21V wakesurfing and oil issue?

[jhillard]

I am looking at a 2001 21V, which among other things we want to wakesurf with. Thanks to other forum members, I know it can be ballasted to have a good wave. But the current owner, and the boat's mechanic, insist the 21V is not a good candidate for surfing.

Not because of the wake, but because of the engine design. They feel that the list on the boat while surfing can cause problems with the engines oil pickup. That is, it was not designed to be run for extended periods while listing, so the oil pickup for the engine can get starved (their thought applies to all older boats, not just the 21v). Supposedly newer boats take this into account and have multiple tubes to deal with this.

It could make sense, I don't know how things are in the 21V's oil pan. Anybody have an opinion? Has this been an issue for anyone? Is the current owner being overly cautious?

This is the last issue holding me back from making an offer. Long term, we really want to surf behind the boat as well as board. Should I post this question in a different forum?

Thanks again for your help,
-jhillard-

[konajay]

Hold tight. There are several knowledgable 21V owners on this forum who will give you great advice. You definitely came to the right site for anything tige`. I must admit I've never heard of this problem in the year I've been a member of TigéOwners.

[jhillard]

I have not heard of it either. And I know there are many folks here using a 21V for surfing, and have provided great suggestions for properly weighting it. But they were very insistent, I figured I would run the idea past the gurus here that have actually done it.

Perhaps it is justification to buy a new boat. There certainly is nothing wrong with the 21V they are selling. It is in great shape.

[boardman74]

Tons of guys surfing older boats of all types and brands and this is the first I have heard of this. Sounds to me like his mechanics OPINION and he has taken it as fact. Probably convinced his wife it's fact too and he needs a new boat. I can say as a prior heavy equipment mechanic such a thing is possible. But in anything current(20+ years) the pickup is in the middle, so unless the pan is super shallow and the list is 45 degrees severe, not going to happen. That boat has a GM vortec 350 block just like everything else of that vintage and I have never heard of a boat doing this, so I am calling BS. If it was fact any boat with the 350 GM in a V drive would be doing it and that would be a ton of boats and it would be all over the numerous wake boarding forums.

[jhillard]

Thanks Boardman. I suspected the same thing, but I wanted to make sure I was not missing something. FWIW, the mechanic does not sell boats, he doesn't have a financial dog in the fight. But he may have overheard a salesman trying that line to close a deal.

I feel more confident hearing the perspective from folks that have been doing this already! Thanks again.

[chpthril]

J,

I am a regular visitor and contributor on all the major tow boat owners forums; Tige Mastercraft Malibu Moomba Supra, Correct Craft MB Centurion and Wakeworld. I have never seen any boat owner, dealer, boat manufacturer rep or engine rep make any such statements to the effect that the current boat engines are made any differently due to the popularity or surfing as compared to the way the engines used to be made.

I dont care if the engine is for a car, truck, bulldozer or boat. The oil pickup is as low in the deepest part of the pan that it can be. I have not seen one engine failure that could be positively attributed to the boat being listed over for surfing.

[Ruger761]

I dont think you would have a problem. Listing vs running a bow that is higher than normal isnt that much diff. And you can bet they designed it to run with a high bow. Most of newer motors will have low oil cut off switches plus you have an oil guage. Long as your pressure is the same listed vs just driving you shoundnt have an issue. The only issue some boats have, mine included, is listing to the opposite side of the gas pick up tube. If my tank goes less than 1/2 and im listed for regular it runs out of gas until I level the boat back out.

[boatwakes]

Hey J, the oil pickup on that model is down in the sump of the pan approximately 3/8 off the bottom. However, because the engine is mounted backwards, steep angles and hard listing COULD lead to the pickup not getting enough oil BUT the low oil pressure alarm would sound immediately (steady beep) once the oil pressure got below 10 psi to alert you. Just as CHP said, I've never heard of it nor seen it from surfing but I've had my 2100i sound the oil pressure alarm after running at 45mph then banking into a severe, hard turn to pendulum my skier off a jump. I shut down, waited 5 seconds to get oil back in the sump and then restarted but that's the ONLY time I've personally heard of it. Mercruiser did issue a TSB on it years ago and I'm going to see if I can dig it up for you.

[laserfish]

Yep, had it happen a couple of times. Heard the beep, checked gauges and shut it down. I changed the oil to be sure it was topped up, and had no problem after that. I now keep the oil level at the top line of the dipstick and have not had a problem since. It would not keep me from buying a well maintained 21v by any means. Maybe you could use it to get the price down a little, especially now that you know it is not a permenent problem.