Slalom Wake on an 05 Outback LSV

I am a more avid slalom skier than wakeboarder. Switched from an outback to an Outback LSV at the last minute based on the "feel" of the boat. The LSV has been great. Lots of room, very comfortable and I think worth the money in the end.

However, even though I knew that I was sacrificing some skiing wake when I went to the LSV, I thought with the wake plate that the wake would be better than it has so far. I haven't had the right conditions with the right driver to really experiment with the wake plate to "dial it in". I realize this takes some playing with, but my first reaction is that all the way down should give the best wake. It is kicking a pretty stiff rooster at that point and I have had to lengthen the rope longer than I would really like to ski at.

Anyone slalom regularly behind an LSV and have any suggestions flatening the wake? It is still much better than an i/o, but I'm hoping to make it even better.

Why not try adding some weight to the front ballast. That may lower the front of the boat even more, making less wake. Just a thought--I could use a few pointers on slalom myself. Thanks

My best skiing wake has happened with riders in the front and 1/3 front ballast filled. It helped, but still not as smooth as Moomba or MC boats with engine in middle.:)

What speed are you skiing and what rope length.
I would think at 34-36 you would probably be OK on most AWSA approved boats.

I recently started dabling with really short - 32 off at 32 mph. No wake problems there...

I try to ski at 34 mph, but I am not always sure the drivers are keeping the speed constant. Should probably consider Perfect Pass.

I have to ask the stupid question. What is the correlation between the the sections of the rope and "off"? I use what I believe is an 8 section rope. I tend to wake board with the longest section off, and ski with somewhere between 2 and 4 sections off. I do play around with different rope lengths depending on the conditions and historically was using pretty short lines when I was behind the I/O. I have been skiing for many years. I ski pretty hard but have never been on a slalom course. The experts probably know this in their sleep.

My other issue is that I am still using a 67" ski. That was great when I was 18 and weighed 175lbs. 15 years and 30 pounds later, I need to up my ski length

"OFF" refers to how much length you shorten a 75 foot line. 75 feet includes the 5' handle section. 15 off is a 60 foor line. This is where most slalom skiers ski for recreation. Then it goes 22 Off, 28 Off, 32 Off, 35 Off, 38 Off, 39 Off, 391/2 Off, 41 Off.

I am 200 lbs+ and ski on a 69" HO Vengeance. This seems to work for me at 32, 34, 36 MPH but at 30 MPH I'm sinking on the turns.
We have the Mobius LS DD and the wake is best with no ballast and the wake plate almost all the way down. Beauty wakes at all speeds and line lengths.

Thanks for the reply. I was looking for the full list of intervals which you gave me. I have an 8 section rope. I know I don't have the 5 foot take off section as it jumps to 15. The other one that I am missing must be last one at 41? It looks like I am skiing at 28 to 32 off based on your info.

We have an '05 Mobius LSV and I find the best slalom wake starts at 32mph with the wake plate almost all the way down. I really can't understand the logic behind weighting the front of the boat down with ballast or people. If you do that you are forcing the hull to sit deeper which is going to displace the water up into a larger wake. That's why we weight our wakeboard boats in the first place. Maybe I'm wrong? The only time we add weight to ski is if we need to balance the boat because the driver is smaller or larger than the passenger. We do that with weight plates that can easily be moved around the boat. Two other thoughts, ski with only a driver and a spotter in the boat, and have a minimal amount of fuel in the boat for your ski sets if possible.

The reason they have people ride in the bow is the same exact reason you drive with the wakeplate all the way down. It does the same thing, driving with the wakeplate all the way down forces the bow down just like a person sitting up there (not exactly but close enough).

Disadvantage of running w/ the plates down is that it depresses the pocket on either side of the wake, leading to a deeper trough and an overall greater impulse during the wake crossing.