Tige or Moomba? Should I save my $$

Lets really put things into perspective.
I see guys all the time with old Bayliners having the time of their life out on the lake, which is what boating should be all about, HAVING FUN, not trying to make people feel they bought a piece of crap because it was not what you bought.

I think all of these boats are great boats. Anything with a $30,000+ price tag probably is not that bad. Sure everyone has their own preferance which is why there is more than just one boat maker in the world. I get so frustrated reading all these this boat sucks or that boat sucks posts. I know sometimes people do get a lemon but the same thing happens with cars too. Moomba will always be looked down upon because they sell a less expensive WAKEBOARD/SKI boat. Remember though Moomba is Skiers Choice lower line made for people who don't want or cannot afford $40 - $60K for a boat. I don't ever hear these complaints about the Supra line, which is made by the same people and have alot of the same features. Reality sets in when you have things like house payments, car payments, maybe kids to feed, and credit card bills etc...Then if you are in the market for a boat you usually know what you can afford or what you want to spend on a monthly payment. Owning a boat should be fun and should not put you in a position to where you can not afford things like your house and car payments. I bought a Moomba and I am happy with it and I am happy with Skiers Choice. You really never see any negative feedback on this website about Skiers Choice, and the fact that guys from their company chime in now and then makes me even that much happier to own one of their products. I would recommend a Moomba or Supra to anyone.


A.P.(bigdad) - Well said on your last post.

Great point Richard / A.P., and as well, I would like to express my apologies to My boy gramps, and anyone else I might have offended on my comments on the X-9. Just lashing out (I am ashamed of myself!)
It's amazing how your mentality can drop to a foul mouthed, spit wad shooting, fighting grade school kid in no time on this message board, I am referring to myself..

Tom Bugg
The AWA

Everyone, No hard feelings what so ever! I didn't take it personal, the site is to get as much info as possible. This has been a good thread with lots of useful info.

I don't care what boat it is, the manufacturers are killing US ALL with the price of the boats these days, and I think we can all agree on that.

Buggman, were still boys!

AWWW MANNNN!!!!

I miss my X-9!!!

I sold it right after I moved to Tampa Bay in favor of eventually getting a V-Drive boat, now I'm kicking myself when I realize how much more I'm going to have to pay to own A SMALLER BOAT!

My X-9 had plumbed-in removable side sacks, so I didn't have the luxury of having weight PLUS floor space. I wish I had read GRAMPS posts before I had them installed. I would have followed his lead and been much happier today.

The X-9 may not be the premier wakeboard boat, but it is possibly the best looking boat on the water with the coolest and most usable interior layout(without sacks on the floor), and it throws a great wake when weighted down A LOT!!!

Here's a pic...

God I'm so over these kinds of conversations.

I have an X-Star and it has a top notch wake with only the factory KGB weight. Ask Kevin Bird and Arun if you don't believe me. In fact, I think I've only used sacs once or twice all last summer.

Rene,

But you've got like 15 people in your boat. I've ridden behind X-Stars and liked it with extra weight. Ask Kevin and Arun if they'd prefer more weight. I'm willing to bet they'd say "yes".

I will say this after riding with Gramps this morning, I can't imagine a better direct drive wakeboard boat than the Prostar 209 (X-9) the way he has it set up.

He's got 2400 lbs hidden in that thing and you would never know it. The only place you even see a sack is under the back seat (the stock bag) and he throws a 150 lb bag on the floor in front of that, right behind the engine box, which is very non-obtrusive. The rest is hidden and/or is lead.

And, you might think it would be hard filling all those bags and time consuming but I think Gramps can have the boat up and running in less than 10 minutes. Lastly, for having that much weight in it, it planes out nicely and handles like a dream.

Sorry to gush, but Gramps has spent a lot of time and put a lot of thought into his boat and I challenge anyone to find a better direct drive setup out there for wakeboarding.

Did I mention the wake is huge, steep (but not too steep), and firm?

While I love my boat ('02 Malibu Sunsetter LXi), I run 1825 lbs plus the wedge right now and the wake is nowhere near what the Prostar is throwing out and it doesn't handle or plane out as well (although going 4-blade would help the planing, I think) because of the wedge.

Were I to go back one year and do my purchase over, knowing what I know now, I would go v-drive, probably a VLX (but maybe an X-star or Super Air). But if I absolutely had to go with a direct drive, I probably would buy the Prostar and set it up like Gramps. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly content with my ride, but I would do things differently probably all things being equal.

Thanks again for the pulls, Gramps!!!!

Paul, you are obviously a high integrity person.

"While I love my boat"...

A rare person can take off their ownership goggles.

BTW, I am also a huge fan of the prostar wake. Matt Richie's prostar wake kicks my VLX wake. His boat is awesome minus the fact that is is hard to sack down (closed bow) and it has the motor in the middle (social/comfort issue).

CHECK OUT THE NEW V208 SKY SUPREME.....40,000 LOADED!!!

This poor guy just wanted an opinion between 2 boats, and it turned into a war. its a shame we could not help him.

My opinion is that if price is no option then the Tige is definately the way to go. First off the cage is built directly into the hull. It' also owns the heaviest dry weight between the two and the workmanship of the boat is much more solid. As far as the wood stringers are concerned, there has never been a complaint about rot and they provide a smoother quieter ride than fiberglass. Rot may occur in time, but look at your pressure treated dock; it'll last 15-20 years fully exposed, so the stingers will be okay for twice that at least. By that time your Tige will be dead due to some other circumstance I'm sure. I love my Tige.

My pressure-treated DECK didn't last 10 years, and the only water it encountered was rain. If that were the standard, any boat-builder using wood would be in trouble. But, my understanding is that the treated wood used by Tige is much, much more rot-resistant than pressure-treated wood.

As for the original issue, both boats have their proponents and detractors. If Michael is having a hard time justifying the price differential given his finances and priorities, I think he's answered his own question better than anyone else can.

ok ok ok ride in all the boats( that you are considerring), drive all the boats, and ride BEHIND all the boats, compare prices and features-standard and optional, make sure the trailer is included-and its features, check track history on all the boats, and look into their construction, then decide---- please take it from a long time boat owner i have had three boats with wood problems including a 1994 crownline which i spent 3000 repairing( making it better than new ) dont buy anything with any wood in it.........

make sure you try a launch ssv from supra i think if you try them and price them all you will have an easy choice to make SUPRA LAUNCH SSV

Aaron, although I have have no issues with Tige and their wood stringers I find your theory to be flawed. Take that same piece of pressure treated wood you build your deck with, put it in a dark and damp area with virtually no air flow and see if you get 15 years out of it......NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

The other suggestion I have for demoing is to demo how you are going to use it. I don't just mean ride behind it, but if you are typically going to have 8 people go with you, take 8 people on the demo, if all 8 bring their own boards, vest, backpacks, whatever, have them bring all of that. It doesn't do any good to demo a boat with just you, the salesperson and no gear if that's not how you are going to use it. If you have to travel over rough water to get to your favorite riding spot, make sure to run the boat in rough water.

Steve, whether the XL wood that Tige' uses gets wet or not doesn't matter. Keeping it free of moisture is not what makes it rot-proof, it's the chemical treatment.

I seriously considered trading an old car of mine for a '46 Chris Craft(Hi Peter). That's a real mans' boat, mahogany, not a speck of silly fiberglass! It is still used every summer as a pleasure boat, not a museum piece. There are all wood boats everywhere that are still floating. I looked at one the other day that has been in salt water her whole life and is 138 yrs old. The Tige "wood" thing is a non-issue, brought up by uninformed people that haven't been around boats very long. Granted, any boat that isn't cared for properly will probably deteriorate quickly. Fiberglass will deteriorate just like wood if water seeps in behind the Gelcoat.

BTW, Gramps, that wake is HUGE in your pics! As if 99.8% of us can do something with a wake that size besides bust our a$$es!

Re-read my post Nick. I'm not questioning the durability and longevity of Tige's stringers, I'm very familure with the process.

Just to clarify the argument here, pressure treated decking you buy at Lowes etc is not in the same league of chemical treatment/pressure treated and lamination process that XL panel is.
If there was a chance that this product EVER failed or did not live up to its warranty we would not use it. If you take the marine industry as a whole more manufactureres use XL than do not. It is very widely used in ofshore product such as Grady White and yachts/offshore racing product.
LifePlus10K construction warranty protects our 2003 product for life for the original owners against separation, degradation and rot. We replace the boat with a brand new one if there is ever a failure and pay you $10k for the inconvenience.

Brett,

I am new to this argument so please excuse any questions that you have answered over and over again.

If you know wood is constantly causing consumer concern (which it obviously does), why continue using it instead of going to fiberglass?

If there is ZERO chance the wood will ever fail, than why not make the lifetime warranty on the stringers transferable? Failure to do so causes resale problems, thus devaluing the original price of the Tige and, it would seem, hurting your bottom line. As someone who will likely sell and move into a new boat every few years, resale is a very big concern to me. What do I tell a potential buyer of my Tige when he asks about the wood? I can't tell him that you guarantee it because you didn't make the warranty transferable.

I am legitimately asking these questions. I plan to buy later this year or perhaps next year, and I am pretty much narrowed down to a CC Air210, MC X-2 (possibly X-star if it lives up to the hype), and Tige 22V.

Thanks in advance for your answers to these questions.

I thought the new 10K+ warranty or whatever it's called is transferrable?

Hey Steve,

Sorry about that, I guess I just mis-read your post.

The dock analogy as just an example. Of course the wood used in the stringers is treated differently and more appropriately. Not only does the warranty have me convinced my Tige will last but also think of ocean racing cigarette boats; Almost all incorporate wood stringers in order to provide a quieter and smoother ride through rough water. As for you swass the warranty is transferable, although life turns into 10 years after the sale.

Andre, the warranty is transferable for up to ten years from the original purchase date. For instance if you own the boat 5 years there is 5 more years of structural warranty to transfer.

Thanks for the info, Brett.

Can you tell me the reason the lifetime portion is not transferable? If there is "ZERO chance the wood will ever fail" (your exact words) than why not make the lifetime warranty, at least on all wood, transferable?

Huh? Offshore racing boats "incorporate wood in stringers in order to provide a quieter . . . ride"? Have you heard these things with two (or three, or four) big blocks bellowing through unmuffled exhaust? It sure doesn't seem like quietness is a high priority in these applications.

Andre, I think one of the reasons they don't change thier manufacturing method is that the wood stringers do a better job of dampening vibration and absorbing shock in rough water. I can honestly say the Tiges I drove were some of the most solid feeling and best handling boats in rough water.

Aaron....no biggie, I just didn't want there to be any confusion as to the point I was making and it had nothing to do with Tige.

Steve