How do you weight your Mobius LSV for Surfing?

I have an 03 Mobius LSV, a Mission Delta 2.0 wakeshaper, an adjustable Trim tab (center), and the following ballast setup:

• Two 950 lb sacks in the rear lockers
• One 850 lb sac in the ski locker
• One 750lb bow sac under the bow seats
• Total available weight = 1900 in rear, 1600 in front => 3,500 total

I haven't tried weighing the boat down in this configuration, and I'm not sure that it'd safely hold all of that weight anyway. I just bought the largest ballasts that would fit in the lockers to fill them to max capacity, so I can shift weight around.
This is new gear for me (started with much smaller ballasts, but needed a complete overhaul).
My Mobius likes to ride at 25% trim tab (gauge shows 0%min - 75% max settings) for best unweighted riding & wakeboard wake, to give an idea of how it's currently balanced unweighted (seems like the bow could use more weight by design)

Thinking of starting with 50/50 balance.

What year do you have?
How do you like to balance the ballast weight for Surfing?
Where do you set the trim & speed for that weight?
Where do you place the surf gate for Surfing?
If you found it, how much weight is TOO much?

It will work just fine. My buddy had 1100’s in the back above what you have and it surfed awesome.
We also through a 400lb on the surf side seat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Weight your surf side more heavily for a slight list/lean. Then adjust your nose weight accordingly based on the number of passengers. Your hull is older like mine but you can dial it in - even more with your plate. I don't have a wakeplate so that is where the front to back weight comes into play more.

Suck gate for me is right under the surface when running so you get the push without so much spray. Mine runs best about 2ft forward of the transom.

Speed depends on the conditions - total passengers/ballast, river current if any. I'm usually around 10.5 to 11.

You should be fine with that kind of weight - just watch the nose coming back at idle through any rollers unless you need to clean cushions and carpet, maybe a few passengers.

I run ~900 surf side rear, ~600 opposite side rear, 1080 belly/ski locker, and usually have 2-3 in the bow favoring the surf side, other passengers on the surf side or center seat if possible. Occasionally use (2) 400 sacs to make up for lack of passengers. No lead yet but I've been tempted.

I first tried the 50/50 balance with the suck gate and the wave was just too washed out. Need to bury the surf side a little to get the shape and height.

I'd also suggest having people move around as you are underway so you can immediately see the results of changing weight and list vs stopping and starting and trying to compare...

Wow these are great tips and good reassurance of the Mobius's ability to surf!! I will load down the rears and balance out the front as needed.

So Stazi - your friend has the lockers full of ballast (around 950-1000) and 1,100s on top of those!? So 4,000 in the rear?

Bergermeister - would you be using lead to further balance out the bow, or just to add more weight density? I'm trying to avoid it because I already run out of fuel on a full day of towing.. don't want the added weight cruising haha.. but has been tempting for balancing out the bow more.

Benefit of lead for me anyway would be more weight in a smaller package - easier to tuck in under seats or compartments vs a 400lb fat sac sitting on the seat or floor. I suppose that would translate to fine more tuning as well.

Downside is I don't want the extra weight all the time either. My older boat sits low enough with no ballast and I've been caught up in some gnarly, freak wind storms and waves that were almost the end of the MobiusV.

No sorry, he ran 1100’s in the rear.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I set mine up better now and will share tips for others.

The ACME 2035 prop pushes up to 3k ballast on the 2003 model with a 320 HP Throttle-Body Fuel Injected engine, but the engine is slugged at 200 RPM lower than recommended range at WOT (unweighted). FYI it ran 35mph (GPS) WOT at 4200 RPM.

I replaced it with an ACME 2079 prop, which put it in the sweet spot of RPM and lets me push 4,000 lb of ballast/people without issue (haven't tried more, but don't plan to). It runs 33.5 mph (GPS) WOT at 4600 RPM (right in the sweet spot for this engine).

I placed two 1175 Sumo Max sacs in the rear lockers, one 750 under the bow (make sure to cut off the little plastic tips under the cup holders and let them float loosely, or it could bust your bow ballast), and placed the fly high 1180 supra bag in the ski locker (only fills about halfway, but maximizes the space). I modded the ski locker bag & added a vent on top with RTV sealant & a 3/4" plastic thru-hull fitting (leave the hose connection exposed on top).. had to cut a hole with an x-acto knife (made it a little smaller than the thru-hole, the material stretches some). This helps maximize space with water & eliminate the air. I attached a quick connect, hose, threaded pvc socket and threaded pvc cap (all 3/4" size) with hose clamps to allow it to seal off. Slightly cumbersome, but worth it. If I were to do it again, I'd just do a quick disconnect with a cap/plug on the end.

I have tried the Swell wakeshaper 2 and the Mission Delta 2. Both do the job. The Mission seems to do a better job, cleaning up another 5+ feet of wave and letting it go back more parallel to the boat than the Swell. The Swell's suction cups are stronger but harder to attach. Had no issues of losing it, but I lost the Mission twice (sometimes it stays real good, othertimes not so good).. Fortunately someone found it and notified me a few days later.. so I attached a leash to it.

As for weighting the boat... it makes a huge wave with good curl behind it by filling the surf-side rear ballast 100%, fill the non-surf side 75%, place the shaper right under the water level (as high as the boat allows, while keeping it submerged) towards the rear of the boat. Weigh the ski locker full, the under-bow sac full. It does even better job placing your people weight on the surf side (we had 400 lb of people there). Ideally, place them in the bow with this setup. Drop the wakeplate trim to 0% and run at 10.8 mph. The surfable wave was about 10+ feet long and 3+ feet high. Unfortunately didn't get pictures.

I have another Sumo 675 bow bag that I'm going to try on top of the bow.. but it's really not needed. I also want to try both rear sacs full, with the 675 in the front on top of the bow seats.
I also plan to install one-way check valves in the thru-hulls (bilge & ski locker drain), in case rollers come up too high (unless these lines already have them installed under the floor). The thru-hull on the surf side is 3-6 inches from the water surface.

I have a 2007 LSV, 750's in the rear lockers (surf side filled 100%, non-surf side about 85%). Belly bag full...I really think you can only get 300-400 lbs in the belly. I put the wake shaper (home made for about $25) under the LSV logo opposite side of surfer as low as you can get it in the water. Key is to fill the bow bag up as much as possible. If I have extra people in the boat, I have them move to the bow when we are surfing. LSV's love weight in the bow for surfing, just be careful not to have the bow overloaded when you power down. I've dunked the bow &, it is a little scary. That is why I like to move people in/out of the bow. We surf with about 2500 ballast, not sure I would want much more than that in my boat. LSV's really aren't that deep of a boat. Great surf wave for the money thought!

I had a 2013 LSV
ACME 2079 prop
1100's in rear - surf side full, non surf side 50%
725 IBS up front full
300 lbs lead under surf side seat
Nauticurl about 1 foot from back of boat - and nearly all of it above water when not moving
surfed at around 11.2
wake plate at 0-25%
Wave was awesome for that size / priced boat...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aondion

....I put the wake shaper... as low as you can get it in the water....

---

Curious about this, I always put it at the water’s edge, as far back as possible.

My experience was that the wave didn’t get better but I needed a higher engine RPM to get the same speed. Have you also tried it at the water’s edge and found a better wave this way? Thx!!!