Installing Wicked Wake 2011 23 LSV

[747captain]

Well Ill be getting my Wicked Wake after waiting the summer, but thats ok.

Id like any and all suggestions before I make any installation mistakes.

Currently only have additional ballast is a 750 in the port locker.

We ride with 6-8 people in the boat all the time so power is an issue with lots of extra ballast.

[surfingmom]

I installed my new one last week. It's not as easy as the instructions say, but it is pretty straight forward. You really need 2 sets of hands, but I used a vice on my workbench and it worked fine.

If I did it again, I would countersink the screws because they end up countersinking themselves as you screw the 2 pieces together. The plastic composite is a bit of a mess and strings out everywhere as you drill the holes as well, just an FYI.

My 20' VTX is small and we've always struggled to have a great surf wake. I was hoping this was the answer. It definitely makes the wake longer, but it's not terribly tall. I even filled ALL 3 ballasts (VTX doesn't have a front one) and this helped, but am considering a fat sac in addition. A bit bummed, since my 2 teens and I like to go out just by ourselves sometimes.

Good luck. My experience with my friends' LSV's is that they are much heavier and this WWS should be a great addition.

[Malibuzer]

I built and instlled my own version over the past couple of weeks and the difference is huge. Best wave I have ever put out of the little VTX.

[jtrovato]

You need extra ballast, you can't just fill the stock tanks and expect the wicked wake to perform miracles on your surf wave. It's well documented that even with a surfgate boat, you need additional ballast over the stock hard tanks. You should have at least a 750 in each rear locker, plus all the stock ballast. I don't run bow ballast in my '07 vRide and like the wave I get, but many others prefer the wave with more weight up front in the bow.

[BlitzedVLX]

On our 2008 VLX I run all stock bags, 750 up front, 750's in each locker with surf side slightly more full wedge all the way down 10.4mph. Great wave. I highly recommend there product.

[mkpursehouse]

I built and instlled my own version over the past couple of weeks and the difference is huge. Best wave I have ever put out of the little VTX.

Malibuzer, I see that you built your own gates. What material did you use?

I see plenty of posts about dimensions, but none mention thickness of material. If you used HDPE, can you please tell me what thickness it was for the gate. thanks

[minnmarker]

I used 5/8" HDPE. 1/2 would probably be OK.

[Ndawg12]

I believe Wicked Wake uses 3/4" hdpe.