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Surf Setup for a Big Guy


Burton167can

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I am new to this whole boating thing, however I picked up an 01 Wakesetter this in Mid August with the intentions of surfing behind it. I am 6'3 & 260 lbs and very comfortable on boards of all kind.

Weight wise, the boat is equipped with

2 big rear sacs in the lockers - Not sure how many #

MLS - which I believe is the sac underneath the locker - Not sure how many #

Lead Bars in the front - Not sure how many #

Manual Wedge and suction cup wedge on the side

To me the wave seems plenty big to surf, however I have limited experience at this, so I am not sure what BIG actually means. Currently I have a Ronix Cortez 5'4 and I have trouble letting go of the rope, however I have only tried 6 ish times. I did have one great successful run where I was able to let go for an extended period of time, I was able to make turns and ride up and down but did have to stay in a spot that was very close to the back of the boat and was not able to move further back in the wave. Really what I am looking for is some advice here:

Is my board fine and I just need more practice?

Will a fin set up change generate more speed (Do I need more Speed?)

Should I just buy a big guy board like the Red Rocket and call it good? (this seems to be the consesus big guy board out there)

I really dont have the opportunity to demo any boards, nor do I have a bunch of friends that are into this kind of thing with equipment for me to try out, so just looking to be pointed int he right direction as far a board goes, I am seeing some nice clearout deals now. Just trying to hit the ground running next spring. 

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

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To lengthen the wake, you will want to figure out what you have for bow weight and probably add more.  I've been as high as 260 lbs and can surf our '01 VLX without a surf gate and only about 1200 lbs of ballast plus a couple pax all surf side, plus wedge.  I think you're probably on the right track looking at boards to help rather than more wake.  There's a point of diminishing return with adding weight whereas the right board will work on lots of wakes.

Case in point:  With my Walker Project board (RIP... broke it earlier this year) which is very speedy, I can surf our little 21' slalom-hulled VLX ropeless just as easily as I could surf a Centurion RI257.  The 257 definitely had a longer pocket and a taller wave and I'm not saying they're equal wakes, but my ability to carve, slide my board around, and keep up with the boat wasn't night-and-day better behind the behemoth.  If I was on a board that wasn't big-guy-friendly, my experience may have been different.

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@isellacuras is your size and he rides a custom soulcraft very well.

I think the red rocket was an innovative design about 10 years ago.  These days, especially given the cost, I'd go with a custom.  Jeff Wahlers (soulcraft) is a big dude in his own right, so he may understand your needs better than some.

We had a guy your size behind my boat last month.  Day 1 we put him on our CWB tsunami (aka "the school bus").  Notwithstanding his size, he was pretty agile and clearly knew his way around a board.  No bueno, just couldn't get any push.  Day 2, we put him on my soulcraft (sized for a 175lb'er) and he could totally stay in the pocket with a little pumping.  I'm sure on a more buoyant board it would've been even easier.

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I'm 6'5" 300# and like shawndoggy said, i love my soulcraft. I talked with Jeff and he made it specifically for my size, ability and wave. My biggest concern was that i didn't want to loose too much performance by going up in size. I went with the 5'0" voodoo but he added a little extra thickness and width. It changed the way i feel about surfing. It allows me to get way further back on the wave which actually allows me to be able to surf rather than just stay in a 5 foot section of sweet spot right behind the platform. While I do love my SC, I'm considering having another one made that is just a little smaller. I may go with a Zombie this time around. I started on an inland surfer swallow V2 which i really liked, especially after riding boards that were way to small for me (i actuallly think the smaller boards helped my riding ability because i had to work to stay in the wave). The swallow was a little higher performance than the inland surfer blue lake which was the hot ticket for big boy boards at the time. I am not familiar with the wave that a 2001 wakesetter puts out so i can't help there but i know it needs weight. Sounds like you have a good start there. 

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So i guess my question would be do I stick it out with the board I have or look for an upgrade? Speaking of Blue Lake, would this be a suitable board? There is one I could pick up pretty cheap that is old stock, was thinking about that along with the Tako. The smaller guys in the crew were able to surf further back on the wave. 

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Spend the money.  Buy a good custom. You  can spend $3-400 on board after board after board, or you can spend the $900 +/- once and get a custom board properly sized for you. 

Seriously, before I got my soulcraft/vittoria two board quiver I chased surfboards every season and bought 2-4 every season.  My annual board spend has been greatly reduced in the last five years.

As for direct feedback, the blue lake surfs great if you want to surf on a barn door / folding table / piece of plywood (i.e. not fun... like at all).  If you are a straight line "hey cletus watch me shotgun a coors light while I surf" kinda guy, the bluelake is a stable and semi-fast platform for that.  Like the red rocket it's a dated design and there are (IMHO) better choices.

YMMV

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I agree with SD.  I have the same soulcraft/Victoria quiver.  If you like a skim board (think banana peel slippery) the captain is a great choice for us bigger guys.  I love the way the skim rides but I loose a lot of wave when I ride the captain.  The custom surfboard gets me much more rideable wave area.  like mentioned above, I bought and sold board after board looking for the right one.  I now have the secret sauce and I have stopped searching..., well kinda.  I am a bit of a craigslist junky so I still look from time to (all the) time.  I picked up a soulcraft SOS for a boat board not too long ago.  I went from a cwb ride to an IS swallow, to an IS fly boy big boy, phase 5 ogle and finally to a custom SC/Victoria combo (just upgraded my older Victoria captain with a newer carbon fiber captain...found on craigslist of course).  Again, I agree with SD that if you spend the $ on the right board, it will be cheaper in the long run.  On a side note on the barn door analogy, sometimes us bigger guys NEED to ride a barn door to ride at all.  This is something that smaller guys don't really get to experience to often.  I say if you are going to go with an off the shelf inland surfer, check out the swallow as that is a bigger board that still has a bit of performance. 

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On 9/28/2018 at 10:53 AM, Burton167can said:

I am new to this whole boating thing, however I picked up an 01 Wakesetter this in Mid August with the intentions of surfing behind it. I am 6'3 & 260 lbs and very comfortable on boards of all kind.

Weight wise, the boat is equipped with

2 big rear sacs in the lockers - Not sure how many #

MLS - which I believe is the sac underneath the locker - Not sure how many #

Lead Bars in the front - Not sure how many #

Manual Wedge and suction cup wedge on the side

To me the wave seems plenty big to surf, however I have limited experience at this, so I am not sure what BIG actually means. Currently I have a Ronix Cortez 5'4 and I have trouble letting go of the rope, however I have only tried 6 ish times. I did have one great successful run where I was able to let go for an extended period of time, I was able to make turns and ride up and down but did have to stay in a spot that was very close to the back of the boat and was not able to move further back in the wave. Really what I am looking for is some advice here:

Is my board fine and I just need more practice?

Will a fin set up change generate more speed (Do I need more Speed?)

Should I just buy a big guy board like the Red Rocket and call it good? (this seems to be the consesus big guy board out there)

I really dont have the opportunity to demo any boards, nor do I have a bunch of friends that are into this kind of thing with equipment for me to try out, so just looking to be pointed int he right direction as far a board goes, I am seeing some nice clearout deals now. Just trying to hit the ground running next spring. 

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

Solid advice here from the Crew.  I'll add the phase 5 Trident to the skim board selection.  I'm 6' and 280 lbs.  I love this board.  I'm able to surf a lot of wave on this board. I'm still looking for a surf style ride but have yet to find the right board and will probably go custom if and when I do.  I would also read up on your hull and what ballast setups others are using and go from there adding your own tweaks. I've got a 2011 vride (05-08 vlx hull) I spent 2 seasons finely tuning the wave to my liking but couldn't have done it without initial help on this board.  Ballast is great, but properly placed ballast is the key. And dont overlook upgrading your prop.  I'm at elevation with the base engine and the torque prop made all the difference.  Bow weight is huge for wave length on my hull. Ive got a 750 lbs bag up front and will probably upgrade to a 1000 soon.  From my limited experience, I've come to the conclusion that the right board and solid wave are equally important for heavier riders to progress quickly.  It takes some time to get the wave just right for you, but that's part of the fun!  

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Excellent advice from everyone, thanks so much. Likely going to find myself an off the shelf board for the boat that is a bit smaller than the one I have for everyone else that isnt as big as I. Guess its time to start saving some coins for a custom board. Thanks again!

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