Should I get a Wake Series Yamaha

[AceKicker]

My main question is should I spring for a Yamaha Wake Series boat, or will I be wasting my money?

My wife and I are looking for our first boat. Originally, she wanted a pontoon boat, but she has now turned the corner and wants a boat where we can do more water activities. I've only wakeboarded once, but had a blast and would like to start doing that. I'm 45, so I am not looking at becoming a professional or doing flips or anything crazy. Just getting pulled and doing some turns will be fun enough. I'd probably like to wake surf, too.
Our primary use will be to hang out with friends inside a barrier island in some ski canal areas and possibly explore islands near the ICW. Secondary use, but I would like to do a lot of it, will be water sports. From other posts, I think I do want to get at least an E or D (for the electronic throttles), but maybe being new to small boats I wouldn't know what I am missing without it.

Monetarily, I don't want to waste money, but I also don't want to regret spending a lot on a boat and wish I had saved a bit longer to get a Wake series 6 months down the road.

We are looking at the 22 footers as a nice middle-ground of more space but not too big.

We really like the Yamaha dealership near our house and we like what we've heard about maintenance and reliability with Yamahas, so we're pretty set on going with a Yamaha.
So...should we get a Wake Series boat or will one of the normal models suffice for our case?

Question 2, should we spend the extra $5k for electronic throttles?

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

 

[Neutron]

My main question is should I spring for a Yamaha Wake Series boat, or will I be wasting my money?

My wife and I are looking for our first boat. Originally, she wanted a pontoon boat, but she has now turned the corner and wants a boat where we can do more water activities. I've only wakeboarded once, but had a blast and would like to start doing that. I'm 45, so I am not looking at becoming a professional or doing flips or anything crazy. Just getting pulled and doing some turns will be fun enough. I'd probably like to wake surf, too.
Our primary use will be to hang out with friends inside a barrier island in some ski canal areas and possibly explore islands near the ICW. Secondary use, but I would like to do a lot of it, will be water sports. From other posts, I think I do want to get at least an E or D (for the electronic throttles), but maybe being new to small boats I wouldn't know what I am missing without it.

Monetarily, I don't want to waste money, but I also don't want to regret spending a lot on a boat and wish I had saved a bit longer to get a Wake series 6 months down the road.

We are looking at the 22 footers as a nice middle-ground of more space but not too big.

We really like the Yamaha dealership near our house and we like what we've heard about maintenance and reliability with Yamahas, so we're pretty set on going with a Yamaha.
So...should we get a Wake Series boat or will one of the normal models suffice for our case?

Question 2, should we spend the extra $5k for electronic throttles?

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

Will your boat be trailered or kept on a lift or in the water?
These boats are not ideal for extended stays in salt water. Not a lot of mechanical maintenance but proper flushing and cleaning is necessary

 

[AceKicker]

Will your boat be trailered or kept on a lift or in the water?
These boats are not ideal for extended stays in salt water. Not a lot of mechanical maintenance but proper flushing and cleaning is necessary

It will be trailered and I plan to wash and rinse the engines every time it comes out.