Short surf wake

[bsproul]

I have a 02 22i. We have started surfing this year. Added fly high fat sacs to rear lockers and v-bag to front. However the wake is really short. Seems the wake has a very small sweet spot. Most folks (myself and friends are fat boys) have to get right up to swim deck to drop rope. The kids can get a little further back. Any suggestions on how to improve?

[jbort]

helps to know the capacity of the bags. Others will pipe in. Generally its better for bulk of weight to be on one side but it varies. I have a 22ve boat so that experience likely different.

[scoot18]

"More weight on the surfing side," as far outboard as possible, every passenger sitting on that side as well. Even sitting on top of the gunnells if its safe.

I believe more weight further up or closer to the front on the surfing side will increase the length of the pocket.

Ragboy, should chime in. He will know just what to advise.

[ajholt7]

What speed? May need to speed up a little.

[NICKYPOO]

Have you tried dropping the weight up front? Gotta sink that back corner as much as possible first, then add nose weight. With a D-drive you have a lot of mid weight already and not nearly as much as a V-drive.

Do you have an FAE yet?

[ragboy]

Get as much weight as you can in that rear corner, and then get going about 10.4 mph. With that weight, is the rubrail touching the water? A good rule of thumb is to get that rub rail down to the water, when traveling at surf speed. Once you do that, you can add a bit of weight to the front, to help lengthen the pocket, see if you can add some up there, usually by putting a 150 lb person up there on the surf side, and see if it helps, also adjust taps from about 2 to 7, probably best around 5-6, but I am totally guessing with your boat. with the motor in the middle, may not want any weight up front. Also travel in speed from 10.2 or so, to 11.4, find the speed you like with the size and length of pocket in mind. Slower usually makes a bigger wake, and faster makes it longer, but knocks it down a bit. On our boat, 11mph works best.

But start with weight in that back corner, and get that rub rail down to the water. If the rub rail is more than one inch off water, prob need more weight in the corner.

[jbort]

Ragboy:
1 inch? thats intense.

[ragboy]

The tige has a great hull, and a lot of freeboard, its not that intense. Look at this pic:



You can see the water is right up to the rub rail. When I am sitting in my ballast boy seat, and I look down, the water kisses the rub rail when its smooth. On some sangers and other boats with shallow hulls, it feels very unsafe, not in the tige.

The key is the angle, not so much the weight. You can see the attitude/angle of my boat while surfing, that is about what you are looking for, corner is dug in, and bow high. Get the right angle and the wake will have the right shape, and have the right amount of push and adjust the speed and taps to taste. We usually ride at 11mph and about 6-7 on taps. If the kids are up, or a skim board, we take taps to 2-3 to flatten the wake down some.

If you go past the rubrail, its not as good, its kind of the sweet spot, but I am assuming its the same on the 22i, I know it is that way on the 22Ve, 24Ve, and the RZs. Once you get the wake like that, you won't be able to settle for anything less. The amazing thing, is the new pro ballast gets you just about there with nothing else. Tige stock and some people weight, and you are done.

[somebodyelse5]

Ragboy said it all.

What speed are you runnin at? And do you know what weight your are sacks that you added?

[fog_ducker]

Hey Ragboy, how much would you putt upfront in the pro stock system to achieve this?

[ragboy]

About 150 or so, not much more. You may like more, but it starts to knock the wake down, but make it longer.

[fog_ducker]

Thanks Ragboy. So I guess the theory with the integrated sac in the front is when the rear locker is full, the front ballast will sit on the surf side because the boat is sinking into that side? Still feels to me like if I go 75% in the front (when I have lots of people on the boat so I can knock the wave down a bit and extend the pocket), I can feel some water in the ballast on the opposite side?

[ragboy]

Honestly, I usually throw a human up there, or 2 if they are small. In my Ve, I actually removed my front sac. Since I took over the rear lockers with sacs, I need some place for storage, and I rarely put ballast up there.

Looking at your wake, my guess is your rubrail is a few inches to 6 inches above the water, which is why you get that double lip thing going like that in the wake. The trick is enough weight in that corner to get the rubrail kissing the wake, and that double lip thing will go away, it will be a more steep/straight face. The goofy side is a bit more touch, you really have to get it all the way over, but its not so touchy on the reg side.

[fog_ducker]

I'm getting 2 400 lb sacs tomorrow. Would I be better off having one on the cooler, or right at the back over top of the locker to achieve this?

[ragboy]

I would try to stuff it in the space in front of the locker, behind the cooler, under seat area.