Need help finding a boat (strange requirements)

[M3Shark]

Hi Everyone,

I am looking at replacing my current boat with a newer boat that is better designed for Wakeboarding.

Basic stuff is looking to spend 20-25K(willing to go up if needed to meet requirements below...), would prefer V-Drive, open bow, and a built in ballast system, newer than 2000.

Now the strange requirements...

Our lakefront property is located down a shallow stream/river from the main lake. This means that the boat must have as shallow a draft as possible when unweighted. Otherwise, we will hit rocks,trees,etc.

On the flip side, we also need to go under two bridges, one of them very low. So, it either needs to be towerless, or have a fairly easy to fold down tower. And, the max height from waterline to highest point on boat needs to be reasonable. (the lower the better, there have been summers wasted not being able to fit under one of the bridges...really sucks).

So essentially I need a boat with a shallow max draft and a reasonably low overall height. Any ideas/Suggestions? Am I just outta luck?

Thanks!

P.s: Having trouble even finding draft/height information on older boats, any ideas on where to get that sort of info?

[ridininmd]

How shallow do you need to be? Most ski/wake boats are going to draft close to 2'. For the tower if you already can't make it under the bridge some of the time maybe look for something without a tower and get one of the old fly high pylons. There are some towers that fold pretty easily but I can't think of any that fold lower than the top of the windshield.

[vette74]

I would go with a Sanger v210 they have probably the lowest overall height in the water of any recent boat. I think the draft of any boat will be about the same 22"-24"

[M3Shark]

[anw7405]

I was also thinking about sanger too for the tower.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf03LyJbexs&feature=relmfu

here is a little video to show how easy it is to put up and down.

[M3Shark]

[NKCrider]

is it shallow water under the bridges? fold the tower down and pump in the ballasts?

[ridininmd]

Most of the towers in the years your going to be looking at come down pretty simply. I go out on a 2000 SAN 210 pretty often that we have to drop the tower on to go under a bridge. You spin two bolts out by hand and it folds forward, takes a few seconds. The real concern is going to be the height once it's folded, which is going to be tough to find without going out and measuring.

You can remove the tower entirely, if you need to while the water is really high.

[M3Shark]

Ok, was doing some more digging around online, and found a site that has at least some max draft data for older boats(boatdetails.com). According to it, the Tige 20v/22v has only a 1ft6in (18in draft) vs the 22-24 for the other popular wakeboard boats.

Can any one confirm that those number are correct? If so, then I think I found my boat...

thanks.

Also, the max draft measurement. Those are taken from the water line to the lowest point on the prop, correct? or is it just to the lowest point on the hull?

[ridininmd]

I'd be careful with those numbers, it depends on how they measured it, with ships it is the lowest point of the hull, not necessarily the prop or rudder. Without knowing how they measured it and under what conditions, like full fuel, engine fluids, etc. the number doesn't mean a lot. That and the fact that your looking at a about 4 inch swing, well I wouldn't buy a boat off of that.

Tige` doesn't get much love and you may be fighting them come resale time. I think that under similar loads you're going to find most of these boats are with in a couple inches of each other in draft. If a couple of inches is going to make it get through or not get through then you better have good insurance because it's not cheap when you rip the gear off the bottom of an inboard. And it doesn't take nearly as hard of a hit to do it as a outboard or stern drive does.

[ridininmd]

you're not on Lake Jackson are you?

[carp22]

If you find a towerless boat, just put a monster tower on it, I dont know about the newer models, but the older monster towers fold completly flat, and a supposed to be easy and fast to put back up.

[rmaytee]

I thought wake pylons only fit on direct-drive models, since the center ski pylon is already like 3 feet tall? I like the monster idea above.

[M3Shark]

[cadunkle]

Prostar 190? Malibu Skier? I think you're pretty much looking at old light low freeboard ski boats to have little draft and height. Extended pylon and a coupe sacks. Or trailer. Maybe make friends upriver and take a smaller runabout up to get your real boat from their dock? Or resign to trailering?

[vette74]

M3Shark, Bottom of prop. Why not just dig that area out a little deeper?

[M3Shark]

vette74, lol, I'm sure no one would notice or care that I'm doing it...

I think next time I go out I'm going to mount some poles off the back of the boat down around 24in below water line and see if I ever touch bottom or debris with them. If I can get through with those, then I will move them to 30in. If I can get by with those, especially this year when water level is so low, then I really have nothing to worry about.

[Ps205Rider]

M3Shark, How far do you have to travel through the shallow water? Is it deep around the bridge?(enough that loading her with ballast prior to getting there will help the tower height issue?)

[ridininmd]

Nah, it's in northern VA, close to where m3Shark is. It's a private lake that is really more of a river.

[anw7405]

I've rode a tige 22v a few times and i doubt it has an 18 inch draft. It's a big, heavy, large freeboard boat. I think an 18 inch draft for this boat is false. If I'm asking the same question again sorry, but is the water shallow underneath the bridge?

[M3Shark]

[fish6942]

If draft is that much of a concern, I'd stick with an I/O. With my setup (Centurion V-drive), the prop is the lowest point on the boat. I certainly wouldn't want to use the prop as my "min depth gauge".

[anw7405]

For what you are saying it screams sanger to me. The only thing is most of the sangers are on the west coast. Wait till winter and you can take your pick for everything you need and quite possibly stay under your budget. good luck.

[M3Shark]

Should I be worried about maintaining a Sanger on the east coast... there isn't exactly a dealer down then street from me... What about getting parts for them?

Also, hows the wake on the Sanger V210's? How does it compare to other boats (for reference my favorite boat I have ever riddin behind was an early 00's Air Nautique team edition...)

Also Also, Any thoughts on a 2000/2001 X-starr (or 205V)? How high do they sit? there seem to be plenty of nice ones in my price range, and not hard to find relativity close to me.

[Nor*Cal]

M3Shark, they use mercruiser engines which are incredibly common in the boating world.