Tige vs Nautique vs Malibu SURF

[dr1v3n]

Hey all - I wanted to see if anyone had any input on why they bought a Tige over the Nautique and Malibu. Like anything, people surrounding me are constantly asking my why I bought a 2014 Z3 New last summer instead of a Bu or Nautique. I simply respond with a few reasons that I personally have. Mostly it was about design and the wave. I felt that the Tige had the best wave out there and all we do is Surf. Does anyone else have any additional points? Just for discussion sake if nothing else....

Thanks!

[c_hotshot]

Simply put - it was the best value. Well constructed. And, I've got a great dealer in Houston with Texas Tige.

[dilpickle]

When shopping last year, we looked at a lot of boats, had narrowed down to Malibu MXZ 20 or 22 & Tige Z1 or Z3. The layout of the boat is what got us seriously looking at the Tige's. In order of importance, when ended up in the Tige because of

1-Transom walk-through & seating at rear of boat
2-Higher freeboard allowing for more comfortable seating
3-Z-cline driver's seat
4-Dealer relationship
5-Overall value (70-95 for Tige vs 80-110 for Bu)

[WYTige?]

I don't have anything new but if I were buying new I think I still would go with Tige. Simply put they are quite functional and if I'm honest, they look the best. They have great lines and their towers are the best looking. I really don't like the looks of the others except Malibu.

[BCRider]

The majority of people still believe that if it's not Malibu, Nautique, or MC that it must be crap. Maybe because they've never been in one or there isn't a dealer near you for hours on end. You hear "fit & finish" be thrown out all of the time. Everyone has different sized bank accounts and what they are willing to spend or put value in. Would I love a G. Hell ya, but I'd have to be making some serious coin to drop that much on a boat. Being 36 in one of the most expensive places to live I am more than happy with my 6 year old boat. Sure, all the boats have different pro's and cons but to say a Tige, MB, Supreme, or a Centurion is not a nice boat is just down right stupid....IMHO.

[bsreid]

Before we bought our boat we went to the boat show and looked in all of the boats and talked to the dealers. We didn't buy are boat at the boat show. But the main reason we bought a tige was because of the dealer, the guys at redline water sports were awesome to deal with, even though We could of bought a Malibu from a dealer half the distance away. We had never really owned a boat like this before so we didn't do a water demo we just trusted John at redline and you guys at tigeowners. But now that we have owned one, in the future we will be doing a water demo to compare rzr, z1 ect. Also when looking at the r20 we wanted the most bang for are buck, compared to the axis and supreme boats the r20 looked like a much higher quality boat for a entry level. Every body who surfs behind our boat is impressed coming from Malibu and centurion owners.

[Dandy]

Sure, all the boats have different pro's and cons but to say a Tige, MB, Supreme, or a Centurion is not a nice boat is just down right stupid....IMHO.

I think it won't be long and manufacturers are going to be looking at companies like MB and Supreme that put our very nicely built boats without the tech cost - in turn keeping them "value priced" - and say "where the hell did they come from?". Tige's line up is getting right up there in price with comparable boats from other manufacturers and Centurion is right there with Nautique, BU and MC. Personally I think that BU is very over rated. The build quality is just crap. Still using screw down, flimsy seat bases...carpet carpet carpet...they are still selling off the quality build and reputation of the '80s

[Ewok]

I bought mine in 2010. I was introduced to the Tige company through a friend who's family had been buying Tige's since the 1990's. The Tige story I was told was that Tige wasn't necessarily a better wakeboard wake, but it was pretty good. It didn't have as many fancy bells and whistles as a MasterCraft, but it had some and was comfortable. It wasn't the best at anything, but it was pretty good all around, and as a family ski/wakeboard boat it was about 20-30k less expensive than an equally sized MasterCraft. Then surfing got popular and Tige lucked out by having great surf wakes, probably due to the convex-v hull, and they capitalized on that. Now they had a way to stand out and give themselves that extra push to be good at many things but the surf wave was a standout. As you can see they have grown the line (and prices) to push themselves into the higher luxury and performance boats but it's hard for them to shake the 20 years of marketing as a value boat brand.

I was planning and saving for a used X-15, it was my dream boat, until I saw the RZ2. The value aspect of the Tige line was huge, and I got an even better deal on top of that because I bought a leftover 2009. The interior storage space and large seating area of the bow sold me on the RZ2. I also had a tour of the Tige factory and had a demo of an RZ2 in very rough water conditions and that was what really sold me on the company. Some people think the TAPS plate is a fix for a design flaw in the Convex-V hull but it's really a part of the design as well. You actually have to use the TAPS plate as you drive throughout the day and adjust it based on boat load, speed and water conditions, it's not a set it and forget it wave shaper. It's more like trim on an airplane, you must always be trimming to find and maintain the optimum running or wake attitude. This is what sold me on a Tige over a Malibu, Nautique or MasterCraft. I have driven and ridden behind all 3 before I made my purchase and the rough water handling and ability to adjust trim angle with the TAPS plate, plus interior storage, plus price are what sold me on the boat and the brand.

Of course, the landscape has changed in the last 5 years. Many boats can surf well now and the prices of Tige boats have increased, decreasing the value aspect of Tige. That's probably the biggest reason they get so much negative attention when being compared to one of the big 3, the fact that they used to be marketed as a good value and people don't see that value aspect in the sticker prices as much as they used to.

[dukesofhazzard]

the new tiges are just the plain sexiest boat out there.
of course that is my opinion, and I just happen to own an older tige, that I still feel is one of the nicest for that year. alpha z nicest tower out there.

[BLucas86]

The 15' Z3 was a clear winner for us for the following reasons:
Over all aesthetics, surfability, interior look and floor plan, captains chair, Tivoli steering wheel, cooler placement, trash can accessibility, screen placement, TT2, decadence floorings and having wet sounds stock. The whole package and fine tune details really set it apart from the rest. Raptor motor and now knowing that it has one of the best GPH, really seals the deal.

[Z3CO23]

I think some of this comes down to regional aspects. I can only speak about the Colorado market intelligently. Well represented in the Denver metro area at Tige, Malibu & Mastercraft. Supreme and Centurion are sold just north of Denver but the dealer is a traditional I/O boat carrier and just has 1 or two wake boats in stock at any one time. Nautique is represented in Denver but the dealer is very new. Supra and Moomba are about 3 hours west of Denver in Pubelo. With that said, Malibu and Tige dominate the water for the most part here.... this is not to say that the Mastercraft dealer doesn't do its fair share of business.

In any length and with any option list you will find a better priced boat with Tige than any other dealer in the metro area. I say this excluding Axis boats and Moomba because they are designed to be at a lower price point. Mastercraft prices are insane here and some malibu's can be scary. 22 vlx here can go for as much at 104/110 ish. They have the ls3 and such.

WWS here in denver is a great dealer and I think that influences lots of it's sales here. I would never hesitate in buying a boat from them. The only thing I would say is that if you compare a Z boat to it's competitors in the appropriate sizes, they do feel a tad narrower. The designs of the Tige's blows everything out of the water though. I've never had quality issues with my boat.... I've had a few with my trailer but that's not Tige's fault.

[Iwndr]

I think you can get sued for even mentioning Tige in the same sentence with Nautique and Malibu.....

[thtrog]

I think you can get sued for even mentioning Tige in the same sentence with Nautique and Malibu.....

Haven't I seen pics of you surfing a Bu???

[Iwndr]

Haven't I seen pics of you surfing a Bu???

And it had a dam fine wake

[What she said]

Me, and the wife had our hearts set on a Z3 with TAPS3 (we test drove 2015 Z3 with AVX, 2016 Z3 with taps3, and 2016 RZX with taps3), but after driving the 23LSV Malibu we had a change of heart. After playing the dealers against each other we got the 2016 Malibu 23LSV for about $2k more than a 2016 Z3. We felt like we let Eagle Marine down since they have been so awesome to us, but i have also purchased 2 Malibu's from WSA and they are a quality dealer as well.

Reasons for going with the 23LSV
Better surf wave.
easy to dial in surf wave.
shorter boat with a larger cabin.
Better interior layout.
But all of that was not really the deal breaker!
Deal breakers=
Drive ability, and handling.
#1 REASON= WAKEBOARD WAKE AT SLOWER SPEED FOR THE KIDS!!
Funny part was i was in search for the best wave money could buy, and i think we found that. Also got an awesome wakeboard wake.
Biggest advantage of the TIGE is styling!

Truth be told you cant go wrong with either boat!! Other than the price tag.

I will still vist this site, because this has been one of the best boards ever!