best new I/O built for wakeboarding (part two)?

mass_rider · Criminal Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 88 City: westminster

I think we started to get of subject on my last post regarding this issue. If a V-drive turns out to not be an option for my new boat does anyone know of a boat manufacturer that offers an I/O about 20-22'with wraparound seating (like what's in most V-drives) and maybe a tower or perfect pass as an option. I've looked on many boat websites and havn't found a good option yet. [/b][/u]

Brit Rider · Posted: May 16, 2004 7:14 am Post subject:

rinkers rx1 and rx2 are exactly as described, wraparound seating, perfect pass and a tower

www.rinkerboats.com
http://www.rinkerboats.com/xtreme.shtml

There you go Very Happy

Brit Rider · Posted: May 16, 2004 7:31 am Post subject:

abot 36k all in i heard

mass_rider · Criminal Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 88 City: westminster

I checked out the rinker Rx 1 and Rx2 Their websight didn't show a very good pic of a floor plan veiw. from what I could see it seemed to be two captains chairs with a bench in the back.

Brit Rider · Posted: May 16, 2004 9:33 am Post subject:

yeha sorry my bad, its kind of semi wrap around. it has a bench that comes round the side. then two forward facing buckets.
Heres a review on it:

http://waterskimag.com/product.jsp?ID=1492&product=boat&clientID=25192

The video should be quite helpful, they normally are.

Later

mass_rider · Criminal Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 88 City: westminster

I checked out the video it was pretty helpful, the seating is better than I thought. Has anyone ever ridden behind one weighted? anyone got any other choices I should check out. I think the boating industry should have this covered I'm sure I'm not the only one who prefers rear facing seats.

Brit Rider · Posted: May 16, 2004 10:57 am Post subject:

Most brands do do some wakeboard stlye/V-drive style boats...

Sea ray have the 210 with optional tower (not wrap seating tho)
Rinker has the rx1 and 2
Maxums do heaps... anything from 18 - 22 ft can have a tower

I would recommend taking a look at tige's v-drives - they have a deep hull so similar to an i/o in the chop. same with centurion, supreme and session

if you don't mind me asking - whats your budget and what size boat do you want and for where? that would help out.

alafiaboarder · Posted: May 16, 2004 12:51 pm Post subject:

i got a 20' sea-ray select, bout a 290hp 5.0, nice ass tower, great wake, awesome when weighted, capable of perfect pass, hoping for one soon. if u need more info, just pm or sumthin Twisted Evil

Bruky · Guest

is there a reason you may not be able to have a v-drive as an option? ussually this is a budget problem, but you do not seem to have a budget as you did not mention it. i would totally check out any tige or supreme because they have nice deep v hulls. boats like nautique and sanger tend to not have such deep v's and dont handle as well in chop. our SAN bangs like hell in heavy chop.

Bruky · Guest

and i was just surfing the forums, and this applies if the new malibu wakesetter that you ordered doesnt work out, right?

root · Newbie Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 18 City: Coeur d' Alene

Long Winded RX1 review. From a wakeboarding POV.

I got an RX1 this March and have been playing with weighting it. I've never ridden behind any sort of DD or V drive boat, except for a 2000 ski centurion which was a direct drive with a single fat sack and a couple crates of rocks. I thought that wake was fairly washed out or foamy at the top, but my friend was pulling all kinds of crazy stuff behind it. Rolls, flips, etc.

We bought the RX1 after having a Sea Ray 180 since 2000. And that's the only boat I really have any other experience with to compare the RX1 to. The Sea Ray was too short to ride the chop well when the lake would get busy. This hasn't been an issue at all with the 21 foot RX1, as the few times we've been out and the wind has picked up, it handled the waves fine. (was starting to whitecap a bit)

Anyhow, I'm running mine with a single 500 lb fat sac up in the bow, under the playpen cushions, and this day we had 2 adult girls and 2 adult guys + a herd of kids in the back of boat. I was having a blast with this much weight in it. You have to pull the trim up about 1/8th of the way to sharpen up the peak of the wake. If you trim it too far, the wake gets rounded off at the top.

We're still getting used to the perfect pass, as we kept overshooting the set speed, and it would have to come back down to the desired speed. It would dip down under the set speed, and then finally correct and land on the target speed. It holds the desired speed within .5 mph, give or take, once it's settled down. (This "hunting" hasn't been an issue since we stopped overshooting the desired speed. RTFM)

The playpen seating in the bow is great. It keeps the kids off the fatsac, and makes for a pretty comfy spot to lounge. The half wrap around seating in the back is nice, but people tend to to load up soley on the passenger side, when someone is putting on a show behind the boat.

The transom walkthrough is the coolest thing when loading/unloading people from the boat, as it keeps the feet off the sunpad. The wake does make it's way up onto this walkway when stopping the boat, to come back around a pickup a downed rider. The second cooler under the walkthrough seems to have been designed for holding 18 packs of adult beverages, in bottle form. (bottles or cans? that's another topic...)

The extended swimplatform is huge. It's almost too huge, as I sit on the sundeck to get strapped in, and then have to slide/shimmy the other 2 feet off the deck into the water. I had a problem before, with people jumping off the swimdeck on my old sea ray, and casing the top of the IO with my boards. This won't be happening with the extended platform.

I've been completely happy with the boat, as it's a completely different experience than the 180 Sea Ray. Much more power, and a much smoother ride. I think it looks like the real deal too, but that will no doubt be argued over. (flame suite is on)

I'd be happy to help with any other questions, and can post more pics in a week or so, as we're back in the 50s and 60's this week.

mass_rider · Criminal Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 88 City: westminster

an 04' Wakesetter is my first option if I go V-drive, although the point of a Tige' handling chop better makes me wonder. has anyone been on both that can compare? Is there much of a difference? The possibility of getting another I/O is the fact that I have alot of shallow areas in my lake and being able to lift the drive is great feature. I tend to go through a prop per season here. So basically I'm looking for something as close to a typical wakeboard boat, but with an I/O most of these options can be added, but the wraparound seating like in wakesetter vlx would be key. I like rear facing seats and the ability to put sacs on the left and right of the engine.

Neognosis · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 17617 City: Webster

Man, so much advertising BS in this industry.

surfsup · Outlaw Joined: 30 Jan 2004 Posts: 118 City: Orlando

If you absolutely want an IO - check out the Regal 22xi - http://www.regalboats.com/viewBoat/index.cfm?fa=viewBoat&boat_id=137

There's one on our lake and it appears to throw a decent wake - haven't ridden or driven one so can't speak for the quality...

salmon_tacos · Posted: May 17, 2004 7:01 am Post subject:

surfsup,

That's a v-drive.

surfsup · Outlaw Joined: 30 Jan 2004 Posts: 118 City: Orlando

My bad - I've always thought that boat was an IO - perhaps the association with Regal....