wakeboard boat recommendations

Hey all,

Right now, I wakeboard behind a jetski. It pulls just fine but the downer is a tiny little wake.

I'm shopping for a boat to do all of the watersports behind. Since I'm poor, it has to be a little older and cheap. I'll be throwing a tower on myself.

Thus far i've got that: inboards are the best, deep V is better, and you need good structure to mount the tower to.

I have been looking around and found the following brands in my area that look kinda decent, but i really have no idea. My biggest concern is the fiberglass structure to mount the tower.

WELLCRAFT 192 CLASSIC 1987
MAXUM 1989
SUNRUNNER CUBBY 1989
FOUR WINNS 1985
Winner 1700 Escape 1986

can anybody comment on these boats?

thanks

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

Go with the MAXUM, it makes a awesome wake for wakeboarding ......

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

Of those listed I would go with the maxium or the four winns. However, I would be on the lookout for an old ski natique. You can usually find a late 80's or early 90's for @ $7k. If you throw a tower and a fatsack in one of those you will be throwing one of the best wakes on the lake. Try looking in the boat classifieds on this website - I found 2 the last time I looked. But if you know boats then you know to plan on spending some money on repairs for any used boat.

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

does boat length play any part in a good wake?

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

You're generalizations aren't entirely correct. A deep V is better than a bass boat but too deep a V and your wake will wash out and/or your planing speed will be too high. Inboards will give you a more consistent wake than an I/O or outboard but it won't neccesarily be larger, especially in the year range you'd be looking at (slalom was the big thing back then and good slalom boats had as little wake as possible). You really need to drive the boats you've listed to know how the wakes will be. It looks like they are all I/Os, not inboards. If you can't get a good wake out of it, then there's not point in worrying about the tower. I/Os tend to be more than a bit finicky about putting out a consistently good wake in the 18-24MPH range most wakeboarders ride at.

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

cool, thanks. keep the info coming!

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

First and foremost - WHERE will you be wake boarding? Inboards are fine but will pound you to death in any kind of rough water. If you beach often-- then I/O is a better choice.

Don't be fooled into thinking that you have to have a "wakeboard boat" Check the other threads for more discussion on this subject

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

hal2814 said:

You're generalizations aren't entirely correct. A deep V is better than a bass boat but too deep a V and your wake will wash out and/or your planing speed will be too high. Inboards will give you a more consistent wake than an I/O or outboard but it won't neccesarily be larger, especially in the year range you'd be looking at (slalom was the big thing back then and good slalom boats had as little wake as possible). You really need to drive the boats you've listed to know how the wakes will be. It looks like they are all I/Os, not inboards. If you can't get a good wake out of it, then there's not point in worrying about the tower. I/Os tend to be more than a bit finicky about putting out a consistently good wake in the 18-24MPH range most wakeboarders ride at.

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Not sure your generaliztions are entirely correct. My boat has a Deep-V and is an I/O and throws a pretty good wake at 18-22 MPH and will plane at 13 MPh - see my avatar for a pic. Also the late 80's to early 90's Nautiques with a couple of fat sacs are know to throw a good wake even thought they were originally designed for skiing. Actually the first good wakeboarders used them and some still use them. Last year I rode behind one that threw a solid thigh high wake and the guy that owned it was throwing some hugh backrolls, tantrums and raileys. He was getting 8-10' of air under those tricks. As far as getting the most bang for your buck that is really the way to go since you can not get a good used wakeboat under $20K.

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

sabastianunf said:

Not sure your generaliztions are entirely correct. My boat has a Deep-V and is an I/O and throws a pretty good wake at 18-22 MPH and will plane at 13 MPh - see my avatar for a pic. Also the late 80's to early 90's Nautiques with a couple of fat sacs are know to throw a good wake even thought they were originally designed for skiing. Actually the first good wakeboarders used them and some still use them. Last year I rode behind one that threw a solid thigh high wake and the guy that owned it was throwing some hugh backrolls, tantrums and raileys. He was getting 8-10' of air under those tricks. As far as getting the most bang for your buck that is really the way to go since you can not get a good used wakeboat under $20K.

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And for every Deep V I/O you can show me that has a decent wake and planes at a low speed, I can show you 30 that don't. When I bought my I/O, I test drove more than a few and most of them weren't ideal for wakeboarding. Most of them wanted to plane right at 20MPH and that's pretty annoying when you want to board. Also, most of them lost a lot of their wake at about 22MPH and at least half of them took some significant playing with the trim to get anything decent out of the wake. I'm glad you found one that didn't have those issues. And I really hope the original poster doesn't get stuck with one of those beasts which is why I recommended test driving to see the wake himself.

Also, you went and took one of the very few exceptions to counter my generalization. Yes, the 1982-1989 Ski Nautique and the 1990 on Sport Nautique throw fantastic wakes. So do the 80's Supra Sunsports and Mastercraft Maristars. And that's pretty much it from the slalom era. The most popular ski boat in my area is the 80's model Mastercraft Prostar 190s. The wake on that thing is tiny even loaded with weight. Ski Brendellas, Ski Centurions, American Skiers, Malibu Skiers, etc from that time period are also all mediocre wakes at best even with a few sacks.

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

I totally agree about test driving anything before you buy it especially if it is used - not only to see the wake but to make sure it runs good and doesn't leak water, oil or especially fuel. However, I have ridden behind many I/O's with v- hulls and have never had trouble getting a good enough wake to go W2W and throw grabs and spins. Most recently I rode behind an 2005 Tahoe I/O which thew a very impressive wake for a bowrider. The only boats that I have had trouble with are fishing boats and Tri-hulls. You are right about most ski boats but, the only reason I mention the nautiques is because they are cheap, aviailable and can throw great wakes like I mentioned at the very beginning of the thread before you started knocking them - I just wanted to clarify the issue. I really think that they would be the best choice and if I didn't already have my boat set up I would buy one myself.

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

i have really been looking into the correct crafts and while a little more rare than other boats, they look to be good for what i want to do. now i just need to find one super cheap or sell the jetski.

anybody interested in an 05 Seadoo RXT? 0-60 in under 4 seconds, i've topped her out at 68mph.

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

found this baby relatively close to me:

Correct Craft 1974
18' ski boat, 351 Ford Windsor, 300HP I/B, 308.5hrs, covers, EC, $4500


i have not looked at it yet, probably do a drive-by tomorrow morning. i think the price is way high. ya think with a couple sacs and tower it would work well?

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

Just a reminder it is a NON-STANDARD rotation motor(if the prop is marked right hand ) which makes parts a bit harder to find as ford has been out of the marine engine game a long time

Small things like the distrubter advance weights being frozen tend to be and issue at that age




It throws a nice wake that you can make suit most anything



Tommays

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

hmmm, didn't know engine rotation could be an issue...

thanks for the heads up.

are all of the 351W like this? late 80s early 90s?

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

At some point they started useing the standard motors BUT i can say that in 1977 NOT yet

You can find everything you need it is just harder to find than a more current standard motor




Tommays

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

still looking for a good setup. i found an 88 ski nautique 2001 here in ok condition for $9k. pretty sure i'm gonna pass on it.

would a 4 cyl I/O with a "torquey" prop work for wakeboarding? the fastest i'd ever need to go is 33-34 to pull a skier. i've found a few cheaper-side boats but they have 4cyl engines.

Re: wakeboard boat recommendations

my 4 cyl, 3 litre works fine for both. 140 hp. and you dont need a 4 blade "holeshot" prop in my honest opinion. my boat is 16' with a 14.5 x 17" prop. good times.