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04 vlx


Tnwakeboarder86

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I am new to this site, just got my first boat.  04 vlx.  I don't know the weight in fat sacs but I'm guessing 350.  I am curious can you get this boat to be a great surf wake? I am goofy rider as well.   It has a Manuel wedge too. 

 

Thanks

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Welcome to the crew where are boating at? It is definately surfable, great is a subjective term but if you get it weighted correctly you will enjoy it. I can't comment on the VLX, but there are a lot of guys with them on here to help you spend your money.

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I am in Knoxville tn, usually on Cherokee lake.  Or out in Farragut at concord park.  Sadly, I have the last year it was made more for wake boarding.  I been told that 05 is the year they redesigned the hull for surfing. 

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2 hours ago, Tnwakeboarder86 said:

I am in Knoxville tn, usually on Cherokee lake.  Or out in Farragut at concord park.  Sadly, I have the last year it was made more for wake boarding.  I been told that 05 is the year they redesigned the hull for surfing. 

You can surf just fine with your 04. Are they hard tanks that you have in the rear? If so they are 250 pounds each. 

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This boat surfs fine. yes the 05 and newer will be a bit better but properly weighted I could go ropeless all day on my 04. Its a great boat.

1. ditch the hard tanks and replace with 750's in the rear 

2. 650 v sack over the cushions up front

3. center tank full

4. aftermarket surf system ( I used wicked wake but there are several systems out)

If you are not using a surf system just fill sacks on one side of the boat until the rub rail is near the water.

for the money you probably cant find a better 1st boat than a 04 VLX   

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On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 11:15 AM, windy1 said:

This boat surfs fine. yes the 05 and newer will be a bit better but properly weighted I could go ropeless all day on my 04. Its a great boat.

1. ditch the hard tanks and replace with 750's in the rear 

2. 650 v sack over the cushions up front

3. center tank full

4. aftermarket surf system ( I used wicked wake but there are several systems out)

If you are not using a surf system just fill sacks on one side of the boat until the rub rail is near the water.

for the money you probably cant find a better 1st boat than a 04 VLX   

The guy before removed the hard tanks.  It has the bags but no where does it say how heavy.  They are fly high sacs though. I am thinking maybe 300lbs.  I made a after market suck gate for a supra of a friends.  I am going to try using that as well.   I know I can fit fat sacs under the Bow seats and probably wrap around the back seats.  I need to get bags that will be 750 or more in the back storage.  All fly high sacs have the same connections and fittings right?

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You should be able to measure your bags (seam to seam) and then cross reference with specs on Wake Makers or Bakes.

If you're going to buy rear locker bags get the 1100s.  About the same cost as 750s and you'll want them as soon as you find out the 750s do not fill the locker to the top.

As far as I know, all Fly High bags have the same threads.  Mine do.

I think your hull is much like mine.  I put the W711 under the bow seats.  It's too big but I fill it so it pops the seats up.  Probably get 400 lbs. in it.

IMHO stay away from cabin/on-seat bags.  If you have even a few people on board they are a big pain.

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3 hours ago, minnmarker said:

You should be able to measure your bags (seam to seam) and then cross reference with specs on Wake Makers or Bakes.

If you're going to buy rear locker bags get the 1100s.  About the same cost as 750s and you'll want them as soon as you find out the 750s do not fill the locker to the top.

As far as I know, all Fly High bags have the same threads.  Mine do.

I think your hull is much like mine.  I put the W711 under the bow seats.  It's too big but I fill it so it pops the seats up.  Probably get 400 lbs. in it.

IMHO stay away from cabin/on-seat bags.  If you have even a few people on board they are a big pain.

I have 750's in my VLX and when totally full they pop the hatch. 

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  • 4 months later...

You ever get your surf wave figured out? I have the exact same boat. Couple years on it now. Got the surf and wake setups dialed in for a good time.

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I have the 1996 vlx with the sumo 850 in rear lockers and they fill it full.   I think the Sv23 hull was from 1996-2004, so I think we have same hull.  You will need to reinforce the locker dividers so they don't break.  I used some Rubbermaid fast track for shelving. DDB04A4C-AAE1-48EE-8665-8B5EB699B3AB_zps

C9D3764C-60AC-4E96-BB5B-651210A080A8_zps

The track stiffens up the divider but I'm sure there's a better solution.   I have a 325 sumo bag for my ski locker  and I use a home made wake shaper like the ronix.   I have fun on my wave.   I'm going to play with bow ballast this year.  I bet that you will be happy with your wave!

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On ‎3‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 1:34 PM, AJwakedevil said:

You ever get your surf wave figured out? I have the exact same boat. Couple years on it now. Got the surf and wake setups dialed in for a good time.

Hey I am sorry I just saw this.  No I didn't get it dialed in yet.  I ordered a 1000lb fat sac for the back locker, since I am goofy im putting it on that side.  I was going to go this weekend but truck broke down.  I plan to go this coming weekend.  I also plan to try my surf boards, I made 3 boards, starting 4th soon.   I have really enjoyed making my own.  I will take the 350lb fat sac out of locker and probably use it in the front. do you have a vlx? I could use any advice you have.

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5 hours ago, Tnwakeboarder86 said:

Hey I am sorry I just saw this.  No I didn't get it dialed in yet.  I ordered a 1000lb fat sac for the back locker, since I am goofy im putting it on that side.  I was going to go this weekend but truck broke down.  I plan to go this coming weekend.  I also plan to try my surf boards, I made 3 boards, starting 4th soon.   I have really enjoyed making my own.  I will take the 350lb fat sac out of locker and probably use it in the front. do you have a vlx? I could use any advice you have.

Yup I have the 04 vlx. 

For listed surfing we ran wedge, 750 surf side locker, 1100 sac on surf side seats, center mls full, and 800 sac in the nose.

Now we are using a suck gate. Still getting this to be perfect, the good results so far are: wedge, both rear 750 sacs full, center mls full, 800 nose full.

Speed is 10.4-11mph depending on how many ppl are in the boat.

Nose weight is a big deal if you dont want to be surfing right on top of the boat. 

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On ‎4‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 3:24 PM, AJwakedevil said:

Yup I have the 04 vlx. 

For listed surfing we ran wedge, 750 surf side locker, 1100 sac on surf side seats, center mls full, and 800 sac in the nose.

Now we are using a suck gate. Still getting this to be perfect, the good results so far are: wedge, both rear 750 sacs full, center mls full, 800 nose full.

Speed is 10.4-11mph depending on how many ppl are in the boat.

Nose weight is a big deal if you dont want to be surfing right on top of the boat. 

Awesome, is that nose weight on top of people sitting up there?  I have I think 400 in the left side, and I am adding a 1100 in the goofy side.  I was going to take the 400 out maybe its 500, doesn't say on the bag and move it to the front for like a extra bag.  I think that was our problem with surfing the families supra.  It was very steep short but not long, we had 3 women up front who all weight 90lbs each.  ok 105, but on a 24 ft boat that probably wasn't enough yet, they would still nose dive it into some waves and get water over the boat.  Do you have any photos of the wake?  I am and most my friends goofy.  I have been on instagram trying to follow people to see what their set up is, also how I designed and did my first three surf boards, very helpful!

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I have a 99 ssvlx. I run 750's full in each rear locker. Ski locker sack full think it's around 500 and typically run another 300-500 in the front. My boat doesn't have a wedge and I use a suc gate and makes a great surf wave. 

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<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid1301.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fag108%2Fjbower4940%2FMobile%2520Uploads%2F2900248B-E3C3-46BC-AD60-15E8B8C93C3F_zpsvfwxrjd6.mp4&title=">

video of mine. At the time I didn't realize the rear sacks and rolled and where only filled about half way

http://s1301.photobucket.com/user/jbower4940/media/Mobile Uploads/2900248B-E3C3-46BC-AD60-15E8B8C93C3F_zpsvfwxrjd6.mp4.html

Edited by jbower
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I have a 99 sunsetter vlx and run 750's in the rear lockers. Center bag full (i think it's 4 or 5 hundred), and a 1000lb triangle sac in the bow. Made a DIY suck gate and the wave is great for surfing and really good for wakeboarding.  Have to be pretty careful when turning around or hitting rollers because the boat sits pretty low with all that weight. My wife has sent rollers over the bow a couple times pulling me. 

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Just now, atolman said:

I have a 99 sunsetter vlx and run 750's in the rear lockers. Center bag full (i think it's 4 or 5 hundred), and a 1000lb triangle sac in the bow. Made a DIY suck gate and the wave is great for surfing and really good for wakeboarding.  Have to be pretty careful when turning around or hitting rollers because the boat sits pretty low with all that weight. My wife has sent rollers over the bow a couple times pulling me. 

I just posted my set up that's pretty much like yours but do you run that bow sack full? That seems like overkill. I'll run a 750 across the seats and maybe have it half full 

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On 11/9/2016 at 2:15 PM, malibu2004 said:

I have 750's in my VLX and when totally full they pop the hatch. 

You must have 750s with different dimensions. When I fill mine up I still have a good 5 inches or so to the hatch

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2 hours ago, jbower said:

I just posted my set up that's pretty much like yours but do you run that bow sack full? That seems like overkill. I'll run a 750 across the seats and maybe have it half full 

I've only filled it full a couple times and yes, it seems like a bit too much. Last time I went I filled it maybe 1/2-3/4 and it didn't make much difference in the wake. I just got the bow sac and still messing around with different weight configurations. 

Edited by atolman
added text
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18 minutes ago, atolman said:

I've only filled it full a couple times and yes, it seems like a bit too much. Last time I went I filled it maybe 1/2-3/4 and it didn't make much difference in the wake. I just got the bow sac and still messing around with different weight configurations. 

It's a little tough without a bow filler. I slide a cooler in the bow walkway so that my 750 doesn't fall down in the walkway lol. But yes I feel there's a point where you can tell a difference and yet at the same time don't see much change with more weight

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5 hours ago, Tnwakeboarder86 said:

Awesome, is that nose weight on top of people sitting up there?  I have I think 400 in the left side, and I am adding a 1100 in the goofy side.  I was going to take the 400 out maybe its 500, doesn't say on the bag and move it to the front for like a extra bag.  I think that was our problem with surfing the families supra.  It was very steep short but not long, we had 3 women up front who all weight 90lbs each.  ok 105, but on a 24 ft boat that probably wasn't enough yet, they would still nose dive it into some waves and get water over the boat.  Do you have any photos of the wake?  I am and most my friends goofy.  I have been on instagram trying to follow people to see what their set up is, also how I designed and did my first three surf boards, very helpful!

No one ever really likes to sit in the front. The beer and girls are all in the back. I occasionally have the GF sit up front just so I can have a nice view while towing others. 

Lucky on the goofy side. Better wave. I guess I am unsure if you have a suck gate or any wake surf device? 

I forgot to mention that for listed wave I have the opposite of surf side aft bag a quarter full. Enough to add weight for displacement but not enough to counter the listed attitude of the boat. On a listed setup I see less importance on having a ton of weight all the way forward due to the 1100# sac being mid ship and helping the balance of bow/aft. Also some boats are really bad at handling bow weight and can get swamped. Axis is pretty bad for this IME. I could see older supra having this with that downward facing nose angle (If my memory serves me correctly.)

Best way is to get all the friends together you can on a chill day, fill as much ballast as you can up in the back, and start surfing. As you go start moving heavy friends forward until you start seeing a difference. Keep track of weight balance so you can replicate it later on with sacs if needed.

 

tl;dr - VLX loves bow weight. Suck gate really helps, and removes tons of stress due to not needing to list. VLX also gets noes divey with enough weight forward...train your drives how to attack/back out of waves so you dont take water over.

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18 hours ago, AJwakedevil said:

No one ever really likes to sit in the front. The beer and girls are all in the back. I occasionally have the GF sit up front just so I can have a nice view while towing others. 

Lucky on the goofy side. Better wave. I guess I am unsure if you have a suck gate or any wake surf device? 

I forgot to mention that for listed wave I have the opposite of surf side aft bag a quarter full. Enough to add weight for displacement but not enough to counter the listed attitude of the boat. On a listed setup I see less importance on having a ton of weight all the way forward due to the 1100# sac being mid ship and helping the balance of bow/aft. Also some boats are really bad at handling bow weight and can get swamped. Axis is pretty bad for this IME. I could see older supra having this with that downward facing nose angle (If my memory serves me correctly.)

Best way is to get all the friends together you can on a chill day, fill as much ballast as you can up in the back, and start surfing. As you go start moving heavy friends forward until you start seeing a difference. Keep track of weight balance so you can replicate it later on with sacs if needed.

 

tl;dr - VLX loves bow weight. Suck gate really helps, and removes tons of stress due to not needing to list. VLX also gets noes divey with enough weight forward...train your drives how to attack/back out of waves so you dont take water over.

Well said. Im usually the biggest guy out there HA well good tips, our goal tomorrow is even if its somewhat cloudy is to bust the boat out from winter storage and try out the new boards I made.  I do have a suckgate that I made last year for the supra.  We will have to see how this goes I am excited to try it.  I do have the wedge as well.  I need to put the new fat sac in first thing in the morning.   Being this is my first boat I will have to really train the people to drive well, don't want to lose my first boat. 

 

That's great to hear goofy side is best.  I love goofy side.

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24 minutes ago, Tnwakeboarder86 said:

  Being this is my first boat I will have to really train the people to drive well, don't want to lose my first boat. 

 

Yup. thats something that takes time and effort on both sides. I am working on training my GF to drive. 

You should throw a pic of your boards up. Either here of start a new thread. 

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Lots of weight = carful driving. The hardest thing to drill into new drivers to back off the throttle and wait for the wake to pass the boat before going back to pick up your rider. Its mandatory that you do not apply any or vary little throttle until after your wave has passed. Otherwise your asking for a chili dip. Also look up some power turn videos and have all your friends watch them then on your first outing bring a shovel.

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