wakeboard bottom surface

[sauer]

I am going to paint my girlfriends new witness. I once read that a wakeboard needs to be rough on the bottom for speed. My old CWB has a bumpy texture on the bottom, almost like an orange, although my LF substance is smooth as glass and am more than likely to spray both liquid force boards at once. I am hesitant to spray the bottoms smooth only to slow the board down more than it already is. Oh yeah the misses didn't get her witness yet she has got to wait till the end of the month. I am just assuming that the bottom will be similar to my 06 substance. Anyone with anykind of info on board tech let me know what you think.

[SCOTTDOMINE]

I am going to paint my girlfriends new witness. I once read that a wakeboard needs to be rough on the bottom for speed. My old CWB has a bumpy texture on the bottom, almost like an orange, although my LF substance is smooth as glass and am more than likely to spray both liquid force boards at once. I am hesitant to spray the bottoms smooth only to slow the board down more than it already is. Oh yeah the misses didn't get her witness yet she has got to wait till the end of the month. I am just assuming that the bottom will be similar to my 06 substance. Anyone with anykind of info on board tech let me know what you think.

I guess I'm not quite sure how a "rough" bottom would make the board faster I would think that the more smooth the bottom is the less friction it would have w/ the water and would therefore be faster But I could be wrong though (it has happened before)

BTW, why would you be painting the board to begin wtih

[sunscapeJeff]

I'd be worried about getting that paint all over the boat when it rubs off!

As far as it being rough, I've heard the same thing. Something about the rough texture creating air bubbles, which actually reduces friction. Kind of counter-intuitive, but it does make sense if you think about it. That said, the bottom of all of our wakeboards are as smooth as the top. Maybe a little bit of fiberglass texture, but not much. I would think that at the speeds we're going on a wakeboard, the rough texture wouldn't really make much of a difference. Unless you are a pro who might be interested in any little thing that would give you an edge, I don't think such a small improvement in speed will be noticeable. My opinion, anyway.

[Ronnie]

Increase the boat speed?

[Baked_Bean]

I've read similar findings.... the rougher surface creating air bubbles reducing friction. Speed boat racers scuff their hulls finely to get this edge. Some folks hit the bottom of their boards with fine sandpaper to decrease drag.

[BlastRlxi]

I've read similar findings.... the rougher surface creating air bubbles reducing friction. Speed boat racers scuff their hulls finely to get this edge. Some folks hit the bottom of their boards with fine sandpaper to decrease drag.

This is one reason why many say not to wax the bottom of the boat hull.

[jesutton3]

Golf balls aren't dimpled just for kicks. They make them fly farther.

[skicrave]

Decreasing surface tension improves laminar flow, but on the scale that we're talking about, you painting the base of the board won't really make much difference.

Just be prepared for the board to look terrible after the first time it's ridden, there is a reason the graphics layer is part of the lamination and not put on after the board is pressed.

Oh, and why do you want to do this again?

[stewart]

I am going to paint my girlfriends new witness. I once read that a wakeboard needs to be rough on the bottom for speed. My old CWB has a bumpy texture on the bottom, almost like an orange, although my LF substance is smooth as glass and am more than likely to spray both liquid force boards at once. I am hesitant to spray the bottoms smooth only to slow the board down more than it already is. Oh yeah the misses didn't get her witness yet she has got to wait till the end of the month. I am just assuming that the bottom will be similar to my 06 substance. Anyone with anykind of info on board tech let me know what you think.

Paint bottom of a new Witness? I ride that board and so do a few others on this board. It preforms extremely well just the way it is. Best board ever, IMHO.

[stewart]

I've read similar findings.... the rougher surface creating air bubbles reducing friction. Speed boat racers scuff their hulls finely to get this edge. Some folks hit the bottom of their boards with fine sandpaper to decrease drag.

This is one reason why many say not to wax the bottom of the boat hull.

I've read they sand there bottoms to blueprint the hull and get rid of imperfections.

I suspect those that are trying to reduce friction with fine sandpaper are trying to reduce friction by removing imperfections in the bottom of there boards.

Golf balls aren't dimpled just for kicks. They make them fly farther.

One of my first Hyperlite boards had golf ball dimples all over the bottom. No rails, just dimples and some fins. Worst board ever.

[skicrave]

Paint bottom of a new Witness? I ride that board and so do a few others on this board. It preforms extremely well just the way it is. Best board ever, IMHO.

+1, the witness is one of my favorite boards.

[sauer]

I am an airbrush artist and think these boards are ugly. I spray european urethane on anything from cars to bikes to helmets, to anything. All of the graffics will have at least four coats of automotive clear over them for protection. I plan on doing some agressive skulls (transparent) over red flake, or mabe a von dutch style flying eyeball with an airbrush, tattoo gun or mack striping sword in his claws. Something that says "wow look at that". I am not going to screw with the bottom, just repaint it and have the option of making a smooth surface or a rough surface on the bottom. The rough tecture produces less drag theory is exactly the one I heard of also. thanks for all the opinions.

[Chia]

I can't see adding dimples having a negative effect on the board. The positive effect may be minimal as the positive effect of a dimpled speed suit for competative swimming is minimal but when dealing with 100's of a second in races they do make a difference. On flat water it should be easier to ride with less drag, how much, who knows?

Please post pictures of the finished product.