2008 Air Nautique-Direct Drive

[Recker]

Hello,

I have been trying to dial in this boat for surfing. I have 2 400# bags and 1 750#. I put one 400 in the back compartment and the other in the bow. The 750 goes right in front of the back seat. We use the mission delta for the wave making.

We have tried putting more weight on the surf side and it helps...sometimes. The best wave we made was 2 weeks ago with above setup and a 200# human sac in the back corner. Only other weight was from driver that is approximately 130 pounds. It was good enough to push me at 180# and I was going pretty far back.

We went out last weekend with same setup and maybe 100 less pounds in the back corner and had a little wave. My wife could surf it, However I couldn't. I noticed also that there was no bow rise as well.

Any suggestions? I feel like the wave changes every time we go out. Can we over weight this boat? My platform is probably 2 inches submerged while idling.

[DW SD]

One BIG variable for me was water depth. It had me pulling my hair.
Unless you are at 15'+ I might wonder if that is your issue.

I would go from 15' to 8' of depth and realize the wave shrunk by a whole foot.
Once this happened before my eyes which helped me figure it out.


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[ScooterMcgavin]

Good call, water depth does make a huge difference. I have experienced this first hand as well.

[Recker]

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately my boat does not have a depth finder. I'll have to go on my dad's boat and take a few readings around the usual surf spots to see how it fluctuates.

Any idea on how hard it would be to just install a depth finder?

[zeckto13]

I agree, water depth makes a big difference. Also, I would load up all your ballast in the rear and see what happens. I would put your 400 bow sac on the rear seat, and keep the 750 on the floor behind engine. I assume you have the stock ballast full in rear locker under your other 400. I have the same boat (2000) so 6 inches shorter but had more success with loading the rear. Then put people in bow if need be. Search the forum for the Air/sport direct drive surf thread. Also, here's a vid of another guy that had an air and a mission delta with all his weight in the rear. Pretty impressive wake for a DD. https://youtu.be/5EvO1Rq44hg


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[zeckto13]

Oh and board size makes a big difference too. I am 195lbs and ride a 5'4" board. At 180, probably need something similar.


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[Recker]

Zecto13,

I do not have any factory ballast in the boat. I did put all my ballast in the back yesterday and the wave was not super impressive. It was tall but did not have much length and I didn't feel much push. The board I currently have it a Hyperlite Landlock. It is pretty long.

[a0128]

Zecto13,

I do not have any factory ballast in the boat. I did put all my ballast in the back yesterday and the wave was not super impressive. It was tall but did not have much length and I didn't feel much push. The board I currently have it a Hyperlite Landlock. It is pretty long.

Add some ballast in the front and the wave will lengthen out. Try for a 40/60 ratio. While somewhat of a promo video, there is some great info on it. BTW - I have the Delta device and it works great. Doesn't turn my Pro Air Nautique into a G-series, but does create a surfable wave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl1kzbgmW74&app=desktop

[zeckto13]

Zecto13,

I do not have any factory ballast in the boat. I did put all my ballast in the back yesterday and the wave was not super impressive. It was tall but did not have much length and I didn't feel much push. The board I currently have it a Hyperlite Landlock. It is pretty long.

Sorry, thought you had the 216. Your boat is the same length as mine. Where are you putting the wake shaper, and what speed were you going? How much weight was in the rear locker vs behind the engine. If you can shoot a quick vid next time that may help us get you dialed in. I originally had the same problem as you. Tall wave but no push or length. Followed some tips and I put even more weigh in the back and built a better shaper and my wave is good now. Not G23 worthy but good enough for ropeless and some pocket length. All vids are in the 99 sport/Air thread.


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[zeckto13]

Also, reading your original post again I think you are short on weight if you have no stock ballast. I originally had the same weight as you in the back and the wave wasn't impressive. You need ~800 lbs in the rear locker. And either another ~1,300 behind engine/in rear seat. Or 750 beside engine, and 600-750 in rear seat. That's when my wave came alive, along with a better shaper. You already have the mission so should be good. Do you have it in the reverse configuration?


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[Flyindutchman]

Just to add...I have 2 hyperlite boards and on both boards I almost had no choice but to remove the outer fins - they were just slowing the board down enough to make it hard to surf. I honestly couldn't believe the difference with them removed. Speed increased dramatically and the board was still very stable.