Getting there

[zroutt]

Worked on getting the wake dialed in for surfing. Definitely still got some work to do to clean up that mush on the wave. Didn't get any video of it but at one point the goofy side was crazy sick.

I need to work on my ballast setup because for some reason when I fill up my one of my bags through the GIII they all fill up. :( I may dig into it today and check my "sprinkler system" and valves. So then they all fill up and then I have to drain the other side from surf. Takes way too long. So I got tired of filling ballasts and had kids getting restless in the boat, so it was time to surf. I think I was only 3/4 full surf vlocker and 3/4 full basement. Definitely need more list. Might get a Tsunami and a 400#er to put on surf side corner seat this week for labor day weekend.

Anyways finally yesterday got the feeling of push and how to work with it. Then at the end of both videos I was able to let go of the rope for a bit :)


http://youtu.be/VKFfiF9Bg1A

http://youtu.be/xSWMmtPV4cY

[kaneboats]

You are definitely getting there and looking comfortable on the board. The wave is still pretty washed out. Some folks have used plastic garbage cans or bins as a cheap way to add ballast in order to figure out what they need. If you could get another 200 lbs. or so on the surf side I think that wave would clean up. Ideally you get a 750 bag for that rear corner though. Good progress so far though. I think you should shorten that rope by about 6 feet so you aren't fighting it so much.

[zroutt]

Thanks Kane,

I have a 750#er in both v-lockers. But like I am working on a thread in the Service and Repair area, my ballast system isn't working optimal, and with the kids getting antsy I thought it best to get in the water before I had a mutiny on my hands. My surf side 750 wasn't completely full. I am contemplating on purchasing a 400#er and a tsunami to put on the seat. The other thing I am thinking of is getting a bag to go under the seats on surf side and tie that into that GIII system.

My rope has two sections to it. I took one off and it was a lot shorter than the other section so maybe I just swap sections and that should be the right length. Wife is loving to drive though. She likes driving for wakesurfing way better than wakeboarding. Plus I am right there to talk to her and walk her through any changes.

[bergermaister]

If you do an extra bag on the surf side with a handheld to experiment with I'd suggest doing it on the floor, then have the kids/passengers sit on the same side and they can just rest their feet on it. The boat should still lean over enough with that added weight and then you're not giving up and seating or access to the cooler!

[zroutt]

Solid tip, thanks man. Off to the classifieds :)

[mmandley]

What speed are you going bro? Even with 750s not filled all the way as long as people stay on the surf side you can dial that in pretty easy. The regular side of the surf is much easier and forgiving. You might try a little faster speed and play with the wake plate. I try to always dial the wave in before people get in because once there in the wave its hard to see it clearly.

You are looking good though and i can see the wave grabing and pushing you at times when you hit the sweet spot.

Another thing to try when comming up on the surf wave is heel hard on the bard to cut wide when you first come up and get away from the wash then you wont be fighting to climb over that wave.

[zroutt]

I think for most of the videos we were doing about 9-10 by gps, we tried 11 and turning about 4mins in on the first video and the wave cleaned up a little. With my wife driving and the kids getting restless is why I just jumped in the water. Tough to keep everyone happy. When I am the only one wakesurfing, and the kids want to get to the tube.

Makes sense about setting up the wave first. Looking at the videos its hard to see what its really doing with me on it. Thanks for the tip.

[mmandley]

Video is awesome though and we started doing more this year. Its great to show people and your self what your doing out there so you can fix small issues. You look great on the board though, i think its just the wave holding you back man. Id put them kids in the tube first, wear there little butts out then tell them its Dads turn sit down and be nice to your mother while i ride or you dont get any more tubing today LOL But easy for me to say at this point as i dont have the kids yet haha

[zroutt]

Its tough too because I only have one child but I had my two nieces and my nephew with me as well. They don't always go on the boat so I wanted to make sure they have a good time.

I am hoping I look comfortable on the board. I surfed Santa Cruz and San Fransisco for 15 years. Just getting back into surfing and doing what I have done behind our new to us boat the last couple of weekends puts the biggest smile on my face. I want to get that wave cleaned up as I am confident I will get the surfing side down, its just getting the wave right to give me enough push to work with.

Its interesting though that at least so far there is a different feel to these waves than ocean waves. I love it all the same though. My wife says I have been a breeze to live with the last couple of weeks. I forgot how much I loved surfing after not doing it for 10 years, being landlocked in South Dakota.

[bergermaister]

My wife says I have been a breeze to live with the last couple of weeks.

Now that's funny! Same that one for ammo in your sure-to-happen future upgrades.

[zroutt]

I sure will.

[zroutt]

Getting 'er dialed in.

After some issues with ballast switches, solenoids, fuses, the last couple of weeks. Got out on the lake yesterday with a full 750#'s in the vdrive locker, 1100#'s in center locker, 6 adults on surfside, 100# dog + driver on starboard side, this wave had more push than I knew what to do with. I wished the people in the boat got a better video of me after this. We did a full rotation and everybody on the boat was able to surf. Most didn't let go of the rope which was fine, but they all got to experience the push.

This was my first rotation and still getting it dialed in. The center locker drained a little bit before I knew it so filled it up for my second session and surfed for almost 2mins free wired. People in the boat were so stoked they forgot to film it. I also surfed up to the swimplatform and successfully backed off with applying pressure on my backfoot. I even got the pump down to get back to the pocket a couple of times. Anyways here is the first surf of the day. The wave only got better as we kept going and played with trim. So now to order another bag to put in place when I don't have all the people ballast.


http://youtu.be/KV7LqhC2HDM

[bergermaister]

Woo hoo - lookin much better! Looked like you were fighting some rough water there as well. Surfing on some butter and you'll be tearing it up even more.

[zroutt]

It sucked that they didn't get the second of my session. The wave was everything I have been looking for, was carving up and down, pumped to get into the pocket a couple of times, fully free wired.

We went back into a cove with no traffic and it was about as butter as I am going to expect from this boat. I am still smiling as I write this. Brings back so much memory of surfing in Santa Cruz through high school and early college. So glad to have found this sport that I can get back to what I like to refer to the end of a session. "A state of blissful exhaustion"

[kaneboats]

Yup, that's looking a heckuva lot better. I think you can get it even a little better but you know what you need to know now so you can fine tune it. I'd say ENJOY, but you seem to already have that part down! :grin:

[bergermaister]

Just dawned on me - you riding in a river or anywhere with a current?

On Wednesday night here we did a little surfing and although our river has finally slowed down there is still a current. I'll run about 10.5-11mph downstream, the drop it to around 8.5-9mph to run back upstream. I'm PP Stargazer GPS based so gotta make up for the moving water underneath us.

Although I didn't think it made much of a difference initially, my daughter wakeboarding was asking for more speed changes too. Ran her 21.5 downstream, 19.5 upstream to keep her happy.

[zroutt]

No we are on Angostura Lake, about 40 minutes from Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. The chop was coming from another boat that had the parents of a couple of teenagers getting their first surf session on. Their daughter was driving and didn't realize they were causing our chop.

After they disappeared back to the beach, I added some more ballast to the front, and it was an amazing wave with about a 5ft pocket and plenty of push. Got a good 1.5-2min ride wireless. Felt so good. Can't wait to get back out there this morning.

Ordered a tsunami hand pump and some fittings for my other 750#er in case we don't have enough people ballast. Supposed to be delivered this am by UPS.