Surfing

[Speedy]

To my disadvantage, some tell me that I won’t be able to surf well on my DD 1999 sport. I originally bought it for skiing, wakeboarding and hanging out with the family. We’ve had plenty of fun with it but a couple of my friends have surf barges. No offense to anyone, in fact, I wish I had one! Anyways, they tell me that my 99 sport can’t and won’t give me the wake needed to surf let alone learn how to surf.
They do have a point, but I don’t believe that my boat is obsolete when it comes to surfing. I’m sure something can be done short of buying a new boat.
I’m not one to try to keep up with the Joneses, in fact I am very happy with our boat. I just finished restoring it last year but bigger and newer boats are so much more expensive and-well above what I can afford.
With that said, am I fighting uphill battle?


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[MN Ryan]

See my responses To this thread: https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...o-work-1999-ss

We got started behind a '93 ProStar 205, so it can be done, but it is an uphill battle. Don't expect too much, but I would imagine that you can surf behind it. In hindsight, it probably made us better surfers because any tiny mistake meant that you were done for.

The ticket for us was lots of weight (I think we had about 2500 lbs + people) in the stern and a wake shaper.

My BIL (210 lbs) behind is ProStar:

[Speedy]

That's awesome… there is some hope for the little engine that could


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[MN Ryan]

For sure! Don't let them tell you that you need a barge and a giant wave to surf.

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[MTRBTR]

I had a 97 sport. You could surf it just fine. Just needs a lot of weight.

[bturner]

We started out just watching a couple videos, buying a couple fat sacs and using a 2005 Malibu Response LXi for our surf boat. I agree with Ryan, it won't be easy and you'll have to actually spend time developing skills but it will make you a better surfer. You'll have to actually develop skills both in trimming your boat and in figuring out how to get the most out of your wake to ride but it can be done.

One big mistake we made was in renting the coolest looking board instead of the biggest. We had a lot better luck after ditching the child size skim board for a Inland Surfer Red Tide. Couldn't do much with that big boy other than cruise but back then going without the rope seemed magical.

[MN Ryan]

Yes, buy a big board. We started on a Hyperlite Broadcast, and it's a great, affordable board to start on. In fact, I have one BIL that still rides it quite a bit.

[hal2814]

We got something surfable out of my 83 Ski Nautique. I’m sure you can get something out of a 99 Sport. But yes, you’re fighting an incredibly uphill battle. Ropeless isn’t the endgame of surfing. It’s the beginning. And after you get past that beginning, there’s not a lot you’re going to be able to do. Imagine a gymnast trying to do a beam event on a 2’ long beam. That’s what you’ll have. And sure you’ll be able to do a few things but you’ll soon hit the limit of what your boat can do. At that point you’re likely to either upgrade to something better at surfing or go back to doing what your boat is really good at: wakeboarding and skiing.

[Speedy]

I see people rope-less all the time on the lake and it looks magical, and in my mind borderline impossible! but it certainly makes me strive for the impossible.
In all reality I'm too old to be doing tricks. In fact at my age rope-less and then slowly sinking when I lose the wake is my goal.
The other goal I have is to have my wife surfing, so that she will see the need for a bigger boat. Hahaha


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[Speedy]

We got something surfable out of my 83 Ski Nautique. I’m sure you can get something out of a 99 Sport. But yes, you’re fighting an incredibly uphill battle. Ropeless isn’t the endgame of surfing. It’s the beginning. And after you get past that beginning, there’s not a lot you’re going to be able to do. Imagine a gymnast trying to do a beam event on a 2’ long beam. That’s what you’ll have. And sure you’ll be able to do a few things but you’ll soon hit the limit of what your boat can do. At that point you’re likely to either upgrade to something better at surfing or go back to doing what your boat is really good at: wakeboarding and skiing.

If It's real not the endgame then what is… is it really that addictive?


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[MN Ryan]

Speedy Riding ropeless is a magical feeling. You'll love it. We got my wife hooked on surfing, which resulted in our Nautique. She's probably the best one in our crew, though our kids will overtake us soon!
I love to slalom ski, but man, I just turned 41, and after years of football and wrestling, my body can't handle much of it anymore. Surfing is much easier on the bod.

[hal2814]

Addictive? That’s up to you. But by the time I bought my 230 I was 38 years old and had been doing watersports since I was 16. I was as good at wakeboarding, slalom, etc as I was ever going to be. Wakesurfing is something new to me and something I can progress at. The usually progression after getting ropeless is being able to move around the entire pocket and then airs and 360s. There are a lot of wakeskate-style mechanics to learn after that. Things like shuv-it’s. If you want see more I’d suggest looking at some pros on YouTube. Also like wake skating, those tricks are harder to learn than they look. You’re never going to get that massive air like a wakeboarder or the magnificent ball of spray you get from slalom. The tricks are by and large smaller scale but to me at least very fun to learn.

[Speedy]

MN Ryan… I guess The odds of me getting a bigger newer boat depends on my wife learning how to surf. It worked for you and it should work for me


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[MN Ryan]

Speedy LOL. She went from "We don't really need a boat," to "Let's buy a boat." And the kicker is that she found the boat we bought!

[Speedy]

Games on!


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