2005 Outback Slalom Wake

[RYAN]

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"Do you have a 3 or a 4 blade prop? I have an 05 Outback as well with a 4 blade and the wake is decent but not near as nice as the bigger Malibu I skiied behind last year. I was considering changing to a 3 blade for this reason."

Didnt see this answered? any thoughts, i was wondering it my self?

[markcr]

From my experience skiing behind both 3 and 4 bladed props, it doesn't change the size of the wake itself that much. Where you notice the biggest difference is in the rooster tail at 22' off. The 3 blade prop will produce a taller rooster tail and the 4 blade will produce a more flat rooster tail. Anywhere else in the wake, I could never tell the difference.

[markcr]

One thing Mastercraft did on the Prostar 197 hull that provided one of the best slalom wakes in history was to add a slight lip or hook to the bottom of the hull at the transom. I've looked at a 197 up close and you can see how all along the edge of the bottom of the transom, there is a slight lip that is glassed in and part of the hull. This acts to lift and lighten the entire back of the boat when it is under speed. A thought I had would be to experiment with our fixed wake plate and add a washer or two to the rear mounting screws between the plate and the bottom of the boat. That would act to tilt the plate down just a bit to give it a slight lifting action - similar to the fixed hook on the Prostar 197. Too much and I'm sure it would create a very unstable boat but a little bit might improve the slalom wake. The big difference is that the 197 lip/hook runs the entire length of the bottom of the transom so it has equal lift from port, center and starboard areas. The plate on our boats is only in the center so too much lift might cause some tilting/steering issues.

The other thing regarding slalom wake is that weight is your enemy. Remove the tower for a good couple of hundred pounds.

[deerfield]

A thought I had would be to experiment with our fixed wake plate and add a washer or two to the rear mounting screws between the plate and the bottom of the boat. That would act to tilt the plate down just a bit to give it a slight lifting action - similar to the fixed hook on the Prostar 197...The other thing regarding slalom wake is that weight is your enemy. Remove the tower for a good couple of hundred pounds.

markcr - I will check this out on my Outback. Interesting idea about the effect that a few more degrees of fixed wake plate might have on a slalom wake. Also, with respect to the tower, I doubt it weighs 200 pounds. While it is akward to handle when separated from the mounting plates, my guess is the weight of the rad-a-cage tower that came stock with my boat is closer to fifty pounds. Will let you know. My tower is hanging in the garage. - Deerfield

[zegm]

One reason we went from a 3 blade to a 4 blade was less roostertail and this proved to be very true. Thanks OJ props! We also feel the wake is better but I have not way to validate this, it only subjective.

[markcr]

Yeah, deerfield you're right. The tower couldn't weigh 200 lbs. Now that I think about it, when I took mine off, it was cumbersome to move around but certainly not 200 lbs. I think you're closer to the real number at around 50 lbs or so.