Looking for a Surfboard

[martinarcher]

Hey all,

My B-day is next week and I decided it's time to get a surfboard. We have been playing with standing on a kneeboard with the boat loaded with ballast. The surf wake off my Skier is not the ocean waves I've seen you guys posting, but it seems as though it's almost to the point where the rope begins to get slack in it. I figure with a board that is actually designed for what we are doing and is a bit more buoyant I have a chance of going ropeless.

I am about 175-180lbs and I would say the wave is medium to small sized with 6 of us and 400lbs of ballast on the surf side. I have a front and rear sac that I'm working on adding (automated ballast) so that will certainly help our cause.

Any suggestions on boards? Anyone have one for sale that is too big for their giant wakeboat wave?

[Tao of Wake]

Well, first off, there are skim-style boards and surf-style. Skim style are more difficult and require a larger wake, so I would recommend staying away from those unless you plan on really adding some weight to your boat. For a surf style board for your weight and wake size, any of these would be great:

Inland Surfer Blue Lake

The Walker Project Cruiser

The Walker Project F-18 (very bouyant)

Triple-X 4.5' Slasher Pro-X (very affordable)

Shred Stixx Ja Mako

Hyperlite Broadcast

CWB Ride

I've also been very interested to try the O'brien Alias TT and the Hyperlite Swell, but these are more skim-style and would require a larger wake.

For great deals, check out the classifieds at Wake Outlaws (need to register to enter the forums).

EDIT: Be prepared to get hooked quickly and want to add ballast or even upgrade the whole boat! With that in mind, I would strongly suggest getting a board that you won't be bored with by the end of the summer. In my opinion, that rules out the Hyperlite Broadcast & CWB Ride. They are great boards for learning, but they get old quick. I learned on both of them and then bought a Walker Project F-18. What I have read is a great board that will stay with you for a long time is the Inland Surfer Blue Lake. Definitely get the quad fin model. That way, you can modify it for each rider. More fins means more stable but faster. Fewer fins means that it will be more maneuverable and able to do tricks.

Edited May 20, 2009 by kernaltao

[txwakejunkie]

Exactly!!!!

[UWSkier]

I'd add Phase 5 Oogle and Walker Project 5.0 to that list for your weight. Those are both fast boards that should be able to keep up with a medium sized wake and are quick to learn.

[Malibudude]

The LF Venture would work well.

[txdyna65]

I just bought a Blue Lake, cant wait to ride it, it is the quad fin. We also had a SMED board, man this is addictive lol

[martinarcher]

That Blue Lake Quad Fin looks like the cats meow. It's spendy, but the reviews are excellent.

txdyna65, let me know what you think of it after you get a chance to ride it.

[txdyna65]

That Blue Lake Quad Fin looks like the cats meow. It's spendy, but the reviews are excellent.

txdyna65, let me know what you think of it after you get a chance to ride it.

Will do, but it'll be a couple of weeks before I get to the lake.

[RiverRunner]

Hey all,

My B-day is next week and I decided it's time to get a surfboard. We have been playing with standing on a kneeboard with the boat loaded with ballast. The surf wake off my Skier is not the ocean waves I've seen you guys posting, but it seems as though it's almost to the point where the rope begins to get slack in it. I figure with a board that is actually designed for what we are doing and is a bit more buoyant I have a chance of going ropeless.

I am about 175-180lbs and I would say the wave is medium to small sized with 6 of us and 400lbs of ballast on the surf side. I have a front and rear sac that I'm working on adding (automated ballast) so that will certainly help our cause.

Any suggestions on boards? Anyone have one for sale that is too big for their giant wakeboat wave?

With a smaller wake you will most likely want to look at a larger surf style board, what price range are you looking for? The nice thing about boards is, if you take care of them they will last for mutiple seasons.

Disclaimer:

I am a dealer, give honest advice and sell: Phase 5, Inland Surfer, Distortion Wake, Triple X, The Walker Project, Props, Smed, Placebo, Shred Stixx, Victoria Skimboards, Neptune, Wellen Wake Surf Boards other equipment from Nice-Rack, Fresh Air Exhaust, Endless Wave, Wet Sounds, Evolution, Fly-High, Switchblade Wake and Underground Products.

[martinarcher]

Well that's a good question. It looks like these boards can get pretty spendy. We were out all day yesterday with 6 people in the boat and a 400 sac on the side of the motor.

We were using a Hyperlite wakeboard without bindings and we couldn't get anywhere near ropeless. I'm beginning to wonder if I should throw in the towel on my quest to wakesurf behind our little boat, or if I should go ahead and add the bow sac and rear sac I bought and keep trying....

[txdyna65]

Well that's a good question. It looks like these boards can get pretty spendy. We were out all day yesterday with 6 people in the boat and a 400 sac on the side of the motor.

We were using a Hyperlite wakeboard without bindings and we couldn't get anywhere near ropeless. I'm beginning to wonder if I should throw in the towel on my quest to wakesurf behind our little boat, or if I should go ahead and add the bow sac and rear sac I bought and keep trying....

I would give a real surfboard a chance before I threw in the towell, especially since you already have more bags to add. Im no expert by any means, but I would be willing to bet a real surfboard will outperform a wakeboard in this situation hands down. I know in my case the right board for me made a big difference.

[PowPowPatrol]

Hey all,

My B-day is next week and I decided it's time to get a surfboard. We have been playing with standing on a kneeboard with the boat loaded with ballast. The surf wake off my Skier is not the ocean waves I've seen you guys posting, but it seems as though it's almost to the point where the rope begins to get slack in it. I figure with a board that is actually designed for what we are doing and is a bit more buoyant I have a chance of going ropeless.

I am about 175-180lbs and I would say the wave is medium to small sized with 6 of us and 400lbs of ballast on the surf side. I have a front and rear sac that I'm working on adding (automated ballast) so that will certainly help our cause.

Any suggestions on boards? Anyone have one for sale that is too big for their giant wakeboat wave?

I would highly reccomend the Hyperlite Broadcast. We have introduced about a dozen people to wakesurfing and they have all used the Broadcast. It floats on a small wake and can hold pretty heavy riders too. We also surf a Shredstixx JaMako and a Phase 5 Prop. I love the shredstixx - its a lot more of a surfboard. The Phase 5 takes a lot more getting used to - more the skim style with a very small single fin.

I have surfed in the ocean for 35+ years - so I am a surfer... The biggest difference between thes eboards is the thrust you get when you pump the board. With the Shredstixx you can pump your way back into the wake at any time - you can really accerate... With the Hyperlite you can sorta do it. With the Prop its much more about edging.

I would start with the Myperlite Broadcast and then figure out which style you like the best - either more surfing or more skim.

Good Luck!

[txdyna65]

That Blue Lake Quad Fin looks like the cats meow. It's spendy, but the reviews are excellent.

txdyna65, let me know what you think of it after you get a chance to ride it.

Went to the lake today and pretty much had the lake to ourselves. The bluelake rode like a dream. My wife got up on it her first try and on her second time she rode with slack the whole time but never threw the rope in. (this was her first time ever getting up) I pretty much rode the whole day ropeless and I havent been able to do that in the past. I found it very easy to get up on and it was much faster than I expected. I even rode it goofy footed and had a blast.

[martinarcher]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! We messed around on Sat with a little more weight in the boat. I bought a pair of V-Drive sacs from Wake Makers and we put them in an L shape in the back of the boat. One parallel with the back seat and the other along the motor. With all 5 people in the boat sitting to the surf side we had the rub rail wet. The curl of the wave looked huge compared to what we are used to. I played with our 144 Hyperlite wakeboard with no bindings. If I rode down the wave, the rope would get slack in it and stay there for about 5 seconds and then I would need another little tug. It seemed the more weight I put on the front of the board the better the angle of the board would match the down angle of the wave and speed up the board. Of course if I got too far forward the tip would dig and you get a face full of water.

We had fun and I think it proved to me that with the right board we might be able to go rope less even with our Skier. I think my buddy got some video so I'll see if I can get a copy to show you guys. I'd like to see what you guys think of our baby wave before I buy a board.

Thanks for all the board suggestions. I've been researching all of them!

[rugger]

Check out this link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/10841501@N08/page3/

It's a 89 sunsetter with ballast. He says he surfed all the time with it using ballast. I don't know enough about the boards to know what he's riding though.

Either way... let me know what you end up with. I'm looking to do the same.

[C28]

Thats a Inland Surfer yellow a nice board. More of a skim style the Walker Bullet 4.8 would be a perfect choice.

[martinarcher]

Check out this link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/10841501@N08/page3/

It's a 89 sunsetter with ballast. He says he surfed all the time with it using ballast. I don't know enough about the boards to know what he's riding though.

Either way... let me know what you end up with. I'm looking to do the same.

Cool. That's Rob's old boat. He's got a new Wakesetter now and has that one up for sale. If you take a good look at the back seat he actually built a box under the seat and modified the seat (cut it down) to fit under the top profile for the hull. I love that idea and thought about doing the same to my boat. He then threw a 400 lb sac under the rear seat, I know there is one in the center ski locker too. There is what looks like a V-drive sac on each side of the motor. Not sure if there is weight in the bow.

Right now I have a similar set-up minus the fancy rear seat. We run two V-drive sacs in an L in the back corner of the boat. I also have a recliner 500 lb sac sac that we haven't run while trying to surf. That might come this weekend. I've been adding weight gradually and moving the weight around experimenting with what it does to our wakeboard and wakesurf wakes. It's also a little intimidating listing a boat with such a low draft that much! I know when the rub rail is wet, I'm certainly stressing to my buddies when they drive that they need to be extra careful. With 1000lbs just rear of the motor the surf and wakesurf wakes have gotten really impressive from where we started. I'll keep experimenting and report back with findings.

It's sure fun to try to turn a slalom boat into a wakesurf boat in 10 min, surf for a while, drain the water and head back down the slalom course.

[Malibuzer]

Check out this link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/10841501@N08/page3/

It's a 89 sunsetter with ballast. He says he surfed all the time with it using ballast. I don't know enough about the boards to know what he's riding though.

Either way... let me know what you end up with. I'm looking to do the same.

Cool. That's Rob's old boat. He's got a new Wakesetter now and has that one up for sale. If you take a good look at the back seat he actually built a box under the seat and modified the seat (cut it down) to fit under the top profile for the hull. I love that idea and thought about doing the same to my boat. He then threw a 400 lb sac under the rear seat, I know there is one in the center ski locker too. There is what looks like a V-drive sac on each side of the motor. Not sure if there is weight in the bow.

Right now I have a similar set-up minus the fancy rear seat. We run two V-drive sacs in an L in the back corner of the boat. I also have a recliner 500 lb sac sac that we haven't run while trying to surf. That might come this weekend. I've been adding weight gradually and moving the weight around experimenting with what it does to our wakeboard and wakesurf wakes. It's also a little intimidating listing a boat with such a low draft that much! I know when the rub rail is wet, I'm certainly stressing to my buddies when they drive that they need to be extra careful. With 1000lbs just rear of the motor the surf and wakesurf wakes have gotten really impressive from where we started. I'll keep experimenting and report back with findings.

It's sure fun to try to turn a slalom boat into a wakesurf boat in 10 min, surf for a while, drain the water and head back down the slalom course.

I just talked to Rob tonight and he is playing with the 440 lb twins to see what he can get out of the the VTX. I added my 750's over the weekend and cant belive what a monster we can make in comparison to the old wake. I am sure that Rob will chime in if he sees this.

[martinarcher]

Well I bought a CWB Ride and love it. My buddy emailed me the pics from yesterday's outing. Here's the wave off our little Skier after lots of playing with weight placement and different sizes of bags. I finished up an automated ballast system that makes changing the boat from boarding to surfing really nice. He is taking pics sitting in the backseat so he is really close to me while surfing. My face shows the excitement of being able to drop the rope! These are at 12mph with 500lbs of weight in the back right corner and another 500 along the motor box. We played with up to 400lbs under the bow and ended up happy with what I'm guessing is around 100-150lbs in the bow. My longest ride was about 3 minutes and we had the bow sac almost completely drained. I am thrilled I can get this nice of a wave of a 88' Skier!

[txdyna65]

The smile and 2 thumbs up in the second pic says it all, you look like you are having a blast and thats what its all about

[martinarcher]

That pic says it all. We all were stoked when I dropped the rope and rode for about 3 minutes. I was just thrilled. It took a few tries to get the hang of where I needed to put my weight on the board, but after that I could get up and drop the rope right away! Whoo hoo! I met my goal of going ropeless with our Skier!!!

[WakeGirl]

That's awesome, congratulations! And tx is right, the pic really does say everything.

[CRASH]

Justins version of crouching tiger behind my lil vtx