As you shop for your next — or first! — wakeboarding boat, you may be overwhelmed at the options. There are a lot of great boats and makers out there, and choosing the right watersport boat is important. We’ve compared two popular brands, Axis and Sanger, to find the best wakeboarding boat for riding Lake Coeur d’Alene and enjoying your wakeboard out on the water. Here’s our conclusion:
Wakes and ride
Axis:
Most important question first — if you’re going to buy a wakeboard boat, you need to know how it rides. Axis boats are often equipped with the Surf Gate, which creates a wave that peaks with perfect shape. Even with a full load of friends or toys, which would weigh down other boats and mellow out the waves, Axis boats deliver powerful, perfect waves regardless of conditions.
Sanger:
Sanger boats do create a great wake, but those in the boat have to pay attention — the boat needs to be balanced to keep the wake dialed. Even though the wake can get big, the need for attention to detail loses Sanger points in this category.
Seating and size
Axis:
Axis’ boats are made for wakeboarding, so the sleek design offers a lot of options. Most of these boats are situated to hold up to 17 people, so you can bring the whole crew — or all the toys.
Sanger:
Generally, Sanger boats are smaller, seating, on average, about a dozen people. Sanger’s current line of boats ranges from about 20 feet to 23 feet long, with a beam between 90 inches and 102 inches wide. While this can be helpful when maneuvering, with a wakeboarding boat, more space for toys, boards and people is always better.
Tower and storage
Axis:
The Axis towers, used for storing boards when not in use, are easy for one person to fold with an optional quick release latch. Many models also include quad board racks and tower light bar.
Sanger:
Like Axis Sanger makes an easy-to-operate storage with what they dub “zero effort tower.” However, boats generally have less storage, with racks more constricted.
Verdict
It’s not hard to see that we’re partial to the Axis models. These boats are made with water sports in mind, and the Axis team built the best boat for wakeboarding. With plenty of space and storage, boaters can pack for a full day, taking all their friends and toys. These boats are built to deliver great wakes and rides with a no-nonsense approach to boat building. Even with a full boatload, these vessels can outperform, which is where Axis boats pull ahead — performance. If you’re buying a wakeboarding boat, you want the best. We’d recommend Axis for that.
Hagadone Marine Center has a great selection of new and pre-owned boats available at our Coeur d’Alene warehouse, including a vast selection of Axis wakeboarding boats. Give us a call to set up an appointment to test drive one today.