WHAT BOAT DO I BUY?

Looking to purchase a new or up to 3 years old V-Drive Wakeboard boat. So far looking at Mastercraft X-10, Calabria, Malibu, and Tige. Which is the best and worst? Positives and Negatives?? Any help and/or advice is appreciated!

How will you use the boat? how many people? will it need to fit in a garage? spend all day on boat or to and from your dock? In my opinion they all have positive and negatives about them you will need to define your needs first. For example if you desire a top quality wake and spend all day in your boat with 8 people and a dog then the SAN might not be the best choice, however if you are on a private lake with a dock then maybe it would be the best choice

i would go with either MC or Malibu, thats just my personal choice. no real reason---just personal bias. by the way-- i have neither.

i am looking for something that will work at all lakes and has all the goodies aboard. a top quality wake wouldn't be so bad either. I'll probably stay away from the Tige as i hear they are crap.

From what I understand the older Tige' line used to be crap but the newer boats are pretty nice with a good wake.
If you're on the west coast check out the Sanger V-210. Really happy with mine and I don't know anyone who has one that isn't completely satisfied with it.

B-

"So far looking at Mastercraft X-10, Calabria, Malibu, and Tige."

"I'll probably stay away from the Tige as i hear they are crap."

I am just curious what prompted the last quote? When nobody even mentioned Tige' in their posts? Why have them on your short list, if you think they are crap?

You always have to have a bad one in there! I had talked to some boat owners in between posts and they said the Tige was cosmetically nice but that was it. Does this bother you for some reason??}

Actually tige was mentioned if u read a lil more. I heard tige puts off a good wake but the interior sucks and when u take it back for maintenance they have loads of problems out of them.

Duhh LOL Tige' was mentioned after his crap comment.

Interior sucks? ummmmm ok......

I guess I bought a 2003 piece of crap....well at least I did according to your two expert opinions. Interesting how you both registered the same day....

Maybe you should learn the ropes of wakeworld before you throw out, "this boat is a piece of crap" comments. Or the uhhhh I heard that......LOL

Pick any on your short list, from what I can tell from your comments, you would never be able to tell the difference anyway.

Cheers

My vote is for a Malibu VLX. IMO the best wake (with wedge of course) and a lot of room, and the boats are built well.

MC X2 has a gorgeous wake as well, but I have only been behind them and not spent much time in them so I can't really comment on them that much. I do like how the vinyl feels really soft on them though.

SAN is a good solid boat, feels a little small on the inside, wake is nice and poppy but due to the lack of any rampyness has a really small "landing area" Also really touchy weight distribution wise to keep the wake from washing out. (added plus to the malibu wedge as far as that is concerned)

Supra, Sanger, and Tige all make great boats as well. I would highly recommend taking a look at them all. Make sure to take everything the salesman says with a grain of salt. you buy into their sales pitch and then you are not making a level decision.

All of the boats take added ballast to make a really big wake, however most of them make pretty decent wakes with factory ballast.

What i said is from a dealer that got rid of all their tiges in stock and quit selling them. Now that might be a lie. But they said when the people they sold too brought them in for maintnance that the interior was bad in 90% of them and some other stuff was tearing up on them. That was a year or two ago i think. The other day i rode beside a tige for some jetskiers and the tige put out a better wake than my malibu but they had two fat sacks in the back and i only have one built in in the middle.

Try take a look at the Boat Buyers guide at http://www.waterskimag.com/index.jsp They provide a great deal of info, including videos, picture galleries and specs. Since all the boat manufacturers advertise in the magazine, they don't diss any of them in their reviews, but you can still gain a lot of knowledge. It helped me in my purchase last year. And..., I went with a Tige, and absolutely love my boat. It is great to both wakeboard and ski behind. The wake adjusts with the pressing of a button on the throttle (the TAPS system). Service has been great, too, and I get a ton of compliments on it out at the Colorado River. Money was an object, and Tige seemed to pack the most bang for the buck. Yeah, I would have loved to buy a Mastercraft X-7, but the $15,000 additional it would have cost me put it out of reach. Same with the SAN. Bottom line, I'd say based on my research that just about all the major manufacturer's you mention put out a good product, so you probably won't go wrong with whatever you buy.

Matt,

thanks for clearing that up, it's just ugly when people throw out super general statements without any back up what so ever. My take on that dealer was probably Tige' pulled their line from him. That would cause some motivationfor him to bash them. To say that 90% of their boats come back with crappy interior to me would cause a manufacture to go out of business, not prosper. I really am of the opinion that all the boats mentioned are great, they will all fit someone's needs, you just need to find the right one for your own needs.

I own a Tige' and love it, but my buddy is going to buy his first boat. I told him to not only check out Tige's, but the MC's, Malibu's, and because he is wanting to stay in the 40K range, even the Ski Centurion V-Drives. I think at this point he is going with the Tige' 22I if he decides on the D-Drive and the Ski Centurion Avalanche if he goes with the V-Drive.

So check them all out in person, water demo them if you can and go with what your needs are and what you really like.

Cheers

Prosper???? huh, I thought Tige lost a HUGE percentage of the market this year. Soundings Trade magazine is my back up. Where's yours for Tige prospering, sorry rock n boardin but you invited it.

Cheers

Boat War on the horizon.

Hey Rob maybe you are starting to get the picture here, but your question is very similar to asking a group of people "what car should I buy" Lot's of diferent answers.

But I will give my vote and that is the Malibu VLX, No. 1 in my opinion, and only my opinion.

Sorry everyone, i swayed from the subject.

Malibu Wake VLX. Value; for quality is unmatched, performance& wake quality is excellent if not the best (IMO) storage and layout are great as well.

Drive before you buy, take your time it is confusing with all of the different models the manufactures have now.

Prosper, you can take that statement how you ever you want to, the dealership I purchased mine from will sell over 200 boats this year, Tige's largest dealership. From what I was told, they are ahead of last years pace. Everytime I am in the dealership, there is someone pulling out with a new boat. It amazes me, I didn't think there were that many people buying new boats, but I guess SoCal is a large pool to draw from.

I have nothing against Malibu, or as I said, any other manufacture out there, but since you own a Malibu, I bet your next statement is they took all of Tige's market share. Whatever.

"I thought Tige lost a HUGE percentage of the market this year."

What was the percentage drop? I looked all over Soundings trade, could not find the article or the numbers you speak of, seriously, can you help direct me?

I am glad you like your Malibu, nice boats, congratulations! At my home lake, I see a lot of Master Crafts, Malibus, Tige's and a few Nautiques. Looks like everyone is happy with their purchase. So lets go have some fun!!

I am out and heading for the evening glass off, seeya!

I kind of think you should get a jet ski so you'll fit in.
Troller.........

I think Jonathan should take a chill pill and calm down. I bet he tries to back up his latest car purchase too! No need to justify yourself to why you bought a Tige, no one cares. I said I heard they were crap... I do not know for sure. But with your expert knowledge on Tige' and all your insight you so gracefully vomited... I might just change my mind and look at them. But don't get your hopes up.

Out!

Rob...depending on where you live, you may be interested in my boat. I'm selling my 2001 Malibu Sunscape 23LSV. I loaded it with all the wakeboarding options (Titan tower, wedge and Malibu MLS ballast), so it is exactly the same as the Wakesetter LSV minus the Wakesetter graphics. I've got about 1600W pumping into the stereo (Kicker tower speakers, 2 12" Audiobahn subs...etc) which I will leave with the boat. Here's a pic:
http://www.lknfun.com/Forum/thread-view.asp?threadid=21&posts=1
Email me if you might be interested.

Rob, I took a Chill Pill thanks!

AJ to bad your in Denver, that would be a perfect boat for my buddy who is out looking this week. Is that a black stripe on it?

Rob, if you don't know personally, you probably should not comment. I have heard something negative for every boat out there from various people. Why? Their personal preferences lead them to dislike boats and they will tell you about it. I would not go around bashing boats based on other people telling me "they're crap". I have even been told Malibu's suck, but would I come on here and say I think Malibus suck? (Answer is no, I actually like them). Maybe you should spend more time testing the boats out and less time flaming here.....

Jonathan,
Where are you located. I'm in the OTHER Denver (North Carolina). And yes, the trim is black.

Never mind, I forgot to check the profile.

ooops He is looking for black too, he has a black Escalade he wants to match.

That Denver is even farther.

Thanks