Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Wake ???


KSilva

Recommended Posts

Rope Questions: I use a 75ft non stretch rope with 15inch handle.

At the speeds of 19-20, what rope length do I need?

At the speeds of 20-22, what rope length do I need?

Ballast Question: Ballast or wedge or both? I have the 2 rear tanks/center and power wedge

At the speeds of 19-20 – Ballast(rear/center) or Wedge?

At the speeds of 20-22 – Ballast (rear/center) or Wedge?

When wakeboarding, how should the pull feel? For example, When I ride at times, I feel like I’m pulling back on the rope to keep me from sinking and at other times it feels that I am leaning forward to hold onto the rope. So how should the pull feel?

Rope length varies with experience, technique, etc. I ride full ballast (including front) and wedge down at 80' but can push it to 85 sometimes but also ride as short as 70'. Depends on what I am doing (trying something new), weather conditions (choppy water), or just tired sometimes.

In general start at 65 - 70 ft back if you land out in the flats consistently take it out 5' if your casing the wake bring it in 5' If your working on getting good control and general feel of wakeboarding and working on popping off the wake go out to 70 - 75' this will give you time to recover after hitting the first wake before you hit the second, then when your ready to attempt clearing the wake (W2W) then bring the rope length in a little to shorten the distance.

In general there is no right or wrong with speed or ballast, I tend to keep beginners at 18-19 no ballast or wedge and people attempting to clear the wake I will add ballast no wedge at 20-22, and if there experienced with consistant W2W they get everything ballast, wedge and speeds from 21-24

The wedge is going to pull the rear of the boat deeper into the water, which in turn is going to cause the wake to be steeper, since you don't have any front weight you may not like the way the wake looks or feels with the wedge down. It's personnal preference.

My suggestion would be to find some lead bars, pop sacs, or free weight, and stick it up front or just ask someone if they would like to sit up front. The VLX loves front weight it makes the wake very firm (solid) I have added a little extra up front even with the front ballast.

As Wakegirl said the ballast gauges are not always accurate until you see water coming out of the drain and the vent hole the tank is not full. When your pulling someone have the rider get up and be directly behind the boat, that is when you want to look at the wake it should be clean on both sides, adjust weight accordingly (move someone) once the wake is clean the boat is ready to board behind. When the boarder starts moving side to side he is pulling that side of the boat deeper into the water which will sometimes cause the other side to be a little washy temporarly but once he changes sides it will be clean again, this is normal.

Hope the info helps, go out and experiment and have fun in your new ride.

Edited by NvBoarder
Link to comment
Rope Questions: I use a 75ft non stretch rope with 15inch handle.

At the speeds of 19-20, what rope length do I need? If your a beginner trying to go wake 2 wake start at 55' and add rope as you progress. If your just learning to get up, let all the rope out so you have lots of room between the wake to learn how to stay up for a bit before you start going over the wake.

At the speeds of 20-22, what rope length do I need? Match your comfort/skill level,there's no magic number.

Ballast Question: Ballast or wedge or both? I have the 2 rear tanks/center and power wedge Match your skill level

At the speeds of 19-20 – Ballast(rear/center) or Wedge? Ditto

At the speeds of 20-22 – Ballast (rear/center) or Wedge? Ditto

When wakeboarding, how should the pull feel? For example, When I ride at times, I feel like I’m pulling back on the rope to keep me from sinking Add more boat speed and at other times it feels that I am leaning forward to hold onto the rope. Lean back or maybe slow down, the pull should feel comfortable, have the driver adjust the speed until you find YOUR sweet spot. everybody is different. So how should the pull feel?

These techniques worked for me and some of my beginner crew.

Link to comment

Something else that has just been touched on is how weight distribution affects the wake.

First off, understand that as you add weight, the general rule of thumb is that you need to add a little speed to keep the wake clean. So if you are used to boarding at 18-19 with no weight, you'll need to be at 20+ with full ballast. IMO, that's not a good progression to make, so to me you'll want to take baby steps & add a little of both a little at a time. And to throw another variable in, you'll probably need to add line length as you add speed & weight, but that's easy enough to gauge if you're consistently landing in the flats.

Where to add it?

General rules of thumb:

~ weight up front makes the wake rampier & firmer, generally with a forgiving transition

~ weight in the rear makes the wake steeper & softer, with a more abrupt transition & sometimes generating a trough (depending on speed, rope length & how much weight)

~ wedge down acts like weight in the rear, but generally with sharper results

A firm wake will generate the most pop, while a soft wake will allow you to "punch through" the crest. So what you need to find out is what combination of all of those things you like. I recommend starting with no ballast, no wedge & get a baseline. Decide what you like about the stock wake, what you don't like, & adjust accordingly. As I understand it, you can customize those presets on your boat. So once you determine the above, I'd customize those presets to your liking.

One other thing, get a gps & verify that your speedo is correct. I've seen waaaaay too many boats from the factory that are at least 2mph off.

Link to comment

I think for beginners, you need to get them a comfortable speed then start dialing in the wake. If you are a big guy, 18 will seem way too slow as you sink, but if you are a 12 year old, that may be just right. Dial in the speed you like to be towed at, then dial in a combination of rope length, ballast and wedge. You can watch the wake change shape with the power wedge while you are going, so it is helpful to have a hand signal for more or less wedge (like you do for speed).

Personnally, I think it is an easier landing to jump across the wake all of the way, so maybe a very short rope is a good way to start (hey, I wakeboard at 28' off!! J/K) in order to get the feel of crossing the wake and build confidence. Of course this is consultant speak since I haven't actually done that Whistling.gif

Also, I didn't see this mentioned, I think everyone assumes it, but you need to use Malibu Cruise, or you will not get a consistent speed unless you have an **EXPERT** driver on the throttle.

FWIW - my 14 YO son started going wakeboard only this summer and went directly from no ballast no wedge to full ballast/wedge (with absolutely no prompting from Dad) although he is not going w2w he wanted more pop. So, it really is what ever turns your crank. You just have to try different set ups.

Link to comment
I think for beginners, you need to get them a comfortable speed then start dialing in the wake. If you are a big guy, 18 will seem way too slow as you sink, but if you are a 12 year old, that may be just right. Dial in the speed you like to be towed at, then dial in a combination of rope length, ballast and wedge. You can watch the wake change shape with the power wedge while you are going, so it is helpful to have a hand signal for more or less wedge (like you do for speed).

Personnally, I think it is an easier landing to jump across the wake all of the way, so maybe a very short rope is a good way to start (hey, I wakeboard at 28' off!! J/K) in order to get the feel of crossing the wake and build confidence. Of course this is consultant speak since I haven't actually done that Whistling.gif

Also, I didn't see this mentioned, I think everyone assumes it, but you need to use Malibu Cruise, or you will not get a consistent speed unless you have an **EXPERT** driver on the throttle.

FWIW - my 14 YO son started going wakeboard only this summer and went directly from no ballast no wedge to full ballast/wedge (with absolutely no prompting from Dad) although he is not going w2w he wanted more pop. So, it really is what ever turns your crank. You just have to try different set ups.

__________________________

Yea, I'm a big guy... I'm 6'0 and 255... Right now I'm doing about 19.8mph using the Malibu Cruise... My rope is at 75... This weekend, my rope will be at 65/70 and my speed will be at 21mph... I'll try that with out the ballast and then with the ballast system filled up half way... I don't care if i don't go w2w, i like to pop off the wake and go from there! Clap.gif it's all for fun and games! lol give the people in the boat a good laugh.... Thumbup.gif

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...