Modifying your wake on an older boat.. EDUCATE me !

[aphillipe]

So.. long story short - I finally purchased our "family boat" from my parents - It's a 1990 Chris Craft 21' bowrider. Up until now I've held off on putting any $ into it as it wasn't a for sure they'd part ways with it and let me buy it. Now that it's mine I've installed an Aerial Airborne tower and stereo and am curious what my options are to modify the wake it puts out. It's not horrible, somewhat defined, but I'm curious what the list of methods are to make it more prounounced. They installed "fins" over the actual prop years back to increase gas efficiency, cause the boat to plane faster and so forth but I'm wondering if those actually have an adverse effect on the size of the wake? It's quite a pain to keep at the 18-20 mph speed. Do different prop designs impact it? What about those "smart tabs" I see a lot of info out on?

Educate me!

 

[rallyart]

Re: Modifying your wake on an older boat.. EDUCATE me !

Smart Tabs will not improve the 'wake' in any way. They can mess it up a bit but they help you start faster and can help you plane slower. The trick to wakeboard speed is that you are just below planing speed and that is why the wake is big. The hydrofoil fins are easy to take off and put back on so you can try that but I think you will want them on as it is a bit easier to maintain a slower speed.

So, the quick rules are: More weight = bigger wake; bow down makes the froth on the wake start further back and the smooth edge of the wake longer; bow up makes the wake steeper but moves the froth break closer to the boat; more weight on one side makes that side smoother and less frothy.

You have a big bow rider and it should give you a pretty decent wake. Try doing this. Put weight (passengers and gear) in the bow. Trim up about 25% once you are at speed to push the stern down and steepen the wake. Drive a very steady speed, it's hard so many buy a cruise control like Perfect Pass. Adjust the rope length so that the rider is crossing at a clean part of the wake.
You need to fine tune everything and take the time to set up your boat for how you want it. Remember to trim back down before you start off again. Hope that gives you a start.

 

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Re: Modifying your wake on an older boat.. EDUCATE me !

It seems to me (same wakeboard problem with a bowrider) that a 4blade prop would help maintain plane at a slower speed? Control and power at a slower RPM improved?

 

[Augoose]

Re: Modifying your wake on an older boat.. EDUCATE me !

Depending on your interior setup (I've got a rear bench with storage underneath in the back of my boat) you can get some ballast bags and fill them with water to get the rear end down to make a bigger wake. You can also try trimming up a bit thereby putting the bow up and stern down and sort of "plowing" through the water which will make a bigger wake without any real mods.
As others said, I would expect a pretty good size wake already with a boat that size....