Buying First Wakeboard Boat and NEED HELP!

[dcaggiano]

My family and I are busying our fist wakeboard boat (used) and need help deciding which one would be the best fit or us. Our budget is around $30,000 and the most important things to us are seating capacity (we have 4 kids and are normally out on the water with at least one other family) and a boat that puts out a nice clean wakeboarding wake that can grow with us and as we all progress as riders.

Below is a list of the 3 boats we are currently deciding between. We really like the Tige 22ve because it can seat up to 14 people, but we have read a lot of mixed reviews in regards to the wake that the boat puts out for actual wakeboarding. I'm not sure if the because of TAPS system and if there is just not enough potential ballast to grow with serious wakeboard riders or if the wake is just not considered that great for wakeboaring compared to other boats in it's class and price range.

Any inout would be greatly appreciated! My family and I are very excited to take this step but really want to make the right decision.
Thanks again David

3 Boats we are considering

1. 2007 Tige 22ve
2 2007 MB Sports B52 V23
3. 2008 Moomba LSV

[IDBoating]

My number one recommendation: Start considering the surfing wave that each boat puts out. I know you only mentioned wakeboarding, but the odds are very high that surfing will become important.

1) When we purchased our first inboard boat 5+ years ago, my young son was only wakeboarding. It was my WIFE (bless her!) who suggested we needed a better wakeboarding boat to help him progress past the wake that our previous boat could create. We ended up with our then-new 2009 Tige 24Ve... and have hardly wakeboarded since. Absolute truth: We have five wakeboards in the boathouse and they never, EVER, go out. Nobody is interested anymore. Not our family, not our friends, nobody. Our long wakeboarding ropes sit unused in the storage compartment. I've seriously considered removing our beautiful wakeboard racks because they simply never get used (they're not wide enough to hold surfboards). This has happened to countless families, so it's likely to happen to yours. Choose accordingly.

2) Dealers report that wakesurfing drives 70-80% of new boat purchases today. Virtually everyone who walks into a dealer asks "What kind of surfing wave does it put out?" You can bet that same attitude exists in the used boat market too, which means when you go to sell the boat you're considering buying people will be asking about how it works for surfing. The better the answer for the boat you buy, the better its retained value and the more money you'll get back out of it.

Others will probably chime in with brand-specific recommendations. But I'm trying to help you see that you need to consider how you - and the next owner - are likely to use the boat. You may think "We're 100% wakeboarding, we don't care about that surfing stuff" but I promise we and others thought the exact same thing. It would be like buying a direct-drive waterskiing-specific boat today... it's catering to a small and shrinking market at the expense of what the vast majority of buyers are likely to want. And, frankly, what YOUR family and your friends are likely to want pretty quickly.

Surfing is incredibly family-friendly and appeals to a broader age range than any other towsport. You'll be trying it soon enough, and the odds favor it becoming your dominant watersport activity. You should spend your $30,000 with that in mind.

Hope this helps!

[BurnMac42]

^^ I second that...

We just had family out with us for a week and neither of their kids had ever wakeboarded or surfed...well, I can tell you after trying both that 90% of the time they just wanted to surf....

Plus, I'm not going to lie, I watch wakeboarding videos of all the dudes (even younger ones) that I grew up watching and 9/10 of them have at least one knee brace, if not two...

As I get older, this is a huge consideration since my income depends on my health....

[PaceWithGrace]

I agree with the above.

I'll just add that a boat that puts out a nice surfing wave will probably have a great wakeboard wave, too, so you can't lose.

I assume you already have a decent tow vehicle? Those are big boats (to tow) that you're considering. Nothing wrong with that but 6-7000 lbs. (including trailer) is significant.

Happy shopping! Test drive several before buying so you can get a feel/hear what's normal, differences between hulls, etc.

[IDBoating]

I'll just add that a boat that puts out a nice surfing wave will probably have a great wakeboard wave, too....

The inverse, however, is not necessarily true. I'll leave the naming of prominent examples to other respondents.

[Thegerman618]

Tige!!!!!! I have the 24Ve you won't be disappointed. All around great boat, but something you won't get with MB or Moomba is the family and benefits and you get with Tige'. This site is one of the best out there, loaded with only the best people.

[dcaggiano]

Thanks ski much to everyone who has responded I really appreciate your input and it sound alike great advice. As a father of 4 kids, 10 and under I'm sure at least half if not of them along with my wife and I will eventually take up wake surfing as well.

With tha in mind for those of you who are familiar with these thee three boats or even one of the three boats is their a clear winner when it comes to a great wakeboard and wake surf boat?

Thanks again for all your help! David

[JohnnieMo]

I use my wakeboard racks to hang wet life jackets. [emoji14]

We don't touch the others boards or the tube anymore. We have four surf boards though!

I don't have experience with those boats but from my somewhat biased perspective the Tigé is likely higher class than those other two. When I look at the market I see there being three segments (whether they are fair or not):

High Price:
Nautique, Mastercraft, Malibu

High Value:
Tigé, Centurion, Supreme

Budget:
Moomba, MB, Axis etc.

Now I think this is more traditional but likely what the average industry person would say. In the last five years though, there is a lot more blurring.

Sent from my Passport

[dzldoctor]

I also am in the market for a surfing boat close to that price range. I wanted to stay closer to 20k but seen what closer to 30k gets. My 1996 22i isn't quite cutting it.

[killerbren]

I was in the same spot you are in this spring, except I had more of an emphasis on a surf wave but still wanted a good wakeboard wave. I started my research from scratch and didn't have a clue about any of the manufacturers and what made them good/bad. With a lot of reading I had it narrowed down to a Centurion Avalanche or a Tige with a convex v hull (v or ve series). I honestly don't know much about the MB, but I would say the Tige will put out a better wave than the Moomba.

I ended up going with a 2006 22 ve and the boat is amazing, couldn't be happier.

[retox1]

I completely agree with the above comments about getting the one that surfs best, even if thats not your main thing right now. Someday when you do want to surf, it'll be much easier to learn on a decent wave. As for the 3 boats you mentioned, i'd go with the MB or the Tige. A good friend had a 06 Moomba LSV, which i believe is the same hull as the 08, and he could never get the wakeboard wake to clean up no matter what he tried. He also said it didn't surf that well no matter how much ballast they added. Not even close to my RZ2, according to him.

The 22ve might be a safe bet for you. I've never been in one, but the hull is basically the same as the 07 RZ2 which i have. The surf wave is quite good with some weight and the wakeboard wake is pretty good. Even without weight its pretty decent. Its also a pretty well built boat and its been basically trouble free, with the exception of some steering cable issues.