JetBoatPilot's New Surf Tech, Thrust Vector Wake

[DavisAR195]

As someone who did the pre-purchase in December, I'm a little disappointed in how much the product has changed based on the original concept at time of purchase. However, Will has made it clear that the product could change during the testing phase. I'm looking forward to late May and testing knowing that Will offers a product guarantee. As for the 50 lbs lead ballast bags, I think they are looking to offer complete wake surfing package without infringing on the custom transom ballast bags already in the market. I have a few lead bags and will run in tandem with the custom transom ballast bag to fine tune the wake.

 

[AlphaKap]

https://www.facebook.com/jetboatpilot/posts/2333704210002641

How fast are you going there? And is that the only extra weight besides you guys in the boat?

 

[dadofral]

550 pounds of lead ballast that you have to keep all day = $1000

550 pounds of wet ballast, that you can ditch ( bag and pump ) = $515

I don't have money for this type of ballast as my next large purchase for the boat is the ride steady GPD speedo.....maybe an optional ballast bag to be filled with water and add 200-300 more pounds will be more economical. I'll have to wait and see until I get the TVW's installed.

 

[dadofral]

I understand the frustration of buying based on the early info we provided. I would have kept the system adjustable had we felt it was necessary. After testing for over 9 months we have learned that not only does the new fixed version provide an exceptionally improved surf Wake, Wakeboard Wake and tube ride, it also requires no Interaction from the user. This is a huge advancement and one that makes the product so much better than originally advertised. You won't need to concern yourself with whether or not you selected the proper setting, or teach someone else how to change the settings or my personal favorite, you wont have to worry with whether or not you forgot to turn the system off when cruising at 50mph. It is now a worry free system that allows you to go play and not spend extra brain power on setup. You've got enough on your mind when driving a boat full of people. We want to make it simple and I believe we have done our part to help.

I'll put my trust in this for now Will, I know you're going to do what is best for us all.....we will await the final product and proof them out ourselves. I look forward to trying these out and hope they do everything I want them to with cleaning up the wave and making surfing more possible with them on the boat. Thanks for explaining and the update on the departure from the original design.

 

[Scuba_ref]

I don't the the type of ballast is an issue...seems like people are getting bugged up about the steel bags. That ballast is the easiest ballast to place on the swim platform without worrying about it rolling off into the water. That makes it a natural choice for Will to use to show us a great wave behind that 19 footer.

If it works with steel ballast then it will absolutely work with other ballast. I can't wait for the twin engine model and Will has proved himself in the past and I believe he will exceed our expectations again.

Thanks Will for taking the time to make sure the product will be great, easy to use and worth the wait.

 

[swatski]

I was not sure for a moment if this was for real - the 500lbs wet steel shot bag on the swim platform thingy - or April Fools’...

Lol, I would have zero, none, absolutely no interest in hauling that much ballast in that fashion. Not just absurdly inconvenient, there are also liabity issues there, say if that were to slide off and something got tangled in a rope etc.
A polypropylene ballast bag filled with water does not sink, if it were to roll off, no matter how heavy.

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[Spooling]

It could do double duty and serve as an anchor too?

 

[Matt Phillips]

I purchased the Wake in December and have been watching this thread and Will's evolution of the product since....I've seen it got from three to four, and now no adjustments. So long as it creates the same effect with no adjustments, I'm all for Will's approach...it'll work regardless and it's one less thing to think about throughout any given day.

As for steel ballast vs. water ballast, I do carry a 400lb bag on my transom when we are wake surfing as it does enhance the wake and gives it more push. Will I be looking at steel ballast? No way. Not for me. My thought is simple: I don't want to pay to haul around that weight either on the road or lake when I don't need it.

 

[mrtrav]

Are you still considering doing the Red/Blue options as well? Since I pre-ordered already, how would you go about stating a color preference?

 

[Bluewater272]

I was not sure for a moment if this was for real - the 500lbs wet steel shot bag on the swim platform thingy - or April Fools’...

Lol, I would have zero, none, absolutely no interest in hauling that much ballast in that fashion. Not just absurdly inconvenient, there are also liabity issues there, say if that were to slide off and something got tangled in a rope etc.
A polypropylene ballast bag filled with water does not sink, if it were to roll off, no matter how heavy.

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Seems to me that a big ass bag of water not sinking with a rapidly approaching rider poses a bigger liability than a bag of steel that'll sink immediately. Only real risk is losing a thousand bucks worth of ballast to the river bottom.

This product has been largely uninteresting to me (with the exception of spray knockdown), but has never been advertised to be the sole piece of gear needed to wakesurf. Any of the gadgets floating around to help these boats surf require massive amounts of ballast, including some obnoxiously sized bags on the swim deck. That, to me at least, is not a point of criticism for the JBP product. Still waiting to see some actual videos of performance, and I'm not quite buying the weather excuses anymore. Been nice enough up here a couple days to get a boat out, I'm sure Florida is just fine.

 

[AJACHIM]

I am still excited to see the video for from the single engine surfability with the thrust vector but am in no way disappointed that I have less tuning needed. I prefer the simplistic design and love that it will give me a better edge on all water sports.

 

[firestoned]

What’s the input on the thought for twin motors to just run a single setup on the surf side?

 

[Ratket]

I think the thrust vectors paired with the Yamaha wake booster would be amazing. Having that wake booster on the edge to force more water towards the jets” wave” along with the thrust vectors knocking down spray out of the nozzles should promote a pretty clean wake. I’ve watched countless videos of people surfing behind Yamahas and the best one I saw was the guy from boat test.com doing it with no additional accessories on the latest 2019 242x with the wakesurf package. I’ve seen guys try to surf the 2018 and earlier boats in stock form with very little success. I think it would humble us all to remember it’s not a “ Wake surf boat” and to have real expectations. It’s seems that going forward from 2019 the expectation with proper factory equipment the x line up is and will be a solid contender in the wake surf world of boats. Keep up the good work JBP.

 

[SCP1]

https://www.facebook.com/jetboatpilot/posts/2333704210002641

Hmmm, I’m not sure what to think of this video. Will does this make a big difference at surfing speeds?

 

[swatski]

Only real risk is losing a thousand bucks worth of ballast to the river bottom.

Sure. Unless of course something gets tangled up in a rope or a handle or a velcro strap attached. Something like... a limb

As far as I'm concerned - there would be no large bags with hard ballast on my swim deck. I understand using small (50lb?) bags (of steel shot?) that can be tossed around for tuning the wake but certainly not as main ballast with even a remote chance of falling off and entanglement.

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[Scottie]

Who thought this product (or any product really) was going to get rid of the need for ballast on our boats to produce a surfable wake? There seems to be a few people who thought that between here and the book of faces. I just don't understand it. It's a physical impossibility. $100k+ dedicated surf boats need thousands of pounds of ballast to produce big wakes.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Who thought this product (or any product really) was going to get rid of the need for ballast on our boats to produce a surfable wake? There seems to be a few people who thought that between here and the book of faces. I just don't understand it. It's a physical impossibility. $100k+ dedicated surf boats need thousands of pounds of ballast to produce big wakes.

Well said... Really all the Vectors will do is clean up the wake and reduce spray. To get a bigger wake you have to displace more water and/or redirect it.

I will say, I’m tired of hearing the “My rider has not been cleared yet...” this isn’t an extream sport, which is why we are all willing to hundreds/thousands to do water sport that doesn’t entail face planting at 22mph. I think we’re all over that!

I think Will is having trouble, which is to be expected with a new product. Unfortunately, he sold the product, or we misread and thought he found the kryponite to surf with no ballast and a couple of clamp on fins.

 

[Wisefam22]

I knew ballast would be needed..

I dont think changing settings is an issue for many. people are used to draining bags ect so reaching into water and moving it to an off setting or something wouldnt matter imo.

The preorder made sense for us for 2 reasons. My wife isnt overly confident with low speed control and we wanted something to clean the wake (somewhat).

800 for just the wedge I wasnt able to convince wife to spend, but at the preorder price $650 and it will help with the 2 reasons above she was able to get behind.

Idk production cost on the multiple settings verse 1 set platform but with having less moving parts the $650 feels like top end I'd probably spend seeing this current version. I'm not sure what moving to aluminum did to the production costs or if it kept it same aince less moving parts.

Time will tell.. I liked it more before, but if it gets the job done it gets the job done.

 

[tabbibus]

I'm still interested. Didn't preorder. Will wait for reviews and videos. Wifey hasn't driven in low speed yet, she will this week. I've never thought this was a panacea for tow sports but rather a nice addition to tidy up things. I'm specially interested in the cleaner wake and less/no spray.

 

[Scottie]

I pre-ordered last week. I don't know if I will end up using and keeping the product or not, but I'm going to try it. I currently have the WakeWedge, and cobra fins. I LOOOVVVEE the wakewedge, and the cobra steering. I am not in any hurry to ditch either of those products. When this product was first announced, the "multiple settings" was a non-starter for me. That would just be another thing to deal with, and in many cases it would ultimately be me dealing with it. I often have first timers, newbies, etc on the boat and that means I'm the one getting wet or what have you when setting up. I used to think along the lines of "we're already doing x and y, so what difference does adding z make". I don't think that way anymore. Just because you're already filling ballast doesn't mean that adjusting another device doesn't add time and complexity to the situation. I don't want to do any of that, I just want to play. So one more thing is exactly that, one more thing. The Thrust Vector wake appeals to me in that it may clean the wake on both sides, with no intervention besides initial installation. This means better wake on both sides for wakeboarding, and only having to move the bag to change sides surfing. I also like the idea of killing the spray for tubers. I think the WakeWedge is part of the system that provides the best wave available on a Yamaha right now, and I don't expect this product to beat it. However, if the TV Wake can get close, cover both sides, and not hang off the back of the swimdeck all the time, then I may be willing to sacrifice a small amount in exchange. We do everything, so in my case, that may be worth it. If I didn't do anything but surf, I likely would not have made the purchase. The same goes for my cobra steering. I love having fins in the water all the time. I will not give that up easily. However, I would consider it if I felt the additional benefits listed above outweighed any loss of high speed steering effects. As far as "getting something different than what we ordered", this is probably the most transparent product launch I've ever seen. There were never any claims of additional wave height, and the only ship date I've ever seen is "late May". Maybe I missed something, but I don't see any evidence to support "they're having trouble". I'm happy to save some money and get a window into the process. This product may be a gamechanger, or it may be a dud. I'm guessing it will be somewhere in the middle, and with any product, you'll need to make a decision based on your own specific use case. With all of that said, these are all just words on a page, and they only have the power that you decide to give them, nothing more. I'm looking forward to finding out what this product is capable of.