Wakesurf Board

[mndanielsncsu]

I'm wanting to try wakesurfing, so I need some recommendations on a board. I've never wakesurfed before and have never surfed in the ocean either. I currently wakeboard, but that's it. I'm intrigued by it and it looks like a lot of fun.

What's a good starting board? I'm 5'11", 180lbs.

Also, any recommendations on how to weight my '93 Sport with ACME 422 prop? I currently have a Fly High Pro X Tube Sac in the Ski Locker, but no additional weight. Which model/style fat sacs would be the best? Placement?

[RLS]

RE: Wakesurf Board

Borrow a board. See if you like it and if your boat can produce a big enough wake. Good boards are between $400-$700.

[Red57Bird]

My recommendation is like RLS said, borrow a board. IMO the easiest board to get up and running on is the Hyperlite Landlock board. This is purely a cruising board but it gives you the opportunity to get used to being on the board. I struggled a lot last year with different boards and was not able to drop the rope. Then a buddy bought a Landlock and I was able to drop the rope after a run or two.

As far as weighing your boat, it is a lot of trial and error. Every boat is different. Some folks make the mistake of cramming all the weight in the corner where the rider is surfing. You need to balance out the weight by putting some ballast and/or people in the bow to lengthen out the wake. Otherwise you end up with a huge wall of water with a very small pocket/sweet spot and you end up riding about a foot from the platform the whole time. You need a longer wake to have a chance to move around. Also play around with the speed to see what gives you the best combo of wake height and length.

I will be demoing an Inland Surfer Blue Lake over the July 4th weekend and can't wait. It is a board designed for bigger (i.e. 200+ pounds) riders but is still fast enough to have fun and do some tricks. Once you progress you will likely want to move away from the boards from the wakeboard manufacturers, and more towards companies like Inland Surfer, Phase 5, Shred Stixx, etc. They focus purely on wake surfing boards and many of them are hand shaped. They are more expensive but seem to be well worth it. Good luck and have fun.

[RLS]

Red57Bird let me know how the blue like rides. I have the Red board and love it but it is a little large. I just got an 08 Green board but I am 240 and can't get the board to surf. I think the blue board would be just right.

[HS]

I have the IS Blue Lake and I have really enjoyed learning to surf on it (I weigh 190#). My friend recently got the new IS skim yellow and it is really cool. I am very impressed with the IS line. He also got to try the Swallow and another board on Lake Sammamish.

I have an SV 211 which might be similar to the sport hull (?) and for surfing I had 200# of pop products in the port bow seat, 200# in a sac in the ski locker, a 370# FlY High tube sac under the observer's bench, 200# of pop in the aft port locker, and a 350# sac on the port walk thru. Also filled belly and port tanks. I plan to move the bag from the ski locker and put it in the bow this weekend, and move theose pop bags to the observers seat.

We have had a small crew when we use the above weight, and the engine vent is still plenty high above the water line. Be sure to watch for that -- other guys tape them closed or close off the vent on one side.

[RLS]

HS I have the 211 also. I have seen all the posts about where to put the weight.I have found the most important part is to get the boat to roll to the side you want to surf. We surf both sides and both wakes are pretty good. For the drivers side we use about 400 pounds of water in the back locker and 200 pounds in the bow. All sacks. the built in ballast on that side and the belly tank. No weight in the middle. Then we put everyone in the boat on that side and it is pretty nice. If someone sits on the other side it makes a difference.

On the other side we roll the bag in the front to the other side and have a 400 pound bad in the walk way. My son drives because he only weights about 130 pounds and the wake is great.

I think some people try for the most weight they can get and they should worry more about getting the boat to roll to one side.

I also think the 211 is a nice boat for surfing because it does not take a lot of weight to make a wake.

[HS]

Agreed. Today we finally really dialed in a clean big and long wake. 350# sac on the port bow seat; 370# tube sac under the observers bench, a 350# sac on the port stern walk thru, 360# of pop bags in the port stern locker, and before we put any water in the tanks, it looked awesome as we headed out. Added full stbd, half port and half belly tanks. Finally rode way back from the swim platform at points where I had expected to lose the wave, but this weighting was really great.

[SkiTower]

Are you guys saying surfing is not really possible without ballast, or does ballast just make it easier? I have a 211, no tanks, and no sacs. Is it possible to get something going?

[TRO]

i'm looking into starting surfing also. just need to get a few sacs first.

[HS]

Tower:

If no tanks, substitute people. Give it a try.

[RLS]

There are days we get a few too many people in the boat and we only use people. Put them all on one side and have fun. Make sure you have a few in the bow.

[HS]

RLS is right on. The major improvement we experienced this weekend was due to placing a sac on the port bow seat; this lengthened the sweet spot on the wake allowing me to ride 8 feet or so behind the transom.

[hrwboarder]

Off topic question...
mndanielsncsu does that ncsu happen to stand for NC State?

[mndanielsncsu]

Indeed it does. Graduated from there in '03.

[Red57Bird]

Red57Bird let me know how the blue like rides. I have the Red board and love it but it is a little large. I just got an 08 Green board but I am 240 and can't get the board to surf. I think the blue board would be just right.

RLS - I really had high hopes for the IS Blue Lake but for me it just wasn't working. I rode it total for about 45 minutes and I really struggled. Several other riders tried it as well and none of them were crazy about the board. With that said, they do make quality stuff and we seem to be in the minority on not liking the board. Most people really like it.

I'm fortunate in that the wake boarding school on our lake is an IS dealer and I plan to demo a couple of other boards in the next month or so. Hopefully I can find a board that works for me.

On another note, and I am by no means endorsing this practice, I did some night surfing this past Saturday and rode until about 10pm behind my friend's SV-211 with green LEDs. That was an absolute blast. With close to a full moon I had no problem seeing and neither did the driver.