Boat with most freeboard
 

My wife and I may be looking for a new boat this year but she isn't wanting another wakeboat because "they sit too low to the water"... our current boat is a tige 20i and it does sit rather low to the water and its pretty easy to get water over the nose so I was curious to what your guys recommendations would be for a wakeboat with alot of freeboard to prevent this. Looking to stay under 35k and I would prefer to have a nice surf wave too if possible. We aren't hardcore pro boarders or surfers just like to be able to dabble in them both and not be handicap by the boat

What year is your 20i? I had an 06 and it was deeper than most tournament boats. I have a friend that has a supreme V230 that pretty deep as well.

In my experience, pickle fork boats will help with that problem. The broad, flat front end is harder to dunk.

maybe some driving lessons are in order? or prehaps a divorce lawyer?

I hear the MC X45 is really good at sucking people under the boat if you power turn into you own wake, whiile drunk, and kill it going through the wakes.

The OP most likely has something around 99 or 2000. I had the same model and the bow has low freeboard and additionally angles down. It is very easy to take water over if there is any weight up there.

If you want to stay with Tige you could get into a 22v in the 03-05 range for under 35. I have seen a 24v for sale on the Vegas Craigs list for under 35 for a long time. (no relation).

sounds like she is wanting a pontoon boat.

Pretty much anything newer is going to be deeper and not have a tendency to dip the bow but in the 35k range I would look for:

Moomba Mobius V
Tige 22v/ve
Tige 24v/ve
Centurion Avy
Centurion Enzo(tough to find for 35k)
Sanger V230 maybe
Mb B52 V23 or V3(they made a 22 and 23 foot version of these I think or maybe it is a 21 and 23)
Supra 21V(deep but never heard much great about the surf wake)

That would depend on the boat and what you are doing. My MB likes to take it over the forks when we are loaded with a bunch of ballast (almost double stock weight) - if we do not stop and wait for the wake to go by before turning around to pick up the rider.

I would say the Centurion Avalanche would be a good choice. I am not a big Centurion Fan but a buddy of mine had one and it had a very deep freeboard and the nose sat up quite high.
Had a great Wave as well..

As mentioned that older 20i bow does sit low. It's somewhat angled down as well. I will also argue on the just cuz it has a pickle it doesn't sit low. The x star fire example when weighted sits lox for sure the freeboard on the side is great but the nose still gets pretty low. Same with the Supra SA. At Nationals last year that thing took water over the bow at least 3 or 4 times.


Check out
Centurion Avalanche
Centurion Elite V C4
Supra 21v or 22SSV
Tige 22v


The avalanche by far will have the best surf wake with the Tige and the Elite V C4 not too far behind

The 22SSV is not a good option if you don't want something that will take water over the nose. It is sloped down like the the 24SSV and 242. Those three boats also like tons of nose weight to make matters worse. The 21 has a different shape to the front.

I have a supra 24v with the 1100 pound sac in the front plus 100 pounds of sand and never once dipped the nose. It might look like the nose really drops but it rides in the water a little more nose high than you think.

pickle forks don't help all that much either. Love the old xstars but lets be real, those forks took water over the nose all the time. That said, still one of my favorite wakes to ride.

Avalanche sits pretty low, I sold mine for that very reason. I own a Tige 24v (22v is the same hull) and it throws a sick wave and sits super super high off the water. I would say it's the tallest older boat you can buy (my opinion) and you can get them for under 35k pretty easily. The avalanche and the tige will have pretty similar waves. My tige with 3-4k still has the rubrail out of the water while surfing. Which is awesome.

my tige is a 2001 and it definitely is low to the water... and it is very easy to soak someone up front

i think a newer boat would be cheaper...

I was pretty much focused on teh 22v or Avy.... so that makes my choice pretty easy (22v or 24v).... I like those two anyways for the deep V hull for rough water...


Thanks guys

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to dip the nose in my 09 Supra 21v. I was BARELY moving. Color me very surprised when I did it.

Boat needed a bath, anyway ;)

Hey Pete- both of the Tiges you mentioned will do great in rough water- go to the owners site and you'll get a good review. I own a 2001 21V ( same boat as the 22V actually) and it does great in bigger water and surfs really well. Supra's are really nice too and sit a little higher than Tiges- at lease the 22ssv ( 08) that a buddy of mine had did. good luck.

I had a 2000 20i, and the water over the bow was certainly one of the reasons I got rid of it. It didn't bother me too much, but everyone else in my family struggled with it. For what it's worth, I really liked my 20i. Most boats out there will be an improvement on taking water over the nose, unless you go with something along the lines of a prostar 197.

its been a great boat but being a DD and dipping the nose ... its just time to upgrade... hopefully things will fall into place so I can get my boat sold this summer and start looking for a nice 22v

Speaking of sea worthiness...I watched a swamped X45 under tow come into the marina at Bear Lake UT. Waves were in the 4' range but the fact is, that most inboards are vulnerable as they do not have the ability to trim the nose up like an outdrive. Requires us to keep a proverbial ear to the ground when on big lakes. I don't know if this guy was victim to operator error or just caught too far from safety. I felt bad for him though.

My lake get's 3-4' in bad storms. One of the reasons I switched over to the Tige 22v. 21v and 22v aren't exactly the same. The 22v is taller and a little deeper. Both are good boats.

We have a 2002 23V and one of the main reasons we went bigger is our two little boys. I owned a ski nautique and my brother had a tige 20i. I was so tired of waves over the front. Never had that problem with our 23V. If given a choice between a 22 or 24 I would choose the bigger one every time.

ya i understand that and when the time comes its something we will have to look at but i still have a budget and the be able to store the boat into the space I have... again I get what you are saying and I will if I can