Weighting a 196

[BrennanK]

I'm looking for some advice on how to weight a 196 for skiing.
When we go skiing, it is only 2 people, so one driving and one skiing.
Any advice on how to achieve the best wake and balance under these circumstances is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[2gofaster]

80-100lbs under the bow tied to the underside of the bow eye. This weights the front so that the center of gravity of the boat is on the skegs. Then 80-100 in front of the observer seat to balance it side to side. When you have an observer, just pull the weight in front of the seat. Always leave the bow weight in place. On the trim tab on the rudder, take a round file and oblong the screw holes from left to right. Then put the trim tab back on so that it's trailing edge is outside the right side of the rudder by 1/4" . This will produce a wake and tracking that would be world record capable for a Big Dawg, Open Men, or Open Women skier. All 196s produce fairly good wake characteristics and handling. But these two modifications turn an average boat into a stellar one.

[BrennanK]

On the trim tab on the rudder, take a round file and oblong the screw holes from left to right. Then put the trim tab back on so that it's trailing edge is outside the right side of the rudder by 1/4" . This will produce a wake and tracking that would be world record capable for a Big Dawg, Open Men, or Open Women skier. All 196s produce fairly good wake characteristics and handling. But these two modifications turn an average boat into a stellar one.

In 1997(my boat), they did not have a adjustable rudder. Is there any thing I can do short of replacing the entire rudder?
Thanks.

[2gofaster]

ATI.........didn't notice that. Yes, get out a big, coarse, flat file. You want to file the left trailing edge of the rudder at a 45 degree angle. I'd do 5 strokes down the trailing edge at a time. File 5 strokes, put in water and test it out and then file some more if needed. You want a pull to the left when you're going in a straight line at skiing speed. More than likely, it will take 15-20 strokes of the file. Maybe more. This is where testing comes into play.

[NCH2oSki]

80-100lbs under the bow tied to the underside of the bow eye. This weights the front so that the center of gravity of the boat is on the skegs. Then 80-100 in front of the observer seat to balance it side to side. When you have an observer, just pull the weight in front of the seat. Always leave the bow weight in place. On the trim tab on the rudder, take a round file and oblong the screw holes from left to right. Then put the trim tab back on so that it's trailing edge is outside the right side of the rudder by 1/4" . This will produce a wake and tracking that would be world record capable for a Big Dawg, Open Men, or Open Women skier. All 196s produce fairly good wake characteristics and handling. But these two modifications turn an average boat into a stellar one.

What does making the trim tab holes oblong do?

[2gofaster]

It allows you to swing the tab farther out to the right, which applies more left rudder load.

[east tx skier]

Great information here. I upgraded to a tabbed rudder last year and may try to get it a little further out this way. What are you guys using for weight and what are you hanging it from the underside of the bow eye in? Plate in a canvas bag or something?

[BrennanK]

ATI.........didn't notice that. Yes, get out a big, coarse, flat file. You want to file the left trailing edge of the rudder at a 45 degree angle. I'd do 5 strokes down the trailing edge at a time. File 5 strokes, put in water and test it out and then file some more if needed. You want a pull to the left when you're going in a straight line at skiing speed. More than likely, it will take 15-20 strokes of the file. Maybe more. This is where testing comes into play.

So by filing down the left/port trailing edge of the rudder I will make the boat naturally pull to the left, correct? So then to acchieve a stright line while driving you pull slightly to the right on the steering wheel, otherwise it will want to turn left.

Am I thinking this all out correctly?

Thanks again for all your help. I'm going to test this all out this weekend.

[east tx skier]

So by filing down the left/port trailing edge of the rudder I will make the boat naturally pull to the left, correct? So then to acchieve a stright line while driving you pull slightly to the right on the steering wheel, otherwise it will want to turn left.

Am I thinking this all out correctly?

Thanks again for all your help. I'm going to test this all out this weekend.

Correct. Left trailing edge will make it pull left. Go a little bit at a time. My previous owner neutralized mine by filing the righthand trailing edge. I ended up going with the tabbed rudder rather than filing 2x off the lefthand edge.

If you let go of the wheel at speed, it should start to spin left. To steer straight, you just steer (lock the arm in a little bit) and enjoy the fact that there is not much, if any, need for extra correction.

[ClemsonDave]

I agree. Either file the left trailing edge, or take some of the roundness out of the middle right side (looking at it from behind the boat). Think airplane wing. You are trying to make the left side arc more than the right side.

[2gofaster]

Great information here. I upgraded to a tabbed rudder last year and may try to get it a little further out this way. What are you guys using for weight and what are you hanging it from the underside of the bow eye in? Plate in a canvas bag or something?

I use a square wakeboard ballast bag that holds 85lbs of water and the handles on it are tied to the underside of the bow eye.

[DanielC]

A simple to remember rule I have noticed when trying to get the balance of a boat from side to side is this. The side with more white wash on the wake needs more weight. The skiers need to be in the prop wash for this test.

[causewayskiier]

weighting a 196

I guess there is some disagreement on the weighting issue. I have a 206 and was told the same thin by a Nautique dealer. Put aprox. 50-100 pounds in the bow to get the nose down and create a smaller wake. I was told by someone else who also worked for Nautique that the weight would only make the boat plow through the water creating a larger wake. Comments?

[2gofaster]

A 206 may be different. it's got a bit different deadrise and hull length in front of the tracking fins. You'd have to experiment. I'd continue adding weight til you feel the boat get a little mushy feeling in the steering. This is the point that you've put too much weight in front and it's now pivoting ahead of the fins. Then pull weight back out til you feel it tighten back up. On the Malibu LXI we usually put about the same weight up front. So I'm not necessarily buying what someone told you about the front plowing.

[bubba]

The Hydro Gate on my 206 makes the bow go down which makes for a smaller wake. There are two ways to look at weighting a boat. With weight in the bow more bow is in the water which makes for a smaller wake. When you weight the entire boat so there is more HULL in the water this makes for a larger wake. When we tried out the Mastercraft Prostar 197 I noticed that they had a lot of bow in the water and I was told that they did this to reduce the size of the wake.