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Surfing behind Wakesetter 247


Redneck_Surfer

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There are older posts on this subject; looking for any new experiences. New boat for us.

Our new 247 has NO factory-installed front ballast. We fill center and surf-side tanks, have tweaked the wedge, speed about 10.5, passengers surf-side. Still a very short sweet spot.

Any suggestions on location and weights of additional ballast?

Thanks!

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I am in the same boat as you....I will be installing front ballast in my 247 this winter. I have a 750# bag to put in the rear locker, but just have not had time to get everything plumbed in as of yet. After riding in a VLX with lots of weight, I now know what a true wake surf wake should look like. I am certain that after adding the front ballast and loading up the 750, that it will be much better.

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Are you guys putting in a permanent tank up front. I'm going to try that this winter on my VLX and wondering if anyone has any suggestions. Do most people use bags if it's permanent? Should I be putting somthing under the floor or under the seats?

Edited by Jimmypooh
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Weighting the 247 is not that difficult. Its all based on how many people you have. When we have 4 people in the boat, we weight one sides rear ballast, put a 750 in the rear locker and fill a 750 as full as we can under the seat (left hand) or next to the seat (goofy). We put center ballast full and wedge down to 1/8 up. Kind of adjust accordingly. Speed around 10.8 to 11.2. Shallow water 9-12 ft, we go a little bit faster otherwise the wave washes out. Under 10ft the wave is usually not the best no matter what you do.

When we have more people in the boat we add the front ballast to make the wave a little longer. When we have less people on the boat, and use the front ballast the wave is a little longer, but less steep.

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Not to highjack, but we tried surfing behind our XTi this last weekend and it was pretty fun. Went out with the intention of skiing most of the day and mostly surfed :)

Didn't have much weight, 400# in the bow, 440# in the middle side storage and a 440# on the rear seat all on the drivers side including everyone sitting on the storage locker by the tower with wedge set all the way down @ 9.6mph. We all had to surf goofy side but it was loads of fun, still can't see how a 247 wouldn't be able to put out a terrific wake without too much weight, but I can't imagine what it would look like totally weighted down :)

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Thanks for all the advice. We finally got a surfable wave yesterday. It's nowhere near ideal yet, but we see great potential with this big boat.

Here's what we did: "field expedient" ballast (we're still waiting for our ballast bags) consisting of large water containers in the port side rear-locker (about 200 pounds) and 80 pounds under port side rear seats, full center and port side factory ballast, full fuel tank, PowerWedge gauge at 12 o'clock position, 3.5 adults port side rear seats.

The wave was quite tall, and even had a curl! But, the sweet spot was still rather short and a little too close to the boat. Speeding up a little stretched the sweet spot longer, and moved it back, but the higher speeds made it more difficult for new surfers to keep up. However, at the slower speeds (about 10 to 10.5) it was surfable without a rope even for beginners. That's a good start!

We're hoping that additional ballast (including a little in the bow), and/or more passengers will allow us to stretch the sweet spot even more, and move it back further from the boat.

Thanks again! I'll keep you updated.

Edited by Redneck_Surfer
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Redneck, I have a 25 LSV and we are filling up two 750s one in the rear compartment and one under the seat on the starbard side. I then fill a 440 in the bow and the wave is huge with a beautiful curl. When we started the sweet spot seemed small because we were to close to the boat. Try dropping back some. If I go out in the next day or so I will take some pics for you.

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When we started the sweet spot seemed small because we were to close to the boat. Try dropping back some.

How far behind the boat would you estimate you are surfing?

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Thanks for all the advice. We finally got a surfable wave yesterday. It's nowhere near ideal yet, but we see great potential with this big boat.

Here's what we did: "field expedient" ballast (we're still waiting for our ballast bags) consisting of large water containers in the port side rear-locker (about 200 pounds) and 80 pounds under port side rear seats, full center and port side factory ballast, full fuel tank, PowerWedge gauge at 12 o'clock position, 3.5 adults port side rear seats.

The wave was quite tall, and even had a curl! But, the sweet spot was still rather short and a little too close to the boat. Speeding up a little stretched the sweet spot longer, and moved it back, but the higher speeds made it more difficult for new surfers to keep up. However, at the slower speeds (about 10 to 10.5) it was surfable without a rope even for beginners. That's a good start!

We're hoping that additional ballast (including a little in the bow), and/or more passengers will allow us to stretch the sweet spot even more, and move it back further from the boat.

Thanks again! I'll keep you updated.

You don't have anywhere near enough weight in that boat to get a good surf wake. You need at least a 750 pound bag in the rear surf side locker, another 400 at least under the seats on the surf side, full mls (accept surf side) and then play with the wedge to get it cleaned up. Start with wedge in middle position. This is your starting point, might take more wieght than this to get a good wave.

I hope you at least ordered the above bags. I'd even stick a 750# and 400# in the rear locker.

Edited by 06vlx
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I heard the 247 was just too big, and creates an unuseable wave... for wakesurfing or wakeboarding. I know a bunch of people that have hurt themselves attempting to ride behind the 247.. Yes.gif

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I heard the 247 was just too big, and creates an unuseable wave... for wakesurfing or wakeboarding.

Hmmm, interesting. I'd love to hear some specifics.

I'd also like to get the board's opinion, re: unsurfable/unboardable/dangerous wake of the 247.

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I heard the 247 was just too big, and creates an unuseable wave... for wakesurfing or wakeboarding.

Hmmm, interesting. I'd love to hear some specifics.

I'd also like to get the board's opinion, re: unsurfable/unboardable/dangerous wake of the 247.

Yeah, I've surfed behind zzbutler's boat a few times ... and it wasn't pretty. The wave was so huge and powerful that I've broken a few boards coming down off of the top of it. Got a nasty sprained ankle once, and I think one person got dragged under by the undertow it creates. Never saw 'em again.

And don't get me started on the wakeboarding wake. I came across one time and it threw me so high in the air that I was able to hold a grab for maybe 30 seconds. One guy did a wake-to-wake and we were able to throw him a beer, which he caught, popped the top on, and drank half of it before he landed.

Yep, the wake on this boat is way too big.

Tease.gifTongue.gif

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Yep, the wake on this boat is way too big.

Thanks, SJeff; yeah, you're right; I'm beginning to learn that the wake is too big.

Sounds like we bought the RIGHT boat!

Drool.gifBiggrin.gif

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I heard the 247 was just too big, and creates an unuseable wave... for wakesurfing or wakeboarding.

Hmmm, interesting. I'd love to hear some specifics.

I'd also like to get the board's opinion, re: unsurfable/unboardable/dangerous wake of the 247.

Yeah, I've surfed behind zzbutler's boat a few times ... and it wasn't pretty. The wave was so huge and powerful that I've broken a few boards coming down off of the top of it. Got a nasty sprained ankle once, and I think one person got dragged under by the undertow it creates. Never saw 'em again.

And don't get me started on the wakeboarding wake. I came across one time and it threw me so high in the air that I was able to hold a grab for maybe 30 seconds. One guy did a wake-to-wake and we were able to throw him a beer, which he caught, popped the top on, and drank half of it before he landed.

Yep, the wake on this boat is way too big.

Exactly... totally unuseable

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I heard the 247 was just too big, and creates an unuseable wave... for wakesurfing or wakeboarding. I know a bunch of people that have hurt themselves attempting to ride behind the 247.. Yes.gif

So when are you getting one?

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Yeah, I thought the bigger the wake the better for Wakeboarding..

The 247 can really put up a big wake if you want it too. It's wake is not for the faint of heart.

I wakeboard with my 13 year old son with 3 people in the boat and just filled at 50% rear and mid tanks.

He does not need the power wedge or the front balast tank at all.

Next year we will surf and load it up as needed.

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The 247 can really put up a big wake if you want it too. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . and a very well-behaved wake if you DON'T want it big! My wife is a skiier, and she finds the natural, un-accentuated wake acceptably small and flat at skiing speeds; certainly not the perfect ski wake, but acceptable for non-competition recreational skiing.

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