Our best wave was with the heavier people in the surf side rear seat, amd then 2-3 people in the bow for length. I've discovered that if I fill only the deck bag and nothing else, I get a decent wave, that can be improved with more ballast or more people. If I start with stock ballast and people, I've got basically nothing until I add the swim deck bag. The swim deck bag is the most important ballast component, for sure. As for speed, we're between 10.2 and 10.8 with the Ridesteady. It's really surfer preference for us. I haven't seen a large impact on the wave at either end of that range. The great thing about the swim deck bag, is that I now KNOW I can get a great wave with that bag and enough people on the boat. So my ballast project after the season will just be an attempt to replicate people weight, so we can surf with 1 or two in the boat, instead of trying to manufacture some mythical wave that doesn't exist yet. ***And another note, we're beginners, like 3rd or 4th weekend surfing, ever, and the only board I have is a $199 airhead bonzai. We're all ropeless, immediately after getting up, from 180lbs to 240. That's how good the wave is.
. The folks anchored in a pontoon in the area probably weren't too happy with me.
