Skiable Wake?

[Brett272]

My father and I are thinking about buying an 2001 Epic.  The only things we know about toyota boats is what I read on this site.  just looking for some good general info and wondering if these boats are any good to ski behind or if they are pure wakeboarding boats.

[masonlk]

all the direct drive boats have great wakes for skiing. as good or better as any other boat out there. if you'll wakeboard at all or take a lot of friends along go for an open bow to give yourself room. if not, a closed bow pocket rocket will work great.

the problems we encounter with these boats really are minor, vexing sometimes, but minor. they relate mostly to faulty gauges, wiring, computers, spark plugs or fuses. if you follow the threads or ask you can solve pretty much everything yourself. they're also the same problems you'll have with any used boat. the gauges are used by other boat manufacturer's and they encounter the same things. maintenance you can perform yourself and all parts are available on the open market.

quality of both boat and engine far outway anything you might encounter. not to mention the fuel savings.

i've skied behind all kinds of boats over the last, well, many, many, many, many decades and i wouldn't trade mine for any of them.

really scour this site and you should answer any questions. mostly you'll find it's variations of the same thing over and over.

last but not least, look at the frapper and see if you're near someone with a d-drive and contact them. i'm sure they would be willing to take you and your dad for a pull.

[ScarabEpic22]

I agree, Im a diehard skiier, only board 1-2x per year and the wake is just perfect IMO.  My ski buddies have a 98 Nautique and a 97 Mastercraft 205.  The Epic has the best wake IMO as its not too big nor small and gives a little.  The Nautique wake is HUGE but soft, and the MC wake is tiny but extremely hard (feels like walking into a wall).

I have a 99 E22 DD, but throw a couple people in it and watch the wake appear!!

[toyotafreak]

In 2003 I broke out the slalom and rode behind a buddy's Malibu Response. It was a tiny d-drive with an open bow you would have had to climb over the windshield to get into. He had the Monsoon (320HP in it), and the thing was old, worn, and rough/loud. Did I mention fast? Anyhoo, that pull behind his boat was the best run I've ever had despite not having really ridden in years. The wake was so friggin small, round and soft that it was just not hard at all to edge through even my weak side. Very fun. Had been used to the much bigger Malibu Sunsetter. My S22 is fun at 15' off, but any closer and it's scary. Besides, skiing at 32mph for ten minutes uses about two ays' worth of boarding muscle. It's fun though and I still try to slalom once a year or so. Funny how few people even learn how to do it nowadays. That Response was an amazing ski wake!

[eagle1wi]

Get a Direct Drive Epic if you are a skier.

I have an E21 and love it.  There are softer wakes out there (Malibu Sportster, Newer Nautiques) but you have to deal with either lesser build quality or much higher prices.

Oh and using double the fuel in the smallblock based boats.

[dawsonr]

I bought a "Factory Sale" E21 in 2001.  I bought it because of the reputation of the Lexus motor and have been very pleased with it.  My sister-In-Law barefoots and said she has not seen an inboard the she could barefoot behind as well as this one.  The take off is very controllable (my wife is great at this, no longer yanks my arms off getting me out of the water).  I do not think you could go wrong with one of these boats.