Next boat?

[swatguy]

I get sick of dealers throwing Tige, MB and Sanger up against the big 3. We all know you get what you pay for.

To be fair , almost every mfg puts out a high quality boat these days. You pay a lot more for the name and history than you do the upgrade in build quality . You also pay for the tech and luxury in lot of the higher end boats. It boils down the the luxury , not the performance. Prime example , Sanger. Hull build quality on a Sanger is just about as legit as it gets . They’ve been building boats that last the ages for a long long time . I’d put any hull of theirs right next to and MC any day and I guarantee you over the course of time less imperfections have rolled off the Sanger line than the MC line as a percentage of hulls built. However there is a reason Sangers are much less .

You don’t get touch screens with tons of tech , cool feel vinyl , Billet etched towers , Custom audio , proprietary engines , endless gelcoat and interior schemes ,etc etc, but what you do get is a quality boat with quality features

[MC25]

I love hearing the indmar V Ilmor argument. It’s still a Chevy block and ilmor parts aren’t that much harder to find, nor are they even that expensive. An oil filter is $20 from the dealer. If that’s a decision point for you, buying a 75k boat shouldn’t be in the cards.

[FoggyNogginz]

I have over 5000 hours on multiple Indmar engines, and around 1500 on Ilmor. No noticable servicing differences to me other than a few things are a bit harder to get to on the Ilmor. Both are high quality products.

[hunter991]

I have to agree with Swatguy.. every mfg is putting out good boats these days. You could chose any of them and be happy. The only things missing are the bling mostly IMO. Personally i don't need that in my boat. I just want a good surf wave, and reliability. Most boats fit that category. I also look for the dealer experience. I want a good dealer in case something goes wrong. I wouldn't buy a natique if the dealer was poor or 6 hours away over a Moomba in which the dealer was a 20 min drive and hate a great dealership.

i am in the market now, looking at all of them. MB seems to be a good choice, but no dealer support rules them out immediately. This is just an example of what i am talking about. Although there are some for sale locally, i am not willing to drive for a day to get it to a dealer.

[FatJesus]

Thanks for the input. After owning a new Tige, my experience tells me all boats are not created equal. From actuators being replaced 3x’s, O2 sensors too many times to count, entire Taps 3 system replacement, Gel coat spider cracking everywhere, tower flexing, wet sound amplifiers all replaced 2x -due to DSP issues, Touch screen and PDM replacement, really no system of the boat wasn’t replaced or repaired. Dealer and Tige did the bare minimum to meet the warranty and nothing was quick. I eventually ordered and repaired things, as I didn’t want to miss anymore weekend.

[hunter991]

all that seems unusual and you should have never had to deal with all that. I haven't heard of that many issues on any new boat. But again, thats where a good dealer comes into play. Some of that could have been dealer setup, some not.

[FatJesus]

Raptor engine is garbage. Loud, needs premium gas or throws codes, throws codes if you idle too long. Shakes boat at multiple RPM ranges, smooth at others.

[hunter991]

Raptor engine is garbage. Loud, needs premium gas or throws codes, throws codes if you idle too long. Shakes boat at multiple RPM ranges, smooth at others.

what year? i know they fixed the O2 thing. I did hear it was slightly louder than competing engines.

[MC25]

what year? i know they fixed the O2 thing. I did hear it was slightly louder than competing engines.

Absurdly loud. My neighbor has a 16 VLX and it’s probably 2 times as loud as the ilmor.

[jesam]

Raptor engine is garbage. Loud, needs premium gas or throws codes, throws codes if you idle too long. Shakes boat at multiple RPM ranges, smooth at others.

I've had one boat (the 2018 boating season) with the Raptor. I experienced none of that. It was perfect.

[FatJesus]

I’m definitely leaning in the direction of something 2011-2015 range with under 400hrs, clean service history, one owner, no warranty, larger motor (quite at surf speeds). I’ve Already been burned by a newer budget brand boat. My opinion is new boats just aren’t worth the money. I can easily get service quicker at a local marine mechanic, then any dealer during peak boating season. Being locked to one dealer under warranty sucks. The local dealers mechanic said “warranty work pays less than non-warranty work” that’s why warranty work is always 2nd.

[FatJesus]

I’m guessing quality control is the main issue. Some boats are great, others are terrible. Raptors had an 85% recall rate according to the local Nautique dealer (not sure if that’s true) but it’s inline with my experience.

[hunter991]

Nautique dealer? i am thinking this was a sales tactic. Nautique doesn't use raptors they use PCM so they may be inclined to say that. And i don't think 85% makes sense. MB, Moomba, Supra, Tige, Sanger and Pavati use Raptor. If it sucked that bad i doubt they would.

i do know there was an issue with 02 sensors, but Indmar apparently fixed that. It was set too sensitive.

[jesam]

85% failure, thats funny. I do agree that the Raptors are loud.

[moleson10]

There's a lot of koolaid flowing in this thread. I agree with Swatguy, the LSV is a great boat and compares well with MC. Both have good points and bad. IMO the biggest objective issue with the LSV is fuel consumption vs. the competition. They use a lot of gas especially with the wedge down. But the wakes are excellent and work well for all disciplines. And they're the F150 of tow boats with more sold than any of the competition. That makes them a good buy on the used market.