Help Dialing in 2017 z3 wave for Surfing

[Utemachine]

I can’t get the wake dialed in on my new boat. I talked to the dealer and they said 4/4 on taps, 20% full up front and 100% in the back. I’ll try this tomorrow but hoping for some insight. Right now the wave has been disappointing.

[jcooksey]

We have the same year Z3, we were told 100 on both sides in the back, and like 50 in the front. We actually started putting about 65 in the front. I usually ride with the surf anywhere from 2-5 and same with the taps. You usually just have to tune it a couple of times it from inside the boat before you get behind the boat.

[bait28]

Have a look at the following thread

2017 Z3 Surf Wave/Prop

Should be
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sha...7&share_type=t

[cnote]

i have a different model (18 r23) but hull is identical.

#1 - get an inclinometer (the app on your phone works fine), put it on a flat surface. Regardless of how much weight you have when surfing this hull, in my experience you want to be at about 10° of pitch (bow up) and 3-6° of roll (leaning to the surf side). The taps 3 surf (side plates) and taps 2 will help you with this, esp. cleaning up the wave, but where you put your weight is paramount to getting to those numbers. Speed anywhere from 10.8 to 11.4 and taps 2 3-6, but those last two are a lot about rider preference.

#2 if you are running stock ballast i wouldn't put any weight in the bow. again, just my experience but if you do have water up front you don't pitch up enough.

#3 if you don't have extra weight on top of factory ballast, get some. This hull will take more weight and the wave will just get better the more you add. it's awesome. I run 900# extra lead (steel) bags all in the back (under the sacs and in activity lockers and on motor cover). i have seen guys talk about going up to 1400#. Again, wave just gets better with more weight.

hope that helps. let us know how it goes and post pics!

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[Utemachine]

Thanks Cnote, I’ll try this. I just got back from the lake and this wave is garbage. I can only go wireless with the board about a foot from the swim deck. I was trying various configurations of what I mentioned in my original post.

[cnote]

the boat can make a wave. if you're still having issues you might have a mechanical (actuator) issue

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[hcooperrn]

Same boat here, we've got what I think is a pretty decent wave at this point. There are a couple of threads on the Z3, all have good advice.

We run 100% all the way around, still at 10.8, though I might try faster soon. We go up and down on the Taps 3 depending on the conditions and how we want the wave -- lower number gives a wider, longer wave, higher number makes it nice and steep. We rarely get about 8-9 on Taps 3.

Taps 2 changes depending on conditions. Smoother water I'll go all the way down to 1 and get a longer wave, rougher water I'll go up to 3-4 to help keep things clean.

We're running the Surf XL ballast plus 250# of plate weight in each locker.

Don't have a good picture -- yesterday on Ray Hubbard, 30' depth, our wave looked like the picture above, only difference is that ours has a nice curl coming over it a little further back from where that rider is.

[Bamer]

Same boat here, we've got what I think is a pretty decent wave at this point. There are a couple of threads on the Z3, all have good advice.

We run 100% all the way around, still at 10.8, though I might try faster soon. We go up and down on the Taps 3 depending on the conditions and how we want the wave -- lower number gives a wider, longer wave, higher number makes it nice and steep. We rarely get about 8-9 on Taps 3.

Taps 2 changes depending on conditions. Smoother water I'll go all the way down to 1 and get a longer wave, rougher water I'll go up to 3-4 to help keep things clean.

We're running the Surf XL ballast plus 250# of plate weight in each locker.

Don't have a good picture -- yesterday on Ray Hubbard, 30' depth, our wave looked like the picture above, only difference is that ours has a nice curl coming over it a little further back from where that rider is.

What prop are you running?

You must be down near I-30 or close to dam? I always play at the hwy 66 bridge on the Rockwall side


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[hcooperrn]

What prop are you running?

You must be down near I-30 or close to dam? I always play at the hwy 66 bridge on the Rockwall side


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Good point, prop can play a part in the wave as well. We're running an Acme 2419. Maybe a little aggressive (we came from Colorado, needed it up there with the altitude); it does pop people up easily and gets to wave-making speed in a hurry.

And yep, we usually launch from Chandler's landing and run down by the dam depending on the direction of the wind. I'm too nervous around all the trees north of I-30, just don't know my way around them yet I guess.

[Bamer]

Good point, prop can play a part in the wave as well. We're running an Acme 2419. Maybe a little aggressive (we came from Colorado, needed it up there with the altitude); it does pop people up easily and gets to wave-making speed in a hurry.

And yep, we usually launch from Chandler's landing and run down by the dam depending on the direction of the wind. I'm too nervous around all the trees north of I-30, just don't know my way around them yet I guess.

I’ll try to markup a google maps to show where not to go north of I-30... I frequent the area and have seen the lake when it was ~10ft low a couple years.....


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[Bamer]

Help Dialing in 2017 z3 wave for Surfing

I’ll try to markup a google maps to show where not to go north of I-30... I frequent the area and have seen the lake when it was ~10ft low a couple years.....


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White: shallow areas
Yellow party cove, moves depending on wind direction
Red: trees
Green: safe areas

The red and white area is just shallow, no trees that we know of....I put red there by accident




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[hcooperrn]

Good stuff, thanks!

Sorry to the OP for that detour!

One point to take away though -- waves need depth and displacement. In Colorado, we ran on a lake that was 10-20' deep, and have very noticeable shifts when getting to the shallow spots. When we got to 30' deep water for the first time, it was a whole new ball game -- you aren't trying to push against the bottom of the lake, and you can slam the thing down.

Also forgot to mention -- I installed a valve on each vent line in the back, and use plugs in the drain outlets to stop the passive emptying. Losing a few hundred pounds of water doesn't look like much from the bag, yet completely negates the extra weight you're carrying.

The best wave I've made to-date -- Full ballast bags, 500# of plates, plus 10 adults -- I was able to recover from further back than the rope even reaches. Had to keep people balanced side-to-side because it was getting scary low in the water, I was probably passive filling at that point.

[Bamer]

Oops, yes sorry to OP. He is right, that area I surf in is 17ft deep which is pushing the min depth issue. I don’t know from experience yet as I haven’t tested in different depths yet, but I have heard that the wave will just about go away at 10ft, be partially degraded at 15-20 and at max potential when lake depth is more than 25. Does that sound right to those who have tested at different depths?

One thing to keep in mind is if u are running a stock prop like the 537, you will need to upgrade to a better low end prop when you add all the extra weight. I will be replacing my 537 with a 2773 this week when it comes in....


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[MikeB313]

Oops, yes sorry to OP. He is right, that area I surf in is 17ft deep which is pushing the min depth issue. I don’t know from experience yet as I haven’t tested in different depths yet, but I have heard that the wave will just about go away at 10ft, be partially degraded at 15-20 and at max potential when lake depth is more than 25. Does that sound right to those who have tested at different depths?




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Correct. Doesn't matter what boat you have or what you're running for weight. 10' water depth will not produce a good wave. Recommend at least 15' for surfing.

[Utemachine]

Cnote, I was just asking the dealer if I could get the hydromat material cut for that space between the engine cover and the backs of the seats. They were going to look into it and I see you have it in the pic! Did you special order it?