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first wakesurf board


srab

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Okay, just finished first ever wakesurfing session behind my buddy's Tige 22Ve

using a Hyperlite Broadcast 4' 9". My daughter (16), three of her friends, and I

all popped right up first try. No one tried ropeless. The kids pretty much schooled me.

Everybody had a blast, though.

My buddy was ecstatic about his board, and after searching this site, it seems

that the Broadcast is a good starting point. My question, though, is mostly about

length. I've got an '06 Sunscape, with the older manual wedge, and currently have

no ballast. I'm the heaviest one in the family at 155 lbs., if that makes a difference.

Now, we can obviously all get up with the shorter board, but since our wake is gonna

be small, should I go with the 5' 6" board?

What are the opinions on the T-handle rope vs. the Ronix-style or one on the handle-less

ropes? I get the impression that we should not be coiling the rope, though that's what

we were all doing. Do you just let it dangle in the water then?

Lastly, I know I'll be needing ballast in the surf-side locker, probably as much as I can

get with that Diamond hull. I don't know diddly about ballast, though, so feel free to

point me in the right direction.

I'd sincerely appreciate any and all advice.

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the broadcast is a great starter board for sure. the 5'6" would be best. shorter broadcast would probably be much to small for you. kids might be ok. you might even consider an inland surfer blue lake for your wake.

You are going to need quite a bit of ballast -- if you are serious about surfing you might consider installing an automatic system.

for the time being get a 750 flyhigh fat sac for the back surfing locker. you'll probably want a couple of vdrive (400lb) sacs - at least. and the tsunami pump. The tsunami is pretty dang fast.

We've used all kinds of ropes. We like both the T handle and the mini wakeboard handle types, but not the handless as it is too hard for beginners to get up. Usually not enough strength. Your rope shouldn't be so long as that you need to loop it (or coil it). It should just long enough to merely go slack when you get into the pocket. Then throw it back to someone in the boat or to the opposite side and have someone pull it in as you get better and are able to ride without the rope.

Congrats on joining the "wakesurf club"!

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FWIW...I have a 4'9 broadcast and Im 5'10 and 185 and no problems on it at all.....havent gone ropeless yet, but I can shred the wave well...i just need the 750 lb to get here....Ive got everyone up with it on no more than 2 tries and have even had the kids on the board with me....

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To answer the coiling question, smed's right about the length. You want it long enough where it will bring you up in the pocket & you'll have more slack as you get closer to the boat. Never ever coil it around your hand or any other part of your body. If you get a rope that has sections (I think most of them do) you can fine tune that length.

With ballast, start with a 750 in your rear locker. See what that does for you, & move people around in the cabin & bow to see what that does for you. VAB is the best IMO.

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Wedge down, 750 in the locker, and 500 lbs in the bow on the surf side, then lots of VAB (Voice Activated Ballast) to move around as Tracie mentioned. Before you try surfing, go out and play with different speed/ballast combos to see what gives you the nicest looking wave with minimal whitewater around the pocket.

My first time surfing was behind FijiRob's boat. He has the same hull as you. You might PM him and ask him about his setup. I was able to go ropeless behind his boat the first time I tried surfing, and it wasn't because I was natural or anything. It was because he had a sweet setup. Now that I think about it, I think he had a 750 in the back corner with about 10 people on board, one of whom was great VAB. The wave was pretty short but it was HUGE.

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Wedge down, 750 in the locker, and 500 lbs in the bow on the surf side, then lots of VAB (Voice Activated Ballast) to move around as Tracie mentioned. Before you try surfing, go out and play with different speed/ballast combos to see what gives you the nicest looking wave with minimal whitewater around the pocket.

My first time surfing was behind FijiRob's boat. He has the same hull as you. You might PM him and ask him about his setup. I was able to go ropeless behind his boat the first time I tried surfing, and it wasn't because I was natural or anything. It was because he had a sweet setup. Now that I think about it, I think he had a 750 in the back corner with about 10 people on board, one of whom was great VAB. The wave was pretty short but it was HUGE.

Yep, FijiRob suggested exactly the same. Thanks to all for the help. I've found the 750 pounder

and the tsunami pump. Which 500 pounder do you recommend and where can I find it? Wakeside has

400 pound v-drive sacs, like smed mentioned, but I didn't see any 500s.

Do I need a separate tsunami pump for each bag? If not, are there some special fittings that I'll

need to plug the bags once filled?

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Wedge down, 750 in the locker, and 500 lbs in the bow on the surf side, then lots of VAB (Voice Activated Ballast) to move around as Tracie mentioned. Before you try surfing, go out and play with different speed/ballast combos to see what gives you the nicest looking wave with minimal whitewater around the pocket.

My first time surfing was behind FijiRob's boat. He has the same hull as you. You might PM him and ask him about his setup. I was able to go ropeless behind his boat the first time I tried surfing, and it wasn't because I was natural or anything. It was because he had a sweet setup. Now that I think about it, I think he had a 750 in the back corner with about 10 people on board, one of whom was great VAB. The wave was pretty short but it was HUGE.

Yep, FijiRob suggested exactly the same. Thanks to all for the help. I've found the 750 pounder

and the tsunami pump. Which 500 pounder do you recommend and where can I find it? Wakeside has

400 pound v-drive sacs, like smed mentioned, but I didn't see any 500s.

Do I need a separate tsunami pump for each bag? If not, are there some special fittings that I'll

need to plug the bags once filled?

As everyone stated start with 750 and the vdrive sacs, they come as a pair 400lbs each. 1 or 2 pumps if you want to fill up faster, but one will do for starts. The fittings(caps) come with the bags. 750 in rear locker,400 on seat surfside,.and 400 in bow and if you have center (mls) fill that too.
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