Show Us Your Wake! (surfing mods comparo)

[swatski]

These pics are great. Nice long clean pocket. I currently have either a thigh high wave with a short pocket or long pocket with knee high wave depending on speed and ballast setup. The issue with the high wave and short pocket is that we are running our surf style board into the back of the boat and I just had to complete my second epoxy repair on that board (eps core board). Damage has been minimal to the board in just chipping the way the finish on the nose corners but I still felt sealing them back up was the right thing to do. We have always fallen backwards and to the side so far when this happens and the bag actually adds some protection for the surfer but we can't continue that way. We don't have that problem with our long board (H/L Landlocked) on the tall wave with short pocket but still have a bit of an issue with the surf style even with the long pocket and shorter wave. My thinking is that I need to remove or change a couple of fins on the surf style (Doomswell Neo) as it is way too fast when we step on the gas with knees over toes or if standing a bit too tall it tracks causing us to pearl it heel side and we go for a swim. Someone posted a link to some great info on fins but I can't seem to find it searching as all of the boat fin steering stuff pops up instead. Can someone repost that link?

What @J-RAD posted^^^.

I feel we are a lot less advanced at this point as a family, compared to yours, albeit I feel like we are catching up to the level where we can start focusing on technique more. We still like larger boards more, and the more fins the better, lol!
Part of the issue has been just constantly messing with the setup - it consumes... entire days!!!
So, now that we finally have a decent and quick setup it is a blessing and a game changer as we can actually focus on surfing!

(rant edited out, lol)

We are still saving ourselves for the important board purchase decisions, which I refer to as "come to Jared" moment - it will be later in the season when we hopefully have a better idea of what we want/need.

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[swatski]

Now if Yamaha would just figure out some way to incorporate more ballast in to the stern sides of the boat

I know you meant it jokingly, but I just don't think it is possible. Looking at current consensus, getting a big wake behind a Yamaha requires listing the hull and pushing the transom down. Importantly, shear ratio of transom bag volume to the volume of the entire swim deck is prohibitive for design that would keep the tiered swim deck open and accessible from water as it is now...
This currently being a minimum:


Of course that could be changed with some creative laminar flow engineering, like the guys building surfable waves in the desert in shallow pools of water, but that would be so much more expnsive to develop - as compared to just making dedicated wake boats with bayliner sized sterns to hide ballast.

The more I think about it, the more I don't mind the transom bag.
I talked to some guys trailering a big new surf machine mastercraft across the country when we stopped at a gas station recently, our boats were similar in size and passenger capacity but theirs was basically twice as heavy... If you trailer a bunch, can;t do better than Yamaha at this time, I don;t think...

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[Mainah]

What @J-RAD posted^^^.

I feel we are a lot less advanced at this point as a family, compared to yours, albeit I feel like we are catching up to the level where we can start focusing on technique more. We still like larger boards more, and the more fins the better, lol!
Part of the issue has been just constantly messing with the setup - it consumes... entire days!!!
So, now that we finally have a decent and quick setup it is a blessing and a game changer as we can actually focus on surfing!

(rant edited out, lol)

We are still saving ourselves for the important board purchase decisions, which I refer to as "come to Jared" moment - it will be later in the season when we hopefully have a better idea of what we want/need.

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As far as skill my son is the best at staying anywhere in the pocket ropeless. As for tricks I can ollie the big landlocked board (with the rope) and came close to a 360 on the long wave setup (with the rope). I have to be more active to surf rope less though. On the neo I have to be very active and am getting tossed heel side trying ollies or 360s and have to really swing hard to thrash but then step on the gas to stay in the pocket only to use too much gas. Going to try and stick with just one setup as you mentioned above and try different fin setups. Who knows the best board to do it all may just be the coaster.

My best piece of advice for getting some tricks down is knees bent and over toes. Next best is your hips carry the weight so keep them over the board until you get good enough to push off the wave and get the board back under you. Last is shoulder position relative to hips and knees. A lot like aggressive downhill skiing or boarding. Standing tall with slightly bent knees is smooth and stable. Getting your knees, hips and shoulders forward really lets you drive it. Getting hips out from your feet lets you ride the ragged edge.

 

[J-RAD]

As far as skill my son is the best at staying anywhere in the pocket ropeless. As for tricks I can ollie the big landlocked board (with the rope) and came close to a 360 on the long wave setup (with the rope). I have to be more active to surf rope less though. On the neo I have to be very active and am getting tossed heel side trying ollies or 360s and have to really swing hard to thrash but then step on the gas to stay in the pocket only to use too much gas. Going to try and stick with just one setup as you mentioned above and try different fin setups. Who knows the best board to do it all may just be the coaster.

My best piece of advice for getting some tricks down is knees bent and over toes. Next best is your hips carry the weight so keep them over the board until you get good enough to push off the wave and get the board back under you. Last is shoulder position relative to hips and knees. A lot like aggressive downhill skiing or boarding. Standing tall with slightly bent knees is smooth and stable. Getting your knees, hips and shoulders forward really lets you drive it. Getting hips out from your feet lets you ride the ragged edge.

Great tips here! I don't know what I would want to add to it...? The only thing I can think of is foot position. Foot position is a key element to control of the board. Finding that center position between the gas and the break. Also keeping your feet perpendicular to the board helps with the heel toe edge control. Find your center, feel the chi, pat the horses mane.

It's easy to get in one's head about things though. In reality, it just takes time in the board and after a while it just begins to flow naturally.

As far board choice. I love the Coaster for all that it is. It's a cruiser. It's fun because of how effortless it is to stay on the wake. It really gives you time and freedom to play. It can be quite playful as well and forgiving as you push it's limits. It's easy to control, especially with the 3 fins. As a skim style hybrid, you have the option to loosen up the ride by removing fins and hang it out there. Next chance I get on it, I hope can attempt so different setups. It's s board that favors everyone. For all the good and the fun that it is, I wouldn't define it as being the most agile board in the line up.

If you're after a really agile surf style board then the answer from Slingshot is the Cobra Cat. It's fast and fun! It a different style ride and a different level of performance. I tried out the 5'0" a little more than a week ago with a 2 fin setup and it was a great time! But I'm inclined to say I thinks the performance of the 4'8" even more. I don't want to give anything away but, word on the street is, there might be one of the 5'0"s hanging around the Shelbyville area in a couple weeks... I'm hoping to hear a few reviews.

Here's my ride on the 5'0" with 2 forward fins:

 

[31BVeteran]

 

[MattFX4]

I know you meant it jokingly, but I just don't think it is possible. Looking at current consensus, getting a big wake behind a Yamaha requires listing the hull and pushing the transom down. Importantly, shear ratio of transom bag volume to the volume of the entire swim deck is prohibitive for design that would keep the tiered swim deck open and accessible from water as it is now...
This currently being a minimum:
View attachment 99535

Of course that could be changed with some creative laminar flow engineering, like the guys building surfable waves in the desert in shallow pools of water, but that would be so much more expnsive to develop - as compared to just making dedicated wake boats with bayliner sized sterns to hide ballast.

The more I think about it, the more I don't mind the transom bag.
I talked to some guys trailering a big new surf machine mastercraft across the country when we stopped at a gas station recently, our boats were similar in size and passenger capacity but theirs was basically twice as heavy... If you trailer a bunch, can;t do better than Yamaha at this time, I don;t think...

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Yeah, was mostly joking. There really isn’t a way to incorporate much more given the design of the boat and swim platform. The rear swim deck storage compartments would hold some but not enough to make a difference really. It really doesn’t sound that bad just filling up the bag and placing it on the platform.

 

[Stevenpigsooie]

I know you meant it jokingly, but I just don't think it is possible. Looking at current consensus, getting a big wake behind a Yamaha requires listing the hull and pushing the transom down. Importantly, shear ratio of transom bag volume to the volume of the entire swim deck is prohibitive for design that would keep the tiered swim deck open and accessible from water as it is now...
This currently being a minimum:
View attachment 99535

Of course that could be changed with some creative laminar flow engineering, like the guys building surfable waves in the desert in shallow pools of water, but that would be so much more expnsive to develop - as compared to just making dedicated wake boats with bayliner sized sterns to hide ballast.

The more I think about it, the more I don't mind the transom bag.
I talked to some guys trailering a big new surf machine mastercraft across the country when we stopped at a gas station recently, our boats were similar in size and passenger capacity but theirs was basically twice as heavy... If you trailer a bunch, can;t do better than Yamaha at this time, I don;t think...

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For us, this is where the wakebooster has been a game changer. The setup I’m sticking with the rest of the summer is center storage locker bag full and custom swim deck bag full but centered on the deck. The booster has essentially allowed us to avoid listing the boat to either side and saves time on switching between surf sides. I did get a better wave adding additional weight to the surf side swim deck, with the booster, but it takes more time and really bogged down the engines. We struggled to get up to and maintain speed. It made driving more stressful worrying about all of that instead of just accelerating close and letting ridesteady take over.

 

[BigAbe75]

We struggled to get up to and maintain speed. It made driving more stressful worrying about all of that instead of just accelerating close and letting ridesteady take over.

I experienced this, as well. It creates so much extra drag ... that’s the biggest thing I didn’t care for, and why I don’t anticipate using the Booster much.

Glad it’s working well for you, though!

 

[B0at1n]

Screen shot of my renter today, ropeless, no ballast on a 190. Said they had five adults sitting on the port side.

 

[swatski]

For us, this is where the wakebooster has been a game changer. The setup I’m sticking with the rest of the summer is center storage locker bag full and custom swim deck bag full but centered on the deck. The booster has essentially allowed us to avoid listing the boat to either side and saves time on switching between surf sides. I did get a better wave adding additional weight to the surf side swim deck, with the booster, but it takes more time and really bogged down the engines. We struggled to get up to and maintain speed. It made driving more stressful worrying about all of that instead of just accelerating close and letting ridesteady take over.

So, when I experimented with ballast placement and reached a point of having hard time getting out of the hole (I don;t remember the specifics but it was a lot ballast and was hitting a "wall" - cavitating and not getting up) temporarily deploying the tabs can really help. Basically, I would deploy those momentarily just to get up/out of the hole, then retract and stabilize the speed.

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[swatski]

What can I say...


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[Scottintexas]

What can I say...
View attachment 99669

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Hey Scott the boats filled and waiting at the dock, what time were you showing up?



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[swatski]

Even I can go surf ropeless now!

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[jcyamahariders wife]

Even I can go surf ropeless now!

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Were are you at this weekend ?

 

[J-RAD]

Even I can go surf ropeless now!

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So glad your wife gave you a turn. Lol! Great perspective shots of your wave. I've just been mounting my phone to my mirror using a suction cup ram mount. I need to train my kids to be videographers...


Here's our latest runs. This time on the 5'0" Coaster. I found the 5'0" to be a bit more agile than the 5'3".

 

[haknslash]

Even I can go surf ropeless now!

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Dude did you rent the lake for the day? Not a single boat in sight!! Must be nice!!

 

[swatski]

Dude did you rent the lake for the day? Not a single boat in sight!! Must be nice!!

I know! It's why we love the Bull Shoals Lake, AR, so much.
This has been the busiest week of year there, too, lol. It's heaven.

@jcyamahariders wife we are back in St. Louis, tonight, will be in Chicago, then back here next week.
The river (our Meramec) finally decided to get back into it's channel, too, I see a lot of quick after work wakeboarding sessions in my future!

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[spatty99]

@swatski
If you don't mind my coaching $.02... Try moving your front foot toes closer to the toe side edge of the board (making your chest more parallel with the board, not facing the boat as much). That should allow you to drive the entire rail harder into the wake wall and give you more push when needed.

 

[swatski]

@swatski
If you don't mind my coaching $.02... Try moving your front foot toes closer to the toe side edge of the board (making your chest more parallel with the board, not facing the boat as much). That should allow you to drive the entire rail harder into the wake wall and give you more push when needed.

Right on! So far I have had very very little formal instruction, but when I did I remember that was their first comment!

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[rkim808]

My bad!
No disrespect intended! lol, I need to brush up on those new brands and models.

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@swatski check this boat out Pavati AL24 and the new AL26. All aluminum construction, 9000w Wetsounds stereo, 4000lbs ballast, RGB LED’s everywhere, all the bells and whistles. But then again it better be nice for the $340k haha lol?. A friend of mines shot me there website on social media, after I seen him at the harbor while washing down my Yammy, the Hawaiians nicknamed me “Flashy” lol. My Yammy tends to stick out down the harbors with all the Hawaiian fishing boats, and tourist Zodi’s and Cats. I don’t mind the teasing, me and my ohana love our Yammies.??