New to the sport want to do it right need help

New to the wakeboarding sport. Tried it ones and now I’m hooked. Need help getting into the sport and doing it right. First I need a boat I have been doing a lot of research and know they are not cheap. I want a boat that I will progress with and become a better wakeboarder with. I’m thinking I will have to spend around $85k to $90k, and I’m ok with that to get a great boat that will last a long time. The best part is the wife is on board with it. So I need help picking out a good boat either a Master Craft, Correct Craft, Supra, Tige, or Malibu new or used all suggestions are welcomed. Is buying new better that buying used? And than what ever else I would need to enjoy the sport and do it safely.

You dont nead to spend near that kind of money for a great boat. Buy a v drive for sure either 22 or 23 foot both give plenty of room and throw a great wake. I own a tige and love it. My next boat will probably be the rz2 from tige. my friends own nautiques, and malibus and they are also great boats.

As for used or new if you buy a low hour used boat that looks well kept you can save some doe and end up with a boat that will last for a long time. However buying new allows you to put all your own options on from the start and you know the complete history of the boat.

Dealer relationship should play a huge part in your decision. Those are all great boat makers with lots of models that will fit a lot of buyers lifestyles. You need to start checking them all out (seatrial is a must) but first make a list of what you want in a boat based on how you will use it, water conditions you boat on, number of people on a regular trip, etc. Then narrow down a short list of models and go with the one that is the best mix of price, fit, and dealer. Definitely consider a bigger boat then what you think you may need, this will prevent 2ftitis for awhile, we went from an 18" I/O bowrider to a 22" Tige and couldn't be happier with the room, storage, ride and overall performance and quality.

www.southernskiboats.com - just another one to add to the list to check out.

A critical factor is to test drive the boats. They are all different and when you drive different sizes you'll see what seems great and what has too little or too much space.
Boats on the water are quite different than in the showroom in how you feel inside.

With your kind of budget, I would buy the best. The Xstar is the ultimate wake boat.

This is what it's all about.

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/8/615430.html?1223553552

Shameless plug...

Jake, there are some questions you could answer for us to help narrow it down to a couple suggestions but in the end you need to choose the boat you like the best.

How will you be using the boat and what is most important to you? wakeboarding, skiing, surfing, partying, family cruises?

How big of a lake/river/bay are you on and is there salt water?

Are there any size restrictions? Either on your lake/river or storage/garage space issues?

What do you value when making a purchase? You get to choose 2 of 3. Price, Service, Quality.

Advantages of buying a new boat are that you can build the exact boat you want and you get the full warranty. Disadvantages are that you pay a premium. Like cars boats probably lose between 25%-33% of there value in the first 3 years. After that it depreciation slows quite a bit.

Thanks for all the great advice, and keep it coming.
I will be using the boat mostly for wakeboarding, wakesurfing, and all-round good time on the water.
The lake is Lake Anna here in Va, the second largest lake in Va. And maybe the occasional run up and down the Potomac River, but mostly Lake Anna.
The boat will be stored at a boat storage facility, no room in my garage with all the other toys(Atv’s, Model A, and my wife’s Mini).
The two things that I value when making a purchase are quality and service.

Sounds like something in the 22-24 foot range is what you would be looking for. Also something with a decent amount of freeboard. Hopefully there are some people on this site that can give you some experiences with your local dealers. Being in Virginia you probably don't have all the westcoast boats. All the brands you listed are quality boats. I personally believe that Malibu, Mastercraft and Nautique are all pretty close in quality. I would put Supra and Tige a small step below them. Like other have said I would find the models you like and test drive them all.

Here are some of the boats I would take a look at.

Mastercraft: Swivel racks, Quality is top notch
X-15: Big boat for the length, good at everything
X-35: Deeper V, huge freeboard.
X-45: Huge boat, I love this boat.

Malibu: High quality, very plush, good price to qulity ratio
23LSV: Big boat with lots of storage and almost no need for additional sacks.
24LSV: Living room sized boat, great boat

Nautique: Top notch quality, unique interior
230/236 air: Big boat, great wake.

Supra: Good quality for a reasonable price: not too much experience with
22SSV: good wake
24SSV: good wake

Tige: Seem to be catching people's eye lately, good rough water ride, more of a value based boat.
22VE
24VE
RZ2
RZ4

Additionally, Mastercraft makes a saltwater series (SS) which would be good if you jaunt to any of the Atlantic's intercoastal waterways. My vote would be for the X-15 so long as you have a MC dealer in the area.

Holy smokes. This guy is a dealer's dream customer. Mondo huge budget & could be persuaded to buy just about any high end boat.

After riding for over 15 yrs, I can only WISH that I had the kind of coin to make a purchase like this. I don't have $90k tied up in my boat, truck, ATV, dirtbike & my wife's car..... and their all less than 4 yrs old.

my picks

SAN 230 - awesome quality, great wake, huge boat

X-35 - awesome quality, from what i have seen good wake, and big big boat

MB Tomcat - look awesome, great wake, big boat

Supra 24ssv - good wake, great seating, big boat

Moomba XLV - Big boat, great wake, save $$ and take a vacation

Resale value is always something to consider.

Chaparel Sunseta Extreme (check out the add on their website and you'll be a believer)or SeaDoo Wake series.

good luck with your search.

www.onlyinboards.com

Ian, my next ad after the first 180 days is free right?

Sinko (sinkoumn) on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 -
Resale value is always something to consider.

Hehe, shyea, $90k Mastercrafts are still worth that a couple years later, right?!

Well, their worth 1/2 that, right?!

Jake,
Try to meet people that ride in your area and go out and check out their boat's until you develop a better sense of what you like or dislike. As you gain experience wakeboarding and being out on different boats it won't be to long before you can answer these questions for yourself. The find a third section of wakeworld is great for finding a ride in your area.

Good luck,
Walt

you got it slipknot!

There are a bunch of MB's in your area, definitely check them out.

you cant go wrong with any of them imo. depends on dealer

I'm on my third correct craft and love them currently have an 07 220 superair and love it. holds eight with no problem lots of room and the wake is huge with 3 extra 750 bags it gets nasty take all the weight out and pull beginers.. The only reason I didn't get the 236 was the fact a slow speed towing kids wakeboarding there is just no chance of the wake setting up I put 500lbs in the nose and the wake is clean at 17mph if you don't have kids then no worries... My 2 cents

Don't forget Centurion....especially for surfing....

Heading out to a boat show in Annapolis Md. Going to check out the Master Crafts. Don’t know if they will be doing demo rides or not. What should I be looking for and does anyone have any good questions to ask the dealer?

well, let us know what you buy when you get back tonight!

Good luck with your search.
My advice would be to compare each boat equally (especially if you aren't able to drive a boat at the boat show).
1. Dealer relation
2. Warranty (Tige offers replacement warranty on the hull, while most other companies offer repair warranty)
3. Engine performance and reliability
4. Obviously exterior and interior design, comfort, seating arrangement, fit and finish.
5. Stability of tower
Just to name a few.

You've got time to do your research to find the best!

Jake - ask your dealer to show you the wake at your comfort level. if you are new to the sport i would doubt that you really want to ride 24-25.

In demo the dealer will try to show you the best case scenario to sell you on it.

look at the wake and ride it at the exact setup you feel most comfortable for being a new wakeboarder and even driver for that matter. are you going to slam it with 4k lbs. or use it stock ballasted? is your lake small or big? this all weighs in the the boat you choose.

MCs don't typically make the best wake unless they are heavily weighted, then when they are heavily weighted (as with most boats) they don't turn well.

it all goes back to how you use it. and you comfort level being a new owner of a $85K boat.

.02

If you want a boat now, and you're not completely sold new new or used, why not go spend 25-30k on a boat that is a few years older, use it for a season or 2, sell it for roughly what you paid for it...

Get more familiar with riding and what you really want in a boat, take your 85k and go buy an x-star when you're ready..

If you want a boat that you can progress with you should find one that will take the extra weight should you decide to run more. Don't limit yourself.

---

quote:

MCs don't typically make the best wake unless they are heavily
weighted, then when they are heavily weighted (as with most boats)
they don't turn well.

---

The X-Star still turns well when weighted. There are other boats that handle reasonably well too but on the other hand there are some that don't. That's why I suggested getting in as many as possible before you buy.

Great advise Jake !

I'm with Jake all the way. Since you are just starting out, go buy a boat that is a few years old and make sure this is really for you, and determine what you like and don't like about the boat you got. Then in a few years go out and make the big purchase.

Jake,

I have some friends who have purchased from the MC dealer in Maryland (I think its Bay Water Sports). While I haven't had any interaction with them, they've had good experiences They're on their 2nd X-1 (well, technically their first was an X-2...).

I would stay away from Chessie Marine (Maryland's CC & 'bu dealer) as I've never heard anything good about them. I can't give you any info on Lake Country Marine.

Southern Ski boats is the MB dealer, located just south of Richmond (Alan-S used to work for them), and they have been good to me over the past 2 years.

The Boat Shop down at Lake Anna is the Supra/Moomba dealer (they are a satellite for the Maryland dealer, Performance Boats). Rob runs the shop and is a great guy. I've dealt with him since '03 when I first bought a Supra and have continued to seek his advice even now that I own an MB (I store my boat at High Point Marina, where the shop is located). I can't begin to tell you all the great experiences me and many others have had w/ Rob. Hell, Rob even let a friend of mine borrow his tools so we could fix his boat right in the parking lot!

Hope this helps, and give a shout if you see me on the water next year (see boat pic in profile, I'm kinda hard to miss...).

(Message edited by dan.smith on October 15, 2008)

Get the Malibu 23 LSV. Big boat, lots of storage, looks good, great wake, and handles chop real well.

I guess you cant go wrong with that kinda budget.

Jake these posts open a can of worms. I think all will agree if your buying a new or almost new boat your dealer is a HUGE deal almost like a marriage. We had a local dealer that sold a TON of boats but most would tell you their service and support sucked they just recently had their dealership yanked from them. Most will push MC,BU,CC but as you can see lots of people extremely happy with other brands. Go try and ride in them all!!!! Have fun with it. I was shocked when I started looking I thought only MC but have driven about 7 different boats and brands. The best riding and most comfortable boat I was in was not any of the big 3. Still looking but have to go fairly used. Good luck have fun and test drive lots of boats its ok to be that customer!!

Maybe I'm in the minority but I wouldn't bring my boat to a dealer for work unless it's warrantee stuff.

Agree with Walt. Although there are exceptions. Some dealerships really pride themselves on their service department and do an excellent job.

You tried the sport once, and you want to drop $90K on it???
Hopefully, $90K is nothing to you.
If so, go for it.

If $90K is a sizable chunck of money to you (which it must be if you need your wife's buy in), you should think about this a bit before parting with your money.

If you ride on the weekends in the summer, pretty much any wakeboard boat with a tower will meet your needs for the next 1-2 years.

The smart thing to do would be to buy a used boat under $20K. See how much you like the sport after a year or two. How often you actually use your boat, etc. If you are super into it after a year or two, then go for it.

Your $20K boat won't depriciate much in a year or 2, unless you do something to mess it up. If you do mess up your $20K boat (if you are new to boating) - then you will be super glad you didn't go for the $90K boat right off the bat.

I hope this info helps.

I feel the opposite as some of the guys on the board do. I went with a new boat as my first boat because it had to be a good experience. If I had bought the crappy 10K boat my wife was aiming for, we would not be boaters now due to the constant headache of maintenance and breaking down. Those headaches cost money and time lost on the water.

I did not know much about how these machines work when I first bought a boat. Now that I have some experience, I am not against buying a used boat, but am very glad that the new boat was my first one. You said service and quality were more important than price...go get the new boat.

I did some research when I bought my boat, but as you can see, everyone has an opinion. Boating is an affair of the heart. Visit a few dealerships and then run with your heart and don't look back. It is not always logical. You can literally get paralyzed trying to figure out what to do.

Personally, I think the Tige RZ2 is going to fit the bill perfectly.

I couldn't agree more Jake (nwsjake10) and others who are echoing what he suggests. We did exactly that and are VERY glad we did. If you go used, definitely suggest one with at least a couple of years of a warranty left. And of course, do your due diligence like you would purchasing any used item.

A few things to consider and that we learned by not buying 'exactly' what we 'thought' we wanted the 1st time around-

1- There are some options and amenities etc. that seem to be 'no brainers' or invaluable. But once you have a boat with them, they do not seem to be used/needed or valued near as much as they seemed to be in the showroom...(aka-waste of money).

2- On the flipside, there are options/amenities that seem to not be very important/useful/valuable at first, but once you start to spend time on the water and use the boat the way you and your family/peeps use it, you will find that there are things that you didn't think were a good idea when purchased, but soon find that are now a good idea for your style and the way you use your boat...(aka-better use of money)

3- Once you have a boat and are spending time on the water with others within the boating community, you will come across a lot of different boats (at the docks, parking lots, tie-ing up, etc) and will find things you like/dislilke, good ideas/bad ideas etc. that you can apply to what you have going.

4- We had our first boat for 3 seasons and kept a list along the way & took mental note of things we would want to change/upgrade/must-haves on our next boat. When we went to purchase our next boat, our laundry list of must-haves helped us narrow in on a boat that best suited our goals, lifestyle, and budget.

5- That being said, we have been making mental note and keeping a list of what we want our 'next' boat to have/not have etc, mainly because our family and interests have grown and changed over the past 4 years.

Hope that helps...Jones-n' and jealous of those of you still ridin'!}

I visited the boat show in Annapolis this weekend. It was an ok show seemed to be geared more towards the luxury yachts. There was however Correct Craft, Malibu and Master Craft there.
The Correct Craft dealer brought the Crossover Nautique 236. I liked the boat and the dealer talked it up a lot and even offered to bring the boat to me for a demo. The helm on the Nautique was really nice and the way a person can rearrange the seats was a cool concept. I did find myself almost hitting my head on the tower speakers, is this normal on other boats? The same dealer brought along a Malibu 23LSV again a very nice boat and the MaliView dominated the dash board, I like having gauges find it easer to glance at wile driving.
I was very disappointed in the Master Craft dealer. One of there best boats is an X-Star and they did not even have one. The did have an X-45, X-80, and an X-2. However this will not discourage me from looking at them further. I did talk to one of there sponsored wakeboarders, which I felt was both informative and helpful.
So in closing it was an ok show, some sweet looking million dollar yachts, and great to meet local dealers. But I think I’m still undecided and still shopping and looks like I will be demo riding with in the next couple of weeks, weather permitting. As for buying a used one it is a possibility as long as it has a good maintenance record, I would rather be on the water than fixing something in my garage. As for boating experience I have been boating, swimming, and skiing most my life. My wife has always been afraid she might get motion sickness, but she was fine as long as we kept moving and she thoroughly enjoyed it.
As for spending good money for a good boat is not a big concern as long as my wife and I are happy. Even though I’m new to wakeboarding I have friends, and I can always offer up a ride to someone, who are better than me and watching them pull some sick tricks off the back of my boat would make me just as happy.

I agree with talltigeguy, if you have the $$ buy new - have fun on the lake!

And don't forget to check out the RZ2 during your shopping spree!

Check out the tige rz2

Its a great boat for every thing. i dont have one but we seriously looked into them. its an awesome boat. and you can get it pretty much fully loaded for around 50 K
check it out! good luck

THe mastercraft X-star is a terrific wakeboarding boat, but will get beat to death in the bigger lakes. I will never own a boat without a trim tab or some way of putting the front of the boat down a little so that it can slice through the bigger waves. Most of the other Mastercrafts have gone that way for this purpose. I bet that is why they did not have an X-star there.

Tige has the tallest towers I have seen. I am 6'9" and have no problem standing up under the Z or E series tower. With big speakers too. MC's towers have pretty good height on them too.

The marina at the Annapolis boat show (Bay Water Sports) probably didn't bring an X-Star because this wasn't the show for it. There are shows later in the year (Washington Boat Show and National Capital Boat Show) that have all the brands (Supra, MB, CC, Tige, Malibu, MC, etc.) and cater more to the water sports community.

Lake Anna (the closest lake to him) is by no means a big lake (maybe 10 miles end to end, but only 1 mile at its widest point). Sure, on the weekends it can get quite choppy, but nothing compared to some of your bigger lakes, and who would even want to venture out in that crap?

Except for the scenery, there's no logical reason to ride on the Potomac in DC. In other words, riding around in tons of chop should not be a big concern for him.

David,

If you know of a 2009 RZ2 for 50K, please send me an email right now. There are some leftover RZ2's that are 2007's and are very good steals in that price range, and maybe a few 08's as well.

With the costs of production increasing, it would be extremely difficult to get a 2009 RZ2 under 60K with decent options.

I found a great demo checklist on tige.com

It may be helpful when comparing all brands equally.

http://www.tige.com/demo.php

i have a killer 21i tige for sale and its awesome for wakeboardn and surfn,its completly loaded with all the options and then some. seriously its a sweet boat,for more info and pics call me at 406 439 6920 corey or 14064436400 at mt boat center tom. thanks

i have a killer 21i tige for sale and its awesome for wakeboardn and surfn,its completly loaded with all the options and then some. seriously its a sweet boat,for more info and pics call me at 406 439 6920 corey or 14064436400 at mt boat center tom. thanks

check out the '09 malibu v-ride and the MC x-1's as well.

the sanger v-215 is sick.

Jake,

MC or CC only. That is all.

Don't kid yourself. You can't wakeboard anyway. J/K much love.

Jake,

MC or CC only. That is all.

Don't kid yourself. You can't wakeboard anyway. J/K much love.