Wake Surfing on the 210 (now a build thread)

[brian86992]

Not a whole lot of info on this forum about wake surfing the FSH so I'm going to start and continue a thread as I get my boat dialed in.

First thing to say: right out the gate with just the Wakebooster and zero other improvements (3 adults in boat) I was able to throw a wake good enough for my girlfriend to surf ropeless in choppy water. That's damn good.


With 5 adults on the boat I (200 lbs) was able to go ropeless for a few seconds. Also of note, I'm a beginner wake surfer so no pro trickery here.

Next up: lots of ballast bags and getting better with throttle control or using no wake mode to keep a constant speed.


Biggest cons

• Starboard throttle slips back. Tightened tension to help that
• Jet wash absolutely blasts the surfer. Two things to help:
  • Start surfer far off the surf side of the boat so they're not behind it
  • Turn jets away from surfer that is centered behind the boat just before launching
  • Step off the swim platform
• Definitely more jet wash in the center of the wake as compared to an inboard. Actually kind of fun to surf in but very turbulent

You can see the difference the Wakebooster makes in this photo

 

[Tailwaters]

Have done a little wake surfing behind our new 210. All stock so unfortunately not able to do it without the aid of a rope. But the kids absolutely love it. So will be looking for some sort of bolt on to create a rideable wave without a rope.

 

[Franced123]

Looks like fun!

 

[anmut]

What speed did you find worked the best? I'm 200lbs and have gone ropeless once so far, but even with ballast and the wakebooster, having a hard time trying to find that sweet spot to get back to ropeless.

 

[cgcaraway]

What speed did you find worked the best? I'm 200lbs and have gone ropeless once so far, but even with ballast and the wakebooster, having a hard time trying to find that sweet spot to get back to ropeless.

I'm in the same boat, gone ropeless for about 10 seconds but can't seem to get any more push. I'm thinking it maybe technique but still trying to dial it all in.

 

[anmut]

I'm in the same boat, gone ropeless for about 10 seconds but can't seem to get any more push. I'm thinking it maybe technique but still trying to dial it all in.

I look at the big waves that people are getting with legit surf boats and just don't see that with my boat, even with all the ballast, booster, and people. I know we're trying to make something out of nothing, but still, has me contemplating selling for a v-drive... then I think about props, low speed, winterizing, weight, bad surf wakes for goofy riders, and having to start over on the mods and it makes me face-palm.

 

[Tailwaters]

Thus far my daughter's and a few of there friends have been the only ones that have tried it. They weigh all but 90lbs. We had 3 people sit on the swim platform for ballis. Also moved the rope to main support on the t-top to pull them up. And yes I know that's a no, no but they weigh next to nothing and once they pop up there's really no stress on the top. This made a huge difference in getting up fast and easy. As for speed it seemed to me about 16 mph was the sweet spot. Tried dropping the rope but there's simply not enough push generated by the wave to make it work.

 

[cgcaraway]

I look at the big waves that people are getting with legit surf boats and just don't see that with my boat, even with all the ballast, booster, and people. I know we're trying to make something out of nothing, but still, has me contemplating selling for a v-drive... then I think about props, low speed, winterizing, weight, bad surf wakes for goofy riders, and having to start over on the mods and it makes me face-palm.

I feel you, I'm not giving up yet. I see people on this forum surfing so I know it can be done. I agree we're not going to get the size that a v-drive gets. I plan on moving some ballast around and playing with the speed. I may try around 11.4 mph and move down. I can say we are moving in the right direction, 2 weeks ago my son could not go ropeless for more than a few seconds. He is now surfing for a good 45 minutes. I'll keep you posted on what we find out.

 

[Tailwaters]

I knew it would be borderline to start with. But shy of going to a v-drive it's the only other option. Kids love it and still have a blast even with the rope

 

[anmut]

Thus far my daughter's and a few of there friends have been the only ones that have tried it. They weigh all but 90lbs. We had 3 people sit on the swim platform for ballis. Also moved the rope to main support on the t-top to pull them up. And yes I know that's a no, no but they weigh next to nothing and once they pop up there's really no stress on the top. This made a huge difference in getting up fast and easy. As for speed it seemed to me about 16 mph was the sweet spot. Tried dropping the rope but there's simply not enough push generated by the wave to make it work.

16mph! Wow, i've been in the 11mph - maybe I should mess around with getting a little faster.

 

[cgcaraway]

16mph! Wow, i've been in the 11mph - maybe I should mess around with getting a little faster.

From what's been stated here on the forum, it sounds like 9-12mph is the sweet spot. I have Ride Steady on my boat and we'll play around at the higher side of this range and then start coming down. I think we are getting a decent wake but not 100% sure. We are complete newbs at this.

 

[anmut]

That's a pretty clean looking wake. I'm going to mess around Friday morning with the RS and see if I can't dial in an optimal speed. My other option is to learn how to ride goofy on the port side wake instead of starboard (heel in surfing).

 

[suke]

I look at the big waves that people are getting with legit surf boats and just don't see that with my boat, even with all the ballast, booster, and people. I know we're trying to make something out of nothing, but still, has me contemplating selling for a v-drive... then I think about props, low speed, winterizing, weight, bad surf wakes for goofy riders, and having to start over on the mods and it makes me face-palm.

All depends on how much you surf. I surf about 5 mins every time we take the boat out. The remaining several hours out there is spent doing other things the jet boat excels or does fine at. If you surf 90% of the time and do other things a small amount of time then a v-drive is probably for you. When my little one gets older I'm hoping v-drive will be in our future as I want to surf more than I'm able to now. However, with my stock 212x and wakebooster for the 24' I'm able to go ropeless easily at 11mph with no more than 160lbs of people in the boat( wife and little one).

 

[brian86992]

Ordered 2150 lbs of ballast today. Going to have this thing slammed and we'll see how it does. Usually I'm around 11-12 mph but will keep playing with speed.

I'll echo the comments of the others regarding V drive vs jet. The no prop to worry about in the shallow lakes is awesome. My true criteria was I wanted a CC I could surf from and the FSH, Scarab Open and Mastercraft CSX (2007-2010) are the only ones on the market.

 

[JBYSLC]

@brian86992 Did you try to surf before you got the Wakebooster? We have had decent success on our FSH 210 surfing, not ropeless, and I am wondering if it is worth the money to add the Wakebooster?

 

[brian86992]

@brian86992 Did you try to surf before you got the Wakebooster? We have had decent success on our FSH 210 surfing, not ropeless, and I am wondering if it is worth the money to add the Wakebooster?

Yes, I’ve surfed without the wake booster as well and while it’s still fun, the wake booster cleans up the wake a LOT. Instead of a bubbly turbulent wave it’s a clean smooth one. In fact, it’s so good it even curls over at the top a little bit. In addition to smoothing it (mostly by getting rid of jet wash) it makes it a bit larger too.

This weekend I’ll get some good videos comparing the two.

 

[JBYSLC]

Yes, I’ve surfed without the wake booster as well and while it’s still fun, the wake booster cleans up the wake a LOT. Instead of a bubbly turbulent wave it’s a clean smooth one. In fact, it’s so good it even curls over at the top a little bit. In addition to smoothing it (mostly by getting rid of jet wash) it makes it a bit larger too.

This weekend I’ll get some good videos comparing the two.

That's awesome! It will be cool to see your videos, but based on your experience, I better run and out and try it myself!

 

[brian86992]

Didn't get as good of a video of the wake as I wanted to but here's a little clip. You can see in the middle of the video when it starts to lose shape and get frothy that's going too slow... probably 9 mph. It cleans back up above 10 mph.

Had 8 adults on board this day. Lots of trouble keeping a constant speed.... Perfect Pass or similar might be in my future.

Edit: Perfect Pass ordered. Dang thing is expensive but constantly babysitting speed is so tasking on the driver. For those that aren't already aware, Cruise Assist is only RPM based not actual speed so while not planed out, it's totally useless.

 

[anmut]

View attachment 125815


Didn't get as good of a video of the wake as I wanted to but here's a little clip. You can see in the middle of the video when it starts to lose shape and get frothy that's going too slow... probably 9 mph. It cleans back up above 10 mph.

Had 8 adults on board this day. Lots of trouble keeping a constant speed.... Perfect Pass or similar might be in my future.

Edit: Perfect Pass ordered. Dang thing is expensive but constantly babysitting speed is so tasking on the driver. For those that aren't already aware, Cruise Assist is only RPM based not actual speed so while not planed out, it's totally useless.

I installed Ride Steady two weeks ago - it's made our lives 100% easier for towing anyone.

 

[brian86992]

I installed Ride Steady two weeks ago - it's made our lives 100% easier for towing anyone.

How much can you notice it throttling the engines during wakeboarding? When I was out with 8 adults, above 18 mph it would start to plane out then at 20 once more hull is out of the water it would shoot up to 25. Throttle back down, rinse and repeat. Really annoying. I'm wondering how hard the PP will have to work to prevent that from happening.