Water depth needed for a good surf wake, starting point set up 2014 Z3

[Tomp]

Just getting our new boat going now that the michigan winter is finally over.

I just recieved the larger rear ballast backs from Mikes liquid audio and will be installing this weekend, I did have the pro balast package originally so i have the larger front ballast already.

I need a good starting point for ballast and taps setting to get started surfing tonight.


Question?

My lake is mostly shallow water and I had not taken that into consideration, anywhere from 4ft to 14ft, what is the minimum depth needed to get a good wake?
do I need to alter the setup when the depth changes?

also on the depth finder, is the depth reading from the bottom of the hull or calibrated to give the real depth from the surface,that would not be very accurate since we load our boats.

another observation, I do not get any porposing at crusing speeds untill the taps is at 7 or highter, very slight anyway.


thanks.

[robert theisen]

A good base set up for your boat is rear surf side full. Front both sides full.Rear off side at 50%. If you have an iPhone use the degree app to get the list between 5 and 7 degrees. The taps is best between 4 and 5. Your speed set will be between 10.8 and 12.2 depending on your liking. Increasing your speed lengthens the wave and reduces the height.Good luck!

[rensink]

Robert gave good suggestions depth certainly will affect the wave so try and stay in the deeper water if possible. I don't have the larger surf bags from Mike but going off what Robert said I run a very similar set up the only difference is 50% on the opposite bow side not full. This is merely personal preference!


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[Duncan]

Our lake is relatively shallow at about 4-15 feet, with a winding channel at 20 feet (useless for riding as it is in the middle and unsheltered from wind).

10 feet plus (as reported by depth finder, so real depth is a little more) gives us a good wave. It gets a little better in deeper water. It gets worse in 8 feet and ALOT worse in 6 feet. There is one patch in our cove that goes to 6 feet along our circuit and you can see the wave just flatten out.

[Travism]

I ran last year with the exact same setup that you have but in deeper water.

Fill both front, fill rear surf side full and fill the other rear side about 50% or until you have 8 or 9 degrees list. Also run taps between 3 and 4.

We spent a ton of time with lots of help from Robert @ wake 9 to get the boat dialed in on both sides.

Good luck and enjoy the summer !

[Allan Kendall]

Working with Tige and Wake9 I have learned that for an event 20-25 feet is as shallow as we want to go when looking for Comp locations. Anything over that is a plus. Knowing its not an option for everyone to get deep water, I do know that Chris Kinsey Sr. can get a comp level wave in 10-12 feet of water with his Z3....just takes more ballast and time to find the proper location of it...

[Tomp]

We were just out and got a nice wake on the reg side, the goofy is not so easy.
Kids all tried, I'm not getting in that freezing water

[boardman74]

We have shallow spots and have found that around 12 starts to affect the wave. Less than 10 and it really effects it. Really anything under 8-9 and IMO your wasting your time. It really crushes it.

[Timmy!]

Working with Tige and Wake9 I have learned that for an event 20-25 feet is as shallow as we want to go when looking for Comp locations. Anything over that is a plus. Knowing its not an option for everyone to get deep water, I do know that Chris Kinsey Sr. can get a comp level wave in 10-12 feet of water with his Z3....just takes more ballast and time to find the proper location of it...

I think Kinsey puts weight on his swim platform based on the pics I have seen. He definitely gets the wave out of that boat in shallow conditions though. Maybe try and find more pics or info from him.

[Stingreye]

The platform sac (Fat Brick makes an excellent one with handles to tie off) simulates the wave you would get with someone sitting on sun deck for those of us that would get ticketed within 30 seconds of anyone sitting out there.

[Duncan]

The platform sac (Fat Brick makes an excellent one with handles to tie off) simulates the wave you would get with someone sitting on sun deck for those of us that would get ticketed within 30 seconds of anyone sitting out there.

X2. Works great. I wear out several pairs of bungies keeping it strapped back there every season.