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Help with surfing


malibuboats4

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this weekend me and my friends went out in my 03 wakesetter 23 xti. we were trying to surf so i filled all 3 ballast tanks to full and put the wedge down. we could get up but had to resort to only holding onto the handle bar, one we let go we would just drift back and fall. either we are doing something wrong, or my boat is just not made to make that big of a wake... any suggestions would be great...

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Welcome to the Crew!

What surf board are you using? What speed are you driving the boat at?

Does the boat have the power wedge or manual?

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Welcome to the Crew!

What surf board are you using? What speed are you driving the boat at?

Does the boat have the power wedge or manual?

Its a six foot board. My speedomoter starts at 10... And the needle does not go above it. Its at 2100 rpm if that helps. Its a manual wedge.

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you are probably going to have to add a few fat sacs on the side you are surfing and like wake girl said -- empty the stock tank on the opposite side. good luck and post up some pics!

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Keep practicing. If we can do it behind my boat (without a wedge), you can do it behind yours.

It sounds like you might be surfing too far back. You really shouldn't have a problem with the board, ballast, wedge.

What board are you using? What's the fin setup?

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Agree. Drain the non-surf side ballast and get some more weight on the surf side. If you have access to one, get at least a 600 lb sack and throw it in the walkway alongside the motor box, then put all your buddies on that side of the boat with the heavier dudes in the back (assuming you're left foot forward). 2000-2300 RPM should be the sweet spot depending on how the boat is weighted.

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With a dd you will likely have to be on the "gas" quite a bit and the sweet spot will be a few feet back off the swim platform. We can surf our SLXi with 400 lbs in the ski locker and 4-5 peeps in the back surf side of the boat. Not a great wake, but still good enough to be fun. Sweet spot is about 2-3" back from the boat. We also turn in a slow turn to the surf side.

You might consider picking up a cheap hand-held gps for speed. There is a huge differnece from 10.5-11.0 mph with our set up.

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I tried surfing behind our boat with a traditional surfboard, 6 ft, with a thruster fin setup, and I had a hell of a time keeping up with the boat. In addition to the tips above, you may want to consider getting a Hyperlite Broadcast or similar to surf with.

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I tried surfing behind our boat with a traditional surfboard, 6 ft, with a thruster fin setup, and I had a hell of a time keeping up with the boat. In addition to the tips above, you may want to consider getting a Hyperlite Broadcast or similar to surf with.

Jeff (and all),

Is there really that much difference? My only experience is with a 6' NSP Fish (with thruster) and I do have a tough time keeping up with the boat. Feels like a lot of drag and I have to be practically ON the platform. Any comments on what might be somewhat faster and fit in the tiny pocket of a Response LX? We went with a traditional surfboard thinking that more buoyancy would help but it just seems too slow.

Thanks,

Deke

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I tried surfing behind our boat with a traditional surfboard, 6 ft, with a thruster fin setup, and I had a hell of a time keeping up with the boat. In addition to the tips above, you may want to consider getting a Hyperlite Broadcast or similar to surf with.

Jeff (and all),

Is there really that much difference? My only experience is with a 6' NSP Fish (with thruster) and I do have a tough time keeping up with the boat. Feels like a lot of drag and I have to be practically ON the platform. Any comments on what might be somewhat faster and fit in the tiny pocket of a Response LX? We went with a traditional surfboard thinking that more buoyancy would help but it just seems too slow.

Thanks,

Deke

Deke,

Many of us started out on real surfboards - they do OK, but not great. You have to have a good amount of ballast (fat sacs) to get a wake that will work.

What is your weight set up?

The main problem with real surfboards behind the boat is that most of them have a nice soft rail that works well in the ocean, but not so much behind a boat. Most of the wakesurf manufacturers (including myself) have spent lots of money and many hours behind the boat testing designs and have found that sharp rails tend to work best to help stay in the wake as well as make the board more responsive.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Smed

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I have a 21.5 xti. We load everyone on the side that is to be surfed. If you have ballast bags load and place on that side. Load ski locker ballast as well. We go about 9.5 mph and have a great wake. The more in the boat the better.

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I tried surfing behind our boat with a traditional surfboard, 6 ft, with a thruster fin setup, and I had a hell of a time keeping up with the boat. In addition to the tips above, you may want to consider getting a Hyperlite Broadcast or similar to surf with.

Jeff (and all),

Is there really that much difference? My only experience is with a 6' NSP Fish (with thruster) and I do have a tough time keeping up with the boat. Feels like a lot of drag and I have to be practically ON the platform. Any comments on what might be somewhat faster and fit in the tiny pocket of a Response LX? We went with a traditional surfboard thinking that more buoyancy would help but it just seems too slow.

Thanks,

Deke

Deke,

Many of us started out on real surfboards - they do OK, but not great. You have to have a good amount of ballast (fat sacs) to get a wake that will work.

What is your weight set up?

The main problem with real surfboards behind the boat is that most of them have a nice soft rail that works well in the ocean, but not so much behind a boat. Most of the wakesurf manufacturers (including myself) have spent lots of money and many hours behind the boat testing designs and have found that sharp rails tend to work best to help stay in the wake as well as make the board more responsive.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Smed

Smed,

I've got a 99 RLx with 400lbs on the floor in the back, 400lbs surf side next to the motor, and wedge. With a few people I can go ropeless, but barely. I'm literally over the platform most of the time. Weightwise I feel kind of maxxed out since it puts us dangerously close to water in the fuel vent (did it once). Speedwise, I can tell a little more would be better since it lengthens out, but I can't keep up no matter how much pumping. The slower speed is really mushy and has a TINY pocket, but I can't just barely stay with it. You are so right about the round rails. They "suck", creating too much drag I'm sure.

I'm a former ocean surfer and really liking this since I've lived in Colorado for 19 years. The primary reason I even have a boat though is slalom. But I love to surf the rest of the day. Just trying to get it figured out enough to make it really fun without needing a different boat. Any thoughts on a board would be greatly appeciated. BTW, I'm 175lbs.

Deke

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Hey Deke

Welcome to the obsession!!! I've also taken my passion from surfing in the ocean to the lakes when we moved to Austin a few years ago. Back in socal I used to get up at 4:30 to paddle out just as the sun was barely coming up to get first waves with my buddies before work. Now that we are in Austin, wakesurfing helps me get my fix!!

As for your boat, maybe there are some folks that can help you better than I. I'm not really familiar with 99 RLx. , but I'm assuming it doesn't have any stock ballast. On our vRide we have the 500 in the stock tanks (middle), 250 in the stock tank (surfside), then another 800 or so in the back locker and up the surfside with the wedge down.

As for a board that might work for your wake (considering that you might not be able to sack it out too much more), you might check out the inland surfer blue lake. It can ride smaller waves pretty dang well. You could also try to pick up a HL broadcast - maybe a used one or a demo at your local shop for fairly cheap (is there a pro shop in Telluride?). Also, I've developed a model that is for shorter smaller wakes as well, but my boards are hand laid and not the cheapest, plus I have about a 4-6 week wait right now, so I'd rather see you on something sooner that you can get locally or faster.

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Smed,

Your comments are greatly appreciated! I will look around for another stick. The most "local" shop around is Denver, which is about 7 hours, and is the main reason I haven't been able to try stuff out. In your experience, what is difference between the two boards you mentioned? I'd also be interested in knowing more about what you're doing with your boards. Feel free to email me direct if you want to take offline.

Deke

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Hey Deke,

Bummer you are so far from a shop. But then again you live in Telluride, so I guess you can't complain too much... :)

If you can get your hands on one, the blue lake would probably be the best for your set up. It can handle smaller waves, has less rocker as well as a slight concave through the center to enhance speed. It will feel more like a surfboard than the broadcast as well in terms of turning and responsiveness.

The broadcast is a bit heavy (ier) not much, but a bit and is essentially a flat hull. It is a great beginner board on med size wakes but could probably do ok for lighter folks on smaller wakes too. IMO, the broadcast is a bit like a skimboard on steriods. same general shape (more or less) so it can cut and slice, but a bit more forgiving than a pro-level skim like a phase 5 or calibrated (and a lot cheaper).

Inland Surfers are made in Thailand in a large surfboard factory -- infused molded epoxy.

Broadcast I believe is made in USA using essentially wakeboard technology. pressed mold like a wakeboard.

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I have a 2007 Wakesetter VLX --- Fill the left rear ballast , center ballast wedge half way down yu can toggle it little past half or before see how you like it and then throw an 800lb fatsac in the locker and you will be set

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