Seattle Boat Show....some interesting info...

[jumalian]

Funk and I went to the Seattle Boat Show yesterday. It was pretty cool. There were tons of boats to look at, board(walk in), and even sit in. Most wakeboard companies had their new products there. The shops that set up at the show had everything from Liquid Force to Hyperlite. From O'Brien to CWB. One thing that was missing was the new Nelson from Double Up. Another, was the Blindside Assassin. Oh well, I'll have my Nelson in a couple of weeks...I can wait!

Most boat companies were represented at the show. I said "most" 'cause I didn't see Sanger. I'm wondering why they don't jump on the Northwest market, as it's an awesome boat, with plush interior and an awesome wake. While I strolled around, I stopped at the Nautique and Tige' booths and ended up talking to Gary Meloon, Vice President, Sales, for Nautique, and Charlie Pigeon, CEO for Tige'.

Gary sat with Funk and I and answered every question we came up with. First, we asked about the name change. Why rid of the "Super" name? Well, Gary responded in a manner suprising to both Funk and me. "We realized we had made a mistake. Everywhere we went, people called it "Super Air" though it was clearly marked "210." At every event we went to, they said, "in the Super Air" or "behind the Super Air," though the boat being used was the 210 Team Edition. We're bringing the "Super Air" name back. It's what people want. It's what people are familiar with." I think that's cool when they listened to people's comments, read posters' comments, that the name change was a mistake, and that they're fixing it!

One thing I absolutely hate about the Super Airs are the board racks. If someone else can take the board down for me, I'll pay you! I asked Gary about it and said, "We wanted to keep the racks in towards the boat so that when the boards are in the racks, they are almost completely even with the side of the boat and won't hit anything as you're pulling in to a dock and/or trailer. We realized that it's a pain to get the boards in and out of the racks. We are working with a couple of companies at this time to design a better rack for the Flight Control Tower." With a grin on his face, "I can't tell you which companies."

Gary stepped up and answered even the worst questions we could come up with. One was, "what's the difference with a Super and a Team Edition, that there's a significant price difference?"

Gary said that one the things that hiked the price is the ballast system. Ballast tanks and pumps are optional in Super Airs. They're standard in the Team Edition. Another standard feature that is an option for Super Airs is the Perfect Pass - Wakeboard Digital. Other standard features include, Dual Battery Box, includes Battery Cut-off Switch, Serial Faria Gauges w/ Keyless Ignition, Custom Steering Wheel and Throttle Knob(which are very nice!), Air/Water Temp (Requires Keyless Ignition), Depth Finder (Requires Keyless Ignition), Clarion AM/FM/CD Stereo w/ Digital Remote w/ Upgraded Kicker System(Amp & Sub & Speakers). In a Team, you can customize the color schemes, get a Jump Seat, Composite Boarding Platform(Silver Cloud or Black) and Pull Out Cleats.

Gary sat down with us for nearly an hour, to answer our questions! He outlasted as, as we ran out of questions! Thanks a ton, Gary!

Later in the day, we headed towards the Tige' booth. The guy(kid) at the booth that approached us said that the TAPS will "make the wake bigger...much bigger." Funk and I said, "No way does the TAPS make the wake bigger." He said, "Yeah, it really does." Again, we disagreed. So he said he'd get the CEO to explain to us.

Charlie Pigeon introduced himself then went on to explain the changes Tige' made to improve their lines. They've changed the rocker size of the hull to sit deeper in the water, and to react better with the TAPS system. They've put a bigger lip to the back of the hull to make the bow ride lower.

We then asked about the new 24v. "Why such a big boat?" He said that the 24v is for the large family, or the crew that consists of 6 or more.

He went on to explain the TAPS. The hull and the TAPS work together. You can't put TAPS on another boat. It just won't work. With the TAPS, it eliminates having to fill sacs. With the TAPS, pro level riders are saying that the wakes are "too big."

I went on to comment on the "lip" of the past Tige's I've ridden behind that had a lot of wash, excluding Brent Huling's Type R...his wake is MUCH cleaner than the Rider's Edition I rode behind, but still had the "lip" and the wash. At this point, it seemed that he was losing his patience with us. He went to grab a brochure and said, "Look, there's no wash in those pictures. We got rid of the spray pockets that 'caused the wash." I pointed out the pictures and said, "I ride a little further back than where the wake is clean. There's wash back there." He points at the pictures and said, "No, there's no wash. I promise you, you cannot make the wakes wash. I promise you." Then he walked away.

Oh well, I guess we pissed him off.

Overall, I wasn't very impressed with the boat show. The wakeboard booths(shops) were small. If you had more than 5 people in the booth, it's cramped! There were probably no more then 6 wakeboard booths, with most of them carrying only Hyperlite and O'Brien. They must know that there are other board companies out there, right? I think the best part of the show were the hot chicks workin' the booths and showcasing the cruisers, yachts and houseboats!

I'll be going to the boat show again next weekend, either on the 26th or 27th, to talk to the people of Mastercraft, to find out more about the new X-Star, and its availability. We "heard" of some legal issues as to why the boat is not in the water yet.

Now, back to the NFL playoffs...
(Tampa Bay WILL be playing the Raiders and the Raiders will win!)

[bluefish86]

What's the TAPS system?

I can't wait until the ottawa boat show...

[skobi1]

I WAS AT THE PORTLAND BOAT SHOW A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. ITS FUNNY AT THE PORTLAND SHOW I WAS ABLE TO LOOK AT THE SANGER BOATS BUT THERE WERE NO TIGE. OH WELL. I WAS REALLY JUST GAWKING ANYWAY, I STEPPED UP TO THE PAY WINDOW LAST YEAR.

[Phaeton]

The Tige's were at the front of the main building.

[skobi1]

MAYBE I WAS TOO ENGROSSED IN THE ACTIVE BOOTH? OOPS.