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Show Us Your Wake! (surfing mods comparo)

Aloha Gang, so this past week I got a call from one of the boys he tells me. “Ah Rueb my wife has some friends from Australia in town, can u take them to the river”. I say yeah of coarse any reason to take the Yammy out right lol. So I started thinking, my boys wife Mariko Lum is a Professional TOP Ranked SUP Board, Paddle Board, and Foil Board rider. I just was wondering who her friend could be?. So it’s turns out to be Jordan Mercer, World Ironwomen Series Champion, 6x Molokai2Oahu World Paddle Board Champion, And 10x World ISA Gold Medalist. So yeah she’s a RIPPAH lol?. They went sight seeing first giving me and my son time to swim, cause he’s a fish?. Filled up the 2 side 400lb bags, and put on the Wakewedge. They showed up in the early afternoon, and we were able to make some passes up and down the river. My wake wasn’t as pretty as usual, had some issues with my wake enhancement. But all and all had a great time, hosting some old and new friends. Both my son and I enjoyed watching them shred, It was truly a Pomaika’i(Blessing).??

Here’s a short vid of the action, hope u enjoy...

Mahalo ke Akua,

 
Aloha Gang, so this past week I got a call from one of the boys he tells me. “Ah Rueb my wife has some friends from Australia in town, can u take them to the river”. I say yeah of coarse any reason to take the Yammy out right lol. So I started thinking, my boys wife Mariko Lum is a Professional TOP Ranked SUP Board, Paddle Board, and Foil Board rider. I just was wondering who her friend could be?. So it’s turns out to be Jordan Mercer, World Ironwomen Series Champion, 6x Molokai2Oahu World Paddle Board Champion, And 10x World ISA Gold Medalist. So yeah she’s a RIPPAH lol?. They went sight seeing first giving me and my son time to swim, cause he’s a fish?. Filled up the 2 side 400lb bags, and put on the Wakewedge. They showed up in the early afternoon, and we were able to make some passes up and down the river. My wake wasn’t as pretty as usual, had some issues with my wake enhancement. But all and all had a great time, hosting some old and new friends. Both my son and I enjoyed watching them shred, It was truly a Pomaika’i(Blessing).??

Here’s a short vid of the action, hope u enjoy...

Mahalo ke Akua,

Man! They are making that foil look effortless... love it!
 
Man! They are making that foil look effortless... love it!
Aloha @J-RAD I know right, she got so far behind the boat when my brother told me to speed up. She was able to pump and still get right back into the first wake. Was awesome to watch them, she’s going to be teaching my girls on ripping next weekend.??
 
There goes the Hawaiian Boy, @rkim808 (with two Yammies and all his pro friends!) - instant winner!!!

That is really fantastic, I can;t stop watching her vids. Especially the surfing aspects, you know, being so technical.
:cool:

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There goes the Hawaiian Boy, @rkim808 (with two Yammies and all his pro friends!) - instant winner!!!

That is really fantastic, I can;t stop watching her vids. Especially the surfing aspects, you know, being so technical.
:cool:

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Aloha @swatski yeah was awesome to watch, can’t wait to do it again fixing my issue and filling up all the bags with an additional 1300lbs of ballast and some Hawaiians lol, Wake should be awesome. Then watching them rip it up.??
 
Aloha Gang, so this past week I got a call from one of the boys he tells me. “Ah Rueb my wife has some friends from Australia in town, can u take them to the river”. I say yeah of coarse any reason to take the Yammy out right lol. So I started thinking, my boys wife Mariko Lum is a Professional TOP Ranked SUP Board, Paddle Board, and Foil Board rider. I just was wondering who her friend could be?. So it’s turns out to be Jordan Mercer, World Ironwomen Series Champion, 6x Molokai2Oahu World Paddle Board Champion, And 10x World ISA Gold Medalist. So yeah she’s a RIPPAH lol?.

Here’s a short vid of the action, hope u enjoy...

Mahalo ke Akua,

Cool video! It's funny- Surfers always Wakesurf the same way (cutting hard back and forth into the wave). My brother in law is a big surfer and would always do that when I took him wakesurfing..Not really how Wakesurfing is done, but looks fun anyways.
 
Cool video! It's funny- Surfers always Wakesurf the same way (cutting hard back and forth into the wave). My brother in law is a big surfer and would always do that when I took him wakesurfing..Not really how Wakesurfing is done, but looks fun anyways.
Aloha @Brad460 that’s just how surfers do, they love “whacking the lip” and “spraying”. That’s there #1 move haha lol.??
 
My custom swimdeck bag is being replaced, so we’re rocking some steel shot bags until we get it back. So, our current setup looks like this...

Swimdeck:
155lbs Fatsac brick
400lbs solid ballast bags

Under Rear Port Seat:
100lbs solid ballast bag

Ski Locker:
750lbs Fatsac

Other:
Yamaha WakeBooster (game changer)
Ridesteady

96019
 
My custom swimdeck bag is being replaced, so we’re rocking some steel shot bags until we get it back. So, our current setup looks like this...

Swimdeck:
155lbs Fatsac brick
400lbs solid ballast bags

Under Rear Port Seat:
100lbs solid ballast bag

Ski Locker:
750lbs Fatsac

Other:
Yamaha WakeBooster (game changer)
Ridesteady

View attachment 96019
Wow! That is looking REALLY good!!

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Wow! That is looking REALLY good!!

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Thanks!! I can’t believe how close we were to trading in a boat that we love for a v-drive. We are up and surfing in less than 15 minutes with this setup, and it’s all stowed away even faster.

These truly are the most versatile family boats on the market. They can do anything well with just a little research and a little work.

One note: we spend 80% of our lake days with just me, the wife, and 2 kids under 5. So, carrying around solid ballast bags isn’t a big deal for us. They are super convenient when stowed in the transom compartments (100lbs on each side). Just slide them over to the surf side and go. They are also really nice for hiding under seats or throwing up on the bow when you want to even things out.

They SUCK during the first setup. Getting them from home to the boat, then to the proper setup. Ugh. I’m in decent shape, but it’s tiring quick.

My point: steel shot bags are awesome for quickly dialing in the wave. That said, I have nightmares at night about moving them around.

Once Fatsac warranties my swimdeck bag, I’ll rock this setup:

Swimdeck:
850lbs Gantlin Custom Fatsac
100lbs Wake Ballast Steel Shot (port storage)

Inside:
750lbs Fatsac (ski locker)
100lbs Wake Ballast Steel Shot (under port seat)
 
Once Fatsac warranties my swimdeck bag, I’ll rock this setup:

What issue did you have with your fatsac? I noted that mine had gouges in the gray vinyl when it came in as it was folded over on the valves. But it didn't look like it tore through the bag. I inflated it anyway to test. It's not leaking, but it concerned me for sure.

Good luck, nice wave!!
 
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What issue did you have with your fatsac? I noted that mine had gouges in the gray vinyl when it came in as it was folded over on the valves. But it did't look like it tore through the bag. I inflated it anyway to test. It's not leaking, but it concerned me for sure.

Good luck, nice wave!!

The threads on the plugs would never go in straight, so over time the threads got worse to the point that the plugs wouldn't even go in.

Fatsac is handling it, so I'm not too worried about it. Our temporary solution works great, but hopefully our bag comes back before the weekend.
 
Thanks!! I can’t believe how close we were to trading in a boat that we love for a v-drive. We are up and surfing in less than 15 minutes with this setup, and it’s all stowed away even faster.

These truly are the most versatile family boats on the market. They can do anything well with just a little research and a little work.

One note: we spend 80% of our lake days with just me, the wife, and 2 kids under 5. So, carrying around solid ballast bags isn’t a big deal for us. They are super convenient when stowed in the transom compartments (100lbs on each side). Just slide them over to the surf side and go. They are also really nice for hiding under seats or throwing up on the bow when you want to even things out.

They SUCK during the first setup. Getting them from home to the boat, then to the proper setup. Ugh. I’m in decent shape, but it’s tiring quick.

My point: steel shot bags are awesome for quickly dialing in the wave. That said, I have nightmares at night about moving them around.

Once Fatsac warranties my swimdeck bag, I’ll rock this setup:

Swimdeck:
850lbs Gantlin Custom Fatsac
100lbs Wake Ballast Steel Shot (port storage)

Inside:
750lbs Fatsac (ski locker)
100lbs Wake Ballast Steel Shot (under port seat)
That is great, I love the wave is shaped smooth and flat - should be nice for skim type and tricks?

@ApelilaRains just posted great surf results with his Scarab SurfStream, the Yamaha Booster being the same concept.
Interestingly, they are also using a delayed convergence wedge (not to be confused with the Wedge/Gatlin) with good results. That is surprising, but it could mean that along with a Booster type device using a delayed convergence device may work...
We have the 255 wake version as well, to get the wake we wanted, we added additional ballasts. here's our video:

CLICK HERE

I also added the description of the weights in the notes section of the youtube video.


As an aside, I have learned from @tdonoughue and @MidnightRider this is great for hose fittings (and drain plug) - pool lube:
96518
 
Since I bought the Makai i figured I should join the Moomba forum to learn about the new boat. This is from SC top engineer who has designed all their surf tech over the last 15 years. He really explains what makes a great wave.

The truth is when it comes to wakesurfing, it is pretty simple what effects the waves. Displacement is priority #1. It trumps everything. Displacement is only created by ballast and passengers. Without displacement, you don’t have a wave. You can adjust flow plates, wakeplates, suck gates, etc all you want, but if you don’t have displacement then you don’t have a wave and you definitely don’t have push. Once you have displacement, then it truly is the overall pitch and roll of the boat that shapes the wave. Roll has the most impact on shape, and Pitch has most impact on length. The flow plates and wakeplates DO affect roll and pitch, but NOT NEAR as much as displacement does. If you have 1000lbs of displacement equally distributed, you could adjust flow plates and wakeplate to get a wave, but if you have 3000lbs of displacement placed in exactly the right place, then you don’t need flow plates or wakeplates at all. 7 years ago wake shaping devices didn’t exist. People surfed by listing boats. Flow plates, wakeplates, Surf Gates, NSS, Gen 2’s were not developed to replace ballast systems. They were designed to allow users to surf easier with boats that were more equally weighted. In our case, we have located the plates and set factory defaults because that is what we found to work for most users. Again, as you become a more advanced user, then you can start experimenting with the plate locations and you can fine tune the waves even more.
 
SEE EDITS AT THE BOTTOM - TO CLARIFY THE INFO

And one more thing, for anyone reading in here. It’s been stated before but maybe worth repeating.

The Yamaha Booster can not be used with trim tabs. Due to hindrance by the actuator - attachment at the bottom of the swim deck.
Importantly, the Wake Wadge works great (no interference with the tabs) - as long as the short Lectrotab actuators are used, which is the best way to go as far as trim tabs for our boats, anyway, IMO.

Personally, as much as I love surfing and easy setup I would not trade trim tabs for a surfing mod. Not just for long trips and rough water, I use trim tabs every single time my wife is in the boat and I see a big wake I need to cross. I momentarily deploy the tabs, cross the wake with 10x less impact on the boat and passengers, and retract the tabs immediately after. It became a second nature almost. I don’t do this when the admiral stays behind but she absolutely hates it when the boat gets jarred by a passing wake. I respect that and found that the tabs work phenomenally well in regard to completely alleviating that issue.

I find that slowing down is not nearly as effective as deploying the tabs. And deploying the tabs does both - slows the boat down momentarily and makes it almost impervious to anything but the largest waves.

EDIT: I’m sure the Booster could be modified with some cutouts, but as it is sold by the factory it does not fit next to the actuator attachments.

EDIT 2:
@Stevenpigsooie pointed out this may not be true - he’s running Lectrotab and fitted the Booster they fits!! - see the post on the next page.
That’s very good news!

Also, @Jack Long confirmed the Booster and Lectrotabs fit.

It seems to me the wedge and the Booster give very different wave shape.

 
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We made it out for a couple of hours Sunday evening. Ditched the kids with grandma and made a run for it. So, what do you do when your on a near empty lake alone with your wife...? ? ...You surf!

Now hang tight, while I over explain. ;) We didn't have a lot of time to mess around with the wake, therefore I don't think we were dialed in the best in either scenario, definitely could have been better with the transom bag. Conditions started out fair, but the wind picked up after a short time to a steady 10-15, which on Utah Lake means white caps. I debated on whether or on this was worthy of sharing because I'm not sure it does much justice for the wake or the new Slingshot board I'm sporting, but I figure it's something to compare to...

I first attempted riding utilizing just the internal ballast and Wake Wedge to test out the boards abilities. We had the port side under seat (500lb) full, the ski locker (800lb) about half, and 60% fuel. I messed around with adjusting the wedge a few times, ropeless wasn't happening. We were running light on human ballast so I wasn't expecting a lot, but we probably could have attempted draining the locker all or some, but we were short on time, conditions were deteriorating, and I was impatient to try the transom bag again.

The last time we tried the transom bag i topped it off and for whatever reason were we couldn't plane. For this round we had left the port under seat full and locker the same half full and went probably a little over half on the transom bag. I didn't readjust the Wake Wedge after adding the additional ballast, which probably would have helped. I think it was plowing a bit... but at this time I'd already been up and down several times and I didn't know how much longer my wife's patience would endure. So this is where we're at.
I was basically just trying to feel out the board, mess with foot position and all that jazz. Overall, I really like the board! I'm anxious to go out again with an even better wake and play with it more. There were a couple of times in messing with foot position I nearly pearled it but recovered quickly. Overall, it was very predictable and responsive. I felt like if I had the wake for it, I would have felt confident attempting breaking it loose a little bit. I spent the majority of the ride with slack in the rope, but kept hold so I could have more play time. My wife cut the video short, but threw the rope at the end and had a few moments of riding ropeless. I do think the wavy conditions ended up being a bit of a factor with the wakes consistancy.
 
Board looks fast and kinda big actually. Are you pushing down the wave or pulling against the rope? You can tell it's fast because you almost lose your balance a few times. I did the same thing with my neo the first 2 times we took her out. My only tip is to make sure your weight is more forward and your feet are pointing closer to the wave. Surfing is so fun
 
Board looks fast and kinda big actually. Are you pushing down the wave or pulling against the rope? You can tell it's fast because you almost lose your balance a few times. I did the same thing with my neo the first 2 times we took her out. My only tip is to make sure your weight is more forward and your feet are pointing closer to the wave. Surfing is so fun
The board is bigger, but it actually doesn't feel that big to be on it. There are instances of both me pushing down the wake and others where I was reliant on the rope. I would attribute the bobbles to operator error as opposed to the board. For instance, at about 2:10 I put a little too much forward pressure on the nose as I began to pump which cause me to waver. There are clear instances where the board runs forward with no effort at all. I think I did find the best stance eventually, but the wake just wasn't as together as it really needed to be to showcase either well... but people want to see the application in the real world... lol! This was my first session of the season and it felt sooo good to be out there again!
 
@J-RAD just a tip for your wife; people enjoy videos more when there is a crash or awkward dismount involved at some point, keep the video rolling,
 
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