How best to weight the 216 direct drive for wake boarding

[heliskier]

I currently have a 2009 216 Team boat. It is the mid-engine model,not the vee drive. My son is an avid wake boarder & I am an avid slalom skier and we both want to be satisfied.

Are there any die hard boarders who use this boat & how do you guys configure it weight wise? I do have the ballast tanks on the boat and would like to make the wake as good for him as I possibly can. We loaded up the boat Saturday & it looked like the wake mushed out. Any suggestions??

I am pretty satisified with the slalom wake although it is not near as good as the 99 Sport Nautique I had. The wake does get better the shorter the line gets. The 32 off pass is not bad,but I have to ski at 35 mph plus for the wake to be good enough for me.
I tried the sv211 and hated the slalom wake and the 206 was just too small for it to be a good wakeboard boat.

I keep hoping Correct Craft can come up with a boat that fits both the slalom guy & wakeboarder a little better. This may not be possible,but one can only hope. I really like my 216 for an all around good family boat,but would buy another boat if it did both disciplines better.

I am in my mid 40's & just do not want to give up slalom just yet,but I also want my son to continue to progress in what he enjoys.

[Hlymons]

RE: How best to weight the 216 direct drive for wake boardin

Did you ever add weight to your sport? I ski most of the time with my 2000 sport however one of my friends Wakeboards and I was going to fill the 450# in the back tanks totally fill my gas tank and put a 450# sack infront of the pylon. Any thoughts????

[gotpwr]

RE: How best to weight the 216 direct drive for wake boardin

Put the 450lb sac in the rear locker. I used to run 800 - 950 pounds in the rear of my 2000 Air Nautique. Wake was steep and clean at 21.5 MPH.

[heliskier]

No, we never added any extra weight to the Sport. I did not have a tower or ballasts tanks on that boat & that is why I bought the 216. I got tired of hearing him complain about the lack of no wake on the Sport. I still miss my slalom wake on that boat. It was a better wake than several ski specific boats I have skiied on.

My son is 15 & has really gotten into wakeboarding and has gotten pretty good. He does 180s,360s, & can do a tantrum on the 216 with just me in the back and my wife driving. I think he can really do a lot more if the wake is not what holds him back. Plus I want him to enjoy going to the lake and not going because he is forced.

[Nbigger]

Have you tried to add any extra weight like fat sacs or lead to the boat? I ride with 2 450lb sacs on each side of the moter and 250lb of lead in the bow and my wake it great on a 1990 sport.

[LT206]

I have no direct experience with the 216, but I would bet the 206 and 216 wake would be very similar once the boats are loaded up. I fill the rear tanks on my 206 and add a 650# sac (W705) behind the motor box (roughly 1000# total ballast) and the wake is pretty good with no wash. The more people I add, the better it gets. I have not tried to add another sac in the center where the cooler is with that setup. I ride at 22.5 - 23 (depending on how many people in the boat) and the wake is pretty good - not 210 good, but it get's me a decent wakeboard wake with a slalom boat.

Load it up - don't worry about the wake washing - if it does, just speed up a little. Put most of the weight in the back for a more vert wake, move it toward the front to mellow it out.

[Chexi]

Re: RE: How best to weight the 216 direct drive for wake boa

Put the 450lb sac in the rear locker. I used to run 800 - 950 pounds in the rear of my 2000 Air Nautique. Wake was steep and clean at 21.5 MPH.

Hmm... no ski locker sack? I may have to try this.

[Chexi]

My son is 15 & has really gotten into wakeboarding and has gotten pretty good. He does 180s,360s, & can do a tantrum on the 216 with just me in the back and my wife driving. I think he can really do a lot more if the wake is not what holds him back. Plus I want him to enjoy going to the lake and not going because he is forced.

Sorry, but any kid who is "forced" to go the lake because he does not think the boat is good enough for him/her is spoiled. When I was a kid (heck even now) I am just happy to be on the water and grateful to anyone willing to take me, whatever type of boat they have. The same is probably true for you. Why turn your kid into one of these "expect the world wrapped in a nice package with a bow on top simply because I was born" kids who has no clue about what lies in store for them in the real world once mommy and daddy stop wiping their butt?

Ok... I'll get off my soap box now. Seriously, you can weight that boat and get a wake good enough for just about any rider. Heck, there is local ski and wake school nearby that teaches wakeboard lessons behind a 196 with 0 ballast, and they can still do basic inverts.

[WakeSlayer]

one of these "expect the world wrapped in a nice package with a bow on top simply because I was born" kids who has no clue about what lies in store for them in the real world once mommy and daddy stop wiping their butt?

Gride3000 comes to mind.

[krs0394]

We board behind my 216 all the time. Rear tanks full + 600lb fat sac in the trunk. I also removed the cooler in the floor in front of the motor and run another fac sac down there. This way we don't loose any floor space. Fuel tanks full with two adults and 2 kids in the boat. We run 21mph @ 65-70'. THe wake is pretty rampy and hard at that length. We have found with this setup you can add one or two more people and the wake gets ramper fast. We also surf with this same setup just moving people to the back of the boat. 9.5mph seems to work best.

[AirTool]

Where is the post that showed the guy with like 4 or 5K ballast in his old DD?

I've searched but couldn't find it.

[rbalan]

Airtool, are you talking about the DownsideUp Air Nautique DD? If so, its pics are still up on wakesiderides.com. If anyone thinks you can't get a MASSIVE wake from a DD Nautique, you need to check it out. There's just no room left in the boat for more than 2-3 people.

[AirTool]

Airtool, are you talking about the DownsideUp Air Nautique DD? If so, its pics are still up on wakesiderides.com. If anyone thinks you can't get a MASSIVE wake from a DD Nautique, you need to check it out. There's just no room left in the boat for more than 2-3 people.

That's probably it. PM me a link. I'm sure there are still photos here....I just can't find them. I think I remember a couple of the bags hanging outside the cockpit because there was no room left. I think the hull and gunnels were gray.

[sodbuster88]

I used to put a big sac in the trunk (filled the trunk clear up) and another in the middle on the floor in front of the pylon extending up into the bow walkthrough on my '03 216. Big, smooth and rampy.

[heliskier]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I like the idea of putting the weight in the trunk. I know nothing about the wakeboarding scene and want to make the boat the best wakeboard boat I can.