Boat upgrade HELP
 

So the issue at had here is I want to get into wakesurfing but my family has an i/o boat. I want to upgrade to an inboard wakeboard boat but my dad isn't on board with the idea. I came to ask for some advice on if it is worth it to upgrade to inboard and if so, what are a list of pros that will encourage my dad to make the upgrade. I'm 15 years old, my dad bought a cobalt about 2 years ago and we use it for tubing, wakeskating, kneeboarding, fishing and just cruising. We go up to the lake about twice a month at best during the summer. Obviously I can't buy a boat of my own and I doubt I will be able to afford one until I'm much older. And by then it may be too late to enjoy it to its full potential. So again I ask, is it worth the upgrade and if so how to I convince my dad

Cheers

Tell him your gonna run away if he doesn't.

Tell him you will run away if he does.

Be happy your dad bought a cobalt and not a bayliner! Seriously, be happy with what you have access to. Understand your dad would stand to lose a lot off money dumping a 2 year old boat to get something different.

You're gonna get grilled kid. edit it to "convince my wife" lol

I Agree, be very grateful you have a family that loves boating.

BUT, find a friend to teach your dad to wakesurf. Get dad hooked first. The rest will follow.

Wake surfing sucks! Get good on a wakeboard! Girls love the inverts! :).

Not worth having any boat for twice a month. Be happy with the Cobalt.

I'm with the OP... if he doesn't get an inboard NOW he might as well just invest in Depends and Ensure. No way to fully enjoy an inboard when you can actually afford to purchase one.

Thanks for the ideas everyone but I think I left out a major detail. The only people in the family who are super into the lake are my dad and I. My two younger brothers and mom enjoy it, but not nearly as much. Most of the time it's just me and my dad that go down and I bring a couple friends. I like the idea of getting my dad hooked on wakesurfing. But I don't know anyone that wakesurfs and my dad isn't very athletic. Is it feasible for him to wakesurf even if he isn't the most athletic?

I agree with this 100%. One other approach you could take is the safety factor of an inboard over an IO.

You might try getting him to watch videos... of older guys that can wakesurf, but are too old to get good at wakeboarding. :D

Have you wake surfed before? If not you probably need to do it quite a bit before you try to convince your dad to spend tens of thousands of dollars for this new hobby that you may or may not really enjoy.

I personally could take it or leave it but certainly couldn't imagine dropping a ton of cash so that I, let alone my son, could surf. I couldn't even bring myself to spend $400 on a nice new board this season vs. continuing to use a free ocean surf board that I received 4 years ago. We really just surf at the end of the day to kill time (and waste gas) while hanging out. To me, buying a new boat specifically to surf sounds almost as ridiculous as buying some sort of special "Extreme Tubing Edition" boat that's optimized for tubing.

Haha! Love what Jeff said and so true!
Anyway Ahern your right surfing requires almost no skill and u can pretty much teach anyone to do it and there really is no learning pains like wakeboarding. Although people do get bonked in the head sometimes until they learn to protect themselves of the falling board to the head.
Maybe you can get your dad over to a dealer for a test drive tell the dealer you guys wanna check out this wake surfing deal. I know dealers in my area for atleast 2 of the major brands would take u out in a heartbeat.

Very true Jefff. But I have wake surfed before and I do happen to enjoy it a lot.

Alex, you've got a long, long life ahead of you. Don't get hung up on thinking you're gonna be too old to board, surf, or whatever by the time you can afford an inboard. Take care of yourself and stay active; you'll be fine. I used to go out some with friends when I was younger; that's when I learned to ski. Loved it from the very first day. Didn't get to do much of it until I was able to get my first boat. I was 30 years old at that time. That's when I really started getting into skiing and then wakeboarding. I'm in my mid 40s now and still wakeboard just as good or better than I always have. I'm no pro or even close; I just enjoy doing it. I also love surfing; it's a blast and much more chill than wakeboarding as I'm sure you know. Your dad would probably like it if he tried it. Find someone to take you guys out and encourage him to give it a shot; that's about all you can do. In the mean time, be happy that your family has a boat of ANY kind and you don't have to feel like a pain begging your friends to take you to the lake with them. Sounds like you're a lucky kid and you have a great dad; that's awesome. Enjoy your time with him; you will always remember hanging out with your dad at the lake and have stories to tell your kids one day. Good times you're living, little man. Good times!

Thanks David. Your probably right.

You're****

I have a friend that has a Chaparral Sunesta Wakeboard Edition. It has ballast and trim tabs and he surfs just fine with an inboard/outboard. Not same wake as a vdrive but it works. That might be a less expensive route to go then selling your old boat. You could look into some trim tabs and buy a few fat sacks. Just a thought.

That just sounds dangerous to me..

He has a large swim deck that extends back to help keep the rider away from the outdrive.

Doesn't change the location the rider rides in proximity to the prop. Might help, might not.

x 2

X3 I would never surf anything but an inboard - you fall driver slows down you get mangled - ouch