1996 tige 21'

i need a little help with some info about this whether this is a good boat or a possible headache. I can purchase a very well kept 1996 tige 21' for 16000. it has a tall sky boom better sterio than factory. any input is appreciated. thanks

Headache and bad wake.

tell me your experience that forms the opinion headache and bad wake. thanks i need a clearer explaination.

Oh great here we go again..

Pierce, you guys need some self esteem or something if it bothers you that bad to hear about problems with older Tiges.

Simon:

Do a search. I really don't feel like rehashing my lengthy list of problems I had with a 99 21i. Suffice it to say it was beyond a head ache and more of a nightmare that sat at the dealer for months at a time and the main issues never got resolved.

I think if you search the archives you may find that even the former Tige' rep indicated that the older 21i is not really a good choice as a wakeboard boat. The wake is very small and when you add any weight, it starts to wash. If you are serious about wake boarding, almost any other boat/manufacturer in that price range or year range will be much better for wake boarding. If you are mainly slalom and not too concerned about obtaining a great wake for wake boarding, then do a search and focus on quality issues discussed on older or pre-2002 Tiges or whatever year it is they made their changes.

hey xtigeman, thanks for the great info. i hate it when some of these guys just blert crap that isn't helpful to anyone.

it seems to me that you might know what boats i should look into. i want to spend around 21k for a great wakeboarding boat what do you suggest? thanks for any info provided

I am by no means an expert in this field and any boat manaufacturer is subject to having lemmons or problem boats. My 21i just happened to be a lemmon, but there are people that have had lemmon MC, Natiques and etc. also. The 21i though definitely had serious wake issues besides of the mechanical issues I experienced.

If I had $ 21k to spend, I would try and find a nice mid 90s Sport Natique and even a Super Sport Natique V-Drive. My friend has like a 94 or 95 Sport Natique and it has a wake as good if not better than any boat I have been behind including the new V-Drives like X-Stars, SAN, VLX, Launch and etc.

One the biggest wakes I have ever seen was on an older Supra like a early 90s model or so. The only wakes I have been real dissapointed in are on older Tige's, Aztecs and the older Moombas, but I would not hesitate to buy a mid 90s Natique. I also rode in a MB Sports that seems to have problems keeping both sides of the wake real clean when weighted.

Older Supra Launchs, Malibus, Natiques and even Mastercraft 205s or 190s can all make a solid wake board boat and produce a good wake. Some of the West Coast boats like Calabria and Ski Supreme which I have not been in apparently have solid wakes also. I still think a used Natique is the best in terms of wake, performance, and resell ability. Take good care of an older Sport Natique and you could likely get most or all of you money back on it after using it a couple of years.

I had a 1998 21I and never had the boat back to the shop. It was an excellent boat for an inboard. I am on my fourth Tige and have been tremendously happy with the service and the performance.

I just sold my 1996 Tige Pre 2100 and I have to say we completely enjoyed owning it. We purchased it as first boat knowing that we weren't planning on owning it for too many seasons. We figured that we would either not like owning a boat, or we would love it and want to upgrade to something newer with more features. Either way, by buying an older boat we wouldn't get hurt too bad on re-sale.

The Tige we owned was a great boat. It never had one single service issue. It was rock solid, ran perfectly, and looked great. In fact, we liked the Tige so much that the new boat we just bought is a 2004 22v.

With that said, the wake was not the largest you will find out there, and it did tend to wash if we overweighted the boat. But, with all things considered (wake being only one of them) I wouldn't hesitate to purchase an older Tige assuming that the boat completely checks out.

In the end you have to honestly evaluate all aspects of boat ownership and figure out what's most important to you and which boat stacks up. Maybe try putting a point system together of different categories. For example, using a scale of 1-10 give a number to wake, safety, performance, reliability, looks, condition, dealer support, trailer, etc, and see what rises to the top. It's not like your buying a new boat where everyone you see is new and perfect. You may find a boat model you like but you can't find one in good condition. Or you may find one you haven't even considered and it turns out to be the best one.

1996 Tige PRE2200V - Only problem here is having to replace the steering cable last season. Whoopie! Couldn't be happier with the boat and it throws a killer wake. I would agree however that the early direct drive Tige's do not produce the greatest wake for boarding and are prone to taking water over the bow.

Its no secret on this board that Doug had a lemon. He informs us all every chance he gets. But as you can see from the rest of the followups there are a lot of use who are very happy with our Tige's. The fact of the matter is every boat manufacturer puts out a lemon or two. I don't think that is reason enought for someone to come on this board and discourage everyone else from considering that brand as a purchase option. My $.02

'99 21i w/ 880lbs next to the engine and 3 people in the boat. The rider is at 85 feet and we are riding at 21mph up river. Down river we ride a little faster about 23mph. Not bad but it's no V-Drive.

(Message edited by norcalrider on April 12, 2004)

I fully understand brand loyalty, but it mystifies me why someone would recommend a 21i as a wakeboard boat . . . Regardless of mechanical issues, the 21i probably had the smallest/worst wake of any inboard, be it direct drive or V-Drive, available new in 1999. I don't think anyone can honestly point to an inboard from 1999 that was more wake challenged than this hull.

Bryce:

Candidly, I don't care what boat anyone buys, but I am sure he wants to hear the good with the bad so he can make an informed decision.

I have to agree with Doug. The 96 21I would not be considered a "wakeboard boat". Yes you can wakeboard behind it, but it was designed as a ski boat. With proper weighting you can get an adequate wake. If that is all you care for then go for it, especially if your in to waterskiing more.

But for 21K take a look at some of the boats Doug mentioned, at that price point there should be a pretty good variety of boats out there to choose from.

I have not done any research but 16K seems like a lot for that boat. A 1996 21I, I bet they were 25K or less, new back then. This is almost 10 years later.

Here's mine. Running pretty light with only 800-900lbs of ballast and two in the boat. Another 500lbs or so and it gets big. I'm 6'1"