some time on my hands now to post a more complete reply than earlier.

We looked mainly at direct drives so I cannot provide a direct answer to your query.

I looked closely at Mastercraft, Nautique, Malibu (the big "3") and Tige.

I eliminated MC right away as I had heard lots of complaints about the dealer. The remaining 3 dealers all had good referals. I think the dealer relationship is probably one of the most important factors when determining which boat to purchase.

Malibu

Pros:
Looks - they have the most colour selection and IMHO they are the best looking boats out there especially with their Illusion towers

Layout - I really liked the layout of the 23XTI with the separate sitting area in the back

Cons:
Fit and finish - the fit and finish was OK but I noticed that the seat bases are not integrated into the boat, what I mean is that they are made separate and fastened onto the boat deck and are not part of the boat deck as with the Tige and Nautique SV211. I think that the way of the future is to have it made as an integrated part of the boat deck.

Towers - the Illusion towers are good but where they are attached to the deck makes it hard to get into the boat.

The wedge - I noticed that the handling was not good at low speeds with the wedge down. My wife was not too crazy about the wedge as there were discussion on other boards regarding transom damage if you hit something with the wedge. We boat on a tidal river and there are lots of hidden sand bars so this was a real concern for us. Also as we were mainly looking at the XTI models there is no room for ballast so the wedge was necessary. As you are looking at Vdrives this is not a big issue as you could just use ballast. I think that with the layout of the XTI's it would be difficult to weigh the boat properly for wake surfing. We did not try to wake surf behind the XTI so I do not have first hand knowledge of this but you may want to determine this on your test drives. If your kids are like my kids (11 & 8) they will be wakeboarding and wake surfing.

Nautique

Pros:
Fit and finish - by far the best of the three, love the driver's instrument layout and design. IMHO absolutely no comparision to Malibu or Tige.

Cons:
Space - the least storage space of the three by far, the Air 216 still has the clam shell access under the passenger seats and I do not like the fact there is no seat base to tuck stuff into.
Price - you are definately paying for the better fit and finish and I also have to admit that they put better gear into their boats ie PCM motors.

Tige

Pros:
Taps - I know that every other dealer and owners on the other boat forums just slam the taps as useless to create a bigger wake or that it is only a trim tab. IMHO I think that it works great in shaping the wake. My 8 yr old is still intimidated by a larger wake (he has only been boarding a couple of years and does not like to go over 15mph) and his eyes lit up when the dealer demo'd how he could reduce the wake size using taps. Now all the hard core riders will jump all over this comment and say that they only want bigger wakes but obviously they don't see it from the point of view of a family with young kids. I also think that it provides a simple way to shape the wakes for wakesurfing which my 11yr old is really getting into.

High freeboard - I've seen some comments about how hard it is to get into the Tiges due to the high freeboards. I see it as keeping the water out and the kids in.

Cons:

Tige does not look as sharp as the Malibu nor does it have the same fit and finish as the Nautique but it met all of our requirements for a family boat. It has the storage capacity that Nautique does not have and Taps was better suited than the Wedge.

[Matt Garcia]

One of my favorite aspects of the Tige is the deep freeboard, especially with the young ones. To me other boats feel real shallow, especially Nautiques, Supras and Mastercraft.

I haven't been in the other two but what I did like about the 24V was its ability to handle rough water very well. The wake unweighted is a very good size, I was surprised how big it was with just four people in the boat.

The vinyl interior for the 05's are just awesome, Tige made a big improvement on the looks and layout.

I feel that each boat is best built for each individual needs. With that said demo and pay attention to the dealers and their ability to meet and exceed your needs, service etc. Let us know what you decide on and good luck.

[kit23]

24V

Greetings,
We bought a 24V in August of 2003. We were looking for a tournament style wakeboard boat to replace our 21' boat. At the time, Tige had the corner on the market in our area. We bought from Wakeboard & Waterski Specialties in Denver. I can't begin to tell you how good this dealer is. We feel like Bill and Dona are practically family members not to mention their staff Scott and Cory. I can't really comment about the other boats in the mix but we've been totally satisfied with our ride. We spend most of our boating time on Lake Powell. This is a big lake that can turn nasty in a heartbeat. This boat is very deep and stable in big water. We can put enough stuff in storage to outfit the 7th calvary and still have the floor space clear. In short, we use this boat hard. We don't think anything about loading up the kids and their pals and spend several days camping and riding out on the lake. It is dependable and safe. Your kids will learn to wakeboard and the wake of the "beast" will be second to none.
If you have specific questions about this boat feel free to contact me.
regards

[Flying Tiger]

Supurb Ride.
You can boat to anyplace (Avalon)
Astronomical resale value.
Most dealers are very good.

Cute girls always come up to you and ask how you pronounce the name.
Or in my daughters case, cute boys, and that works excellent with her.

[cmb22V]

Well hello daughter