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2016 A20 Weighting


alvanmn

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Hey Guys. So we picked up our 2016 A20 on Friday and have already put on 13 hours in 2 days on the lake. I will start by saying this will exceed my wakeboarding abilities for many years to come. Transitions are amazingly smooth and even with just the wedge it boots you across the wake. Then with all the plug and play (~2,000 lbs) the wake is freaky big. I should probably wear my helmet big.

So to my questions. Wakesurfing...so so cool!! Transferring with surf gate, really fun (but backside surfing is a lot more difficult). First time out surfing my wife and I both got up on the first try and had an absolute blast surfing with the rope. Then of course my wife (trained ballet dancer basically) on her second go felt like dropping the rope and went for 10 minutes before falling. To not be one upped (no competitive at all), I tried to do the same but at 185 lbs it was little more difficult for me to find the sweet spot of the wave. We have stock ballast plus the plug in play. This puts 700 lbs in each rear locker, 400 lb bow bag plus the mid ballast at 200 (I believe) so we were right at 2,000 lbs all in. Torques prop and the 350 more than enough power. We didn't use the wedge at this time. These are the photos posted (I will post two photos once I figure out how). Three of us in the boat. We were going 11 mph which lengthened the wave nicely, 10 mph made it a little short. So my question comes with thinking I need to have more bow ballast to deploy the wedge while maintaining a nice long wave out back. Anoter 400ish lbs up in the bow would put me at about 40% of the weight in the bow 60% stern which I think is what these boats like since they are stern heavy. Any thoughts on the weighting? I know I need to improve my skills, which will come with time, but I want to make sure I am setting my self up for the best chance to succeed.

We did have a 225 lb guy up in the bow for a little while at one point which seemed to help a lot, but with the new tow my wife and I are going to be greedy and go by our selves a lot so it will only be us two for a bunch of the time.

Any thoughts, advice, etc to improve our experience would be awesome. Photos are coming. Video later tonight.

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I can't speak for the changes to the new hull, but as you noticed the boat will appreciate more bow weight. Sounds like you could increase the size of the rear bags if you are getting a total of 700 in each locker (hard + bag). Also, adding either hidden steel (forward) or a bag on the bow will help.

Did they change the under bow pnp bag for 16 or are you listing the 400 lbs as what you actually get out of it?

And, as always, lets see some pics of the boat.

Edited by wtstapel
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Here is our '16 A20. Charcoal and Vapor Blue.

http://s612.photobucket.com/user/alvanmn/media/photo_zpszodrt0ou.png.html

I hope that I am posting these correctly to TMC with photobucket. If you guys can't click the link please say so and I will re read how to post the photos. Thanks.

Also, there is plenty of room in the rear lockers to probably go with 700lb bags in each to a total of 1800 in the rear, but 400lb bag seems to be themax under the cushions in the bow. I'll upload a photo when I get home on how the interior got changed up this year. No more cushions to walk on to get to the bow. Love it.

Edited by alvanmn
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I've got the same color combo in the old hull. Love the combo. Nice choice. Here is alvanmn's boat:

photo_zpszodrt0ou.png

On photobucket copy and paste the IMG link on your page. Then it puts the pic in the post, like mine above.

Edited by wtstapel
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Oh and definetily pick up a mirror if you're looking to ride with only 2. Minnesota has a mirror law right?

If you can only get 400 in the bow you might want extra weight up there. You can hide steel in the tips of the pickle or pick up an extra bag (like a partially filled W706 fly high bag).

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Minnesota does have a mirror rule, plus one lake has a three person rule. We have a PTM 140 degree mirror on the boat that wasn't installed in that photo.

I am going to play around with the ballast this weekend to see where its sweet spot is. I want to use the wedge, but know the bow needs a lot more weight in order to get it to how I want to see it.

How do you set up your boat for surfing? That might me a good place to start and then I can tweak base on the new hull design (its the '15 A22 just 2 foot shorter). Appreciate the help.

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I've seen the 2015 A22 bow so I know what you mean with regards to cutting down on the space for a bag. I don't have surfgate so how I set up my boat for surfing will be different. I use 750s in the rear and the old pnp bag in the bow (listed at 950 lbs - doesn't completely fill). I skip the wedge as wedge + 750s is far to much weight in the rear. Even with the little more weight that I'll get in the bow I still plan on adding an on seat bow bag. Some people hide ~400 lbs of steel between the bow tips, by the battery and by the sub. Others can chime in if this is their solution. This can be made up for with people in the bow or with an on seat bag. The one time solution is lead. My crew fluctuates so sometimes I have people to throw up front and sometimes I don't. Seams like the bag is the easiest solution.

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Use the wedge! It will shorten the wave but will get it bigger and steeper which what you wnat to learn. You don't want some mellow 20 foot wave. You need to learn the push which is easiest from a big beefy wave.

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The color combo is awesome.... Built one similar last week and dealer showed me the new designs.... I got some different combos I want to try with the designs when they hit the website.

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Wtstapel....Great looking boat. I agree with the group. Try with the wedge down it will make the wake steeper which will help with push. If you have a 400 lb bag you could put in the walk through that will help with the size of the wake as well (ronix makes a nice one that fits will). 10.4 to 10.8 mph is a good starting point for speed. The more weight the faster you can go with keeping a good wave. For surfing and wakeboarding its good to get as much running surface in the water as possible. You could also look into popbags or leadwake to get you some solid ballast to hide through out the boat. Have fun ripping.

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Wtstapel....Great looking boat. I agree with the group. Try with the wedge down it will make the wake steeper which will help with push. If you have a 400 lb bag you could put in the walk through that will help with the size of the wake as well (ronix makes a nice one that fits will). 10.4 to 10.8 mph is a good starting point for speed. The more weight the faster you can go with keeping a good wave. For surfing and wakeboarding its good to get as much running surface in the water as possible. You could also look into popbags or leadwake to get you some solid ballast to hide through out the boat. Have fun ripping.

Thats the OP's boat, just helping with the pics. But, I'm curious to see what others think with regards to your comment on the walkway bag. Is it an upgrade in design to replace the crawl through (and the associated ballast) for a walk through? Most people are running more than 400 lb bags in the rear and that means you'd greatly benefit from more than 800 (tank and pnp bag) in the front.

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Alvan, had you been on a 2015 Axis prior to owning your 2016?

Is it a big upgrade in terms of fit and finish? What is the total subfloor ballast? On the video they say upgraded ballast system, just trying to figure out what that means.

Congrats on the new boat, she is indeed a beauty!

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Nice looking boat!! I'd buy 400lbs of lead and play around with where the weight needs to be in the boat to optimize the wake. I would guess somewhere between the front of the windshield and the tower mounts, but haven't spent any time on the new A20. When you go out with a full crew you can leave the lead at home.

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