how to set up 1998 Ski Ray tournament inboard for wakeboarding

Rugglesworth

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jul 6, 2023
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I bought a 98 Ski Ray tournament boat. 21' Bow rider. The motor has been swapped to a zz4 crate motor with marine cam and marine goodies on the outside. It has a tower for boarding. I know it's set up for skiing but my son's also like to wakeboard and possibly surf. Just get a couple 400lb ballast bags in the back? This boat is rare at least where I'm from so not much info online. Hoping someone on here has some experience with this boat.

Thanks
 

Scott06

Admiral
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Apr 20, 2014
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6,753
I bought a 98 Ski Ray tournament boat. 21' Bow rider. The motor has been swapped to a zz4 crate motor with marine cam and marine goodies on the outside. It has a tower for boarding. I know it's set up for skiing but my son's also like to wakeboard and possibly surf. Just get a couple 400lb ballast bags in the back? This boat is rare at least where I'm from so not much info online. Hoping someone on here has some experience with this boat.

Thanks
We must be thinking alike ….

if you search direct drive wake surf boat or similar on you tube there will be some videos of how to set up a ski boat for wake boarding or surfing.

if I recall there were 4-5 videos on thee done by legit folks of how to make it work. I was looking at it as buying and older ski or wakeboard boat and trying to affordably surf.
 

rallyart

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1,186
My boat is 2006 direct drive wake boat by Sanger. I use it for skiing, some, wake boarding, less in recent years, foiling, most often, and surfing.
The first thing you need is a very low pitch prop. If you surf you need to get the RPM up so you have high torque when only travelling 12 MPH. Mine with a 1:1 drive has an 11" pitch but a 10.5" would also ve fine. I only lost 1 MPH top speed going from a 12.5" stock prop to the 11 as inboards hull speed out, unlike a boat you can trim up high.
First weight bag you need is in the ski locker. put the biggest you can in there. Next would be one or two big bags in the rear. If you can fill the space to seat height behind the engine box you are left with a good lounge area. The more weight you have, the bigger the wake. (and the more likely you are to swamp the nose or have wake slop over the transom.

I'd recommend getting a wake shaper that stick on the side of the hull to get the best surf wake. I use a Nautical brand but others also are good.

An adjustable trim tap is a help, like a Bennet surf tab but that is starting to change your hull. You probably have a flat fixed plate now. That's great for skiing and fast starts but it stops the stern from sinking as much which makes it harder to get the right shape for wake sports.

I will not give up the handling of my D-drive so I've played a lot with different things to keep my kids (now in there 20s) happy with their sports.
 

Rugglesworth

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jul 6, 2023
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Thanks guys! In mexico until Monday then I'll start getting ballast bags and a wake shaper and play around
 

rallyart

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Just realized that my autocorrect miscorrected the wake shaper brand in my last post. Mine is a Nauticurl brand, not Nautical.
 

Rugglesworth

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 6, 2023
Messages
153
My boat is 2006 direct drive wake boat by Sanger. I use it for skiing, some, wake boarding, less in recent years, foiling, most often, and surfing.
The first thing you need is a very low pitch prop. If you surf you need to get the RPM up so you have high torque when only travelling 12 MPH. Mine with a 1:1 drive has an 11" pitch but a 10.5" would also ve fine. I only lost 1 MPH top speed going from a 12.5" stock prop to the 11 as inboards hull speed out, unlike a boat you can trim up high.
First weight bag you need is in the ski locker. put the biggest you can in there. Next would be one or two big bags in the rear. If you can fill the space to seat height behind the engine box you are left with a good lounge area. The more weight you have, the bigger the wake. (and the more likely you are to swamp the nose or have wake slop over the transom.

I'd recommend getting a wake shaper that stick on the side of the hull to get the best surf wake. I use a Nautical brand but others also are good.

An adjustable trim tap is a help, like a Bennet surf tab but that is starting to change your hull. You probably have a flat fixed plate now. That's great for skiing and fast starts but it stops the stern from sinking as much which makes it harder to get the right shape for wake sports.

I will not give up the handling of my D-drive so I've played a lot with different things to keep my kids (now in there 20s) happy with their sports.
so looks like I have a 13x13 prop? Does that make sense? Also this boat doesn't have an accessible ski locker. i've heard liek 2 750 lb bags in the rear and wake shaper and I'll have a surfable wave. Doing a carb swap now and then I'll be getting to the fun stuff soon hopefully
 

rallyart

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1,186
Nor sure what the 13x13 would mean for sure. Is your SkiRay an inboard direct drive or is yours a sterndrive? You might be able to search up the brand of the propeller to find our what the stampings or numbers on it mean. There is a possibility that it means a 13" diameter and a 13" pitch but I think it would not be that.
1500# of water would make a reasonable wake.
 

Rugglesworth

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 6, 2023
Messages
153
Nor sure what the 13x13 would mean for sure. Is your SkiRay an inboard direct drive or is yours a sterndrive? You might be able to search up the brand of the propeller to find our what the stampings or numbers on it mean. There is a possibility that it means a 13" diameter and a 13" pitch but I think it would not be that.
1500# of water would make a reasonable wake.
It's a direct drive inboard tournament boat and rare at that. It was very faint when I was under there yesterday but doing research a 13"x13" pitch is pretty popular for skiing and wakeboarding. I'll take a better look but here's a pic of the boat for reference
 

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rallyart

Lieutenant Junior Grade
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Jun 7, 2008
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So, if it is a 13" diameter by 13" pitch you probably have a 1:1 direct drive transmission meaning the engine turns once for the prop turning once. You should try to confirm that by getting the specs on the drive or just cranking the engine with a wrench. If you are looking to surf a fair bit finding a lower pitch prop will make things better. There are a few good prop companies. Mine is an Acme and its a very good piece. They may have data on your boat. The shaft size is important information as is the direction of rotation going forward.
It looks like a nice unit you have acquired I'm sure you'll love having a unique boat at the lake.
 

Rugglesworth

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 6, 2023
Messages
153
So, if it is a 13" diameter by 13" pitch you probably have a 1:1 direct drive transmission meaning the engine turns once for the prop turning once. You should try to confirm that by getting the specs on the drive or just cranking the engine with a wrench. If you are looking to surf a fair bit finding a lower pitch prop will make things better. There are a few good prop companies. Mine is an Acme and its a very good piece. They may have data on your boat. The shaft size is important information as is the direction of rotation going forward.
It looks like a nice unit you have acquired I'm sure you'll love having a unique boat at the lake.
Thanks for the info. I'll definitely look into this once I have the new carb and timing dialed in. Hopefully this week!
 

Rugglesworth

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 6, 2023
Messages
153
So, if it is a 13" diameter by 13" pitch you probably have a 1:1 direct drive transmission meaning the engine turns once for the prop turning once. You should try to confirm that by getting the specs on the drive or just cranking the engine with a wrench. If you are looking to surf a fair bit finding a lower pitch prop will make things better. There are a few good prop companies. Mine is an Acme and its a very good piece. They may have data on your boat. The shaft size is important information as is the direction of rotation going forward.
It looks like a nice unit you have acquired I'm sure you'll love having a unique boat at the lake.
I just picked up an old Launch Pad 900lb bag for $50. No pump. Is there a universal style pump that I can use to fill and drain the bag?
 

rallyart

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Jun 7, 2008
Messages
1,186
I use a Tsunami pump. The connections are not all the same between brands but it is usually just the plastic end fitting that needs to be changed on either the hose or bag. To fill you throw the pump overboard while the hose is connected to the bag. To empty you connect the pump to the bag and throw the hose overboard. The pump plugs into a 12V outlet.

You can look up Straightline Launch pad bags and find the pump or fittings that work with them. Mine are FatSac bags, but the fitting connection to the pump may be the same.
 

Rugglesworth

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 6, 2023
Messages
153
I use a Tsunami pump. The connections are not all the same between brands but it is usually just the plastic end fitting that needs to be changed on either the hose or bag. To fill you throw the pump overboard while the hose is connected to the bag. To empty you connect the pump to the bag and throw the hose overboard. The pump plugs into a 12V outlet.

You can look up Straightline Launch pad bags and find the pump or fittings that work with them. Mine are FatSac bags, but the fitting connection to the pump may be the same.
like this one?
https://www.amazon.ca/Tsunami-Mk2-8...&hvtargid=pla-2281720208293&gad_source=1&th=1
 
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