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Old     (crypted1)      Join Date: Jun 2009       06-25-2012, 3:31 AM Reply   
I've had my Crownline for 4 years now. Started Wakboarding about 2 1/2 years ago. The time has come to sell the Crownline and get a wakeboat. I've had or been around bow riders pretty much my whole life, know all about them. Wake boats are different story. So I need a bit of help.
What to look for in/on the boat? What options to make sure I get? What options I don't don't really need?
I'll only have about $30K to spend on this boat, so "NEW" is out...
I need a "good" boat for myself, my wife, and both my sons to board behind. They are 6 and 2.
Any and all opinions are needed. Thanks guys.
Old     (mhunter)      Join Date: Mar 2008       06-25-2012, 4:55 AM Reply   
A V drive will be better for wakeboarding . With a 30k budget you should be able to get something pretty nice. Take your time and shop around and make sure you drive before you buy. Check out the dealers in your area you will need them for service and parts make sure that brand is in your area. There are no MB,Sanger,Tige dealers in my area . IMO a pampered older boat is better than a beat newer one .
Old     (wakeboy01)      Join Date: Apr 2009       06-25-2012, 3:36 PM Reply   
Agree with V-drive especially with the family. Easier to walk around and storage. Tower w/ board racks is nice to keep boards out of the way. Bimini is good too if you plan on just hanging out on the lake so you don't have to be in the sun constantly. Take it to multiple dealers to have them inspect it if buying from an individual. Maybe ask them to take it out for the day with them to run it out. Good luck.
Old     (parkcityxj)      Join Date: Mar 2001       06-25-2012, 3:49 PM Reply   
$30K will get you a very nice V-drive. A must have is Perfect Pass or some sort of speed control. For me another must have is an auto ballast system.
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       06-25-2012, 3:59 PM Reply   
How big is your regular crew? Do you boat on a body of water that gets really rough? If you had to give percentages of how much you would want to wakeboard/surf/ski/lounge(cruise) what would you give each use? Any size restrictions based on lake, tow vehicle, garage, etc..?
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       06-25-2012, 4:02 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by parkcityxj View Post
$30K will get you a very nice V-drive. A must have is Perfect Pass or some sort of speed control. For me another must have is an auto ballast system.
Those are definately nice things to have but I definately wouldn't eliminate a boat that didn't have them. You can add those to any boat. Would it be great to get those on the boat? Yes, but easily addable if you find a boat you really like without them.
Old     (crypted1)      Join Date: Jun 2009       06-25-2012, 7:11 PM Reply   
Quote:
How big is your regular crew? Do you boat on a body of water that gets really rough? If you had to give percentages of how much you would want to wakeboard/surf/ski/lounge(cruise) what would you give each use? Any size restrictions based on lake, tow vehicle, garage, etc..?
My crew is my family 90% of the time. With them its about 50-50 doing water sports and letting the boys play on a beach.
When its a guys day out there is 5 of us max. Then its 100% wakebaording. That in the past has been handled by my buddys Bu. Its a sunsetter. I agree that a V is the only way to go.
No size restrictions on any lakes that I visit. Garage is no issue either, have a place that I store it indoor and can't really go too big for this shop.

Thanks for all the help guys... again any and all comments welcome.
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       06-25-2012, 10:09 PM Reply   
Options I would look at.

2000-2004 Wakesetter VLX/1996-2000 sunsetter VLX/2005-2008 Vride-all the same hull, great wakeboarding wake, more room then SAN or 205V(xstar)
1999-2002 Xstar/2003-2005 X2/205v. Great boat, great wakeboard wake, great quality, a little small with more then 5 or 6 people.
1999-2005 SAN210-great wakeboard wake, a little bigger then the 205v hull, great quality
2003-2005 Tige 22V-bigger then the other boats, deeper V, better surf wake
2002-current Centurion Avalanche-great surf wake, great rough water ride, good wakeboard wake with minimal ballast
Any Sanger V215-great all around boat, great construction, simple
2005-current Supra 21v-good deep boat.


There are probably 10 other boats that would be great options but those are the one's that come to mind.
Old     (jtech)      Join Date: Aug 2008       06-25-2012, 11:13 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by crypted1 View Post
My crew is my family 90% of the time. With them its about 50-50 doing water sports and letting the boys play on a beach.
When its a guys day out there is 5 of us max. Then its 100% wakebaording. That in the past has been handled by my buddys Bu. Its a sunsetter. I agree that a V is the only way to go.
No size restrictions on any lakes that I visit. Garage is no issue either, have a place that I store it indoor and can't really go too big for this shop.

Thanks for all the help guys... again any and all comments welcome.
Is your beach area easy to access or is it rocky? Many of my friends beach their I/O's and can lift the prop out of the water. Not an option with an inboard.

Another thing to consider is what brands/dealers are near to you? Since whatever you buy will be out of warranty you should make sure that whomever you have to deal with for repairs won't jack you around when it comes time to do so. Some people won't even buy new boats/brands if the dealer is hard to deal with.

Last edited by jtech; 06-25-2012 at 11:17 PM. Reason: .
Old     (boardjnky4)      Join Date: Dec 2011       06-26-2012, 6:41 AM Reply   
http://www.wakeworld.com/classifield....php?view=2690

I'd be trying to make a deal on a boat like that
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       06-26-2012, 8:10 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtech View Post
Is your beach area easy to access or is it rocky? Many of my friends beach their I/O's and can lift the prop out of the water. Not an option with an inboard.

Another thing to consider is what brands/dealers are near to you? Since whatever you buy will be out of warranty you should make sure that whomever you have to deal with for repairs won't jack you around when it comes time to do so. Some people won't even buy new boats/brands if the dealer is hard to deal with.
In his price range whatever he buys will be out of warranty by a long ways. I personally wouldn't worry about the dealers around me at all. I would just find a local independent mechanic that can work on the boat for me. They will probably do a better job and be cheaper then the dealers anyways.
Old     (crypted1)      Join Date: Jun 2009       06-26-2012, 8:39 AM Reply   
OK so what do you guys consider high hours?
I've looked at boats with under 250, around 400, 800, and 1000 hours, and every where in between. I don't know what is considered high hours for a wakeboat.
Sorry for all the questions...
Old     (polarbill)      Join Date: Jun 2003       06-26-2012, 8:53 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by crypted1 View Post
OK so what do you guys consider high hours?
I've looked at boats with under 250, around 400, 800, and 1000 hours, and every where in between. I don't know what is considered high hours for a wakeboat.
Sorry for all the questions...
I think most people would consider over 500 hours high but I am not sure it is necessarily warranted. Yes, 500 hours is more then most you see out there but is not that much in the whole scheme of things. More so then hours I would look at condition of the boat and maintanance records. I would rather have a beautifully maintaned boat with 500 hours then a trashed/neglected boat with 100 hours. Lower hours will help with resale down the road some but you should also be able to get a higher hour boat for cheaper.

If you are looking for early to mid 2000's boats I would expect most would be in the 200-400 range. I would not eliminate a boat with higher hours if the price is right and it has been maintained correctly. With slightly older boats I would also think about looking for a more simple boat because they will be easier and cheaper to fix. That being said you aren't going to find many boats for 30k that have ton's of automatic systems, LCD screens, muc switches(newer malibu's).
Old     (jtech)      Join Date: Aug 2008       06-26-2012, 5:27 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by polarbill View Post
In his price range whatever he buys will be out of warranty by a long ways. I personally wouldn't worry about the dealers around me at all. I would just find a local independent mechanic that can work on the boat for me. They will probably do a better job and be cheaper then the dealers anyways.
True, but some won't take it to an Indy when it's out of warranty. Kind of like people that still use big banks when the local Credit Union has better service and will actually loan you some money from time to time.

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