2004 21i

[sschnip]

How is the wake of the 2004 21i without any ballast? I have two boys that are getting into wakeboarding. Will it be enough to get to high intermediate to advanced wakes?

[yllw20]

send a pm to domslude. he has the 03 21i.
Depending on your boys current riding ability it will put out a great wake w/o ballast for any beginner/intermediate rider and as they advance in riding you can always add phat sacs or lead weight (spacesavers) and increase your wake and use the taps to adjust it. See some of the other hits on weighting for the 21i.

[jeffro]

i've got a 2003 21i as well....

without any ballast, it's not a very large wake with only a few people, i'd say beginner/moderate sized wake.

The more weight you add, the larger it gets. I usually ride with about 1800 lbs. in mine to get a large/advanced wake. It's not pro-size, but again for a 21 ft DD, it's nice!! and plenty large to do any tricks you need.

[sschnip]

The dealer states that you don't need the weight and that it will produce a wake as big as the Malibu wakesetter boats. What is your opinion on the wake size comparing the two boats.

[yllw20]

Take them both for a test drive and have your boys ride behind each. It is all rider preference.
My buddy has a 99 21 wakesetter w/the wedge...we had to wait the front of his boat down to get a good clean wake....kinda hard to turn w/wedge down and you cant make tight turns w/it down while riding. Let the boats do the talking for themselves.

[jeffro]

do what yllw20 said, test'em both. Make sure are comparing apples to apples though....

and if you want "bigger" wakes, you must add weight...period.

you won't "need" weight to get a wake out of the 21i for your boys to learn on, but when they want a bigger one, you'll be able to achieve it by adding weight. The good thing about learning on an un-weighted non-pro/advanced wake, is that they will be able to learn how to create line tension and edging correctly thus giving them good pop.

and from yllw20 says about the wedge on the malibu, i'd put money on the tige 21i out performing it, even with lots of wieght.

[forjar]

sschnip

Try to get ahold of Banks. He rides on a 2003 21 I and loves it. He is always saying that the 21I compares to any v-drive that he has been behind. I think that he would be able to give you some good answers to your questions.

[Banks]

I'll take that as a complement, thanks forjar.
Well as for the wake, it is very clean and can go as small or large as you want. The boat will get up and go, i have the 315 mercruizer. No matter how much weight i have put in it the engine just hasn't seemed to notice yet. A friend of mine who has been in wakeboard magazine a few times for article on him, has a vlx wakesetter v-drive, about the same size boat. Well, he had it weighted and the wake was about the same as mine, not to mention he doesn't use the wedge and i have been told many of the other pros do not. It's a nice boat but i would definatley prefer my tige'. The tige' has been the most comfortable ride i have been in, rough water ride and just lounging. Its a very classy looking boat also. And, to me it feels like i have more room to move and sit spaced out than the tige 20 and 22v. With or without weight i can still throw all my stuff. NOT BRAGGING PURELY FOR CREDIBILTY OF THE WAKE.
HS Back Roll, TS Back Roll, TS Back roll to revert, Tantrum, HS Front flip, Air Roll, ScareCrow, Front Roll.
The wake is plenty enough, especialy for intermediate riding, and it is easy to adjust the wake for other watersports that requier a small wake.
Whats nice is you can add as much hidden weight to the boat as you want too. Regardless of what the boat is though, you will notice, in order to get the monster wakes you are going to have to add weight, v or direct drive, doesn't matter. Oh and if you don't care about exposed weight the louch lounge sacs are awesome for added weight on either side of the engine and allow for more seating, and the seats can face the riders too, just like the reverse sky box in the back.

[Banks]

for pics of my boat just go to the gallery section and click my name. anymore questions just ask.

[forjar]

Banks

How much weight does that lounge add to the boat?

How much weight are you adding over all and where?

[Banks]

well i only have one right now i figure as soon as summer hits i am going to get another, i am using the one i have now down the bow to block the wind, its still a little cold on the water.
as for weight, i have about 350 lbs of cement in two tupoware boxes stacked up under the back seat, (fat sac blew up and i was too cheap to spend 110 bucks on a new one), i also have two water bed tube sacs which are about 110 lbs apiece. I put those in the back locker, i found that if i put the heavier, the cement, in the back it was harder to evenly weight the boat. and the lounge going down from the pylon forward weighs in around 500, i called up buy wake and asked how much and they said about 500 now and when the summer gets in fill it up in the morning and at the end of the day after it has streched add more and eventualy you could get it to about 700 lbs with out poping it.
i also have water bags in the front under the seat in the side pockets at about 50 lbs a piece.
so i guess about 1170 lbs, the engine doesn't even know its in there and i only have a three blade prop.
once the summer hits though, i am putting two lounges in one each side of the engine, and taking out the cement, i don't like having that in the boat. but adding the lounge will more than compensate for the cement, and besides during the summer we have a lot of people up so i will need the seats for people. and the fact that i don't let people sit on the engine cover to many times i have heard of those breaking so i am not going to chance it.

[sschnip]

Thanks for all the updates on the boat. It sounds like it will handle everything I need and then some.

[Domsz06]

thanks for the info banks about the wakesetter and what not. My friend seems to tell me that my wake will not be big enough for him(he's on the semi-pro tour in Hawaii) I keep telling him he will like it.

Dom

[Banks]

when he comes dom load it, put most of the weight on the sides of the engine, its easier to balance it then, a fat sac per side if you have them, then use what you have left to go to the front and back, as a general rule a little more in the front than the back, since the hull all ready falls into the water in the back.if you put a fat sac in the back locker you are going to need a fat buddie in each front locker or a fat sac down the bow of the boat but not all the way to the front start about even with the passenger side seat, where the end of it is closest to the pylon.
technicaly its probably not more in the front but it feels and looks that way

[Banks]

dom i had a revelation today. I came home and one of the left over bags of cement had been left out in the rain, well it hardened in a perfect rectangle weighing in at over 80 lbs and taking up little room, so i went to lowes tonight to get more and do the same since they took up less room and that way i could stop using the tube sacs. well, while i was there i saw rectangle bags of sand for like $3 a piece so i got 6 bags at 300 lbs, they don't take up much room and you can hide them and its 300 lbs i don't have to fill and unfill, the sand is wrapped in plastic with no leakage, just in case i am going to close them up in trash bags but sand isn't that hard to clean up. anyway its one more way to have small stuff that weighs alot with out paying an arm and a leg and less hassle. i am putting one in each of the front comparts, and 4 in the back compart, not to mention i moved one of my cement tubs into the back and put that 80 lbs block in there too. i took the other tub out, hated having it visible. the extra 4 i am going to keep out the boat unless its in the water i don't want to much weight on the trailer. i'll let you know how the wake is, i still have the lounge in there and have to pump it but that thing is worth it.