Boating World ASR Review

When Tige set out to build the ultimate wakesports boat, the words “bigger, better, baddest” probably dominated conversations during the two-year R&D phase of its new ASR (Apex Series Rider’s Edition). While the engineers and designers did their thing, pro riders gave their input to help make it real-world ready. The result is a boat that not only gives surfers the mountain of water they want but also gives wakeboarders the ultimate launch pad.

Unique Factor

Until this year, there had been three ballast packages: the Base System (900 pounds), the Surf System (1,600 pounds) and the Pro System (2,000 or 2,300 pounds, depending on the boat model). The ASR trumps all of those with 3,000 pounds of wake-growing juice. Now, putting that much ballast on a boat isn’t unheard of; pro riders have been stuffing every nook and cranny on boats with tanks and sacks for years, but that came at the expense of storage. But the ASR is the first boat ever to have 3,000 pounds of ballast under the deck and out of your way — so now you can have your wake and eat it, too. Even more amazing is the fact Tige designers managed to pack all that weight from the windshield rearward instead of putting tanks in the roomy pickle-fork bow section, which is what normally happens. Tige’s design puts more weight where it does the most good, amplifying its effect.

But just adding more weight wasn’t good enough. The Tige ASR features the new Apex hull, which is the next-gen version of its ConvexV hull, which has a pronounced rocker shape that curves up toward the transom. This shape allows it to adopt a bow-up/stern-down posture, harnessing something called the Coanda Effect, which pulls the curved hull down into the water to organically create waves before adding ballast. The Apex hull configuration features a far shallower 4 degrees of deadrise, which normally would create a flatter wake. But because it also tapers in toward the stern that doesn’t happen when working in concert with the new massive amounts of ballast. The result is a monstrous wave that isn’t as vertical, which prevents it from breaking and toppling over.

Styling-wise, Tige boats are always cutting edge but classy, and the ASR is no exception with metal side-louvers that are backlit and an eye-catching interior scheme with diamond-pleating and a variety of textures and colors.

Go to http://www.boatingworld.com/BoatTests/Article/Tige-ASR-2014 for Performance, Handling, Best Uses, and Preferred Setup Reviews.