28 replies to this topic

[Tao of Wake]

I just had the opportunity last evening to test drive & ride behind the 2013 VLX with Surf Gate. Here is a quick video of the surf wake: http://youtu.be/EP1_Pu2R9xY?hd=1

The wake didn't look great at the beginning because the boat was not up to speed. It did seem to struggle a little to get to 11.8 MPH. You see when it does get to speed, the wave cleans up. Also, there was a significant bow rise. Here is the boat setup:

All stock ballast full: 2 x 250# rear, 500# center, 300# bow
400# in each rear locker
Power Wedge at max
2 guys in boat (~200# ea)

When I surfed it, I was blown away with how much push it had and how long it was. I literally had to stomp on the back of the board to fall out the back of the wave! At one point, I cut too hard on the wave and went out pretty wide into the flats; I thought I was a goner, but I cut back into the wave, and it just caught me and pushed me back into the sweet spot. I didn't give it a try, but I think I would have liked a little more speed to lengthen out the wake and bring the bow down some.

I was REALLY impressed with the quality and size of the wake with just 1 person in the boat. It was as good or better than the best wake I can get out of my boat when it is full of people (and all slammed against one side!), and it definitely had more push. To get the best wave on my '07 VLX, I have center tank full (500#), surf side rear (200#), 750# in surf side rear locker, 450# in bow, wedge at minimum, and 4-5 guys.

One other thing I noticed was when we went over a shallow spot in the lake (maybe 8 ft), the wake was barely affected.

When I drove it, I did find the bow rise really annoying, and it definitely would take some practice to get used to the counter-steering needed when the Surf Gate deploys. It's not a big deal; it's just something that would need to get used to.

I am going to call today to find out what prop was on the boat. He thought it may be the Acme 1235, but he wasn't sure. I didn't hang out while he put it on the trailer, so I will find out which it had. My concern was the boat's seeming struggle to get to 11.8 MPH. As soon as the power wedge and Surf Gate deployed, the boat seemed to take 10 more seconds to get up to speed.

Edited by Tao of Wake, August 16, 2012 - 04:29 AM.

[srintx]

Looks like a good wave with only having to add 400#'s to each locker. That would be a easy job to plum in...thanks for the vid.



This is what I was looking for as I would want to get into another VLX, as my crew is small.



What board did you ride behind it?

[shawndoggy]

regular side looked "crumbly"?

[srintx]

regular side looked "crumbly"?

I've noticed that on all the models. Wonder why?


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[mnhays]

I've noticed that on all the models. Wonder why?

because goofy side is the new normal and you all need to start accepting us as surfers!

[Tao of Wake]

Looks like a good wave with only having to add 400#'s to each locker. That would be a easy job to plum in...thanks for the vid.



This is what I was looking for as I would want to get into another VLX, as my crew is small.



What board did you ride behind it?

It had the plug 'n play ballast connections already, so it would be extremely simple to fill and empty.

I left my board on my boat up north (Walker Project Bullet), so I just rode the board the dealer had. I believe it was a CWB Ride.

[nyryan2001]

Tao- thanks for sharing. Any video of you and anyone else surfing it? Its very hard to get perspective of just the wave alone.

There is another video on here that Kayak posted of some French guys up in Canada on a VLX... MUCH bigger than that and MUCH cleaner than what you posted. based on what you described in the weight you used, it might have had a bigger engine if we are getting accurate infomation on that other video.

[mrnate450r]

It had the 350 monsoon as well.

[srintx]

It had the plug 'n play ballast connections already, so it would be extremely simple to fill and empty.

I left my board on my boat up north (Walker Project Bullet), so I just rode the board the dealer had. I believe it was a CWB Ride.

Nice! So just to be clear...you could ride ropeless with just adding 400#'s in each locker.

[Jab31169]

too much wedge imo. Would like to see it run with no wedge.

[CL-Rides]

Is the PnP a piggyback system or is it separate pumps?

[Tao of Wake]

Tao- thanks for sharing. Any video of you and anyone else surfing it? Its very hard to get perspective of just the wave alone.

Unfortunately, no. My brother-in-law was supposed to join us, but something came up. Being that it was just me and the driver, I couldn't ask him to drive the boat and take video!

Nice! So just to be clear...you could ride ropeless with just adding 400#'s in each locker.

Definitely!

Is the PnP a piggyback system or is it separate pumps?

Piggyback. How it was described to me is that it pumps water into the bag, and then it drains into the hard tank. If you used one of the presets, once the hard tank is full, the system turns the pump off. If you want to then fill the bag, you manually turn the pump back on until it is full. Once you are done, you use the "Go Home" preset and it will drain all ballast, including the bags because they drain into the hard tanks. The system is setup to turn off the drain pump once the hard tank is empty, which can't happen until the bag is empty.

[Tao of Wake]

I found out from the dealer today that the prop was the Acme 1235.

[jtrovato]

That's disappointing that it's a piggyback system. You would think that if you order it from the factory that way that they would plumb in a separate pump to reduce the amount of time to fill!

[85 Barefoot]

That's disappointing that it's a piggyback system. You would think that if you order it from the factory that way that they would plumb in a separate pump to reduce the amount of time to fill!

With the high flow pumps used you cna fill piggy and reg tank in less time than a regular pump and reg tank. Using five pumps adds problems all across the board because youd have people filling top bags on top of empty tanks on bottom and would be very confusing for many malivue operators. Given that I have PNP on my axis I can tell you it works fine.

[srintx]

With the high flow pumps used you cna fill piggy and reg tank in less time than a regular pump and reg tank. Using five pumps adds problems all across the board because youd have people filling top bags on top of empty tanks on bottom and would be very confusing for many malivue operators. Given that I have PNP on my axis I can tell you it works fine.

What would you estimate the time to do it in?

[85 Barefoot]

takes me about 8 mins to fill 950 pounds (not high flow).

[CJAY]

You need more weight in the bow. If you're running 1300lbs in the lockers you should be running atleast 700lbs in the bow, if not closer to 1000lbs. That would reduce bow rise, increase the pocket of the surf wave, and also increase the push of the wave itself. Also you should put the wedge all the way down. A lot of the wash you're seeing is from the wedge itself.

[TallRedRider]

You need more weight in the bow. If you're running 1300lbs in the lockers you should be running atleast 700lbs in the bow, if not closer to 1000lbs. That would reduce bow rise, increase the pocket of the surf wave, and also increase the push of the wave itself. Also you should put the wedge all the way down. A lot of the wash you're seeing is from the wedge itself.

Envision the boat with the nose up, and the wedge only part way down - 'max wedge'. You are basically dragging the wedge like a giant anchor. The angle of the foil is insufficient to pull the boat down, but only back. This also explains the POS hole shot and the wash. That engine can surf lots more weight and easily get up to surf speeds. The real difference is getting from 12 to 22 MPH with the bigger engines.

[Tyger]

Envision the boat with the nose up, and the wedge only part way down - 'max wedge'. You are basically dragging the wedge like a giant anchor. The angle of the foil is insufficient to pull the boat down, but only back. This also explains the POS hole shot and the wash. That engine can surf lots more weight and easily get up to surf speeds. The real difference is getting from 12 to 22 MPH with the bigger engines.

This.

With a lot of bow rise you are basically porpoising and it takes a long time to plane out. With the boat more even front to back you will get speed and a clean wake faster.

I'll be working on where to put the weight when I get my 2013.