Inboard Ski Boats

The most important thing to note about inboard ski boats is, they have inboard engines. That's what generally distinguishes them from the other types of ski boats. But of course, they too have unconventional hulls, engines, propellers and drive shafts.

You can think of inboard ski boats as an aboveboard improvement of the typical ski boat. This type throws a very slight wake which allows a skier to cross easily. Inboard ski boats accelerate more rapidly too and can turn very crisply allowing skiers to recover after a "down" much easier. Inboard ski boats have a minimum length of 16 ft, maximum length of 28 ft, maximum capacity of 8 people and are trailable.

There are two types of inboard ski boats, the direct drive and vDrive. It is impossible to distinguish which from these two is better. But customarily speaking, if you water ski, the the direct drive variant is the one for you, if you wakeboard, go for vDrive. There is not much to say about the direct drive variant -- it is the traditional ski boat configuration anyway. On the other hand, when you wakeboard, you need large wakes. vDrive naturally produces larger wakes than the direct drive ski boats can't which makes them more suitable to the said sport.