Do I need a wakeboard boat?

[Audean]

Hello, and thanks for any advice. I'm 31 and looking to purchase my first boat. I grew up boating and for the first 14 years of my life i actually lived at a lake. Sadly I haven't been to a lake in 10 years. I have no contacts in the local boating community, except old bass fishermen like my father.

Now back to the question, I'm looking for boat to hold 8 people around 1600lbs. It would have to be able to pull multi person tubes. I haven't had the chance to wakeboard yet but it looks like something i would really enjoy. My big fear is to purchase a boat today and then want and possibly turn around and purchase a wakeboard boat later in the year or next. Will wakeboarding still be fun or will I outgrow my boat quickly? I'm comfortable spending 25k but my wife is more on the 15k range as she has never been boating. I've found a 2000 wakesetter that I like, but the wife is leaning towards something like newer bayliner or four winns.

I live in a windy area, the lake usually white caps but you can find a nice cove to play in if you don't mind the ride, afternoons wind does die out. Lake size is around 10k acres 65ft deep which just came up from about 45ft 2 years ago, but use to be 100-80ft when I was kid.

 

[rallyart]

You can find a wakeboat that is in your price range and will handle that load and crowd. You may be able to find one at your wife's price, but that will be tougher. A 2000 Wakesetter is an excellent boat and will hold it's value but is not very pleasant travelling in significant chop. A Centurion or Sanger boat with more deadrise at the transom will be more pleasant. At 25K $US you can find a mid 2000's Sanger V215 in good condition which can handle a storm well. A Centurion Avalanche can do that too. You can pull tubes and wakeboard will behind a Four Winns or Bayliner also so you don't have to rule them out. However, my wife would never go back to a stern drive after having our inboard.

A 21' inboard is as big inside as a 23' sterndrive because the length does not include the removable swim deck. They are designed for towing so the stress on the boat is lower and the quality of the wake is better, usually. You can also use an inboard for wakesurfing, which is growing in popularity and is easier on the body than wakeboarding. The swim deck is not near the prop and is right at water level so if you are just lounging about and swimming it is more pleasant than a sterndrive. Your top speed is limited to the low 40's, due to hull design so the sterndrive can get you there faster if you run flat out. However, if you cruse at 20-35 mph you probably get better, or at least as good, economy with the inboard. (again due to hull design)

In windy conditions it is easier to load a sterndrive on the trailer or dock it than with an inboard. Once you are experienced with the inboard you will be able to parallel park it at a dock with only a couple of feet of extra space.

The two types of boats have different feels to them but the inboard is better for watersports and generally holds resale price better. It is a very good idea to test drive the boat you want to see the differences. See if you can drive that Wakesetter in choppy water with your wife to see if it is an issue. Good Luck.

 

[Scott Danforth]

welcome aboard.

my only comment. dont try to pull tubes from a wake board tower.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Personally, I can't see spending 15K-25K on a boat specially designed for a sport you haven't tried yet. It almost seems to make more sense to buy a more general-use boat (like an I/O) that you can sell if you decide to get into wakeboarding. Wakeboarding boats, new or used, have premium prices; for the same money, I think you can get a lot more boat in an standard I/O than you could in a wakeboard boat.

 

[Jarcher3]

Personally, I can't see spending 15K-25K on a boat specially designed for a sport you haven't tried yet. It almost seems to make more sense to buy a more general-use boat (like an I/O) that you can sell if you decide to get into wakeboarding. Wakeboarding boats, new or used, have premium prices; for the same money, I think you can get a lot more boat in an standard I/O than you could in a wakeboard boat.

I agree here, im not sure if you have looked at V-Drive inboards yet but in my area, they were closer to the 30k mark and the older straight inboards were a bit cheaper but they cut into your interior space a bit more.

What type of boat did you have when you were younger?

 

[Brandon5778]

I would have to agree with what JASin said if you haven't really gotten into wakeboarding and all. I have wakeboarded, skied, and tubed off of many different boats ranging from a wakeboarding boat to an 85hp fishing boat. My point I guess is you don't need a specialized boat like that to wakeboard. You could get something with a nice deep V with a v8 that'll ride great in that chop and the wife will love for cheaper. If you really do get into wakeboarding maybe you could add a wakeboard tower.

welcome aboard.

my only comment. dont try to pull tubes from a wake board tower.

Curious as to why, Scott? I see people doing that at our lake often. One guy will pull his 4 grandkids in 4 tubes off his huge wakeboard tower.

 

[drrpm]

You don't need a wakeboard boat to have fun wakeboarding. Unless you get serious about wakeboarding including wanting to do jumps and tricks a regular runabout will work fine. The runabout will be better at everything else too: better general ride, better for waterskiing, probably no real difference pulling tubes and less expensive as well. For what you say you want to do an 20-22 foot I/O with a V8 would be a good choice.

 

[southkogs]

Though you've never owned, how much experience do you have with boats? If it's very little, I'd recommend renting a 20' I/O a couple of times and seeing how you do cruising, swimming and towing off of it. That'll tell you a lot about what you want.

If you've got a decent amount of experience, then you may already know the answers. Wakeboard boats are really designed to be good at one thing - pulling wakeboard and wake surfers. They're tough to ski and tube behind because of how hard they chop up the water (though, some can control that to a degree).

:welcome:

 

[airdvr1227]

My 23' ChrisCraft threw a big wake. All you have to do is trim the drive up. It pushed the stern down and you get a nice wake.

 

[garbageguy]

I agree with the others, rent a 20-22 ft I/O open bow if you can - see what you think. I don't think you want a boat made specifically for a sport you haven't tried yet. While no boat does everything great, it seems like your situation calls for versatility

 

[Audean]

Hey, thanks for all the info. As for my experience my parents use to own a bayliner fish ski combo. I don't know the size but I know when near max capacity is was a turd. It was pretty hard to dump tubers although once water skiing I ate a wave so hard it busted my lips and tore my lifevest in half.

My dad currently owns a triton bass boat.

 

[southkogs]

Skiing and wakeboarding are apples and oranges - you literally want the opposite kind of water between the two sports. Tubing is the wild card - I don't like seeing people beat around like rag dolls behind a boat. Chiropractors must love it though Depending on how raucous a ride you want, the boat will or won't do it. I had a buddy who used to pull people behind a bass boat on a tube ... surprised none of 'em ever went to the hospital after a ride.

A standard I/O bow rider ("everybody-sells-one" kinda' boat) can do all of the above, but none of it exceptionally well. Wakeboard boat won't tow a skier well, but it'll do wake boarding great, if you see what I mean.

If it was 8 people and I wanted to pull tubes and sometimes wakeboard, I'd personally stay away from the wakeboard boats. I would think a bow rider would give you a better cruising boat. If you're going to wakeboard a lot and sometimes tube, then the wakeboard boats are a better way to go.

 

[QBhoy]

You would need to be really into wakeboarding to spend a fair amount of money on such a boat. They are only good at that one thing.
Many newer and cheaper (in all aspects) boats with a sterndrive will get you started with wake boarding or skiing, and to a decent level. These boats will also likely to have a smaller engine, quicker (if that's your thing), better in a chop and perhaps less expensive to run. They will also get you to a beach better, due to the ability to lift the drive (again, if that's of interest).
If you then find that you are totally into boarding, as many do, then go for it. There won't be anything better at it. But....usually better at just that one thing....

 

[rallyart]

Curious as to why, Scott? I see people doing that at our lake often. One guy will pull his 4 grandkids in 4 tubes off his huge wakeboard tower.

If you bury the nose of a tube while pulling it up or if it is swamped by a wave you can easily put more than 1000# of force on the tow rope. If the tower is 6' off the deck you then put more than 6000# of load on the mounting points. Your hull won't be designed for that. I've had 2000# rated ropes break while tubing.

 

[thumpar]

The guy I bought my Crownline from used it as a wakeboard boat. It is a 20' with a 8.5' beam. There is also a fatsack in it. With that and the trim full up the wake is pretty decent. It is rated for 12 people so something like that might make both you and the boss happy.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Curious as to why, Scott? I see people doing that at our lake often. One guy will pull his 4 grandkids in 4 tubes off his huge wakeboard tower.

Because when you rip the tower off the boat and flip the boat when a tube submarines, your on your own. Tower warranties specifically list tubes as voiding warranty.

Not to mention the increased injury to the people on the tube due to the improper tow angle

 

[Brandon5778]

Because when you rip the tower off the boat and flip the boat when a tube submarines, your on your own. Tower warranties specifically list tubes as voiding warranty.

Not to mention the increased injury to the people on the tube due to the improper tow angle

I figured it was something to do with being to weak for it. Man. Seen a Lotta people do it..

 

[Scott Danforth]

I figured it was something to do with being to weak for it. Man. Seen a Lotta people do it..

the tower isnt the weak point. the boat where the tower attaches is the weak point. plus you now have a 6 foot lever to turn the boat over if the tower holds. skiers and wake boarders are holding onto a handle. if they submarine, they let go of the handle, and the load on the tower drops from about 50# pulling the skier to about 1# pulling the handle only

towables and tubes are securely tied to the boat, when it submarines, it becomes an instant anchor pulling back on the rope with about 6000# of force or more. for this reason the rope required to tow a tube is rated really high where you can use a piece of clothes line rated at 200# to pull a skier

this is why the towable states that it is to be securely mounted to the stern tow eyes

its simple physics and if people that were pulling tubes from their towers would use the principles of simple physics taught to them in grade school and a bit of common sense, they would realize its a bad thing.

 

[jkust]

Our lake is loaded with $120,000+ tow sport boats....they are everywhere but that these people grew into them and are enthusiasts and they have a boat or two on a lift back at the house for other purposes usually a pontoon and a fishing boat. For a first boat for which you intend to use as a multipurpose boat, it would be more fitting to get maybe a 24 ish foot bowrider. For everyday use, especially a tow boat that costs only 25k meaning it's going to be old, it's going to be less than ideal for non-tow days depending on the conditions.