Looking for Wake Shaper advice ???

[Whupps]

Hey All,

New to the forums AND new to owning a boat. My in-laws live on a lake and considering I have 2 boys (12 and I felt like having a decent boat to play with made sense. My boys have basically spent their time tubing up until now. I got the 12 year old up on wake board this week and he loved it. The 8 year old tried hard and got REAL close to getting up. Now they both are obsessed with surf videos and want to give it a try.

On to the real questions now. A few weeks ago I picked up an 08' OBV. No major mods made to it, yet. The rear sacs have been upgraded to a larger size but unsure what size they are. My understanding is that a wake shaper will make our experience much better. With all the choices out there what do you all think is best for my boat? What else should I consider to make it a great experience for the kids? My weight is around 240# and if I can make the boat perform well I would LOVE to surf as well. What would make it most enjoyable for me?

Thanks!

[z28ke]

Congrats on the boat! I just sold my 08 OBV back in May that I’d owned since new. For you to be able to surf it you will need:

*wakeshaper as you asked about. I made my own but imagine they all work about the same

*750’s in the rear lockers (if yours almost completely fill the lockers then that’s probably what they are)

*the stock 400lb bag in the floor ski locker

*a bow ballast bag. I used the flyhigh 650 which I’m guessing fills to about 400 before popping up the seat cushions

*another 400lb bag on the rear seat on whichever side you are surfing on if you don’t have a big crew

*I highly recommend the acme 1847 prop as the stock oj prop growls like crazy and doesn’t like the extra weight

Here is a pic of my wave last season:



Any questions just ask!

[MGX]

I have a Nauticurl, works well. I have never tried another one so I can't offer a comparison.

[bkearney]

I made my own suckgate. There are plenty of insturctions online. It cost about 25 bucks and all I needed was a drill and a saw. Make on of those, put it on the non surf side at the back (I have it at my LSV Letters) and you will be thrilled with the results.

[Whupps]

While I do appreciate saving money does anyone have any comparison to a homemade version versus a "brand name" version? Mission, Ronix, Nauticurl, Swell..........

I made my own suckgate. There are plenty of insturctions online. It cost about 25 bucks and all I needed was a drill and a saw. Make on of those, put it on the non surf side at the back (I have it at my LSV Letters) and you will be thrilled with the results.

[NoleAlum]

Made my own and okay and they tried a NautiCurl and made all the difference. Certainly worth the money and made very well. Stayed in the boat better than homemade suck gate too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jph3]

Made my own and okay and they tried a NautiCurl and made all the difference. Certainly worth the money and made very well. Stayed in the boat better than homemade suck gate too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I will agree with this as well. I have tried 2 homemade versions, and a couple of name brand (Ronix Velcro and Mission). The nauticurl is the best out of the box, and like he said, it holds really well. It hasn’t come off once.

[Whupps]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the advice. I talked to a fair amount of people and it seemed pretty clear that a "brand name" shaper will work the best. I ordered a Nauticurl. It come tomorrow so we will see how it works.

Thank again!

[z28ke]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the advice. I talked to a fair amount of people and it seemed pretty clear that a "brand name" shaper will work the best. I ordered a Nauticurl. It come tomorrow so we will see how it works.

Thank again!

How’d it go? Were you able to surf?

[Whupps]

How’d it go? Were you able to surf?

Well we only have had 1 good day to go with school starting a few weeks ago and crappy weather so late into the season. But we had some small successes in our attempts to surf. My 12 year old was not able to get up that day and was more interested in honing his wakeboarding skills. I did manage to get up and had a ton of fun but it was clear that the wave needed more power. I def need to try more weight in the boat. I'll be going out this week with 6-7 friends at around 175#-240# each. Should be able to play with their placement in the boat and then decide what new bags I'll need to order.