New Tige' Owner Part II -- Newbie Alert!

[bcwgobuffs]

Too funny -- I joined this site and read through the thread about the Best Deal in Texas and the potential new owner looking for tips and advice prior to purchase.

http://tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9724

A great idea I mgiht add, but I must have an itchy trigger: I just pulled the trigger on a 2001 21i -- paid $17K and the boat has 38.5 hours.

Pray tell, how?

Got it from a family we know -- they have not used it at all (understatement of the night) and though it has a few minor imperfections, I feel like I damn near stole the unit at this price.

I'm not fond of the wakeboard bar - kind of an ugly white so she needs a chrome bath, otherwise this baby is spotless. The Mercury Inboard fires up with a nasty, throaty sound only a former I/O owner can now appreciate.

I'll post some pictures when she's home and cleaned up - thoughts on the price paid?

Newbie Brad

[Tanner]

"wakeboard bar".... I'm assuming you mean the tower?

Just a word of caution on chroming it. 99% of these towers are aluminum, and you'll be hard pressed to find many shops that can do something that large that are willing to chrome aluminum. It just doesn't want to hold the platings. It's hit or miss. We've tried roughing it up, nickel plating, then copper, then chroming on top of all that. Still peeled 50% of the time. Tried 4 or 5 diff. shops as well. All say the same thing about AL. Problem is AL forms a passive film which makes it impossible to electroplate onto. You gotta find a shop that can put a Zincate finish on it first, but most shops don't wanna mess with it.

Your best bet is to strip the powdercoating, have it polished and then get it bright dipped and annodized. Or bright dipped and powder coated w/ a clear.

But by the time you do all that, your better off buying a whole new tower! Good luck, and welcome!

[SPBFAN]

"wakeboard bar".... I'm assuming you mean the tower?

Just a word of caution on chroming it. 99% of these towers are aluminum, and you'll be hard pressed to find many shops that can do something that large that are willing to chrome aluminum. It just doesn't want to hold the platings. It's hit or miss. We've tried roughing it up, nickel plating, then copper, then chroming on top of all that. Still peeled 50% of the time. Tried 4 or 5 diff. shops as well. All say the same thing about AL. Problem is AL forms a passive film which makes it impossible to electroplate onto. You gotta find a shop that can put a Zincate finish on it first, but most shops don't wanna mess with it.

Your best bet is to strip the powdercoating, have it polished and then get it bright dipped and annodized. Or bright dipped and powder coated w/ a clear.

But by the time you do all that, your better off buying a whole new tower! Good luck, and welcome!

X2 on this. Or you can just polish it and keep up on the maintenance to keep it polished and that is a lot of work. Congrats on the new boat you will love it TIGE is a good boat. However they are like any other material item the also have little and somtimes big problems but most are repairable.

[rcaroll]

Congrats on the new boat! Welcome to Tigeland, you'll never leave.

[rjcruise]

Congrats, sounds like you got a killer deal!

Need some pictures though.........

[rushin]

wakeboard bar, now that's funny.

Welcome.

[NICKYPOO]

Nice work. That's a nice boat at a nice price. 38.5 hours?! That thing is brand new. I would however throw out a third for a new tower. The money and time your going to spend on one of those "old" towers just aint worth it. Towers have come a long, LONG way since then and now would be the time to buy. Not to mention that particular tower (I'm figuring it's the Metcrap) has proven to be almost dangerous. Replacing mine has made my boat so much more enjoyable. I paid way too much for it and I don't regret it one bit. I probably got a "reasonable" deal, I just didn't like the owner of the company. 4k for the tower built to my boat (not prefabbed), installed, a set of speaker cans, mirror and arm and 3 sets of mounts (2 pair for bimini and 1 pair for the speakers) was actually OK with me. Blah, blah, blah... Get a new tower.


And an FAE.

[jwanck11]

Congrats on the purchase!!!

[bcwgobuffs]

Thanks all -- what does FAE stand for -- over on U2.com I know what HTDAAB stands for, but this is new.

Also, thanks for the eduficayshun (-: Yes, "wakeboard bar" is the tower; I'll stick with it -- sounds like a lot of effort for cosmetic appeal to change it.

Now, some of those cool speakers might be all-right... I'll post pics as soon as I can.

[da.bell]

FAE = Fresh Air Exhaust

congrates on the purchase. I am sure you will love the boat.

[dogbert]

Fresh Air Exhaust...think of it as stealth mode for your boat and it's good for you, too!

Seriously, if you end up doing any amount of wakesurfing, you'll want one of these. Just ask NICKYPOO, he has the same boat as you and wakesurfs all the time.