Best wakeboard boat under $15,000
Hi guys I'm new here, I know this has been answered atleast 100 times so if there's a good link or just some input would be good.
My family has a 2010 crownline and the wake just isn't fun. So I'm looking into get my own. I'm looking for an open bow under $15,000. Good on rough water, storage, room for 8 or more people and spacious, direct or v drive, needs to have a good wake I'll be riding with begginer and intermediate riders. I've heard nautiques 94-97 and mc 205. But what about tige or malibu or moomba? So pretty much a family friendly boat with a good wake. Any input would be greatly appreciated! |
did you check the classifieds section?
I saw a '97 Nautique in there. SPlug |
Sorry I forgot to mention I'm in Oklahoma, would be willing to travel to surrounding states though. I have not, I was wanting more info for the best bang for my buck.
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older Nautique would be your best bet
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there is an Epic on ebay right now at 11k would need interior work of about 3-4k
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Are there any years to stay away from or better models than others?
I found this one. What're yalls thoughts about this? 1997 Correct Craft Sport Nautique Oklahoma City, OKLAHOMA 73135 http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...c=ipadfacebook |
has the GT40 one of the best engines to ever pull a boat. nice boat decent price. checkout onlyinboards.com too.
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at that 15k budget you are boarderline. you can get an older Vdrive there if you are patient. or a pretty nice direct drive. you will probably be looking to upgrade from a DD after 1 year or so ... its worth it to wait. I picked up a Malibu sunsetter VLX last year for 14.5k.
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The sport Naitique throws a great wakeboard wake and requires the least amount of ballast.
The Sunsetter and MC205 are also very capeable. Stay away from the d drive Moombas and Tiges. Garbage of that era and when you decide to upgrade you'll have a hard time getting rid of it. That maroon Sport Nautique looks nice equipped, clean and has one of the most reliable and bomb proof motors ever made. The 205 and Sunsetter will have about the same space, ride and require a good amount of extra weight. The bonus in the Sunsetter is the wedge. The Sport Nautique will have the east amount of storage and the smallest feel inside. All in all, all 3 are very capeable wakeboard boats. As mentioned if you can squeeze to the 18-19k range you open yourself up to a v drive which will save you the upgrade later on of going from d drive to v-drive because your hooked on the sport. No direct drive is going to hold 8 people comfortably One boat you missed was the Supra Launch/Sunspot. It was a huge direct drive inboard. Lots of space and the wakes are awesome. In most cases they almost all had automatic wake plates to adjust the wake and ride of the boat. The Supra Launch/Sunsport has the most freeboard and gunwale height to keep you high and dry. It rides solid as well. The plate will also help you cruise in rough water by allowing you to "trim" the ride height up or down. It's a hidden gem of the era. |
Couldn't agree more with Swat. 205 is a good hull but I wouldn't plan on more than 5 or 6 for a comfortable crew. 20k is really where you get some better options. 20k will get you in a v210, nauty210, 205v, and there are a ton of malibu vdrives around that price. Right now you can still get some deals but there won't be much even in that range come april. New boat prices going up mean the lower end market is holding really well right now.
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nice looking launch
http://www.onlyinboards.com/2000-sup...uri-46878.aspx And here is just a hint at a v drive for around 20 http://gettommys.com/boats/2000-malibu-sunsetter/ |
The Nautiques were the first to make a boat with a deeper hull. The deeper hull allows you to add more ballast. The rest of the manufacturers waited until later years which means that you can't get an old cheap one. You can do a lot of things with an old boat such as adding custom ballast, building the engine, putting in a nice stereo, and replacing upholstery with a newer looking style. Two things you can't do are to make the hull deeper or go from a direct drive to a v-drive. When looking at cheap starter boats that you can build on, you want to keep those things in consideration. The rest of it, you can change later. As long as you are buying a boat at the bottom of its depreciation and you don't leave it outside without a cover or beat the piss out of it in some other fashion you should be able to sell it for what you paid. Those old Nautiques with the super air hull aren't going to get any cheaper. Buy one, save some money while your using it, then sell it and upgrade.
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Go take a little road trip and grab this Sanger V210.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/ant...885010279.html |
Thank you guys so much, this is the info I really needed. There's a lot of late 90's Tiges and moombas on the market so now i know. I'm really trying to stay around $12k and upgrade in a year or two to a v drive.
I'll check out only inboards. Wow that supra is nice. Bet it's pricey though. I did see a supra on Craigslist, I think it's a Mariah. What about those? Supra wakeboard boat http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/boa/4875405076.html |
I'll start looking for a nautique then sounds like a solid boat.
I've heard some awesome things about sangers. I'll definitely need the room for a v drive in a couple years. What year did they start installing the ballast tanks in the boats? |
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And that's for sure a wood stringer model (prior to 1992) so either the stingers have been replaced (which is doubtful since it's not mentioned in the ad) or they WILL need replacing. I'd skip that one. That said, I had a 92 sunsport and it was a great entry level wake boat. With effort they can be made to surf about as good or better than other direct drives. they have tons of freeboard. the playpen bow is awesome. And it threw a nice wakeboard and slalom wake too. On the supras, look for the rounded curved windshield. the ones with straight lines on their windshields = wooden stringers. the 92 and above = all composite. That's what you want. If you can find a fuel injected one, even better, but the carb'd engine is fine too. |
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This is a really cool interview about the history of Supra and how forward thinking they were: Quote:
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Honestly, for under $15k, you're going to find a newer but less modified direct drive or a slightly older but more modified DD.
Supra, Moomba, Tige, Nautique... There's plenty of options because people are realizing that resale isn't spectacular in direct drives because "everyone" seems to want a v-drive. I sold my heavily modded 92 Sunsport for $13,700. It had underseat rear ballast, 3 sacks with pumps, HLCD tower speakers, subwoofer, deck with Bluetooth, WS420sq, dual batteries, tons of interior LED's, transom underwater LED's, and a homemade surf system to allow equal weighting of the boat and surfing either side. I sold it in 48 hours the weekend after labor day. |
Fyi regarding ballast tanks. Although when I bought my v drive I thought it was a feature... It was the first thing I modified. Other than the newer boats that hold several thousand pounds stock all the older tanks were small and you can add a lot more weight with sacs. Just something I learned after the fact. And I agree with the others on the hold out get a v drive. Space is very limited in direct drives in comparison and although your family may not be big yet I bet you have friends.
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I respectfully disagree with Swat on avoiding the d-drive Tige's (I can't speak for the Moomba). My first inboard was a 2000 Tige 20i, and I had a great experience with it. My only problem with it were a few pieces of vinyl (mine was a repo). Specifically, the doghouse and the rear sundeck, where they had stitched the vinyl with several colors in the shape of the Tige logo. Was the boat as nice as a Mastercraft or Nautique of that era, no, but was it built like crap, no. I also had no problem selling it when I was done with it. For what it's worth, I believe I sold that boat in 2011. It was an open bow, with perfect pass and a tower for $13,300, which was more than I'd paid for it 3 years earlier.
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This one will be hard to beat http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/boa/4852303225.html
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sorry should have read your whole post. I still think with shipping it would be hard to beat for the price
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SS
Here is why I would not go Tige. Their nose especially on the 20I is so low to the water when you start to add weight it's going to give you great issues with rollers. He specifically was concerned about rough water and I am sure you would agree that there is no way you're staying dry on rough water with a boat that has such small freeboard and a low profile nose. Set it up leaning to surf or weighted to maximize the wake and it would be hairy to say the least. The only d drive Tige I think remotely worth considering is the Tige 22I Riders Edition. But you'll be hard pressed to find one in his price range. |
Take a road trip and grab a early 2000 sanger v210. 15 all day on the west coast with the black scorpion meets all your requirements to a tee. But no surfing allowed! Low freeboard you'll be to busy looking sleek and driving it like a race car.
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I'll probably end up going with a direct drive although I really want a v drive. Since it's my first boat I think I'm going to try and stay under 15k and try and find a more modified dd like trayson said.
So would you guys say the best direct drives would be the sport natique, 205, launch and then sunsetter? In that order? |
i can personally recommend the MC 205 as I had one for a few years. My 99 had a nice big locker in the back that a 750lb sac fit in pretty nicely and if you add a sac under the bow seats you have enough weight for a decent wake without sacrificing all the interior space. Most guys use more weight than that in these boats but that was enough for people of my skill level.
If you look for a 205 be sure its the 96 or newer ones since that's when they went to the good hull. Same hull as the 205v, original Xstar, X2, X1. You should be able to find one of these in that 15k range. Of the three you mentioned you really can't go wrong with any of them. Theyll all have a good wake if you add plenty of weight. If your more into surfing than wakeboarding I'd scrap getting any of those three and look for a older Supra Sunsport. |
Yea, for open bow DD's, you've got a pretty good list there. A couple other obscure and rare ones you could throw out there would be the Sanger DLX and Hydrodyne Grand Sport. Both are well built boats, but also both roll out some nice boarding wakes with some weight. The Sanger will be a little lower to the water, but handles rough water well with the V-hull. The dyne is built like a tank and has one of the highest amounts of freeboard for its age next to the Sunsport, so handles weight well, but storage pretty much blows, so you'll be into the floor space for adding weight.
If you do decide to stick with a DD rather than hunting around for a V, I would look for something with a solid tower, or figure on spending that money as an upgrade, as none of the open bow DD's are going to be flush with storage, so getting boards off the floor and into racks will save some much needed floor space. |
Few boats:
97 205 http://easttexas.craigslist.org/boa/4876827097.html 96 205-needs a tower http://kansascity.craigslist.org/boa/4860315411.html MC Vdrive with new interior http://tricities.craigslist.org/boa/4863362694.html |
I'm surprised no one has mentioned a barefoot Nautique. You could have a V-drive Nautique and stay within your budget. Not many people know about those boats. I used to own one and loved it.
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Great well ill start looking for one out of those boats. I do a little surfing but haven't gotten the full experience because it has behind a crownline, id say more wakeboarding and a very small amount of slaloming. Ill try and hunt down a v for a steal as well. I will for sure be looking for one with a tower or a cheaper boat with out one.
How much can you find towers for? Wow William thanks! those all look good, I like the bottom one minus the pink, but im sure I could live with it. What do the barefoot nautiques have different? I found 1993 for right around $10k http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...autique-640110 |
Don't laugh,
But bayliner made a v-drive for a few years. They can be found cheap. https://texoma.craigslist.org/bod/4876002709.html I owned one and installed ballast and perfect pass in it and a wakeplate. The wake was great and my pro buddies seemed to love it. They liked it much better then my newer wakeboats. Just a thought, also you can find older tige's in that era. |
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http://www.monstertower.com/Wakeboar...ges-s/1824.htm I'd say if you want a tower with racks, speakers, and amp I would budget yourself around 2k if you did the install. I'd start looking at onlyinboards, craigslist mashes, and a great place to look is the user forums (m crew, team talk, etc). A lot of boats get put on the boat owners forums that never make it to onlyinboards. Then you can search the boards and see if it appears to be a responsible owner. A well cared for boat is worth its weight in gold. |
While 93ish barefoot nautiques were a v-drive, weren't they all closed bows as well? So you'd still have some limited seating. If you hunt around, you may find a Nautique Excel, which was a v-drive/open bow (which may be just a bf with open bow, but I'm not that up to snuff on my nautique history).
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We have a 2002 Supra Launch DD and love it. Storage really isn't that bad. It has front, middle and rear plumbed ballast and we board and surf with it all the time. I have 3 kids and a bunch of friends with us every outing. While it can get tight at times it's never uncomfortable. Never seen a guy not smiling snuggled up against a woman in a bikini anyhow! These boats can easily be purchased in your pricing and many will have lots of add ons already. Good luck with whatever you end up purchasing. Any boat is better than no boat!
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Came across this nice Malibu Sunsetter. Brandon is easy to work with and runs a great small business
http://www.centralkyinboards.com/det...=Promo&ID=1211 |
Barefoot were all closed bow. I'd still say v210.
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/boa/4877434847.html http://monterey.craigslist.org/boa/4880214810.html All day you can have it shipped for G probably |
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Lmfao!!! For 16k including shipping he can get a nice votive with the black scorpion. Or he can go get a sweet dd and have zero room. C'mon man.
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https://greenville.craigslist.org/boa/4863296444.html
its a little bit of a drive but its a V-drive with perfect pass |
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It cost me $2k to have my boat towed over 2k miles but in the end I got the exact boat I wanted for a sweet deal. I also bought my Jeep from NJ, an SUV from NYC, a BMW from San Diego, another BMW from San Francisco, and I sold an Audi to someone on the East Coast. Believe it or not, it is possible to buy and sell things from far, far, away. |
i've driven a ways to get a boat too but its not typical of these new first time buyers to go an do that.
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Ya but for his budget he can get exactly what he wants and in good condition and not have to settle.
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When you look at $16k boats, make sure you have a good tower, perfect pass and a nice prop. If you can find a well maintained vdrive in the 16-18k range with those 3 items you should be good.
For reference. We bought our 98 Tige 2200v in 2009. It had 200-300 hours on it. It cost me $17k back then and I put several thousand more into the tower, prop and perfect pass. We have since put about 700+ near trouble free hours on it. I wish I had spend $25k back then and gotten something a little newer but it has been a great boat regardless. My recommendation is to bump your price up to $20k and look for something that is well cared for, has reasonable hours and has a nice tower and perfect pass. If you get something in the $12-15k range I will be that you spend another $4-5k anyways. |
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What he said ^^
I had my centurion dd for 2 seasons. Was my first boat and It allowed me to learn as maintenance was very simple. I started out with a dd for the exact reasons William listed. After 2 seasons sold it and stepped up to a v drive. I lost about $400 on the boat, which was mainly the stereo I put in. And I put about 235 hrs on it. |
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Don't overlook MB Sports. That was our first boat and it was a direct drive but had a lot of storage room and actually put off a decent wake when sacked out a little bit. We got all kinds of looks and had less than $13K in the boat. it was a 1996 MB Sports Boss 210. And if you put a little bit into them you can make them look really nice! We sold this last week for $12,500.
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^^^ I'd have to disagree with that one. I did my of my riding back in the day behind a 1994 MB Boss 200, and that was a boat that was made for smooth water. It literally beat the sh** out of us when we encountered any chop. When my buddy traded that in on his 2000 Sport Nautique DD, it was a WORLD of difference. In the Boss 200, I'd have to lift myself off the observer seat in the chop to keep my spine from getting a pile-driver.
And the freeboard wasn't anything to write home about. Maybe yours had a different hull? The one I was on had the squared up windshield, so maybe it was a different generation? Don't get me wrong, they're great ski boats, and the B52's were boats that really started innovating. I spent a lot of time in that Boss 200 and don't really miss the negative aspects of it. |
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There are deals out there. Just picked up this 89 Supra Sunsport for around $10k. Has absolutely everything (tower, racks, nice stereo, plumbed in under seat/floor ballast - 1300 lbs, new vinyl 2009, new stringers/floor 2010, bimini, etc....). Just needs speed control and a cover.
This was in Oklahoma City, also.... |
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Wow that supra is nice. Heck of a deal.
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I would say my boating experience was put above magically changed with a vdrive. After ballast and jackets most DD boats have little room for ease of walking. This was very burdensome on my family and trying to take my grandparents out on the boat. However, with my vdrive we dont suffer from the same issue but everythings internally ballast now. Went from a MC 205 to a VLX for better reference.
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My brother currently owns my old boat and he might be selling it come spring -
95' Supersport Nautique ~650 hours Full ballast + Stereo + tower setup .... dual axle trailer, new interior, GT-40 rebuilt at 450 hours He was asking $16,500 last fall https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...7f1e59a0edd2fb |
Nick that one might be a little out of my price range but it looks like a nice boat.
What do you guys think of the 2000 malibu wake setter vlx? Boat has 1000 hours and an Indmar with 300 hours. V drive, tower, board racks, 4 kicker kmt60, kicker subs, perfect pass. Some "flaws" like chips in the coat and a few rips in the seats. Asking $15K. |
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There's some solid advice here so far! I'd definitely think about resale. An older direct drive will be a very tough sell, and you'll most likely want to sell and upgrade to a v drive next summer. Try to bump your budget a bit and get into a nice, older v drive.
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that supreme isnt gonna stay at 15k
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Bryce, direct drives are Not hard to sell, you just cannot sell them to a wakeboarder! There are still slalom water skiers out there and if you have a direct drive Malibu, it will get sold, I had three people that would have bought mine in the great recession(I guess I had a Great slalom skiing boat)
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With plans to board and surf, I'd try to bump the budget up a bit and get into a plain Jane v drive. You can redo the upholstery, add tower speakers, and everything else down the road when the budget allows. |
Did you find a boat yet?
Again, a lot of good advice here, and what you will see is that everyone has there own experience and different boats meet different people's needs. I can give you advice from my experience buying my first wake boat. I would say, be patient and put in the time looking for what you really want. We wanted a boat for wakeboarding and surfing and wanted to spend less than $15K. We found a 1997 Hydrodyne Nexstar V-drive with 700 hours on it and a GT-40 engine for $9,400. We had to put a tower, speakers & boardrack on it and plan to put a ballast system and perfect pass in the boat and will still be well under $15K. If you take your time and look hard, you can find a decent used V-drive for a 15K budget if that's what you really want. There are lesser known brands (Supreme, Sanger, Hydrodyne, Calabra, Maxum, Bayliner) that made V-drives in the 90's that can be found if you look hard enough. Either way, congratulations on being in the position to buy a boat. Wakeboarding/surfing/skiing behind a real towboat is one of the best ways to spend your time. |
Thanks for info guy.
I am still looking for a boat, been so busy with work and such to go out and look but I have been looking online. I'll be ready to buy at the end of May, by then I'll have time to travel around and look at a few boats. Does anyone have any experience with Tige v drives? I've seen a few 97-2001 for under $18k. With towers and speakers. They look nice but how Is the wake? Is it worth it to spend a little more and get a mc or malibu? |
Guys*
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The deal of the year shows up every couple weeks though so hand around and you'll find it!! |
You do not want a Tige prior to 2002, and even in 2002 stay away from the 21V. They had these little cut outs in the hull right at the rear of the boat. Would cause all kinds of spray and turbulence in the wake. They are commonly known as "spray pockets". Anyone who had a Tige 1998-2001 probably knows what I'm talking about. From 2002 on, super nice boats and you can get them to make a wake.
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Google pics of 1999 tige 21V, find one on the trailer and look at the rear of the hull. Then look at pics of the 20V and 22V from 2002 and notice they don't have them anymore.
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There was a MC Prostar 205 direct drive at a Pawn Shop off 69/75 in Durant last week.......
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I'll know hopefully this week if I end up getting a new boat.... if I get something new my brother's Supersport will be for sale, again :rolleyes: . He'll probably just mooch on my new one and unload his.
My guess is his price will be between $15.5k and $16.5k |
Do you know what the pawn shop was called?
Where are are you located Nicholas? |
Central Wisconsin.... so probably the better part of a 12 hour drive for you, which would be awful.... but then again we sold our last boat to two guys from OKC.
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look a little further west for a Sanger if you like them, not much distribution to this south/central US. I personally did and found one about 4 hours south in Austin. Very well built and can do everything well
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Awesome I'll message you Nicholas!
The cheapest Sanger I've found was $19k. Was that one like $19,900? |
If you want some info, best way to get a hold of me / my brother directly will be this email:
tomsyckn@gmail.com |
hbks5-4976737286@sale.craigslist.org
this looks good |
oops, that link won't work ^
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Says link unavailable. Must of been flagged.
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Malibu sunsetter dd anywhere from 97-02 solid wake and surf wave with proper weight of course
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