makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

[Nickdogg]

Im new to the water sports i was wondering how do i get my boat to make the biggest wake that it will possabliy make???

 

[rallyart]

Re: makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

It depends on your boat but for wakeboarding you usually want the boat travelling just below planing speeds. 18-20 mph.
The more weight you have in the boat, the more water is displaced and the bigger the wake. Fill the fuel tank and bring lots of people. Water ballast sacs are useful as they require less food than friends but they don't pay as much toward the gas. If you have a ton of weight (literally) you might need to increase the speed slightly to get a clean wake.
The trick is to get the wake the right shape with a clean edge rather than just the size.

 

[conk3416]

Re: makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

What type of boat do you have? And it depends on what you are doing(wakeboard, water ski, tubing) Different boats require weight in different areas

 

[WINTERSUX]

Re: makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

i have a caravelle 176, I'm trying to figure out the same thing. sometimes the wake would look good then i would hit it and it would be soft. hull types like mine are made to plain so I'm guessing add weight, will that make a firmer wake?

 

[Nickdogg]

Re: makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

91 vip vision with 3.0 cobra

 

[tgell001]

Re: makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

I have an 18ft stingray with a 3.0L and I did a lot of experienting last summer and i think i have it pretty down.

1st, 6 people is the magic number to bring (not including the rider) 2 up front (usually girls) one in each capt chair (one driving obviously) and one on each end of the bench in the back.

2nd, BALLAST! makes a huge difference. I put one 350lb on the floor in the middle up against the back bench and one 350 (usually half to 3/4 full) in the front in between the bow seats. I just use the simple pump you buy that plugs into the cig lighter and it works great.

3rd, Trim. The magic spot for the trim really makes the wake clean and crisp but too much and you'll start bouncing and ruin the ride.

A few smaller things that help but may seem over kill...... I want as much gas as possible to when i fill up i drop the trailer off the ball onto the ground because my gas cap is on the rear and it lets me get 3-4 more gallons in. Also, try and make people sit opposite each other that are of similar weight so the wake is even with a small boat you really notice when the weight isn't even.

You may be thinking wow thats a lot of weight for a 3.0L and it is, I bought a 4 blade mercury 20p prop to help the hole shot. Also, a disclaimer, I'm WAAYYYYYYY over my weight limit (1080) but I never take water over to bow or anything and i've never once though i was in jeopardy of sinking.

I really hope this helps, really its probably different for each boat but this is what i came up with after a whole summer of guess test and revise.

 

[tgell001]

Re: makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

Wintersux, Just a thought on the mushy wake btw. Depth matters, in 3-5ft of water the wake doesn't have space to really develop and it will be soft when you hit it and wont really do what you need it to do. 6ft is really the minimum from what i've experienced. Which sucks because the glass areas in the lower chesapeake bay are usually up in shallow creeks.

Not sure if this helps at all but its something i've experienced and someone else explained the cause to me.

 

[bamjoop]

Re: makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

I have to say if I have 2 girls in the front seats and 2 girls on either end of my bench, I don't care what the wake is like. Whoever wants to be drug around the lake behind my boat can enjoy whatever they are getting for a wake. I am going to enjoy riding in the boat.

 

[tgell001]

Re: makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

Unless its your girlfriend and her cackling friends, then you can't wait to get beyond ears distance haha.

 

[WINTERSUX]

Re: makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

yes there are areas of my home lake that are swallow... not sure if the soft wake happens in the same area, i,ll have to pay attention to that.. thank tgell001

 

[tgell001]

Re: makeing the biggst wake my boat will make?

I made the biggest wake I've made with my boat to date this weekend. 350lbs up front with my gf sitting on top of it, and my 4 guy friends on the bench and capt chairs without a bag in the back. I parked on a slight decline at the gas station and got A LOT of gas in it. Thigh high! first launch I saw the peoples eye in the boat open way up and they were quick to say they saw 8 ft under my board. And I believe them because i held that grab for what seemed like forever.

And another plus, with all that weight up front the boat pretty much drove itself. Barely had to work the throttle at all which made it a good day for driving too.