Best I/O boat for Wakeboarding

Looking at possibly getting and I/O boat w/tower. Have looked at the Caravelles, Crownlines and Bayliners. Have not demo'd any yet. Any suggestions on the best bang for the buck in getting a good wake is appreciated.

If you are going to pay the cash for a Charavelle, or a Crownline, you may as well buy a tournament boat. Bayliner's are cheap (literally) but the other two cost the same, or more than a tournament boat. Get a V-Ride. Cheaper than either of the two, and is excellent.

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/368983.html?1158246770

I'd say ride behind as many different kinds as you can before you buy, some i/o's put out a great wake and are easy to drive, others take a ton of work to tune and are tough to hold at speed.

Lots of people bash bayliners, but I rode behind one last weekend that had a great wake. I think it was a Capri 17something with a 3.0L 4-cyl and I wasn't expecting much, but the dude had it weighted, propped, and trimmed perfectly: easily the best $5,000 wake I've seen. His wife was taking pics, I'll see if I can get one that has the wake in it.

I ride behind a Larson and it seems to put out a decent wake, I have no weight, no tower, and only adjusted the prop for it, but it seems pretty good. I've never been behind a real wakeboat so I guess I don't know what a great wake is, but the wake on our Larson works for me.

The Crownlines are nice, but expensive, for the money get a wake specific boat.

If an I/O is more in line with your financing, def. demo as many as possible.

I'm partial, but so far everyone who has boarded behind my Tahoe has loved it and I haven't even added any kind of weight. Its been very easy to drive also (hold speed)

Newman, I also had a friend with a Capri 175 and he had it sacked out and had a nice wake to it. For the money you couldn't beat it.

Bayliners up to 1850 are ok when weighted properly, though it was impossible for us to dial the wake on a 2050.

Some Chris Craft put out an excellent wake, but the best I/O wake I've ever seen was on a Bombardier Celebrity, no longer manufactured.

My 2001 monterey montura 200 puts out a very nice wake. When I was shopping it weighed as much or more then any 19.5' boat out there (3400 lbs dry) so it is very solid and shouldnt need the massive weight many put in their older d drives just to get a decent wake. If you have specific questions just ask.

Buy a Cobalt... I have a 232, weights something like 4500 lbs., puts out a nice wake, and handles the chop like a go fast boat.

Can't go wrong with a Cobalt, but they will cost just as much, or more than a WB boat.

I've run I/O's for years.

* They're frustrating, you'll never get the wake you want.
* They don't stay put as the skier cuts left and right
* They have a hard time holding speed
* They don't weight well.
* They have a deep draft

A V-Drive boat exhibits the opposite characteristics. If you're open to reconsidering I think a lot of people on WW would recommend a tournament boat...It's simply a better design. You can step into a used tournament boat for in the $25-$30 range now.

I had a Bayliner 2050 SS. Special edition with full width sunpad and a 5.7 motor. With about 1800 lbs it threw an incredibly nice wake. Monster Tower, total investment was not much, people loved it, and did not worry about it getting torn up too bad.

That said, when the opportunity came to by an actual wakeboard boat, I jumped on it and have zero regrets. My family loves the Malibu more than the Bayliner, which was supposed to be a family boat.

Just depends on the family...the Bradys or the Bonifays.

The best wakeboard boat to buy for under 10k would be the 1983 - 1989 Correct Craft Ski Nautique 2001 series. This inboard boat does not have much people space but it makes up for that with a great hull with a wake that is hard to beat with a little ballast and a tower. Or if you need a little more people space the Open Bow 1993-1999 MasterCraft Prostar 205 will treat a wakeboarder right with some ballast as well.

Yo them Nauti's are dirty, they run forever, you can weight the hell out of them, they are one hell of a buy. And for resale, well, look at how much they are still selling for, about what they sold for 20 years ago, that doesnt happen with I/O's, I grew up with Four Winns, it did it all, but didnt do anything great, other than get the family together.

Whats the best way to sac out a bayliner 175??

I have a friend with a 25ft regal and that wake is the hardest wake I have ever scene. He had perfect pass on it and it seemed to hold speed. I would never own one myself but I have to give the boats wake credit where it is due.

We bought a brand new Bayliner 185 started boarding..then dumped it after one year. We were really close to buying a nice Cobalt. I was for some reasong convinced it would be a better choice than a wake specific boat. Then we test drove our 2005 Sanger V215 and never looked back.
Besides the obvious wake and tow benefits, the wrap around seating and sunpad in a v-drive are sooooo much better!!!
Anyways, test drive everything.

Really depends on what you want to do, I was hell bent on tracking down a used X-Star but after several rides in my buddies SSV I was convinced that a V-drive wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong, the v-drive was an outstanding wakeboard boat, but it just didn't do it for me in other areas. We ride on the intercoastal and several bays, the water gets rough and the v-drive wasn't any fun. With the Cobalt we can run anywhere (in comfort) and it pulls just fine when we want to ride. Only complaint is the ability to hold speed, but that's a $1000 problem that can easily be fix...

I rode a Reinell a few days ago. I think it was about 30-35K new OTD loaded with tower, racks stereo etc.
I have to admit, the wake was close to my Malibu VLX. Different shape and a little smaller, but real good noe the less. If you a pro, it will be a huge differnce, if your a beginner or intermediate, you probably won't care.

http://www.hydrostream.com

this man makes some sweet boats. the new boat he just designed a I/O wakeboarding boat. and yes it throws a good wake.. now a loaded down X1, bu or nautique but it does thrown down. he designed this boat so the box falls first so you dont get that I/O bouncing because the boat sits in the water evenly. no deep "V" hull. the interior is very nicely set up and there is TONS of room inside. its not set up like a traditional I/O. Big tower on it and plenty of power to it.. this is a GREAT i/o wakeboarding boat... did i mention how AWESOME IT LOOKS.. want a sneak peak??? for all you delta guys that launch at rivers end and right before you get to fast water by the "goosenest" make a right down the river by the houses.. and yes it is 6 feet deep there so no worries... amazing boat at an amazing price
the model is called the Ventura

I feel like I just watched a show hosted by Ron Popeil.