Wake Surfing on AR195

[DinoHouse]

We just got our AR195 Last week and took it out this past weekend. We were able to surf but could never let go of the rope. Any suggestions on how to get that wave better? Ive seen the wavebooster, and other devices. Just wanted someones opinion on the same boat!

 

[marcham]

Hi, and to the forum!

We're very close. In fact, while doing gentle right hand turns, the wake is just fine for going ropeless! Setup: 400 lbs ballast on the left deck and 370lbs in the ski locker. We have a wakebooster.

This weekend we'll have the 650lbs custom bag on the stern deck, a longer board (I'm 210 lbs, the 58" board was struggling to keep me moving forward on the small wake) and a RideSteady to get the speed under control.

Are you in shallow water (< 20') ? that would affect the wake.

 

[mrtrav]

A lot depends on the board too. My first board was the Liquid Force Rocket which was incredibly slow, only once I was able to get enough push to think about going ropeless for a second or two. I used a friends Phase 5 skim style board which I am able to go ropeless no problem on. I bought the Slingshot Coaster this past off-season and will hopefully be able to give it a try any day now.

My setup is just the Gantlin fatsac on whichever side we are surfing on. Putting it in the middle of the transom made the wake bigger, but not nearly enough as it is with it shoved to one side. Sucks because we're usually going out with a mix of regular and goofy foot people.

We're generally going in a straight-ish line, but a slight turn helps a bit. Sweet spot is somewhere between 10-11mph, but a ridesteady or perfect pass will help dial that in. I am just using a GPS spedometer app to tell me my speed.

@marcham do you have any pictures if your wake with/without the wake booster? I would love to see some comparison, especially if you're going to rock the custom bag on the back.

 

[marcham]

I'll take a few pics this w-e.

 

[Tommy Bierly]

 

[Wright2e]

I have a 2020 195s, essentially the same boat. I am able to get a good wave to surf with the Yamaha wakesurf package. It has the two fat sacs and the Wakebooster. I am fine tuning it but I see no reason why you couldn’t surf it without the rope. Here was my son’s first attempt at wakesurfing ever last weekend.

 

[DavisAR195]

I had a 2017 AR195 and it took me a while to figure out how to go rope less. I was running the transom bag (570 lbs), a bag I’m the ski locker (330 lbs), a bag under the seat surf side (225 lbs) and a bag in the bow on the surf side (225 lbs). Next it took me a while to figure out my foot placement on my board (Conley Bentley). I had to keep moving my feet forward till I found the sweet spot to get the push from the wave. Here’s a pic of a buddy and me surfing last summer.

 

[DinoHouse]

Hi, and to the forum!

We're very close. In fact, while doing gentle right hand turns, the wake is just fine for going ropeless! Setup: 400 lbs ballast on the left deck and 370lbs in the ski locker. We have a wakebooster.

This weekend we'll have the 650lbs custom bag on the stern deck, a longer board (I'm 210 lbs, the 58" board was struggling to keep me moving forward on the small wake) and a RideSteady to get the speed under control.

Are you in shallow water (< 20') ? that would affect the wake.

Our lake is pretty low. So sometimes its lower then 20ft. Just depending on which part of the lake were on.

 

[marcham]

In the JetBoatPilot video above, they have by my account over 1500 lbs of ballast, mostly on the port side. @DavisAR195 was using 1350lbs.

For our boat, with the weight we have available, we found the following the optimum setup:
- 650 lbs bag on the transom (port side)
- 200 lbs on the rear/ port side floor
- 350 lbs in the ski locker

total: 1200 lbs

Adding 200 lbs on the floor made the difference between me being able to let go of the rope or not. The wake is very sensitive to weight placement and quantity. We will definitely experiment some more. Having 1 or 2 more passengers would probably make a big difference as well.

(passenger 65 lbs, driver is 110 lbs)

We spent about 3 hrs this weekend riding different setups, moving the weight fore and aft and side to side and this was optimal. I could get more weight to port if I put a ballast bag on the port side seat but I like to be able to get to the battery switch). I'm thinking 100lbs lead/steel shot in the corner of the port/rear locker would be ideal. If I had 200 lbs of shot and just the stern 650 lb bag, I would place the stern bag int he middle and then the shot under the bench. I could then fairly quickly change from regular to goofy.

We have a wakebooster. I spent a fair bit of time with and without it and came to the conclusion that the wakebooster definitely improves the wave shape. It does not make it taller, but it cleans up the water and we get a little more push.

We found our best speed (thanks to Hydrophase @Ridesteady) is 10.7-10.8 mph (GPS). WIthout the speed control, it really wasn't pleasant being behind the boat for surfing.

My daughter and wife certainly could let go of the rope and stay that way all day long and do some tricks. They can slide back, accelerate, move forward and move up and down on the wave. I on the other hand weight 210 lbs. I'm riding a Hyperlite 5' 3" board. I could let go of the rope but the area of the max push is so small that if I fall behind by 6 inches, I can't get back into the push. Also, I have to weight the board forward in such a way that if a wave comes along, the nose goes under. I need a bigger board (we have 3 now, no more shopping this year) or a bigger wave! That being said, I have a ton of fun even with the rope. I can also let it go in the water and if I fall behind I can grab it.

Another observation is that the angle of the bimini top is not correct for surfing. If the rope is on top, there's a lot of tension on the bimini to get the rider out of the water. If the rope is underneath, then it rubs while the rider is out of the water. I'll have to see what adjustments to the mounts are possible. I'm thinking of just bringing the back down about 3".

The wave is about knee high for me.

I noticed the boat does take on a bit of water in this configuration. I'm not sure if it's coming in through the cleat or through the stern deck plate. I'll have to tape some areas up and see. Not enough to worry about, but the bilge pump would come on every 90-120 minutes.

I've just realized how difficult it is to take pictures of a wave! The reflection of the water combined with a bright background wash everything out. I wasn't willing to hold my phone over the side. I'll try with a go pro on a stick next weekend.




Bottom line: The AR190/195 are not wakesurf boats! They are great multi-purpose boats (which is what we purchased ours for) but if you are 90% into surfing and 10% into other boating activities, buy another boat! On the other hand, if you don't mind the rope, have a lighter crew or this is just 10-30% of what you do on the water, you can certainly come up with a setup that is workable.

Costs add up quick:
- RideSteady (worth every penny for surfing, wakeboarding, etc...)
- Yamaha wakesurf package for AR195
- 650 lb transom bag
- 370 lb ski locker bag
- 3 boards for different weight ranges

I think my next purchase will be either 200 lbs of lead bags OR a ballast pump system where I can leave my 200 lb bags in the after lockers and just flip a switch to fill/empty. I'll have to test weight placement a big more. Maybe sand in HomeDepot 5 Gal buckets??

In Canada, the Wakebooster is actually labelled as the WakeEnhancer, which IMHO is a better description. It does not boost the wake size, but it cleans it up.

 

[Wright2e]

In the JetBoatPilot video above, they have by my account over 1500 lbs of ballast, mostly on the port side. @DavisAR195 was using 1350lbs.

For our boat, with the weight we have available, we found the following the optimum setup:
- 650 lbs bag on the transom (port side)
- 200 lbs on the rear/ port side floor
- 350 lbs in the ski locker

total: 1200 lbs

Adding 200 lbs on the floor made the difference between me being able to let go of the rope or not. The wake is very sensitive to weight placement and quantity. We will definitely experiment some more. Having 1 or 2 more passengers would probably make a big difference as well.

(passenger 65 lbs, driver is 110 lbs)

We spent about 3 hrs this weekend riding different setups, moving the weight fore and aft and side to side and this was optimal. I could get more weight to port if I put a ballast bag on the port side seat but I like to be able to get to the battery switch). I'm thinking 100lbs lead/steel shot in the corner of the port/rear locker would be ideal. If I had 200 lbs of shot and just the stern 650 lb bag, I would place the stern bag int he middle and then the shot under the bench. I could then fairly quickly change from regular to goofy.

We have a wakebooster. I spent a fair bit of time with and without it and came to the conclusion that the wakebooster definitely improves the wave shape. It does not make it taller, but it cleans up the water and we get a little more push.

We found our best speed (Hydrophase Ridesteady) is 10.7-10.8 mph (GPS).

My daughter and wife certainly could let go of the rope and stay that way all day long and do some tricks. They can slide back, accelerate, move forward and move up and down on the wave. I on the other hand weight 210 lbs. I'm riding a Hyperlite 5' 3" board. I could let go of the rope but the area of the max push is so small that if I fall behind by 6 inches, I can't get back into the push. Also, I have to weight the board forward in such a way that if a wave comes along, the nose goes under. I need a bigger board (we have 3 now, no more shopping this year) or a bigger wave! That being said, I have a ton of fun even with the rope. I can also let it go in the water and if I fall behind I can grab it.

The wave is about knee high for me.

I noticed the boat does take on a bit of water in this configuration. I'm not sure if it's coming in through the cleat or through the stern deck plate. I'll have to tape some areas up and see. Not enough to worry about, but the bilge pump would come on every 90-120 minutes.

I've just realized how difficult it is to take pictures of a wave! The reflection of the water combined with a bright background wash everything out. I wasn't willing to hold my phone over the side. I'll try with a go pro on a stick next weekend.
View attachment 118535

View attachment 118536

Bottom line: The AR190/195 are not wakesurf boats! They are great multi-purpose boats (which is what we purchased ours for) but if you are 90% into surfing and 10% into other boating activities, buy another boat! On the other hand, if you don't mind the rope, have a lighter crew or this is just 10-30% of what you do on the water, you can certainly come up with a setup that is workable.

Costs add up quick:
- RideSteady (worth every penny for surfing, wakeboarding, etc...)
- Yamaha wakesurf package for AR195
- 650 lb transom bag
- 370 lb ski locker bag
- 3 boards for different weight ranges

I think my next purchase will be either 200 lbs of lead bags OR a ballast pump system where I can leave my 200 lb bags in the after lockers and just flip a switch to fill/empty. I'll have to test weight placement a big more. Maybe sand in HomeDepot 5 Gal buckets??

In Canada, the Wakebooster is actually labelled as the WakeEnhancer, which IMHO is a better description. It does not boost the wake size, but it cleans it up.

We’re you also using the Wakebooster or just the weight only?

 

[marcham]

Yes we were. We tried with and without. It's better with it installed. We noticed that there is some adjustment possible to it, and it does affect the wake. When adjusted to have a less pronounced angle, the wake is a little steeper and has more push. I almost feel like it directs a little too much water to the middle of the boat.

 

[marcham]

Btw, I plan on getting a foil in 2021. Hopefully prices will have cone down a little by then.

 

[Rygoo1]

I have a ‘18 sx195, just attempted surfing it for first time this weekend. I have the thrust vector w installed and had a 540 sumo sac strapped to the lower swim platform. Both a buddy and I were able to go rope less. Hyperlite Landlock board. Boat had about 400lbs of riders in it, 350# on the ski side and as you can see, had the bag biased more to port side for me, not realizing my buddy surfs starboard side. We found a touch slower ~9.5 mph produced the best push. Just moving a passenger to the ski side really made a difference, looking at adding a couple hundred more pounds to the ski side ballast. Best part was no forced turn! Hope this helps!

 

[—Яiвs>]

Great tips for us that just purchased to help fine tune. Look forward to some winter mods and Surfing next season.