@BigAbe75 - You ask an honest question everyone must wrestle with and everyone has to make there own choices on. There are fanboys for every make and style, so any advice you receive you have to filter through what is important to you and your family. Not always an easy task.
A few random thoughts when I think about your question, not complete by any means:
1.
@trace will be the first to admit he added a bigger bag on the standard side to make that beautiful wave. This upgrade could cost you $700 to $1,800 per side depending on who you buy from. He didn't add it on the goofy side because they don't really surf goofy. We surf both sides, so I have to tune to both sides. That is a BIG issue for any boat to get both sides right if you are serious surfers. Most inboard users do some mods over factory. Maybe a few hundred pounds of lead, maybe some bigger bags. If you surf on a calm lake with lots of people in your boat, you are probably just fine with most 2015 and on inboard surf systems straight from the factory.
2. Used inboards. Surf before you buy. Heck that goes for new too. Even with today's modern gadgetry, setting up a boat correctly to surf is an art. The level of that art increases with your rider skill, but the used market is littered with wake sports boats that don't surf all that well. This doesn't mean that they CAN'T, but it does mean they aren't set up correctly, may need mods, etc. Typically they need lots more ballast, which means more $$
3. New inboard boats have VERY good marketing. Team riders. Videos taken under ideal conditions. Maybe a little photoshop (no!). Enuff said. Too many boat salesmen don't know how to set up a boat to surf and the manufactures are catching on to that. Hence the new system in the Supras.
4.
@bobbie 's point is true. The leap from a new Yamaha to a used inboard is very small. Infact you can buy a very well maintained '15 inboard that surfs nice for baiscally the cost of a top of the line Yamaha. If you are a die hard surfer, that is a no brainer.
5. I still don't know a simpler boat to maintain than a Yamaha. And as much as you hear issues on a forum such as this, their dealer network is much more extensive than any inboard manufacturer.
6. The dealer you choose as an inboard owner, especially new, will make or break your ownership experience. These are semi custom machines. The need a little tweaking and with probably need more maintenance over thier life than a jet boat.
7. The Wake9 guys are honest and transparent. Not only is he running the biggest boat in Supra's line (ie - more weight and displacement), they run a big crew and about 1,000 lbs extra ballast. So Ragboy has an amazing wave to work with. At 6'2" and 230 with average skill, I find a lot of waves lacking enough push for me to seriously have fun and go at it.
8. Yamaha, you gotta love them, seems to be using honest video of the new boat's surf wave. Sorry Yamaha fanboys, its really just "MEH!" and that is a good rider running close to the boat. Now, it is outa the box and you get the Yamaha platform with it so it will sell and people will use it and enjoy it. Without riding it, my initial impression is
@bobbie and
@jcyamaharider ballasted and wedge solutions (respectively) provide a better wave. I miss my Yamaha for some reasons, but my Tige killed that wave outa the box. That said, my previous Tige wave was kinda "MEH!" for what I paid for it. It was underballasted from the factory. I run light on people ballast. That is a limiting factor in ANY boat for surf.
9. How's your family gonna use the boat? Sandbars? Camping? WOT runs up the lake? Lots of debris on the water? Hang on the rear swim deck all the time? Winner is clearly Yamaha.
10. Love to surf? Like the family is totally hooked? I know you are not there yet, and technology is always advancing. That said, right now the answer is still inboard for me. The cost to play is going up though. Its a serious financial decision if you are going new. Oh, and we literally ballast as we are leaving the slip. We surf. We cover out a little more than we used to, but we are mostly lake people now and we hardly ever beach the boat. We run the lake a little to go to restaurants, but we run at 25-30 mph.
Sorry for the long post. That is my $ .02 and mine only. If I were going back to Yamaha, I'd by a well cared for used one, added dedicated ballast (VENTED and plumbed) in the storage (as much as I could). I'd most likely add a wedge (unless I could duplicate
@bobbie 's magical wave on a 212) and some of Jetboat Pilots's magical new parts. So, I'd be dropping probably over $3k in to do it my way. I still wouldn't have my Tige wave, but I'd squeeze as much out of a great multipurpose boat as I could.
PS - You are a big guy. Big boards and lots of push are your freind. Just sayin'!
PPS - Buy what you want and you are gonna use. Enjoy it! Hater's be damned!
HTH. Time for coffee and off to work!!!
