OBV surf ballast [Archive]

mikenehrkorn

07-23-2013, 07:57 AM

My advice is to upgrade the ballast before you even buy a board. Your stock wave will frustrate you. If you add an 1100 on your surf side v-drive locker, add about 250-400 under your surf side seats, and add an IBS or 400 or more #s to the bow, you will surf ropeless on day one with just about any board you can buy.

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I have a question about ballast set up for my OBV. We tried wakesurfing for the first time with the stock set up and I was less than impressed. Would this advice on additional ballast apply to my OBV as well? Or are there other recommendations that you could direct me to?

wolfeman131

07-23-2013, 08:03 AM

jmvotto

07-23-2013, 09:45 AM

buy a 750 for the rear locker and I put and ibs in the bow of our obv and it surfed pretty well,

also add friends to the surf side.

mikenehrkorn

07-23-2013, 07:24 PM

moved it so you didn't highjack and/or have info buried in the other thread.

How else did you have the boat set up? Speed, wakeplate, people?

Sure an upgrade to your ballast will help (750 in surf side full, center full, and IBS/weight in the bow if you want to) but here is an good, old thread from when we first starting surfing:

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?11701-THANKS-Ed-G-amp-Al-for-minimalist-surfing-tips&highlight=tips

My son didn't have much issue (6' - 140lbs.) and could probably go ropeless with some more practice, but my big arse (6'2" 230 lbs.) really struggled. It seemed that there was no real "definition" to my wave and was just all washed out.

Here's the basic setup I had:
- center locker full
- surf side rear full
- opposite surf side rear - 50% full
- wakeplate about 3/4 down (up just seemed to let the wave wash out)
- speed around 9.5-10mph
- one teenager in bow
- my wife and one other teenager in stern on surf side

Aside from adding more ballast or friends/teenagers, should I go ahead and fill the opposite of surf side full? Or maybe leave it empty?

Thanks for the help....

wolfeman131

07-25-2013, 09:42 AM

My son didn't have much issue (6' - 140lbs.) and could probably go ropeless with some more practice, but my big arse (6'2" 230 lbs.) really struggled. It seemed that there was no real "definition" to my wave and was just all washed out.

Here's the basic setup I had:
- center locker full
- surf side rear full
- opposite surf side rear - 50% full
- wakeplate about 3/4 down (up just seemed to let the wave wash out)
- speed around 9.5-10mph
- one teenager in bow
- my wife and one other teenager in stern on surf side

Aside from adding more ballast or friends/teenagers, should I go ahead and fill the opposite of surf side full? Or maybe leave it empty?

Thanks for the help....

on your model boat, you need to have the opposite side empty. everything else you have is about right. play around with different speed & wakeplate settings.

jmvotto

07-25-2013, 09:47 AM

Add the port bag to the surf locker to. Simulate. A 750 If you have a pump.

I assume you have the 400 in the rear lockers.

wolfeman131

07-25-2013, 09:50 AM

Add the port bag to the surf locker to. Simulate. A 750 If you have a pump.

I assume you have the 400 in the rear lockers.

good point. I thought he may have added a 750 from a post in another thread, but might be wrong about that. And, I re-read your post and wakeplate needs to be 3/4 UP, not down.

mikenehrkorn

07-25-2013, 02:13 PM

Thanks for all the tips, I will try those suggestions.

mikenehrkorn

07-28-2013, 10:49 AM

parrothd

07-28-2013, 12:46 PM

Think I have the same hull, I run IBS 650, center 400?, rear port side 750, 400 under the port seat and now we add a 300ish near the port seats.. 10 mph, and the wake plate 3/4 up to start then down until the wave looks nice. You should get everyone seated, then drop your first surfer in the water to check the wave without their weight...

Just get the 750 from WakeMAKERS, it'll mold to the space..

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

costanza

07-28-2013, 07:32 PM

I was looking at the fat sac 750 and its quite a bit longer (50" vs 36") than the length of the rear locker -- does it mold pretty well to the locker size or would that really put too much pressure on the sides when near full? Or maybe i should be looking at a different sac with different dimensions?

Hey there Mike, I just received and installed my 750 pound fat sac this weekend (from wakemakers - I got the 750 fly high 50x20x20) and it fits perfect (even seems to have room to spare)!! I can't comment on how big a difference it makes for the wake yet as I had 3 guys in the boat that weighed 250-350 pounds each so the wake was insane! I think the upgrade on it's own will make a big difference. The install of the upgraded sac literally took me under 1 minute! I've just brought the old sac home that was previously in there and will take off the glued in fittings and use it placed somewhere else on the boat. I'll play around to see what works best. Any recommendations on where I should put the sac I just took out??? I've only upgraded one side for now but after seeing how easy it was to setup , I'm sure I'll be replacing the other side as well, then I'll have 2 extra sacs to play around with ... :o) Any tips on where to place extra sacs appreciated, as I've got the same boat... Good Luck Mike, and definitely get the upgraded sacs for the back!! I'll take a pic next weekend and post the wake I get with the upgrade... My wife can surf with the factory sac, but it's not enough to get my butt surfing without the rope (5'10 200 pounds). It may be the board we're using too??

We've been surfing with full surf side, full middle and wake plate all the way down and going 11mph and have been impressed with factury wake... Even better now with upgrade! Maybe I need to adjust speed down and change wake plate??

mikenehrkorn

07-28-2013, 09:13 PM

Hey there Mike, I just received and installed my 750 pound fat sac this weekend (from wakemakers - I got the 750 fly high 50x20x20) and it fits perfect (even seems to have room to spare)!!

Thanks for the info. If you have still have room to spare with the 750, maybe it would be better to get the 1100?? Its a bit bigger and might not be able to be filled all the way, but maybe the better way to go? If anybody has experience (good or bad) with the 1100lb bag please let me know.

I'll take a pic next weekend and post the wake I get with the upgrade...

Thanks, I would love to see a pic when you get one.

wolfeman131

07-29-2013, 12:07 AM

The 1,100 is too much for the OBV, IMO

mikenehrkorn

07-29-2013, 08:45 AM

Too much for the boat or the size of that locker? I ask because I just looked at the wakemakers site and they advertise a 1100+ custom bag (that starts in the locker and extends up under port seats) just for the 2009+ OBVs.

wolfeman131

07-29-2013, 12:23 PM

I was referring to 1,100 just in the locker as I didn't know that they had a bag that extended up under the seats. The guys at wakemakers are the experts, so go with whatever they recommend.

mikenehrkorn

07-29-2013, 04:11 PM

Once you upgrade to a larger bag how do you recalibrate the stock pump to stay on longer? And is the % readout on the dash still accurate or is there a way to recalibrate that as well?

Thanks.

wolfeman131

07-29-2013, 04:35 PM

I think it's the same on yours as mine:

menu, ballast, adjust timers

the % is a simple calculation for the amount of time the pump has been running/switch has been flipped. some of us have hit the switch, the pump has failed to come on and the % reaches 100% or 0% then you get to toggle the dang thing off/on 100 times to either fill/empty the bag.

costanza

07-30-2013, 10:15 AM

Thanks Mike and Drew, I was going to ask about changing the menu to reflect new bag! With the 750 bag the locker is filled about 2/3 of the way. I saw in a post somewhere that the 1100 is too big, but some were saying they just don't fill it all the way... I took the old valves off the standard bag last night. The heating with blow dryer worked like a charm. Now I've not got a 400 pound sack to try somewhere else in the boat. Bring on the weekend!! I'm kinda kicking myself for listening to my wife and not getting the LSV for the cost difference - but don't tell her that... ;)

When I took out the 400 pound stock sack I was amazed at how tiny it actually is...

wolfeman131

07-30-2013, 11:36 AM

never admit how small your sac is . . . .

costanza

07-30-2013, 11:44 AM

never admit how small your sac is . . . .

l-o-l!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

costanza

08-06-2013, 08:21 AM

Here's the surf side with full 750 sac. I had that, the 400 pulled out of there, filled on the corner seat and front ballast full, and it was a HUGE improvement on the wake.

18069

mikenehrkorn

08-06-2013, 08:37 AM

The 1100 wouldn't fill all the way but there's definitely some room in there for a bit more weight than just the 750. Thanks for taking the pic, I really appreciate it.

costanza

08-06-2013, 09:31 AM

I forgot to take a good picture of just the wake with the new setup of sacs I have. Attached is one of a friend trying it for the first time... He was just going down the wake, so you can kinda see what the wake is like... The 750 plus stock 400 recycled in the corner made a huge difference! I was driving at 11mph with plate all the way down.

18070