LSV vs R20

My wife and I are in the market for a wakeboat, around 50 grand or under price wise, new or slightly used. We have been partial to Moomba, looking at LSVs for the past year and have even taken a 2012 out for a test drive. We loved it, and never seriously thought about another brand for the price, value, etc...

Until now. I’m not sure how long my joints can handle wakeboarding and wakeskating on the regular so I have become more interested in the wake surfing aspect of these boats. Tige seems to have some of the cleanest surf waves and the R20 was brought to my attention as an alternate option to the LSV. I must say I prefer the design, interior, and possibly surf wake (this can be debatable). The smaller size of the boat does not concern me as much, and can even be a positive for garage space, transportation and maneuverability.

These boats seem very comparable feature and price-wise. Has anyone here who was recently in the market ever considered the R20? What would be the major factors in your decision between these models? I’m just looking for thoughts on comparing the two that I may be overlooking at his point.

thanks

The R20 is arguably the best 20 ft surf boat in the market. This is because it shares the same Convex V hull its bigger brothers, RZ2, Z3 and the new Z1 share. All these hulls were designed with Surfing as the main sport for them.

Tige has long been known as 1 of 2 companies that really build surf minded boats, with Centurion being the other.

As for options, to get an R20 at 50Gs it will be pretty striped of most of the bling options. At the Portland boat show they have one priced at 50 and it doesnt have any real options.

Now comparing this to the Moomba LSV that puts the Options in the same department.

One thing you will notice in the R20 and the LSV is the Cabin inteiror is simular sized when you measure the them from Windshield to rear decks. This is because the R20 uses a windshield forward design and the LSV doesnt. This mean the R20 also has a Smaller Bow.

Other differences. would be storage.

LSV by fare will have the largest rear compartment, under seat storage.

Plus the LSV has deeper Keel and gunnels do to the new 2013 top deck the boat has.

I think the LSV also will hold its value better if you plan to resale later due to it being a 21.5 its the most common and popular size boat.

The R20 even though the interior feels as big, its still a 20ft boat and will turn a lot of buyers off.

Space wise, i cant say exactly how long an R20 is on the trailer but i know the LSV is 22.5 ft with a break away tongue, as my old garage was exactly 23 ft deel and the boat fit with only a couple inches to spare.

Towing, i dont think you will notice any difference with towing characteristics or ease unless you get 1 with a single axle and then you would see a difference because single axle trailers tow a little different then duel.

Another thing to think about it Maintenance.
Do you plan to do your own? The LSV is a much easier boat to access all the vital engine parts and normal wear items. The Tige is much more cramped and harder to reach things.

Think about the big picture and your choice will be clear.

Both boats offer a lot of good things, and a few bad but if i had 2 choose, i would Choose the LSV because even though im a huge Surf fan, the LSV value over time, ease of maintenance, proven track record and larger size makes it a win win.

Now start comparing it to other 21 foot boats and things change drastically but against the R20 i think it holds it own ground

buy a LSV


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Originally Posted by supremedevice

The smaller size of the boat does not concern me as much, and can even be a positive for garage space, transportation and maneuverability.

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I understand your point here but IMO a 20 ft boat on the water is going to feel tiny.

How large is your typical crew going to be?

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Originally Posted by jpetty3023

buy a LSV


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Yup


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by jpetty3023

buy a LSV

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I think this will pretty much be the consensus. The LSV is one of the best multi-sport boats out there so you can wakeboard until your knees are sick of it and then make a fantastic surf wave. Tige makes nice boats and I've been out in a few including the R20 last summer. It seemed like a solid boat but the interior felt tiny, and the tower was very low which made it feel even more cramped. Much less storage room too. I think if you go R20 you'll be looking to upgrade after just a few trips out. Compare the LSV to other 21/22 ft boats and then you're really see the value.

I have 2011 for sale :) only 50 hrs!

Great points, mmandley. Thanks. Maintenance issues did not cross mind mind initially.

KG – our crew will be 50% 2 people, 40% 4-8 people and rarely over that.

Moomballs - you got a listing anywhere?

I think we are going to check out an R20 tomorrow, so we will compare access to the engine and get an overall feel for the size difference. Too bad we won’t be able to take it for a spin.

ask about the Tige gelcoat warranty when you check out the R20 tomorrow.

I find my crew is always bigger than I think it will be, everyone always wants to bring a buddy, the 21v definetly gets crowded sometimes I wouldn't want anything smaller.

There is a summer camp by our lake house that uses an R20 and the thing looks tiny on the water. It's a good looking boat but like mike said, the smaller rear lockers and an cramped engine compartment could make maintenance a pain and 20ft is just too tiny. I won't buy another boat under 22 ft.


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speaking from an ex owner of a launch20ssv and now a tige owner, don't do the r20. it's small, tige's stripped down boat, comes with the smallest engine of all the wakeboats with the 303ho. resale on that boat will be tough and take a while. if I were in the market for a 20ft boat, i'd look at the rzr, but it's out of your price range new and since it sounds like space is not an issue, go for the largest boat you can get for surfwaves. the lsv will outperform the r20 even with the r20 hull designs. a better comparison would be the z1 to an lsv as they are more similar in size. the z1 will have a bunch more bells/whistles, but the lsv will win the value and bang for the buck every day :) and the z1 doesn't have a proven surfwake yet.

if it were my choice between the lsv and r20, lsv no brainer and all the way. you will not be unhappy with that boat and the surfwave it will produce not to mention the value it will bring at the price you will pay..

and as far as working on them, if you are a dyi guy, the lsv will TOTALLY pwn any tige in the ability to do your own work. just ask my bloody knuckles from the last stereo install :)