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View Full Version : Need some help with my wake consistency



NCSUmoomba
05-26-2009, 01:43 PM
Gang. I need some help with my wake. I have a 2001 Outback direct drive. My current ballast setup is as follows:

Rear ski locker - 750# fat sac, mostly full = Approx 600#
Rear floor behind engine box - 260# fat sac, full = 260#
Under front bow seats - (2) 260# fat sacs, mostly full = Approx 400#
Open bow walkway - 260# fat sac, almost full = Approx 240#

Total Approx ballast = 1500# about 57% rear, 43% rear

At about 21-22 mph, and the boat tracking straight, the wake is very nice. Nice shape, nice height, nice firmness. The problem is that the boat is hardly ever tracking straight and level. It seems to get "hung" rolled slightly over towards one side or the other. The the wake gets really washed out. We move people around to try and compensate. I try to turn the boat to get it to stand back up. I don't have a lot of luck getting it level. This is even if the rider is not loading the line up. It seems to be unpredictable, and it is inconsistent. This is quite frustrating. It also seems to track through the water a tad bit sideways sometimes too.

Does anyone else have any experience with this and correcting this? Is this just what an Outback does when loaded up since it is a slalom hull?

The only things I could think of is that maybe the rear fat sac is "sloshing" back and forth causing (or contributing) to this problem. Maybe some smaller bags might help this out (or a custom sac). Also, as for the tracking issue, maybe adding another tracking fin or two further towards the stern might help. Or could that make it worse. I only have two fins, but some of the boats seem to have three?

Any ideas?

mmandley
05-27-2009, 10:16 AM
Might be the rear ski locker bag sloshing too. If its not completely full the water will slosh some.

Im more concerned with tracking with no weight.

Are you tracking straight then? If not then maybe a tracking fin will help. Other wise Just kinda have to fill the bags one by one and see whats causing the rocking.

I know last weekend was the first time i had tracking issues. I had 10 peeps in the boat and friend Steve was wake boarding and hes 6.5 250+ and when he would go wide i could realy feel him pulling the tower and pulling the boat some. I was having to correct for this and would wash the wake on one side but was able to get it solid before he made it to the center again.

Fare shot but is the rudder lose or moving a little when traveling? I know when under a load my steering is super sensitive.

jasonwm
05-27-2009, 09:49 PM
The weight you have in the boat is evenly distributed from front to rear, but almost all of it is distributed right along the midline of the boat. I would try adding some additional weight on either side of the engine compartment to make the boat more stable and less susceptible to rocking from side-to-side when the rider edges.