Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

[chconger]

Wondering what the advantage is there?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

Direct pulling without difficulty planing out since the engine is mid mounted. They are basically tug boats in disguise.........made for pulling and not speed.

 

[QC]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

That explains tournament "ski" boats, and there is an advantage for a flat wake, but personally I think Wakeboard V-drives are a joke. I am swayable as I don't know enough. BUTTTT, I have not seen any reason that an I/O, probably a Bravo 3 or Duo prop wouldn't work as well for waking. AND allow better cruise efficiency, higher top speeds and better shallow water operation. So frankly, I don't get it.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

Well...... I hang out with some hard core wakeboard people....... they are a unique breed. Not only do they wakeboard but they also wake surf complete with "fat sacks" (which I will never understand) for a larger wake. My old 23' cuddy with the infamous 470 threw a better wake w/o any help.

My current Starcraft will pull a skier just fine....... I agree with you QC........ I can think of nicer boats to drop my money into

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

IB ski boats make very little wake, due to their nearly flat bottoms. They are not made for rough water. The are propped for 36MPH and have large V8 motors, so acceleration is very fast.

Most I/Os have a vee hull and make a large wake. They could be propped for 36MPH as well, but you cannot get rid of the wake.

Wakeboard boats are designed to make a big wake. I/Os do make large enough wakes. You can add water ballast to them to help with the wake.

 

[Another retired guy]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

Wondering what the advantage is there?

Could it be that the prop is safely tucked away under the boat and not sticking out the stern where it would be with an i/o and where it may be a hazard? I know that hazard exists for any i/o pulling a skier, but we're talking about purpose built boats. Just my guess!

 

[QC]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

That is legit, but there are many I/Os with large enough swimsteps to eliminate any injury potential. So, I'm still in the not so sure about any of this camp.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

As a pretty decent wakeboarder, I can probably comment... I've got an I/O currently that I wakeboard behind, but lots of friends with dedicated wake boats. The dedicated boats have a couple advantages. They all come with ballast tanks, perfect pass cruise control, wake plates/wedges, and a couple of other nice to have features. In addition to the larger wake that they throw up, the wake itself is much, much cleaner. Look behind your typical I/O sometime, notice how the wake will start to curl or get foamy at the top. That doesn't happen on a dedicated wake boat, it has a nice curve and a very sharp, crisp edge. Planing speed is also a big deal, wakeboats don't really have a sharp transition from plowing to planed.

 

[Another retired guy]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

As a pretty decent wakeboarder, I can probably comment... I've got an I/O currently that I wakeboard behind, but lots of friends with dedicated wake boats. The dedicated boats have a couple advantages. They all come with ballast tanks, perfect pass cruise control, wake plates/wedges, and a couple of other nice to have features. In addition to the larger wake that they throw up, the wake itself is much, much cleaner. Look behind your typical I/O sometime, notice how the wake will start to curl or get foamy at the top. That doesn't happen on a dedicated wake boat, it has a nice curve and a very sharp, crisp edge.

But is that due to it being an inboard, or due to hull design and ballast tanks?

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

But is that due to it being an inboard, or due to hull design and ballast tanks?

both... outdrives hanging in the water cause lots of turbulence which foams up the wake. inboards have very little gear to displace water, so no where close to as much turbulence in the wake.

Obviously hull design, features, and ballast plays a big part also, but the fact remains, it is 100% impossible to make an I/O equivalent to a dedicated design, short of chopping off the drive and replacing it. Not saying an I/O (or outboard, or even jet) can't be a decent wake boat, they just won't be as good as a dedicated design.

Wakeboats also have their drawbacks... Lots of weight, inefficient hull, low gearing. mileage absolutely sucks! Like someone mentioned above, they are tugboats in disguise.

 

[chconger]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

.....Wakeboats also have their drawbacks... Lots of weight, inefficient hull, low gearing. mileage absolutely sucks! Like someone mentioned above, they are tugboats in disguise.

Awesome information here as usual

...do "ski" inboards have drawbacks to I/O's?

Chris

 

[OrangeTJ]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

V-Drives (and regular inboards) may have a safety advantage when you've got people getting in and out at the transom a lot, as in skiing & wakeboarding. They also have make wake surfing reasonably safe, as it would be possible to "surf" forward right into the outdrive of an I/O. Another advantage of the design (although it doesn't really have anything to do with skiing or boarding) is that there is no outdrive/gimbals/bellows to maintain.

 

[rallyart]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

There are drawbacks to inboards compared to an I/O. In my case, however, I won't ever be going back to an I/O unless I am operating in a much different place. The advantages far outweigh the negatives for me.

Inboards can't raise the outdrive in shallow water so you run more risk to the prop. However the inboard has a much lower draft so you don't need to worry about the prop as often. On my dock I park nose out without risk to the running gear. With my smaller I/O I would have to raise the drive to do that.
Inboards don't steer well when reversing. This can be a problem when trying to load on a trailer in the wind but is an advantage in some situations. I can parallel park at a gas dock without turning the steering wheel by using the prop torque in reverse to move the boat sideways. (so easy)
Inboards usually cost more. But mine cost less than a Cobalt or Sea Ray Select of similar size. The biggest manufacturer of wake boats makes just over 3000 in a year so they don't have the economies of scale of the large I/O manufacturers.
Inboards are not as fast. Mine tops out at 42 with 330 hp. The hull design won't lift the boat to give high speed efficiency. However, at 30 MPH most will give you the same or better fuel economy than an I/O because the hulls are designed to flow water smoothly to create a 'clean' wake.
Inboard trailers are very low at the back which means they scrape much more easily. Well that does suck but the boat looks really cool behind the tow vehicle.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

I am no expert on this by any means, but you can not lump Skiing and Wakeboarding together.
The Wakeboarder wants a BIG wake of a particular shape.
The Skier does NOT want a wake at all. It just gets in the way.
They may look similar to the casual spectator but are two completely different activities.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Why are ski / wakeboard boats inboards?

The main issue, as mentioned above, is that ski/wakeboard boats are designed with their respective sports in mind. It is almost impossible to get an I/O or even O/B to give the holeshot and minimal wake of a tournament ski boat. The other advantage of ski/wakeboard boats over I/Os is tracking. When a 200lbs slalom skier is pulling hard through a course, the Inboard boats will track much better and eliminate most of the tracking issues. Try it with an I/O of equal size and you will have the stern of that boat being pulled everywhere.

As far as wakeboard boats, the V-drive config is a safety thing, as many people are in/out of the water often, and wake-surfing is done a few feet off of the swim platform, so it'd be dangerous with an I/O. The lack of equipment in the water makes the wake very clean and smooth, unlike the I/O's which create a lot of turbulence.

Drawbacks - trim. The inability of ski/wake boats to trim causes significantly more fuel usage at any speed over where an I/O would normally plane out. Also, tournament ski boats tend to have a very low freeboard, so passengers will typically get wet when there is any chop/wake on the water as they don't have the ability to trim the bow up.

Side note: the "fat sacs" etc can be had on any boat, and many manufacturers of I/O's offer the "perfect pass speed control", and ballast systems just like the ski/wake boats do. The only reason the ski/boats cost so much more than I/Os is because of production numbers. The economies of scale aren't there, but the engines are identical to what Mercruiser uses.