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Porpoising


etherbunny

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I have a new 08 Wakesetter 23XTI with 50hrs. I had an experienced boarder who wanted maximum wake. After filling both rear and front ballast I got him up on plane and began engaging the Power Wedge but as I approached the maximum wake on the gauge the boat began porpoising. I could lower the wedge to stop the action and gradually raise it but everytime I reached the max it would start again.

I had four other people onboard but it didn't seem to matter much where I positioned them.

It may be that you cannot max the wedge and the ballast but does anyone else have this problem or a solution

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What speed were you running? Our boat needs a lot of weight up front in general, but we notice that we have a problem with porpoising at 18mph or so, with a lot of weight in back. More weight up front helps that problem, and running at a faster speed helps too.

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Ours will do it sometimes if we hit certain rollers and it takes a while for it to settle out but I can trim the wedge and plant the front down to get it fixed.

I agree, more weight in the front should help Thumbup.gif

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What speed were you running? Our boat needs a lot of weight up front in general, but we notice that we have a problem with porpoising at 18mph or so, with a lot of weight in back. More weight up front helps that problem, and running at a faster speed helps too.

We were running 23.8mph and front ballast full

I was using the adjusting the wedge like you would the engine trim to adjust the bow ride and porpoising

I guess I can not invite this bud unless I have plenty of ballast buddies to put in the front

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Ours will do it sometimes if we hit certain rollers and it takes a while for it to settle out but I can trim the wedge and plant the front down to get it fixed.

I agree, more weight in the front should help Thumbup.gif

Appreciate the reply, I can live with it, shoot with the cruise control and auto ballast settings there isn't much else for me to do

I, like you , am trapped b/w two worlds. I still slalom to the chagrin of my kids but I am also learning to wakesurf better than they

Do you like the slalom wake on your boat? I compromised with my kids and specifically got the xti for the slalom wake-it is sweet Rockon.gif

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Ours will do it sometimes if we hit certain rollers and it takes a while for it to settle out but I can trim the wedge and plant the front down to get it fixed.

I agree, more weight in the front should help Thumbup.gif

Appreciate the reply, I can live with it, shoot with the cruise control and auto ballast settings there isn't much else for me to do

I, like you , am trapped b/w two worlds. I still slalom to the chagrin of my kids but I am also learning to wakesurf better than they

Do you like the slalom wake on your boat? I compromised with my kids and specifically got the xti for the slalom wake-it is sweet Rockon.gif

I do when the conditions are right, I have to have all the boards off including racks. No bimini and only two people in the boat with a little weight in the front, low fuel and try to ski with the wind and I get a wake that spoils me. The truth is, it's very hard to do that all the time unless we are camping or have a course where we can unload everything and bring along extra gas cans, so I have had to settle for what ever I can get when we have a full load of people and the tower is full. I am starting to quickly realize that there is no real crossover boat that you can take out and do both without some major adjustments or changes (skiing: as little weight as possible and no tower) (boarding: as much weight as you can get in the boat without bumping into each other) The struggles we have to go through :)

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I ran into the same thing last night on my boat. I've got 400 lbs x2 in the rear compartments, 400 lbs in the ski locker, another 300 lb sac in the bow walk-thru, and wedge down (don't have power wedge). I've been boarding at 22 with no problem. I tell my driver to bump up to 23 and if you were in any water except glass the boat would porpoise and really never settle down. When you hit a stretch of glass it seemed to do ok, but that's hard to find around here even this late in the season. We figured it was combination of certain speeds and weight. We drained about half out of the rear sacs. This helped some but didn't completely fix it. Still looking for the optimum setting because I'm starting to run a little longer line length and higher speeds.

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It's the Wedge...... combined with the weight & speed. Raise the Wedge & it all goes away.

And so does the wake......

Edited by vette-ski
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Yea, you might have to increase your weight to get the wake back up again, if you want to run that fast. The Wedge has a max speed or it makes the boat porpoise. I always heard that was around 24 mph. But maybe your speedos are off a bit, or different Wedge/hull combinations act differently, or ????

I run the factory 900 lbs of ballast at 27 mph & still have a lot more wake than other boats we ride behind. Granted I'm on a foil & not a wakeboard. But at least the boat is rock steady, even going thru other boat wakes, which means the handle is steady too.

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GPS speed. I'm on a Diamond hull and the wake goes away quickly the faster you go with the wedge up. Everything seems fine at 22mph, just takes a more effort to clear the wake on a longer line.

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VetteSki... Honestly, WAAAAAY more weight in the bow. Think about it. Your running 800lbs in the back and 700 midship with nothing in the bow AND the wedge down. You need to put that sack in the walkway all the way into the bow.

I have ridden the VLX with all 4 tanks and a wedge at around 26 no problem. I think its all in the bow weight.

Here, look at these pics. This is a 23 LSV and look at the weight setup. Lots O Bow weight.

post-961-1222382246_thumb.jpg

post-961-1222382285_thumb.jpg

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I ran into the same thing last night on my boat. I've got 400 lbs x2 in the rear compartments, 400 lbs in the ski locker, another 300 lb sac in the bow walk-thru, and wedge down (don't have power wedge). I've been boarding at 22 with no problem. I tell my driver to bump up to 23 and if you were in any water except glass the boat would porpoise and really never settle down. When you hit a stretch of glass it seemed to do ok, but that's hard to find around here even this late in the season. We figured it was combination of certain speeds and weight. We drained about half out of the rear sacs. This helped some but didn't completely fix it. Still looking for the optimum setting because I'm starting to run a little longer line length and higher speeds.

I had this same problem with my '01 SS VLX on the diamond hull. Unless I had extra bodies to put up in the bow, I either ran the rear tanks and midship ballast or the wedge with the midship ballast, but not the wedge with the rear tanks at the same time. I don't have near the same problem with my '06 VLX, but do see it occasionally.

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I've got my rear sacs and mid-ship tube sac (in the ski locker) hard plumbed in. The supplemental 300 lb tube sac I use is as far forward as it will go in the walk way, although it is a long sac and may qualify more as another mid-ship. I do have a couple of those 150 lb fly-high brick sacs (the ones with the molded in handles) that I could throw in the bow I guess. Just not a big fan of putting those up in the seats because I figured they'd roll around up there and not stay put. Also the way the boat sits now you have to be real careful turning around to get a downed rider not to dip the bow and take on un-wanted ballast. But point taken.....more bow weight. This is my first season with ballast and most of the year just relied on it. More recently we've been using ballast+wedge to get that extra wake.

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Vette. I run upwards of 3k plus in my vlx. When the boat is in a fast idle back to me the rub rail of the bow is about 4-6 inches above the water line...so I know what you mean about dipping the nose. When you start running lots of weight your driving has to be a lot more on point. Here are some things I personally do that really helps when handling a heavily weighted boat.

Out of the hole: rock the boat back and forth by turning the wheel just a little bit. This rocking motion will "walk" the hull out of the water by creating air pockets on each side of the hull when the boat rocks back and forth (commonly used by guys running weight like the pic above).

Turning to pick up a fallen rider: Come completely off plane. When you let back on the throttle into neutral turn the wheel the direction you want to "spin" the boat. The wave falling on the back of the boat will help you turn around with having to use the boats power. This will also make your turn radius tighter so you dont need to go over your own rollers.

Driving dubs (good luck, haha, just kidding). I personally prefer dog legged dubs. (for a regular HS dub) This means I turn left at about a 45 degree angle before making my right hand U-turn to setup the dub. The left turn you make is the dub the rider is hitting so dont let perfect pass control the speed otherwise you will end up with a small roller since the boat will accelerate out of the left hand turn. Manually over-ride this and even drop some speed while staying on plane to give a good meaty roller. Now that you have a good roller set, start making your right. I prefer to give myself lots of time to line back up with the dub so I generally make my first right turn about 45 degree so I am going the direction I was originally, then I perform the U-turn. When your making the U-turn throttle down HARD. It doesnt matter how fast you go turning around as long as the speed is settled in long before the rider is cutting into the dub. Its easier to slow down off plane that try and get a heavy boat on plane while driving a dub. If you have a hard time flipping the U-turn due to chine lock, take it in "bites". Turn a bit till it locks up, turn out of it, turn it a bit until it locks, and turn out of it. etc. Until your fully turned around and approaching the dub. Your turn will look more like an octagon or dekagon than a circle with this style.

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I've got my rear sacs and mid-ship tube sac (in the ski locker) hard plumbed in. The supplemental 300 lb tube sac I use is as far forward as it will go in the walk way, although it is a long sac and may qualify more as another mid-ship. I do have a couple of those 150 lb fly-high brick sacs (the ones with the molded in handles) that I could throw in the bow I guess. Just not a big fan of putting those up in the seats because I figured they'd roll around up there and not stay put. Also the way the boat sits now you have to be real careful turning around to get a downed rider not to dip the bow and take on un-wanted ballast. But point taken.....more bow weight. This is my first season with ballast and most of the year just relied on it. More recently we've been using ballast+wedge to get that extra wake.

They won't roll around but I'd get about 500lbs up front. With the boat proposing the wedge also isn't as effective. I think you'll find that the additional weight up front will not only give you more of a rampy way but larger since the wedge is at the correct angle for effectiveness.

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Ive never heard about "rocking your boat' to get it out of the hole.....I cant comment on whether it works or not, cause I've never tried it BUT.......it seems like funny advice to give to someone who is concerned about fatsacs rolling around in the front of the boat...?? just a thought

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Well, I learned it while riding with a buddy who makes his living wakeboarding, so its not some crazy idea I concocted... just stole it from the folks who spend all their time in a boat. I also highly doubt they would move. We commonly drive big ol upple dubs with boards just sitting on the back of the V-drive compartment, they rarely even move.

I also agree with malibudude on his thoughts.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Well, I learned it while riding with a buddy who makes his living wakeboarding, so its not some crazy idea I concocted... just stole it from the folks who spend all their time in a boat. I also highly doubt they would move. We commonly drive big ol upple dubs with boards just sitting on the back of the V-drive compartment, they rarely even move.

I also agree with malibudude on his thoughts.

I honestly didnt mean to question the technique....there are MANY, MANY more experienced boaters than I (and i might be chattn with one of them) :) I always secure all my boards, and have seen my 750 sac roll around a bit in the front in rough water.......I just thought it was funny... no bad vibes intended...

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Yah, I agree it looks funny for sure. No worries about questioning the suggestion, I totally understand. There is as much bad information as good on the web these days. In a similar situation: I read enough "board reviews" etc on other sites that have input from some VERY experienced and skilled riders and some VERY new and un-experienced riders. I feel bad for those who have a LOT of experience. Its like their word is just as valuable as a newbie, which isnt right. Its almost like there should be a "class" system based on experience in the industry, not posts. haha....if that makes any sense.

The first time I saw my buddy doing it I didnt say anything. Eventually the driver explained it to me and I have been using it ever since. It probably doesnt make a bit of difference if your not heavily weighted but at 3k-5k plus of weight we can definitely tell a difference.

Its amazing how hard pro-riders are on boats in general. The things I would like to share would make some people cringe at the thought of treating a boat such a way. To those guys its more of a tool than an asset. Its always interesting to see what they will do to get every last bit of performance out of a boat, board..whatever.

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