Is it worth the money??

I am curious is it really worth the extra 10000 for a true wakeboarding boat..if so what are the advantages, are there any disadvantages??

Loaded question...

If you got the extra 10000, Yes.

If you don't have the extra 10000, No.

Best way to decide and note the advantages/disadvantages is to test drive/ride yourself. Only way to do it.

thanks...me personally no i don't have 10 000 but my parents yes...what are the advantages though??

you said it on your post "wakeboarding boat", that's the advantage, a boat that is made for ski/wakeboard.
You should study your priorities on your boating necessities and then point at possible buys.

If the difference is $10K, you're comparing apples to oranges. Here's a pretty direct comparison:

21' 2005 SeaRay 200 Sport I/O bowrider with carpeting (optional), two-tone gel coat (optional) and a 260 hp 5.0 liter V8 (optional): list is $33,330, with trailer.

20'8" Moomba Mobius LSV v-drive with trailer (and the optional a swing-away tongue, which is standard on the SeaRay) and a few other options: list is $34,650. But for that price, here's the additional equipment you get:
-310 hp 5.7 liter V8
-Tower
-Board racks
-Four-blade CNC prop (vs. 3-blade alum. on the SeaRay)
-1-bag ballast system
-Three tracking fins
-Swim platform
-Four-speaker stereo w/CD (vs. 2 speakers on the SeaRay)
-CGA approval for 2 more people

The tower alone more than justifies the price difference, so all the other extra stuff on the Moomba is "free."

But does any of the equipment make a difference? Absolutely. The advantages of the tower are obvious. The board racks are near essentials if you have more than two boarders on board. Plus, the Moomba engine will pull much better and the boat will hold speed much better, it will track much better, you'll hate a boat without a swim platform, and it will look better. It runs smoother and it's safer, plus you can wakesurf behind it.

Of course, you'll probably want more ballast, but at least you can add it to the Moomba (@$650); the SeaRay doesn't offer any ballast, even as an option. And Moomba offers other nice-to-have factory options that you can't get from the SeaRay factory, like Perfect Pass, tower speakers, a sub, amps, a hydraulic wakeplate, and more.

merci!

Since I have been around boats all my life some of my friends seek my guidance about boats. The first thing I tell them is that the least expensive "wakeboard" boat is a much better choice then the best performing "multi-purpose" I/O. It has happened three times where my friends listen more to the I/O salesman and ended making a Sea-Ray/Four Winns/Regal boat purchase. In all three cases they ended up regretting these purchases. One of them took a large loss and switched to a wakeboard boat after the first season, the other two still own boats they don't use/enjoy that much.

I think the illustration Jeff has made is excellent. Do youself a favor and buy a boat that has the prop underneath the boat not behind it.

THanks alot guys now that i know they are better can you perhaps tell me why???

First and foremost, a WB boat will have a better wake (IMO, a much better wake). I'm not putting down I/Os, but I don't know of anybody who really likes boarding and sold a WB boat to get an I/O. OTOH, lots of people moved from an I/O to a WB boat after they got into boarding (me being one of them) and never regretted it.

Because of fundamental hull design characteristics, a wakeboard boat's wake will be firmer, higher, and cleaner, and it will hold its shape through a much larger speed range.

In addition, wakeboard boats offer ballast systems. As discussions on WW show, just about everyone who boards wants ballast--and the more the better. Wakeboard boats are set up for ballast, and I/Os are not.

As I said before, a wakeboard boat holds a constant speed much better (which is quite important for good boarding), it tracks better (which is important for hard cuts to the side), it pulls stronger (so it's easier for newbies to get up, and this helps it hold speed to closer tolerances), it is safer (because the prop is underneath the hull instead of hanging out the back), you can wakesurf behind it (which you cannot do with an I/O unless you have a death wish), it is more responsive in turns and acceleration (making it more fun to drive), you can have wakeboarding options installed at the factory (e.g., Perfect Pass, racks, towers, speakers, etc.), it thas less bow rise, and it has a swim platform (much easier to put your board on and to climb out of the water).

There are a few downsides compared to I/Os. The hull characteristics that give a WB boat a better wake also make it ride rougher in choppy water. A WB boat has less top speed. It also is less efficient and uses more gas. It is trickier to manuever a WB boat in tight spaces than an I/O. And, if you're into DIY maintenance, winterization is a more involved process. But, if boarding is the name of the game, the benefits of WB boat FAR outweigh the disadvantages.

My wife and I are picking up a new 18.5 ft 190 horse power I/O we are just getting into wakeboarding and also have two kids 11 and 9 will this do the job this is what we can afford thanks for the input

The most expensive boat is the one you buy twice because the first one is not what you really wanted/not suited to what you want to do with it.
If you wanna wakeboard, buy a wakeboard boat. I would recommend buying one a couple of years old with a few hours on it for the same price as a new IO. I recently found an old Ski Brendella for 7k for my pal, he was going through the same thing you are. He put a monster tower on it, we tuned it up, he is absolutely thrilled with it. It's not the latest greatest, but if you have kids that are going to be in and out of the water all day, it's nice not to have to constantly worry about them jumping onto the prop and outdrive. Plus, inboards are WAY more fun to drive. And, much better resale. And, they have the cool ass mojo. Just my .02 You'll have fun on any boat.

I forgot all about the outdrive issue with I/O's.... That is such a huge deal with kids. I remember with my Cobalt I was always on edge when my son was playing near the transom. Also had a friend slice her knee fairly good on the prop while out "taking care of business" the female way. That issue can be taken care of with a good extended swim platform, but will add 2-3 grand to the overall cost of the boat.

Anyway....besides my addiction, that was a huge selling point to my wife & trust me, the selling points were few and far between for her.

E.J.

TJ,

Good luck with your purchase. You are following a path well traveled, it seems that maybe you had your mind made up before you posted your question?

My buddy went down this path with an almost identical boat. I made some casual recommendations such as V8 motor and V-drive then shut my mouth. After his first year of ownership he decided it didn't have enought power and traded up to the next model I/O with a 300hp V8 losing $5k and a year of less then desireable boat performance. Now he is happy running up and down the river but he calls me when he wants to go boarding. He would rather board behind my 10 year old direct drive inboard then behind his I/O. Ironically his ultimate decision for to purchase this type of boat was driven by his wife. To date she has been in the boat a grand total of one afternoon.

He is a good third so it's all good.

Best of luck.
Mike

thanks.. maybe later when we are more experienced we wll trade for a bigger and better boat this will have to do for the first one. I like the idea on an extended swim platform. I have wanted to get on the water for a long time. Just to get out there is a long time coming. When it comes to boarding i'm sure i can find some good rides. Finding good pulls on the lake shouldn't be a problem ....

"cool ass mojo" you crack me up.

TJ Make sure to get the factory tower package or you will be sorry

TJ
I just bought a 96 Centurion Elite V-drive for $15,900. It has a new engine and plenty of room for the family. It is a very decent wakeboard boat. I would consider looking for a deal on a used V-drive. It is 22ft and has 325hp. You can also find a MC prostar 205 DD for about 11,000.

We have just purchased a new Tige 22i and came out of a 18' Campion I/O which we owned for two years. The Campion was our first boat and for someone new to boating the ease of handling of an I/O is great ie being able to backup and turn both ways. I don't regret that we purchased an I/O first and now we are into our second boat. The I/O was a great learning tool and we didn't really know which way the family would want to head ie. would they be into cruising (up here in Vancouver Canada there are some terrific cruising spots) or into water sports. It turns out that everyone in the family (2 kids under 13) and the wife are totally into water sports especially wakeboarding.

I think that often those with wakeboard boats always assume that everyone in the family will be into water sports. Those just getting into boating really need to find out what they really want after being into it for a few years. If our family had not taken to water sports we may have ended up buying a cabin cruiser.

Everything that the previous posters have said about wake shape and size and ease of maintaining speed are all correct. Also if you have young kids ie. under 10, having the swim platform at water level is really a good thing as its always difficult to get my little one down into the water with his wakeboard. And if you are into wakesurfing a wakeboard or ski boat is absolutely necessary.

The most important thing is to just get a boat and enjoy it.

Well, I bought a I/O 3 yrs ago, then a DD skiboat 2 yrs ago, Now I just bought a V-drive. I just want new wakeboard boat buyers to be aware that in the long run they are probably going to spend a lot of unnecessary money upgrading...just like I did. If you want a family boat and a wakeboard boat then buy a used V-drive, They hold their value better than any new I/O, and they are great for just cruising if you do not plan on wakeboarding anymore.

Great from cruising?????



E.J.

we are about 2 weeks out and the long wait will be over thanks for the input but i have been trying to figure out what a good beginner board wll be to start out on. Any suggestions on wake boards in the 143 size that i should lean towards...

This has been one of the most helpful threads I've seen on this site yet.

Fogey - you should be a boat salesman.

I'm 23 years old and my first boat will be an inboard, hopefully a v-drive, hands down.

Heck no those ski boats are not worth the money. you have it tied, get an I/O 19' or so. My buddy did last year. Of course, he is ready to trade it in, it will not hold a reasonable tube or board speed either too slow or pops up and goes too fast. I'm sure it is driver error.

SD2

I'll throw one more thing in the mix and that is that I'd be willing to wager that a gopod wakeboard boat will hold it's value a lot better than an I/O.

cool yah this is a great thread

i would like to know from somebody if its possible to beach an inboard or if you run into problems in shallow water. i know my i\o can trim up to just above the bottom of the boat for beaching or shallow, unfamilliar waters. just a thought!

No, I do not suggest beaching an inboard. Try to stay in at least 3ft of water, and the boat should be fine. My old boat (MC prostar 190) has been in about 18 in of water and still didnt get stuck; however I have had to get out and push more times than I would have liked.

What are the consequences of going through a one foot place in the water that you did not know is there, or possibly a big log 2 inches under the water?

I'm all for the V drive boats, but in this particular circumstance the I/O would win out over the inboard.

With the I/O the sterndrive is designed to released and lift up when pressure hits it like land or a log. Your propeller could also get damaged.

With an inboard you will damage your prop, possibly bend that shaft holding the prop (Yikes!) and if you have fins, rip them all out of the figerglass!

I recomend to first boat buyers on an unknown lake to buy a VERY cheap crappy inboard to learn the lake. Then upgrade a year later.

I know on my lake there are a few unmarked places that right in the middle of 15 foot water it goes to less than 1 foot and you can swim over there and it looks like you are standing on the water!

I dont go anywhere near those...now that ive drove up on them accidentally with my old boat.

A Cheap inboard is still 6 or 7K. How about buying a depth finder for about 150 dollars.

TJ, I have a Liquid Force Trip 143 and it is a good board. Pretty forgiving, but advanced enough for some good air, especially for beginners.

Daniel

cameron - do you ever hurt yourself on these shallow log places?

How many times has this happened?

your lake is off, man

cam do you always wear a helmet?

put up a slider in that spot! (sorry, they just keep coming...)