Surfing...... clue me in here please

[R1LOVER]

ok, I'm a child from the 80's and grew up skiing..... then wakboarding comes along... and is the in thing, so of course I pick it up and learn what I can.

Here we have a forum full of Malibu Ski/Wakeboard boats......... and all I see is everyone wanting to loads thousands of pounds of weight in them so they can surf? Please tell me why you would want to load up so much weight in your 50k plus boats to surf behind it?

Do those of you doing this really think it's safe for the boat to load that much weight into the boat all on one side? To me this sounds both unsafe and a little stupid.

If you guys enjoy surfing so much, why not hit the ocean?

Ok, I mean no disrespect here to anyone, I just want to learn about this passion for surfing and why so many people are obsessed with making their boat almost sink and stressing the heck out of their hull by adding so much weight to one side of it for this sill thing called surfing.

p.s. let the flaming begin..... lol but I'm sure there are others thinking the same thing....

discuss!

Edited May 31, 2011 by R1LOVER

[Michigan boarder]

HA!!! I surfed for he first time ever yesterday, and was like "So, this is it?" I didn't have any ballast and could not go ropeless, but tried a couple slides and 180's (and fell). But I was VERY confused too, what is the big thrill? Wakeboarding, can go on and on. Barefooting, again, on and on, great challenge and great thrill. I'm going to get the ballast set up and give it a shot, but I can see me selling all the surf gear next year. I just don't get it either!

[R1LOVER]

I'm happy to see I'm not the only one.... lol

[Pistol Pete]

I'm with you, R1. I don't see the big deal. And, it's super boring for the crew to have to watch. Unless you're Mr. Excellent and can do 360s all day long. Also, I think it's bad for the motor to be running listing that bad. Would you lean your bike way over, like 45* and rev. it to 2K for a long time?

Oh wait, I hear Mr. Wheelhouse coming to rescue us and tell us all how great it is and we're all wrong.

[Bill_AirJunky]

It's an endless wave. The average wave ride on the ocean is how long? Maybe 2 minutes at most?? And how does a guy from Omaha get to enjoy surfing?

I agree with you that it's not particularly safe the way some guys do it. I've done it a few times. And it was fun. But not quite the thrill of a foil for me. We weight the boat a little, and we ride faster, plus we strap a Ginsu to our butt, but the rush is like no other.

To each their own. Some guys do it because it's so low impact. A crash on a surfboard is gravy, even for kids. But a faceplant on a foil or a wakeboard can knock ya silly.

[Aquadisiac]

I tried surfing for the first time last year and love it. Not real good at it but it's another option if the water is to rough to board (again I'm not very good at that either but I still enjoy it) It's just another water sport you either enjoy or pass on.

[martinarcher]

Exactly....paddle all day and ride a grand total of 2 minutes or ride for 60 minutes in well.....possibly 60 minutes.

If you haven't tried it, you should. Do it on a boat that throws a decent wave with a good board and you'll understand how much fun it is. Our Sunsetter needs about 1200lbs and the wedge to throw a fun wave. It certainly doesn't compare to some out there though. The other plus is you can do it on rough water. Yesterday surfing saved the day since there were so many morons out there with their I/O's dragging tubes and chopping up the water. Wakeboarding was out, double skiing if you wanted to be beat, slalom - no, barefoot - forget it, we surfed most of the afternoon.

If you weigh your boat with common sense and drive with it as well it's certainly no biggie. The lean on these boats is no where near 45* so your certainly not going to hurt the engine. I bet no one can lean their boat as much as Pete can his bike taking a hard turn on his Duc.

I think it's a blast to let go of the rope. It's low impact and you can do it all day when your not wanting to beat yourself up.

[Levi900RR]

Here's my take... I have never surfed before. I did get a board this winter.

The way I see it is Surfing is never going to "take over" my water sports. I figure after wakeboarding for a few hours we can kick back turn up the tunes and surf a little. A little less stress and a good way to wind down from a hard day of wakeboarding.

I can't wait to get out on my boat!!

[Wake My Day]

My family and crew from work love surfing. Not hard on the body of a 40 year old dad and a very social sport. We also surf weather dependant. Meaning, we wakeboard in the morning, tube with the kids throughout the early afternoon, and when the wind comes up we load her down and finish up with surfing. Works great for my family. With ballast in our 23 lsv wave is great and big. There are a lot of tricks you can try. Don't crap all over this sport until you have ridden with a boat that is properly setup for surfing. Also, I'm over 3 hrs away from the ocean. Not really an option.

Just my opinion.

[noonewakeboards]

"I didn't have any ballast and could not go ropeless"

dude, then you were not surfing, there is nothing like surfing and I bought my "50k"boat so I could throw tons of weight in it and surf. Also, if you surf, you know how crowded the ocean surf is, so not only can you ride the neverending wave, but you can surf when you want to, even in the middle of the summer!

[windy1]

we used to surf behind my old tri-hull back in the 70's. the looks we would get from other boaters was priceless.

I think one point is that surfing is easy on your body. I am pushing 50 and just started wakeboarding 2 years ago. the crashes can be hard and I don't heel like I used to. surfing might be the last thing you can do besides drive the boat.

[Michigan boarder]

"I didn't have any ballast and could not go ropeless"

dude, then you were not surfing, there is nothing like surfing and I bought my "50k"boat so I could throw tons of weight in it and surf. Also, if you surf, you know how crowded the ocean surf is, so not only can you ride the neverending wave, but you can surf when you want to, even in the middle of the summer!

Yeah, plugged in my pump and the stupid power accessory was dead, no juice, so no filling the bags. I'm not giving up, and I did feel the "push" a couple of times which felt neat, but I dunno.

[Jab31169]

Surfing, like every other watersport is a blast. Falls don't hurt and the whole family can do it without fear of injury. As far as loading down the boat with ballast, that's on the individual. Our wakesetter is very surfable out of the box. Adding weight just makes the wave a bit bigger and provides a bit more push. As is human nature, people tend to push things to the extreme. Until you've gone ropeless behind a boat you will never really know what it means to wakesurf.

[Molarbu]

It's pretty fun, you ought to try it before sounding so closed minded. We usually surf with just the stock ballast. Surfing is definitely not my favorite discipline, but something I can do when tired after skiing and boarding. Newbies love it because they can learn pretty fast. Give it a go and don't knock it til you try it!

[MARiley]

it's a good alternative for those with horrible knees. very low impact activity.

[NorCaliBu]

If you've ever surfed (real surfing) you will become bored with wakesurfing pretty quickly. There are very few rushes in life that compare with the one you get paddling onto a wave with a face twice as tall as you. The biggest wake I've ever seen (in a wheelhouse photo) was about the size of ocean waves on a poor day for surfing. I'll take the thrill of slalom, or even wakeboarding, any day. Besides, I have a Sporty, I got no freeboard to begin with.

[LS-One]

Some would say it's the only towed water sport where you can drink beer while doing it.

[nyryan2001]

Nothing boring about surfing 2-3ft glossy waves.... I grew up surfing in FL and waves like this were hard to come by.

I love wakeboarding, but I have an L5 issue in my lower back, absolutely no issues with surfing, if you fall you just fall into slosh, get up and repeat. Last summer I was KO'd in a nast invert slam...2 black eyes and dizzy for days. Also, look at all the pros, many of them have serious knee, joint and other ortho problems as a results of their time behind the boat. We are likely to see none of that from wakesurfing.

Cool boats, music, girls in bikinis, beer and the whole social aspect with friends. Wakesurfing lends itself to larger groups of people cuz you need the weight so it is more social. Then when you are done you go to the party spot and rock out. I highly suggest you link up with someone with a good surf setup and go out with him and his crew for a few hrs...you might find yourself hooked.

Edited May 31, 2011 by nyryan2001

[rennis]

If you've ever surfed (real surfing) you will become bored with wakesurfing pretty quickly. There are very few rushes in life that compare with the one you get paddling onto a wave with a face twice as tall as you. The biggest wake I've ever seen (in a wheelhouse photo) was about the size of ocean waves on a poor day for surfing. I'll take the thrill of slalom, or even wakeboarding, any day. Besides, I have a Sporty, I got no freeboard to begin with.

As others have said, it's low-impact and can be done in most conditions. I know a lot of pro riders are loving it (and I'm sure will do things we haven't thought of yet) because it's easier on their bodies. (Parks comes to mind.)

[Levi900RR]

Nothing boring about surfing 2-3ft glossy waves.... I grew up surfing in FL and waves like this were hard to come by.

I love wakeboarding, but I have an L5 issue in my lower back, absolutely no issues with surfing, if you fall you just fall into slosh, get up and repeat. Last summer I was KO'd in a nast invert slam...2 black eyes and dizzy for days. Also, look at all the pros, many of them have serious knee, joint and other ortho problems as a results of their time behind the boat. We are likely to see none of that from wakesurfing.

Cool boats, music, girls in bikinis, beer and the whole social aspect with friends. Wakesurfing lends itself to larger groups of people cuz you need the weight so it is more social. Then when you are done you go to the party spot and rock out. I highly suggest you link up with someone with a good surf setup and go out with him and his crew for a few hrs...you might find yourself hooked.

Dude.... no vest???

[Bill_AirJunky]

Dude.... no vest???

Exactly.

[NorCaliBu]

Dude.... no vest???

That's another thing I don't understand...

I grew up surfing in the ocean on waves typically 2 - 5 times the size of these wakes and we never wore PFD's. Why does everyone think that they are necessary for wakesurfing?

[JDubya]

That's another thing I don't understand...

I grew up surfing in the ocean on waves typically 2 - 5 times the size of these wakes and we never wore PFD's. Why does everyone think that they are necessary for wakesurfing?

Prolly cause the lake police no likey when you ride naked...oh, and it's prob against regs.

[Bill_AirJunky]

That's another thing I don't understand...

I grew up surfing in the ocean on waves typically 2 - 5 times the size of these wakes and we never wore PFD's. Why does everyone think that they are necessary for wakesurfing?

Because Johnny Law tells us so?

And lets face it, your riding 3' off the back of the swimstep & exhaust pipes. Theres enough controversy about how safe it is to at least pretend to be careful. We had a pinhead on our lake smack the transom pretty good, busted his face up nicely.

I never understood why surfers never wore vests. Especially when theres a risk of bouncing off the bottom.

Edited May 31, 2011 by Bill_AirJunky

[R1LOVER]

Dude.... no vest???

All the "Cool" people are doing it right? lol

For all of you older guys saying it's easy on the body and you can do it when your older..... I think an ice cold beer sitting in this thing will suit my old body just fine....

Call me old fashon, but I tend to do things because they are fun and enjoyable, not just because I see other people doing it... lol Same reason I have never snow boarded I guess.... I would rather have my ski's.

Anyway... my next few years will be spent pulling the kids around and teaching them what they want to learn..... not sure that will include surfing with my current boat and I don't see myself spending another 50k to try it.

to all the haters.... I'm not hating here as you can read... I just wanted info and thank you to all of you who provided it without calling me a hater. lol