New to boating looking for a cheap boat to convert for wakeboarding

[TahoeHec]

I am mid 20's college student who lives in Lake Tahoe trying to buy my first boat. I have read a lot of other posts from people looking for boats way out of my range that is why I am looking for advice from people who know. I am looking for something under $4K. I have looked at old mastercrafts and other ski boats (which usually sell for 5K-6k) which are a bit out of my price range. I do not want an outboard engine but I am looking for an open bow, under 20' (maybe 18') boat that I would be able to put a wakeboard tower on. As far as the engine I was looking for a v6 for power but also thinking of fuel consumption, but I am finding a lot of 4 cylinders I am wondering if these would be to under-powered for riders about 170lbs?

I plan on going out on the lake after work for a cruise in the summer and early morning wakeboarding sessions. I don't know what I should be looking for besides price. Any suggestions on my budget what I should get or modification I can make to help me on my future wakeboarding dream would be appreciated .

 

[sebber83]

Re: New to boating looking for a cheap boat to convert for wakeboarding

Hey Buddy, welcome to the Forums.
First off, let me say, myself and the wife were in the same "boat" last year (pardon the pun). We are both 26 years old and were looking for a fun boat to cruise in as well as use for watersports. We fell onto a Doral Bow rider, 18.5 feet with an already installed monster tower and let me tell you, it was the perfect starter boat for us.

I added about 500lbs of ballast, speakers and cleaned it up real nice and it became the most fun we ever had. We had friends on it every day and litteraly put 300 hours on the boat in our first year.

Which leads me to suggest to you to get a nice and clean bow rider, it is not the best for wakeboarding, but its awesome for cruising and entertaining, then add a tower and some ballast and you have a decent tow rig that will keep you smiling all summer.

I would sugest the v6 tho, the extra power will come in handy and overall, you wont be spending much more on fuel, especially when towing riders, tubers and skiers. Let me know if you want more info, I would be glad to help!

 

[smitty1258]

Re: New to boating looking for a cheap boat to convert for wakeboarding

I agreed 100% with sebber, but search boat trader for your price range you might be surprised what you find in that range for inboards.

I started with an 93 4.3l v-6 18.5 ft I/O and added a DIY pylon for boarding. The boat did pretty much everything I needed. I had the boat for 2 1/2 years and have now updated to an inboard and will never go back

The V-6 is a must.

 

[sebber83]

Re: New to boating looking for a cheap boat to convert for wakeboarding

agreed.... v6 is the deal breaker! Honnest, whoever tells you that a 3.0 is enough has never towed adults for a full day. I can ride tow and cruise for 10 hours on 80$ with my 4.3l, dont go any smaller!

 

[TahoeHec]

Re: New to boating looking for a cheap boat to convert for wakeboarding

Thanks for the input everyone it has really helped me out! I am just wondering why the bowriders are not that great for wakeboarding? Me and my friends will never go pro we are just trying to get a descent wake and also provide enough space for after wakeboarding crusing. Could I get a good mixture with this type of boat with enough ballast or should I look into a different type of boat? Thanks for the heads up on checking Boat trader, I found an old 18 ft. ski boat in my price range, but I am wondering if the seating would be enough for more than 4 people and mostly how does the direct drive perfom wake wise? I know that water skiers like minimal wake. I have a lot of questions but I am trying to understand the differences. Thanks to anyone that can help.

 

[slasmith1]

Re: New to boating looking for a cheap boat to convert for wakeboarding

Also keep in mind that a "cheap" purchase price often means that you will end up spending a lot more than your initial savings on maintanence.
B.O.A.T= Break Out Another Thousand!

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: New to boating looking for a cheap boat to convert for wakeboarding

If the "old ski boat" is in fact a dedicated slalom tow boat you wouldn't want it for wakeboarding. True ski boats put out the smallest wake of any out there and adding ballast is not the best idea due to the low rise of the gunnels/transom. Plus a closed bow ski boat doesn't afford any real room as far as cruising with others in the boat. If its you and a couple of buddies that want to run some serious slalom sets then its the perfect setup for anything else not so much. I now drive a 20 open bow with a I/O, but I also now have a wife and kids so it suits us quite well. I grew up slalom skiing at a competative level so thats where my heart truly is and with a few people aboard and the right trim it throws a pretty small wake. However my 16 year old nephew is an awesome wakeboarder and if I put everyone in the stern I can throw a wake that he can easily do flips/aerials/etc over. I do have a tower which in my opinion makes the biggest difference, plus its nice for the kids to learn things from. My 8 year old has been skiing, kneeboarding, and wakeboarding for 2-3 years now. Plus I can put 6-8 people in the boat and cruise at 45mph. If you are only wakeboarding you could probably get away with a 4 banger because it doesn't really take that much to get a boarder out, but in a boat bigger is always better imho.

 

[sebber83]

Re: New to boating looking for a cheap boat to convert for wakeboarding

If your looking for a decent wake combined with a good boat for chilling, cruising and bringing people on as well as a boat that wont kill your wallet, a bow rider with at least a v6 in it will be perfect for what you wanna do. You can just buy a fat sac or two (ballasts), I have one in my in-floor ski locker (400lbs) and I have 2 cubes (175lbs each) and its perfect, the cubes are also awesome to balance out the load. They fill and drain real quick with a small pump.

So you can session a very nice wake for a few hours, then pack it in, empty your fat sacs and go cruise the beach or get some tubing done!

 

[ThreeMileBayWaker]

Re: New to boating looking for a cheap boat to convert for wakeboarding

I am in the same situation as you bud, I just finished college but have a summer residence just off Lake Ontario and my family got rid of our boat 2 summers ago due to floor board dry rot. It hasn't been the same up there without a boat and I've wanted something of my own.

Honestly, I have been looking at some bow riders myself with the v6 motor. I know I couldn't afford a new boat but I am finding some decent looking ones online for around $12-16K. My cousin has an 02 Glastron 18.5' boat with the 3.0 Volo Penta and it got me out of the water but it seemed to struggle a little bit which makes me lean towards the 190hp motor. I am a well built 6'3" and 205lbs guy so also keep that in mind, but I too also side with the larger boat.

 

[smitty1258]

Re: New to boating looking for a cheap boat to convert for wakeboarding

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/8/750971.html?1260424757