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Need Driving Tips!


Aqualoony

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Hi Everyone!

Have lurked here and at MBO for years as i scraped up cash for a new boat. I have gotten tired of waiting and am now looking at an 04 WS VLX. My only worry is how well it will handle waves. I'm not concerned about ride quality, just whether i will be swamped by some of the wash from large cruises in the area, and how i drive through these washes to avoid taking water over the bow. I have spent some time in an 03 VLX when loaded (about 400L of ballast as well as stock ballast) and it seemed pretty difficult to avoid taking water over the bow. So i'm after some driving tips on how to keep the bow from dipping under the water, particularaly when crossing 2ft-3ft wash. BTW, the boat will be runnign no ballast when crossing these washes.

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated!

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Floor it and jump'em, in the words of Brad B - getsumonya!

Seriously, I don't care what anyone says, aside from a 247 or 25 - I think these boats suck in chop. I love'em, and don't want anything else but ours was built for glass. That's where she showcases, in the chop any family runabout is out performing ours.

In regards to not taking anything over the bow, well, you'll learn to respect the chilidip, you'll also learns to let off the throttle, drift or turn and take it on the side and not the bow. I highly doubt you'll be swamped by anyone, I think you have the have a sporty to swamp it Tease2.gif , but to address this fear - just get some more time on the water, those skills are learned on the water, not the forum. Go get that VLX and have some fun, take a boater safety course and get out on the water. That's what it's all about.

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The only time I see that problem is when you don't stop when a rider falls and you return at a fast pace, which again if you stop as you approach a rider in the water, the roller will hit you in the back. Go slow as you approach a fallen rider. If you are sitting still, I never see water coming into the boat. Just my opinion. Experience and practice grasshopper!

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After spending time on Lake Minnetonka...these are NOT lake cruisers...but if you are diligent, they do just fine...

But if you do find yourself there...a couple of hints:

1 - As Tgaugh said, use the throttle to throttle up them (keeps the bow up)

2 - Take them sideways/diagnoal

3 - Fill the rear ballast/wedge down to get yourself bow-high

4 - Go slow near the shore

5 - Keep as much weight out of the bow as possible.

You will notice the recurring thread is that you need to keep the bow up...

Plus....the chilidip can be fun with unexpecting people in the box Crazy.gif

Edited by RoverOn
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If you can take a ride/drive on a newer VLX, do it... and see how the owner drives it. It does take some practice not to take roller over the bow. It is all about driver techinque

When you rider falls, chop the throttle to idle or neutral, then let the boat settle in the water and turn slowly to pick up your rider.

When turning slowly it pay dividends... saves gas, no rollers down in your course, lets your rider rest a minute, and doest swamp your rider with rollers.

If you incounter a roller when picking up a rider just pump the thottle a little to get the bow up so you take on any water.

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Even little rollers can cause problems if you hit them wrong. I was driving my buddy's Echelon a couple weeks ago when he lost it getting up on one trick ski. After I spun the boat around, I took the tallest part of the wake over the bow and it proceeded to run all the way up the bow (closed bow boat) and up the windshield and over. I took a pretty good splash in the face and drenched my shirt. Made it easier to hop in for a slalom run since I was already adjusted to the water.

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Thanks for the replies everyone it has been a great help! i have been looking at the newer hulls as they have alittle more freeboard and are wider and hence more stable, but the cash is the problem! and in Oz it is a 3 month + wait for a wakesetter.......

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Thanks for the replies everyone it has been a great help! i have been looking at the newer hulls as they have alittle more freeboard and are wider and hence more stable, but the cash is the problem! and in Oz it is a 3 month + wait for a wakesetter.......

Where are you in OZ i would be happy to take you out and show you how to avoid the "chillydip" ,i'm located on the central coast of NSW

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You have good advice above, so I won't pile on. I will say that we take our boat to Tahoe every year and the LSV does fine. It does not handle the big waves like our Sea Ray used to, but the ski quality is soooooo much better that a little more diligence around the big rollers is an easy trade. Buy the VLX and you'll be really happy.

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Floor it and jump'em, in the words of Brad B - getsumonya!

Seriously, I don't care what anyone says, aside from a 247 or 25 - I think these boats suck in chop. I love'em, and don't want anything else but ours was built for glass. That's where she showcases, in the chop any family runabout is out performing ours.

In regards to not taking anything over the bow, well, you'll learn to respect the chilidip, you'll also learns to let off the throttle, drift or turn and take it on the side and not the bow. I highly doubt you'll be swamped by anyone, I think you have the have a sporty to swamp it Tease2.gif , but to address this fear - just get some more time on the water, those skills are learned on the water, not the forum. Go get that VLX and have some fun, take a boater safety course and get out on the water. That's what it's all about.

Even a 247 can take on water from a surf wake.

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I know just what you are referring to and the boat can make it over about anything. I've had the same model in the gulf in some nice 1-2' waves and various VLX's at Lake of the Ozarks - a lake known for "oh, your boat is only 40', hope you don't sink it this weekend"

So I was trying to overtake a Carver 570 Voyager in the ole VLX when I looked off to my left and noticed the wake was actually above second rung on the skylon swoop tower. At that point I realized it was going to take some creative driving skills to keep the fish out of the boat.

since every situation is different you should just go buy the boat and play around a bit when the time comes - just make sure your bilge pump works and your mother in law is not sitting in the bow. Short answer is take them at an angle and don't be afraid to use some power.

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Again thanks everyone, it is the Sydney Boat show this weekend so i will spend some time drooling and browsing!

Big Mac, i live In Killara, just a little south of Bobbin Head/ Apple Tree Bay (which is where i do most of my boarding/ boating) what do you tow with? that si my next prob...a tow vehicle...otherwise this boat will be a mighty big paperweight in my back yard!

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*echoes above*

One more trick that has been successful for me (i've got essentially NO freeboard) is to do a moderate turn under some power as we encounter large/multi-direction wakes.

it puts the hull on edge, and "cuts" through the wakes almost like a deep-V rather than slapping over (and through) the wakes on the flat-bottom.

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It is all about driver techinque

When you rider falls, chop the throttle to idle or neutral, then let the boat settle in the water and turn slowly to pick up your rider.

When turning slowly it pay dividends... saves gas, no rollers down in your course, lets your rider rest a minute, and doest swamp your rider with rollers.

If you incounter a roller when picking up a rider just pump the thottle a little to get the bow up so you take on any water.

In the Delta you have to be a bit careful and position the boat to protect the rider! Shocking.gif If the rider goes down by a blind corner, or there is a boat coming up behind, then you have no choice but to power turn and high tail it back to the rider. In such instances, you just power up over the wake.

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