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Stock (tank) ballast surf question


Faceplant409

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So I have a friend that surfs and I'd like to make the wake a little better for him. With mid and 1 rear tank full & wedge down it's not quite right. Has anyone plumbed a sack into the tank plumbing? (leaving the tank in and useable)

OR- Do I get rid of the tanks ang go for larger sacks on both sides??

NOT going lead!

Thanks Pat

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So I have a friend that surfs and I'd like to make the wake a little better for him. With mid and 1 rear tank full & wedge down it's not quite right. Has anyone plumbed a sack into the tank plumbing? (leaving the tank in and useable)

OR- Do I get rid of the tanks ang go for larger sacks on both sides??

NOT going lead!

Thanks Pat

That's what I would do, just for simplicity's sake.

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Maybe you should work on the speed. I have an 05 VLX with stock ballasts and I am able to surf, and have fun behind the boat with side & center ballasts with only three people in the boat. I surf at 9.8, any other speed and the wake just isn't right.

Good Luck,

Joe

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I have an 05 VLX. we can surf behind our boat with the same set up you are using. But this weekend we set the boat up as followed; center tank, one rear tank, wedge and 450 lb sack in the trunk (thanks to d-goose), we also had 8 people in the boat, the port side of the swim step was 8" under water! the surf wake was incredible Surprised.gif !

D-goose should post pics of the wake when he returns from his camping trip.

Edited by woody
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I wouldn't discount lead all together. I bought 450 lbs. of the POP sacks (45lbs each) and was happy with them. They're easy to move around and I can tune in the wake as needed.

For some reason I get a better surf wake without the wedge, is this true for anyone else?

Greg

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I wouldn't discount lead all together. I bought 450 lbs. of the POP sacks (45lbs each) and was happy with them. They're easy to move around and I can tune in the wake as needed.

For some reason I get a better surf wake without the wedge, is this true for anyone else?

Greg

How do you set up your weight distribution?

Edited by WakeGirl
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You can get a different wake on the port side without the wedge. It will be less steep. You will do a little better going 1/4-1/2 mile an hour slower that you would with the wedge down. However in my experience you will not get a good surf wake at all on the starboard side without the wedge down. I think that it counters the effect of the prop rotation.

We surf a lot. I have tried many different combinations. I don't think the wake with stock ballast only is much fun. Can you ride it? Yes....but not much fun.

We ride as follows

Front and Mid FULL. Then shut of the intake valves. They tend to backflow with the nose up that high.

On the side that we are riding we have the stock ballast full, 400 lbs of rubber coated 50lb steel plates, and an extra Fly High Pro X 750 sac (plumbed into the factory fill and drain pumps for now) filled as full as the compartment will allow.

If we are riding port side we use the wedge for experienced riders and don't for new riders. On the starboard side we always use the wedge.

This set up give us a nice wake with just my family in the boat. Wife and 3 daughters. All very light. More people just makes it better.

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Serious Pat. Go buy some fat sacs. It's all about weight.

I haven't heard anyone say put some weight up front. I know the front tank on my boat helps alot. I've got switches for each individual tank and I like front full, center full then side we're surfing on. We then fill two 440# Launch Pads and ride till the sun goes down. - Wedge is always down. On the LSV I've found it's better no matter which side - wedge down.

A bigger wake only makes it easier to ride - new rider or not.

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Pat

I tried just adding sacs to the existing tanks at first but immediately scratched the idea and went with removing the tanks and put in a pair of 440 Launch Pads. One of the best wake mods I've done.

Also make sure you have plenty of ballast in the front to get good use of the wedge.

We fill the ski locker and add 400 in the bow seat on the surfer's side.

And then there is the sling - gives the rockin curl that surfers crave.

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Ya Woody your wake was HUGE. But it was a 750# fly high sac. Woodys boat was pushing water over the top of the gas cap and his son was thinking the boat was going to sink.

Faceplant, we have the same boat (ok 1 yr apart) and all I do is put the sac on the side I'm riding and go for it. I had 4 people in the boat and me surfing on Sunday. The boat was so loaded down that water was coming over the top of the boat in the back. I'll post a few pics later after I unpack some.

Just remember when stopping with this much weight. DON'T JUST STOP. We did that once, the water came over the back eng cover and covered the back seat. Shocking.gif

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