Good boat for cruising the lake & boarding?

I am considering buying a Malibu or Tige boat, either the Wakesetter 23 LSV or 247 LSV or Tige RZ4. I am planning on using the boat for wakeboarding, wakeskating, and wake surfing. In addition, I want to be able to cruise down the Colorado river and Lake Havasu with the family and friends (around 8 people) and not get beat around. Both aspects are are equally important to me.

So my concern is how do these boats handle cruising down the Colorado river (near Moabi, Topock gorge, sand bar, etc) and in the rougher waters that can occur at Lake Havasu? Would I be better off getting an I/O instead maybe a Chaparral or Cobolt and put a wake tower on it?

I am sure their are many members on here that use their wakeboard v-drive in these waters and could offer some great advice.

Thanks!