tige 21 I or a air nautique 206

[treelog]

I live in Oregon and have narrowed my boat search to a Tige 21 I with tower or a Air Nautique 206. I will test drive the Tige tomorrow then the Nautique next week. I own a cabin and dock on a small lake so storage is not a big factor for me. I really enjoy my local Tige dealer, very knowledgible guy,a no nonsence down to earth business person. The nautique guy is alright. I am thinking possibly the narrower beam of the Nautiqe and a few inches shorter centerline might make it handle alittle better than the bigger Tige. The Nautique is a more expense but that is not a factor any suggestions to sway me one way or another. Thanks, john in Oregon

[David]

Alot of people with be biased to the Nautique but It would be best for you to test drive both (which you said you were doing).

Some people think that Nautiques have a much better build quality, but I don't see anything wrong with Tige's or any other boat company.

With Tige, you will gain the Taps2 system, to change the position of the hull in water which shapes the wake differently.

The dealer is also a huge part, you don't want to be taking your boat to a guy who you don't have a good relationship with.

Well, Good luck with your choice, hope you make the obvious choice most people on this site would, and be able to come back here to post pictures of your boat...Good luck!

[smendez]

I agree with David. The boats are both great in their own ways. If you're like me, you'll be seeing that dealer a lot! You might as well find someone you really like.

[canuck]

Treelog:

I have just gone thru the same decision making process as you are in the middle of right now.

We just purchased a Tige 22I and it came down to the Tige or the Nautique 216.

It was hard to compare the price as the 216 was a Team Edition and was loaded with everything. The Tige did not come with a sub woofer nor a shower but we added the sub woofer as a dealer option. The price between the two was within $3K Canadian. Both had heaters, anodized towers with board racks, perfect pass, heaters and bimini.

Comparisons:

Motor - Our Tige had the TIGE Marine Power GM Vortec 5.7L MPI EFI and the Nautique had the PCM 5.7L Excalibur. I would say the PCM has a better reputation and is probably a little better than the TIGE. You could alway option out your Tige with a PCM if you wanted to pay the extra cost ($2,500 more in Canada). I did not feel that the added price was worth it. I think (hope) that Marine Power will prove to be reliable. They have been in business for a while.

Size - Tige is 21'8" long with a beam of 102". Nautique is 21'7.5" long with a beam of 91". The Tige is also 850lb heavier. I also felt that the freeboard of the Tige was deeper than the Nautique. The layout of the Tige and the amount of storage space is definitely better than the Nautique. I really do not like the clam shell openning of the passenger seat, I don't think it makes efficient use of the space when you cannot tuck stuff along the edges. The sub woofer is also located inside of the passenger side storage area and it really reduces the amount of storage space available. In our Tige the sub woofer is located in the storage area in front of the driver and even with the sub woofer there is plenty of space there for storage. The passenger side storage is also huge. And to that the two storage areas at the rear of the boat and you can keep the aisles clear of stuff.

Electronics/drivers area - The Nautique has its keyless ignition and "command pod". Tige does not have this. I definitely feel that having keyless ignition is beneficial as there are no keys to lose or forget. I also feel that the layout of the drivers area of the Nautique is top notch. This is one area where I feel Tige could really improve on.

Fit and finish - The Nautique wins here by a long shot in my opinion. I feel that Nautique and Mastercraft stand head and shoulders above everyone else. Tige has definitely improved year by year but still has a ways to go. We had some rippling in the vinyl on the motor box that should never have passed quality control. Also the stripe pattern in our boat did not match exactly on one side to the other. I'm very detail oriented and am anal with respect to these things.

Ride / Wake - I know that everyone bashes the Taps as useless and that it does not make the wake bigger. Its true that Taps does not increase wake size. I just know that we are not professional wakeboarders and that the standard wake without ballast would suffice more than 50% of all wakeboarders. Everyone talks the talk about wanting large wakes but how many of us are going huge and doing inverts? I know that I'm not one of those. To me it like all these golfer buying Pro V golf balls when they can't break 90. What I do like is the fact Taps can adjust the shape of the wake and clean up a washy lip. The Nautique comes standard with built in ballast but the Tige did not. I feel that Tige wins here. My 9 year old who has been boarding for two years was really impressed that we could control (decrease) the size of the wake by using Taps.

It was the Taps and the amount of storage that won me over to a Tige.

You cannot underestimate the importance of the dealership. Both the Tige and Nautique dealers had excellent references from friends and associates. BTW my Tige dealer here in Chilliwack, BC (Jonathan) speaks highly of your Tige dealer in Oregan.

Good luck with your decision. I feel that you can't go wrong between the two.

[Aquajack]

Treelog,
It seems that you have forgotton a big part of information in your question so that others can help you with intelligent answers to YOUR specific needs and scenario.
It would be best if you described how you plan to use your new boat and who all will be using it.
Like do you Ski;double-slalom-course slalom, Barefoot, Wakeboard, Surf, Hydrofoil, Tube, or just Cruise. . .?
Or do/will you do all of the above?
How many people will be on the boat at the same time and how many different activities will they all want to do?
Will you stay out all day or just short little trips?
After you tells us how you plan to use it we can help you with informed specific answers.
Good luck in your FINAL decesion.

[jeffro]

in reference to what Aquajack states above, i would say out of the two the 21i is going to be a better purchase. I currently own an 03 21i-R, and have experience with a 216.

Handling, i think the difference will be slight.

Room, the 21i has the nauti beat there.

For wakeboarding, skiing, or anything on the water, the tige is the way to go. I run between 1500 and 2000 lbs of ballast for wakeboarding and still have room to move on the tige. The nauti, once you fill her up with ballast for wakeboarding, you're pretty much out of room.

But yes, he is correct, let us know what you will be using your future investment for.