97 outback setup for wakesurf/wakeboard

[resko1]

I recently bought a 97 outback from a friend for a good deal. We spent the day out with him before buying it. Just cruising and a little tubing with the kids. This weekend was my first time out on the river with it and some friends. I added 300# of sand bags into the rear seats and we had 8 people aboard, 2 of which were 250#. I had them in the rear port side for a better wake, and a few ladies up front. It just seemed we couldnt get much for a decent wake out of it. Running about 18-20mph. We slowed it down to about 12 mph and tried wake surfing and the wave was horrible. Lots of wash and if i tried to slow it down the riders complained it was too slow to stay up.
My question is where should i start at getting a better wave? Some have said more weight, some say trim tabs, some say prop. Is it a combination? Thanks for the advice in advance.

[BT_48170]

Is this a direct drive or v-drive? I have a dd mobius and while not probably desirable by advanced riders in either case it should still get you out there and provide for some fun. I have a couple friends that I would consider advanced wakeboarders, when they come out on my boat they are still able to clear the wake easily and do many of the tricks they do behind loaded down v-drives with minimal ballast in the boat. Are your friends advanced wakeboarders or beginners? If beginners it might be more about the mechanics of getting lift of the wake (mostly coming in on an edge and locking your knees before you hit the wake). Also for wakeboarding what rope length are you using? You might try shortening the rope if you feel you're too far out. For wakesurfing you might be able to get to the point where you can free surf but it will probably be like you find the pocket of the wave and stay there. For my boat we need about 5 people in the boat plus the rear and center ballast full, at 9-10 mph and a big left turn you can free surf if you find the sweet spot of the wave. Surfing with a small wave is also going to be pretty dependent on the board you have, if you have one of the skim style boards and a heavy rider it's probably not going to work. For my boat it is also very dependent on the driver, you have to be able to find the best wave possible and then keep it there, it takes a bit of practice. Good luck.

[kaneboats]

Have a look at this thread. It might help:

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?17837-Direct-Drive-and-Wakesurfing&highlight=surf+outback

[resko1]

Thanks guys. And yes it is DD. Im a beginner but a few of the guys and girls i ride with are more advanced. My buddy has an 01 supra launch and they usually ride behind that with full factory ballasts and 250# sack on the surf side. But he also has a factory trim tab and a deeper v haul design. We tried mine and it wasnt nearly as good. I know ill have to add weight but is there a benefit with adding on a trim tab? I dont get on plane till about 15mph now and im told a tab will help make the wave and pocket longer by keeping the bow down.
Mine buddy specifically said, " get the bennett tabs in the rear, add about 400-600# to the rear side your surfing on, and buy gps perfect pass and you'll be set." Is this a somewhat true statement?

[kaneboats]

Yes, yes, yes.

[resko1]

Awesome. Thanks. I just contacted Bennett trim tabs in finding the correct setup for my boat. Im also looking at a set of Fly High 400# sacks. I will have to wait till spring for the Perfect Pass since our season is almost over here. I appreciate the help!

[kaneboats]

May want to check out this thread and save some coin.

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?26966-Cheap-fat-sacs-and-other-fly-high-stuff

[resko1]

May want to check out this thread and save some coin.

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?26966-Cheap-fat-sacs-and-other-fly-high-stuff

Awesome find! I will definitely check this out since i will be ordering sacs this weekend.

[viking]

Im also looking at a set of Fly High 400# sacks.

I have one of these for sale. Damn near brand new!
https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?26349-MISC-Items-for-Sale

[trayson]

direct drives need lots of weight in the rear corner and on the surfside. at a minimum I'd be putting a 750 on the surfside beside the engine. I found that on my Supra Sunsport DD, that my best setups were either slamming the rear corner (750 on floor beside engine, another 750 stacked on that but in the back seat as far as possible, and a 350 under the rear seat). Or you can do some kind of surf system (surf tabs, ghetto gate, etc) and take about the same amount of weight and have it a little more even (bag on either side of the engine).

I needed close to 2k in ballast to be satisfied with my DD surf wave.

[moombadaze]

look into a ghetto gate before putting tabs on

[resko1]

Wow! 2000# how did it ride? Im concerned about that much weight in mine as its rated at 1100# and it sits super low in the water already. We had 8 people aboard and 300# of sand. The back seemed ok but when 3 people sat in the bow we would take on water when a wake came by. I would think 1000# max is what i can fit. Maybe im wrong though.

[resko1]

I took a look at the ghetto gate setups. And i started browsing into peoples wake gate setups. I see wicked wake gate makes one. I also thought of using the trim tabs on the side vertical so i have a hydraulic actuator for adjustments. That has me thinking quite a bit now.

[trayson]

Wow! 2000# how did it ride? Im concerned about that much weight in mine as its rated at 1100# and it sits super low in the water already. We had 8 people aboard and 300# of sand. The back seemed ok but when 3 people sat in the bow we would take on water when a wake came by. I would think 1000# max is what i can fit. Maybe im wrong though.

Well, maybe my sunsport had more freeboard. But yeah, with that much weight in the rear corner, my rub rail was underwater halfway up the boat when I was underway. So yeah, it wasn't exactly confidence inspiring when we were sitting still. That's one of the reasons I went with a surf system on my Supra. then I could distribute my weight more evenly. And even on my XLV, I have to take the rollers sideways if I'm at rest or else I'd probably even take a little over the nose.


I took a look at the ghetto gate setups. And i started browsing into peoples wake gate setups. I see wicked wake gate makes one. I also thought of using the trim tabs on the side vertical so i have a hydraulic actuator for adjustments. That has me thinking quite a bit now.

Yeah, wicked wake is $250 for one side, $400 for both. You can make one yourself in an evening for about $40 in materials. 1/2" HDPE cutting boards work great.

[resko1]

I saw that. I think I could make a decent gate out of some plastic. Does anyone know what degree it needs to be at? I think I saw 22 degree angle.

[trayson]

I saw that. I think I could make a decent gate out of some plastic. Does anyone know what degree it needs to be at? I think I saw 22 degree angle.

Malibu surfgates use a 22.5 degree angle. that's what most people have modeled their stuff after. however, many members of this forum have done just fine with 0 degrees (just coming straight back off the hull as an extension of the non-surf side).

[viking]

Wow! 2000# how did it ride? Im concerned about that much weight in mine as its rated at 1100# and it sits super low in the water already. We had 8 people aboard and 300# of sand. The back seemed ok but when 3 people sat in the bow we would take on water when a wake came by. I would think 1000# max is what i can fit. Maybe im wrong though.

It depends on how many people you have on the boat. Not sure what size crew you ran Trayson?
On my 07 DD I usually had 4 adults and 3-4 kids. I'd run a 750lb under seat sac and 400lb along the doghouse, Driver, rider, and then one adult rear surf corner and other observers seat. We'd put the kids in the bow. If I was down a peep or 2 I had a 300lb sack I'd throw on the floor in the bow. Worked as well as it could on my DD without using a gate of any kind.
Very low freeboard and rollers over the bow were a real threat so driver had to be extremely alert!

[trayson]

It depends on how many people you have on the boat. Not sure what size crew you ran Trayson?
On my 07 DD I usually had 4 adults and 3-4 kids. I'd run a 750lb under seat sac and 400lb along the doghouse, Driver, rider, and then one adult rear surf corner and other observers seat. We'd put the kids in the bow. If I was down a peep or 2 I had a 300lb sack I'd throw on the floor in the bow. Worked as well as it could on my DD without using a gate of any kind.
Very low freeboard and rollers over the bow were a real threat so driver had to be extremely alert!

good point. Rarely if ever did we run a big crew. with my setup and 2k of ballast, it was quite often driver, spotter, and a kid. with no one in the bow.

[seftonm]

My friends and I all surf on the port side, we do ~700lbs under the rear seat, with two adults on the back corner and one in the observer's seat. If we have fewer people, I add a 500lb tank on the floor along the port side. I have a ghetto gate which helps, but isn't necessary for going ropeless and I don't always remember to bring it along. This is in a 2004 Outback direct drive, we generally surf at 9-10mph. The wake isn't huge, but we are able to go ropeless and have a good time.

For surfing, there's always some trial and error that you'll need to do figuring out how to weigh the boat down and what speeds work well for you. After a lot of fine tuning with ours, we can now get a wake that looks better than some V-drives on our lake. I'm sure that their problem is mostly that they haven't figured out the best way to weigh their boats down yet. I'm sure those boats would make a comparable or better wake one the owners figure out all its nuances. But after seeing them out a few times, I've learned that knowing how to set your boat up for surfing is very important.