Wakeboard speed issue

[tollus]

I have a question and wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions. My boat seems to get on plane at 18 mph or right around there.

Issue is, my son wants to board at 18 mph. When the boat planes, with no added throttle, we pick up speed to about 24. If I pull back on the throttle we settle back in to the water and drop to about 16.

Any suggestions on how to maintain 18? Should I trim up the outdrive for the hole shot and see if that prevents me from getting on plane at 18? He's up out of the water and boarding before he even hits the prop wash from the initial prop spin up, so I don't think the change will affect him much.

 

[tangent]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

The trim might help, but if the boat wants to plane at 18, it will still probably want to plane even if you are running the motor at a higher RPM. I don't think changing the prop would help for the same reason.

You could try adding weight to the bow or stern to either get up on plane at a slower speed or keep it from getting up on plane at 18. If you've got others on board that would be easy to test by asking them to move around.

 

[tollus]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

Ah, that's a good point, I didn't think of moving people around in the boat.

We were a little lighter than normal that day too....just two little ones and me in the boat, maybe 325 pounds total and 1/4 tank of gas. 160 pound boarder off the back.

We'll have to see how that goes. Other thing is, I just changed from an old beat up, dinged up 3 blade prop to a 4 blade....stuck with aluminum for now, too much invested in the new (to me) boat this year. Trying to get a better hole shot and it may have us planing at a lower speed too. Oh well, I'll get it worked out one way or another.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

The other thing you might take into consideration for pulling wakeboarders is that you don't want to be "on-plane". The largest wake is produced by running just short of planing speed if able, so long as you can maintain 18-20mph.

 

[bigpoppakdog]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

do you have a tower or pylon? What size motor?

 

[Liquid_force]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

Any suggestions on how to maintain 18? Should I trim up the outdrive for the hole shot and see if that prevents me from getting on plane at 18? He's up out of the water and boarding before he even hits the prop wash from the initial prop spin up, so I don't think the change will affect him much.

In my experience, the only boats that don't require a LOT of throttle input to pull a wakeboarder at at consistent speed is a tournament wakeboarding boat.
I would say...every 5, no more than 10 sec I have to nudge it slightly higher or slightly lower. You have to learn to anticipate speed changes (such as a hard cut to the wake) in order to keep it steady. That's just the way it works at 18-20 in an I/O.

I watch the rider for a while to see what speed they're most comfortable at - mentally note the speedo and RPM readings, and take note of the wake - most importantly width where the rider is crossing it.
From that point it's a lot of feel and slight adjustments of the throttle. The wake width is usually the first thing to tell me if I've sped up or slowed down too much. As long as I can keep the wake looking good in the mirror the tach and speedo take care of themselves.
It's basically a series of glancing in the mirror, and looking ahead. I'll take a look at the tach/speedo once in a while just to verify what I see behind me. Then there's the occasional peek over the shoulder if I know they're setting up for a good trick.

The only person that's ever maintained a consistent speed through a set for me is my brother, and vice versa. If it's anyone else we just have to make the most of the few seconds of 18-20mph we get between the 15's and the 25's.

 

[overload]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

I agree with the previous posters, you do not want the boat on plane but rather just before plane. Planning speed is a function of hull design and dispacement and cannot be messed with... too much. Find the speed in the 18 to 24 mph range that has the best looking wake and stick to that speed. Adjusting throttle constantly is normal for every boat.

 

[tollus]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

do you have a tower or pylon? What size motor?

I don't have a tower...yet, maybe next year.

The boat is a 22.5 foot bowrider...I added a swim deck that technically makes it 25 feet.

210 HP Mercruiser. Seems to have plenty of power to pull me up at 225 pounds.

Liquid Force - Thanks for the advice on the throttle, good to know it relatively normal.

 

[QC]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

I agree, lots of throttle input. For clarity though, I would argue that you are definitely on plane, just not an efficient plane. Anytime the transom is dry, you are on plane, hard to see with a big platform though.

 

[vodka_mann]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

Everything said so far is good advice - doing a good job driving for a wakeboarder is an art form - you really have to play with the throttle a lot and be predictive about it.

Here's another suggestion (it's something I'm doing right now) - get a 4 finned prop with lower pitch

Apparently a 4 find prop has a lower plane speed so that you'll be able to get and hold him at 18 mph easier - I bought something with less pitch to give my boat better hole shot to pop me out of the water better as well.

This is only coming from research I've done online - I have a 4 finned prop on its way to me now so I'll be finding out if it?s going to work the way I expect soon....

Hope that helps.

Rick

 

[sunsport22v]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

Not that you want to spend a lot of money but maintaing speed is easily done with a perfect pass. I have no problem with any speed with any rider or tubing at what ever speed. Perfect even helps maintain speed when turning. I am a first time boat owner and we use perfect all the time. Even at night - so I don't speed by mistake.

 

[jmmette]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

The thing i have on my boat that gets me on plane super quick is called a Sting Ray Hydro Foil XLIII. It works wonders to getting on plane super quick. One particular day the bolt loosen and lost the Hydro Foil in the local lake not realizing it but only to the boat felt like it was never gonna get on plane. From a hole shot i can be on plane at aprox 14-15 mph. Seriously check into it is worth the money.

JMette

 

[ThreeMileBayWaker]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

4-5 blade prop would help as well... my new riders like 18-20 and thats also my boats threshold for planing. The high-five merc prop helps to maintain that speed and reduces manual throttle adjusting.

 

[rallyart]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

The absolute fix for this is to install a cruise control then let the boat control the throttle, like 'sunsport' suggested. Your life will be easier, the boarding will be better, the speed will be accurate. It is an easy install Your speed will be consistent to within 0.5 MPH.

 

[mancho]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

I have the same issues on the 98 sei bow rider- when I slow under 20 it wants to come off plane. Will try the weight dist tricks.

I would love a perfect pass but darn, 1230 clams is more than I want to pay. Why are they so expensive? I can do without gps.

 

[rallyart]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

I like the GPS but this is a company that's just starting out. You install a paddlewheel through the hull.
Hydrophase

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

Perfect Pass Stargazer. End of story. Positively the BEST $1200+ investment I have EVER made on my $5,000 pawn shop boat....

If someone wants to board at 14.3 mph, it'll hold. 17.2 mph, it'll hold. 22.5 mph, it'll hold. Run a slalom course at 32 mph, it'll hold.

Drivers eyes stays on the water instead of on the speedo, increasing safety. Drivers hands are BOTH free to work the steering wheel, as the throttle can be ignored. Every rookie driver goes the correct speed, every single time. And I think this product actually may have even saved a marriage or two LOL...does anyone ever get grumpy at their spouse after a sub-par ride? Never again....

Plus you gain a digital clock, digital tach, digital GPS speedometer...nice features.

Once you get done choking on the price tag, you'll be glad you bought it. Quality is long remembered, price is soon forgot...

I put a long-winded review of my Perfectpass install on this thread, if anyone is interested in the nitty-gritty:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=370635&highlight=perfectpass

 

[jeff593]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

i just put a hydrophase speed control on my boat-a 1975 sea ray 19ft! you will NEVER regret it. 1/2 the price of PP. paddlewheel is better if you are boating on moving water like a river or in my case the ICW. the other day we took my buddys boat out (w/o speed control) and it totally sucked because we just got used to the speed control in mine! i cant tell you how much better it is with speed control.

 

[PuddleJumper]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

The way I see it, you have 3 choices to try for the problem of plane breakover at your desired speed.
1. Trim the drive out. This will help prevent from breaking over on plane and will give you a bigger wake.
2. Trim tabs will allow planing at a slower speed without falling off plane.
3. Add ballast bladder. Bigger wake and won't break over at your boarding speed. ( or #2 and #3)
IMHO

 

[WakeMe]

Re: Wakeboard speed issue

I have trim tabs, which I placed on my boat before learning to board, and I like the flexibility I now have for boarding. Plus, if you don't want to plane, they provide more wake. Although, I still struggle with a constant speed ... tabs will run you 100 bucks. If I adjust them for more resistence, I plane instantly, sometimes it's strange