New Nautique vs Mastercraft

[Imminent Fate]

Hi !

First off Happy New Year and sincere best wishes for all of you at planet nautique

Second off Hi and a warm hello from South Africa. Right nowIi've been looking for an exceptionally wakeboard boat and have finally gathered the funds and courage to get one but thought I'd ask the experts and any advice
on what boat would be best.

At this moment in time we only have one Ski Nautique dealer in SA and they import - the approximate quotation have recieved is $120 335 for a brand new 2010 SAN 210 team edition including a Z5 cargo rack, stereo option 2,
linc system, zero off gps, docking lights, plus ZR - 409 engine (it includes all items from both the limited and team edition packages) + Deluxe, Oversized Mirror with Extension, Bow Walk-thru Filler Cushion, Mooring Cover, Propeller - Power, Pop-up Pylon (Transom) (n/a w/pull-up lift ring)Underwater Lights (n/a on Standard) + trailer, shrink wrap and insurance for ship freight to SA.

I would like to know in your opinion is this reasonable and if not what alternatives might there be since Tige and Mastercraft are just as expensive if not more so in some cases.

Is the SAN 210 a great wakeboarding boat and worth this type of money.

Thanx and Cheers see ya'll or some of you in 2010 at the world cup where you can get a pull from us at the vaal river anytime

[highrock]

I have had 2 Tiges in the past and actually worked at a Tige Dealership for about a year during the summer and weekends home from school. I would go with the Nautique any day over the Tige. Tige has really stepped up in the past couple years in their boats, but for 2010 I would say they are where other manufactorers were in 2006/2007 except for the Tige Touch Screen. The Tige is more of a family boat that does everything alright, but nothing really good. I had a Z1 Tige which is a 21 foot boat, if comparing with a 210 I would look at a 22Ve if you do want to check them out. I will say they have done nothing to the hull for several years, all their "innovations" have nothing to do with hull design, even the RZ series has the same running surface as the Ve's, basically a different top deck and design.

The SAN 210 is one of the best wakeboarding boats in my opinion. I have been behind several but not a newer Mastercraft so I cant comment there. I am very glad I got into a Nautique even with the ties I had with Tige and working at the dealership. Make sure you are comfortable with your dealer with whatever boat you purchase. I do not know about costs over there so I cant comment on that, but if the other boats are in the same range I would say get the 210 over Tige or Mastercraft. (Especailly after seeing how mastercraft is handling their bankrupt cash rewards programs)

Good Luck and let me konw if you have any other questions about the Tige's vs. Nautique.

[MikeC]

I agree with Highrock regarding the Tige', there really is no comparison between the Tige' and Nautique - two entirely different levels of quality and design. In the Mastercraft vs Nautique debate, they are much closer in quality and design but Nautique still kills them in every category. I would certainly take the Nautique over the Mastercraft any day. I test drove over 15 boats, both new and used before I bought my current one, between the quality, the customer service and the performance I find it hard to imagine owning a different brand of boat, I guess I'm spoiled. My advice, find some used boats and test drive them, see how they are holding up after a few years of use, I think you'll find that a Nautique holds up better than any other boat on the market.

[Nautiquehunter]

The Nautiques all come with the Pleasure Craft Marine power train. They are hands down the best and most trouble free being used today.
Mastercraft uses Indmar power trains I would never buy any boat with an Indmar engine. If you want the best go with a Nautique.

[WakeSlayer]

Is that US$ ? It seems a bit high if so. I would guesstimate ~$20k US for shipping. There are some guys from AUS that have imported from the US, but on used boats. Are you set on new? You can get some really nice boats in the $22-28k range right now.

Hands down Nautiques btw, to answer your biggest question.

[etang789]

Hi !

First off Happy New Year and sincere best wishes for all of you at planet nautique

Second off Hi and a warm hello from South Africa. Right nowIi've been looking for an exceptionally wakeboard boat and have finally gathered the funds and courage to get one but thought I'd ask the experts and any advice
on what boat would be best.

At this moment in time we only have one Ski Nautique dealer in SA and they import - the approximate quotation have recieved is $120 335 for a brand new 2010 SAN 210 team edition including a Z5 cargo rack, stereo option 2,
linc system, zero off gps, docking lights, plus ZR - 409 engine (it includes all items from both the limited and team edition packages) + Deluxe, Oversized Mirror with Extension, Bow Walk-thru Filler Cushion, Mooring Cover, Propeller - Power, Pop-up Pylon (Transom) (n/a w/pull-up lift ring)Underwater Lights (n/a on Standard) + trailer, shrink wrap and insurance for ship freight to SA.

I would like to know in your opinion is this reasonable and if not what alternatives might there be since Tige and Mastercraft are just as expensive if not more so in some cases.

Is the SAN 210 a great wakeboarding boat and worth this type of money.

Thanx and Cheers see ya'll or some of you in 2010 at the world cup where you can get a pull from us at the vaal river anytime

Im over here in Asia I paid much less than what you did but I have less options... 120k certainly sounds too expensive. If you want to save some money you can get the older 210 hull design which fits in a container (shipping cost about $3000). If it doesnt fit(aka most newer hull designs) in a regular container about 6k~9k...

[Imminent Fate]

Hi All!!

Thanks for the replies and after careful consideration i'm still keen on the ski nautique 210 despite the price. The reason price is so high is SA is that they take 14% vat on all goods plus import duties and insurance costs for shipping.

Tested a mastercraft x -14 today along with a x - 15 and was sorely dissapointed in performance - slw turning and man those thngs drink fuel. Got a meeting with my ski nautque dealer and is gonna get me a demo on a 08' 210 and 08' 211 just to see the differnce cause we were keen on the crossover 216v till we heard the reviews and talk and have decided to keep our ski boat and sell our other boat and getting a wakebard boat thus we have two boats designed for both applications.

I also got a call from the tige shop that has opened and their pricing has been very reasonable and will be getting a demo, will tell u how it goes.

Thanks for the advice guys. As the saying goes - You get what you pay for.

[Chexi]

Not always, since Mastercrafts tend to cost more than Nautiques.

[SuperDave]

The Very First time i drove a Nautique i was hooked.. then after seeing how they are made and put together was even better.. such as the how the hulls are joined together, Nautique's imo are a better Quality for your money than any other Ski boat out there and they hold their Value longer...than Mastercraft

[M3Fan]

The Nautiques all come with the Pleasure Craft Marine power train. They are hands down the best and most trouble free being used today.
Mastercraft uses Indmar power trains I would never buy any boat with an Indmar engine. If you want the best go with a Nautique.

I'm a huge PCM and Nautique fan and I agree that PCM does it right. However, this statement is a little ridiculous- all the Indmar powerplants I've worked on and had experience with have been reliable and simple to work on.

[Imminent Fate]

Hi All ;-)

Thanx for the comments - Had an opportunity today to ride behind a Nautique 211 08' and the new tige 2010 22VE and wow was I impressed - but definitely sold on the Nautique as far as
the wake goes - transitions are awesome and it's got the cleanest lip but what really got to me was the boats response wow! whether it was weighted down or completely empty it took off
like a bullet no lagging and it has the smoothes ride and throttle control I ever felt.

Going to demo a 09' 210 next week hopefully along with my brother hoping to get him sold on the idea toothen we can start a real Nautique wave down here as Mastercraft and Tige dominate with competitive pricing - Nautique dealers (there's only one) unfortunately with a few agents.
However must say the Tige was an impressive boat too props up to them, was totally against them but must say they have improved and are soon going to be great competition.Colour me impressed though I believe i have been converted and believe it or not almost instantly once I was
in the driver's seat and then a rider even brought my dad along.

Got to see Shaun Faccio in action behind the tige and was awesome too, but going to have to say i bought a Nautique hopefully he will still give me lessons :-), Na kidding
for those of you who don't know he's the new dealer of Tige here in R.S.A. and props to his technique he's a great guy, very good salesman and wakeboarder but sorry man the Nautique was just the better boat for me personally.
Thank you all should be ordering within the next month only downside is it's a five month wait after order so will only get it in October or December man a wait but in my opinion well worth it.

New Nautique lover - For life.

[Hlymons]

I would highly recommend you staying to one of the big 3 (Nautique, Malibu & Mastercraft) Tige is a good boat, however I will guarantee it won’t hold up as one of the top 3. Also when it comes to resale you will you will have half as many possible people interested in a Tige as one of other 3( along with a much lower price). I helped a friend of mine a few years ago with a similar choice and what we found was the Mastercraft had the best seating the Malibu had the best price and the Nautique was head and shoulders above on fit, finish and ride.

[crowmobe540]

why not a 230

If I'm spending 120k on a boat, I would look into how much more for a 230. The wake is awesome and the boat is super spacious. Some can't go for it because of price (which doesn't seem to be a problem for you) and others because of size of storage for boat. If you have room and can afford it I would go for the 230 hands down. If you like to wakeboard I would advise against the 211. The wake just really isn't very good for wakeboarding especially if you compare it to the 210 or 230.

As for going with MC or another brand. Asking on this board is definitely going to bias. Everyone has an opinion on what the best boat is. If you talk to dealers about boats they try not to bash each other for the most part, but you may notice they all really seam to respect correct craft (nautique). They have the most experience making boats and revolutionized the ski boat and later on the wakeboard boat. I truly believe they have the highest quality, although I'm sure some die hard MCers would argue otherwise.

My question would be how many dealers are close to you. Is the one nautique dealer the only one around? If so, then I would say you have to buy a Nautique. The other thing to think about is the economy. Here in the US dealers have been closing down like crazy. Some have reopened or opened under new management or even changed brands. If you have a couple choices of a MC dealer then you might consider them more in the case that one closes or even worse makes you mad enough to not want to go there anymore.

I think with most new boats you are going to be set for at least five years with any boat you pick. Resale values will be different by brand and how the boat holds up will definitely be different the longer you have it. Good luck with your purchase.

BTW, I have a 1996 Super Sport Nautique (Super Air 210). It runs great and has held up phenominally well.

[dockdon]

You get Nautique and then the rest,
Once a nautique owner its hard to change. some simple facts importing into south africa. Land and Ocean freight can be as much as $ 7500 usd, Duty on boat is 10% of Customs perceived value not invoice value, 15% on Trailers, plus 14% Tax plus freight to Johannesburg $ 1000-00 Plus Clearing agents costs.
Importers: Generally there would only be 1 Importer of each Brand into South Africa, in the case of Correct Craft the Importer is Ski World International with recognised agents Vaal Nautiques, Harties Watersports, Ski World Nutiques Vaal Dam, Benoni, Natal & Capetown.
Im not sure who distributes for the Tige Importer( Sean) or where their dealer network is situated.
Customer Service, Vaal Nautiques( Richard) is an upfront guy who will look after you no matter what.

[Oletimeskier]

I would highly recommend you staying to one of the big 3 (Nautique, Malibu & Mastercraft) Tige is a good boat, however I will guarantee it won’t hold up as one of the top 3. Also when it comes to resale you will you will have half as many possible people interested in a Tige as one of other 3( along with a much lower price). I helped a friend of mine a few years ago with a similar choice and what we found was the Mastercraft had the best seating the Malibu had the best price and the Nautique was head and shoulders above on fit, finish and ride.

Actually the latest stats have Skiers Choice being #3, Nautique at #4 and if I remember correctly Tige is #5.....The top 2 BU and MC each still out sell Nautique by almost 2 -1.
If you are spending all of that hard erned dough drive them all and get the best bang for the buck. I like Nautiques alot and they are nice but they are getting crazy expensive and the competition is building some real nice boats also.