2000 Super Air surfing

**Red57Bird** · 07-13-2009, 07:52 PM

Weighting the boat for surfing is a lot of trial and error. Not sure what the standard ballast set up for the 2000 SAN is but I can tell you how I weight my 03 SAN.

I fill the rear tank up on the side that will be surfed, fill the belly tank, and then have all passengers sit on the surfing side. I try and distribute the passenger weight so that 70% is in the rear and 30% is up front in the bow. Sometimes I will move passengers around while surfing to clean up the wake, or lengthen it out. I also have a jump seat that I use to put another passenger right behind the driver's seat. While illegal and dangerous, we usually have one passenger on the swim platform and one on the sundeck, on the surfing side. I'm not condoning this practice - just telling you how we do it.

Later on this year I plan to remove the stock hard tanks and replace them with the 750 pound Fly High sacs and add a bow sac. I'm not all that motivated right now because I have a big enough crowd that likes to surf and weight hasn't been a problem yet.

You should also try and surf in water depth of at least 10-15 feet - the deeper the better. I can tell a difference when I move out of the cove and into the main lake. As far as boat speed goes, I run anywhere from 9.3 to 10.5 mph. Changing the speed just a fraction can make a big difference. Again, lots of trial and error.

Good luck with surfing and keep us updated on how things work out.

**Mikeski** · 07-14-2009, 02:06 AM

Move the weight forward.

**jhiestand** · 07-14-2009, 05:29 AM

Given the different prop rotation of your boat (different than most, anyway) you'll likely find the starboard side is significantly easier to clean up than port. At least, that's the side of the wake that cleans up decent on my '01.

Sink that rear stbd corner and see if that helps.

**jordo14** · 07-14-2009, 01:42 PM

Thanks for the replies,
I noticed last weekend that the starboard side cleaned up much easier than port, so i'll try surfing over there even though it will be a little more difficult. Also, is that the general weighting for surfing? (70% in the back and 30% in the front?) I'll also try throwing a couple more people on the bow to push the front down a bit more. Should I just speed up to about 10 mph and stay there? or should i speed up to around 13 mph then slow down to approx 10? Would that make any difference, or would it be the same once the boat is at a speed? I'll try all these things out this weekend and let you guys know what works best. Thanks again.

**Red57Bird** · 07-14-2009, 05:04 PM

jordo14 - the 70/30 rule seems to work for me, but that doesn't mean it will for you. Too much weight in the back and you get a tall, but tight wake with a small sweet spot. Shifting more weight to the bow shortens the wake but extends the length of the wake and gives you a larger sweet spot. Slower speeds increase wake size, faster speeds decrease the size and can make it harder to maintain the speed to stay in the sweet spot.

I had a good conversation with Adam Fields this past week about how to ballast certain boats - he is a pro rider and has a wakeboard and surfing school up at our lake, and also in Florida. He told me that when he had his 03 SAN he would slam 2,000 lbs. in the rear locker using ballast bags and lead plates, and balance the weight with passengers towards the bow. I have to believe that the wake was a monster, but I can tell you that I won't do that to my boat.

IMO, 13 mph is way too fast for surfing, unless you are spine surfing (using two boats). You should keep it somewhere between 9 and 11 mph. The way we dial in our boats is to first get your ballast filled, then place passengers. Have the rider hold onto the rope while you move people around and adjust the speed. Once you have the right combo, then the rider can attempt to drop the rope.

There are lots of methods that people use to set their boats up for surfing. Just keep trying different things and you will eventually get it dialed in. When you do, please post some pics.

**Laptom** · 07-15-2009, 02:58 AM

The 2000 SAN is great for surfing. Very clean wake, but we never tried port side. Always starboard side.
We can even surf with standard ballast and only 1 person in the boat. More weight = more fun.

This is a picture of a 2000 surf wake. Standard ballast and only 3 persons in the boat (perhaps 4, I'm not sure anymore).

Attached Files

**Roddyj** · 07-15-2009, 07:22 AM

red57bird,

what do you mean illegal to sit on the platform...at gaston? i thought wakesurfing was completely illegal at gaston regardless (on the VA side at least)....i could be completely wrong though....

i only ask because in the lakes in raleigh, we have people standing on the platform, sun deck, hanging off the tower every now and then, etc etc. had many a wildlife officer just cruise beside us and watch the surfer. no vest, and sometimes cold beer in hand.....never been a problem.....

hold the comments on no vest. we dont like wearing them and are fully aware of the dangers.

**Red57Bird** · 07-15-2009, 07:59 AM

Originally posted by Roddyj

red57bird,

what do you mean illegal to sit on the platform...at gaston? i thought wakesurfing was completely illegal at gaston regardless (on the VA side at least)....i could be completely wrong though....

i only ask because in the lakes in raleigh, we have people standing on the platform, sun deck, hanging off the tower every now and then, etc etc. had many a wildlife officer just cruise beside us and watch the surfer. no vest, and sometimes cold beer in hand.....never been a problem.....

hold the comments on no vest. we dont like wearing them and are fully aware of the dangers.

roddyj - enforcement it may be different on each lake, but I believe that NCWRC rules state that all passengers must be seated within the boat. I checked their web site but wasn't able to confirm that. Surfing is perfectly legal on Gaston but last year there were some issues on the Virginia side where Virginia officers were issuing tickets to surfers because they were incorrectly interpreting state regs. These were challenged in court and thrown out. I have heard that VA officers have been told that surfing is fine, but that they are doling out tickets for passengers that are riding on the swim platform and/or sun deck.

Over the July 4th weekend we tried to flag down a NC officer and ask them what the regs were with regard to surfing, but every time they had someone pulled over and we didn't want to bother them.

As far as vests go, we always wear them. There was a thread over on WB.com about a young wakeboarder in Florida that had on a non-USCG approved vest and was in the water by the platform waiting to ride. Her dad was in the boat helping his other child on with a life vest, and when he turned aorund his daughter in the water was gone. The boat was running and she passed out from CO. Sank to the bottom and they found her a couple of hours later. As surfers, we are exposed to a lot of CO (unless you have FAE installed) so we error on the side of safety.

**Roddyj** · 07-15-2009, 01:57 PM

i hear ya on the vest. it is smart, i just dont like wearing one while surfing.

it is great to hear about surfing in the VA part of the lake. i was wondering about that because of all the problems that went on up there last year. i go to gaston about 5-10 times a summer, but have always headed to the NC side just because i was never certain after all that jazz that happened.

as far as having people above the rubrail (or gunnel), i have never experienced an issue on any lake in NC. i did have a buddy get a ticket for his gf being on the platform 'checking the prop' while the boat was in motion last year on the VA side. almost 200 smacks if i remember correctly. but like i said, and knock on wood, we have never had a problem. we always have 2 on the platform (or sitting on the transom with feet on platform) and as many on the deck as possible. hopefully we will not encounter future problems.

if you wanna get together and ride sometime, let me know. PM me and ill shoot you my number. its on EORG in my profile as well. im in raleigh and we go to harris about 4-5 days a week. lets ride!

sorry for the threadjack, but the question was answered pretty well above. the super sport hull has an incredible surf wake, though just not very long. its still one of my favorites because the pocket is effortless. even for >200lbs like myself riding 4'2"s............

**jordo14** · 07-20-2009, 03:38 PM

So I tried some of the suggestions last weekend. Moving the weight forward cleaned up the white wash, but it made the wake quite a bit smaller and harder to catch. I tried surfing on the starboard side, but because I'm a regualr rider it was hard to adjust to surfing on the heelside edge.

Should I fill both ballast? Or just for the side I want to ride on?

**WakeSlayer** · 07-20-2009, 04:16 PM

Here is what I currently have for my setup in my 99.

this is for either side:

750 in the rear (surfer side) nearly full (650-700)
400 in belly tank
400 on seat on riders side
150 lead in the bow
180 lead in walkthrough
200 lead under rear and side seats in no particular placement

200+ lead either behind drivers seat for starboard, or under gullwing seat for port, as far to the side as possible.

Oddly, my boat has a better wake portside regardless of prop rotation. My wife loves this. My starboard is great, but my port is ridiculous.

However, my friend's twin-to-mine SAN, has a better starboard wake, and a horrible port wake. We are within 50lbs of each ballastwise. His PP runs at 9.8 I use either 10.0 or 10.3 depending on the board I am riding. I am sure we are at the same speed, it just reads different.

we alter it a little depending on people, but this has been my consistent setup for the last couple months. You should have no problem riding the port side either. I have tried running a bag up in the bow but every time I do it we hate it, and end up spending more time fiddling with it that it could possibly be worth. Do bear in mind that my motor weighs 200-250 more than most, also, so that has some effect.

Good luck.

2000 Super Air surfing

2000 Super Air surfing

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