Switch V weighting issue

[harv]

I just had my Switch V out this last weekend for a wakeboard set with a friend of mine that is a really good rider. This is the first time that I pulled a wakeboarder with my new ride and I wanted to impress him with my upgrade over my old boat.

I installed the Rival Ballast system this spring and I filled the front and back sacks to nearly full. As soon as we approached 21 mph the boat porp??sed violently until the taps were back at 2 or less which maded for a very unimpressive wake. I tried shortening the rope, adjusting speed, setting taps (which ended up with a severe case of porp??sing)!

I was pretty frustrated with my new ride. Especially when my buddy said that he hoped I did not pay very much for the boat and I should look at getting another brand ASAP!

Any suggestions for a very frustrated Tige' owner?

Thanks,

Harv

[dogbert]

It sounds like you didn't have enough weight in the front. You basically have two options:

1. Remove some ballast from V-Drive sacs
2. Add additional weight in the front (most likely the walkway)

#2 is probably your best bet. I have a 150 lbs sac that's got a couple of handles on it so I can move it around after it's filled. I'm thinking of getting another because it's pretty handy to be able to make up for weight in particular areas of the boat.

BTW, in talking with a couple of guys at my dealership who are pretty hard core riders, they told me that you want a 50/50 weight distribution on a Tige V-Drive.

[akdoc]

Harv,

Our family had an 04 switch v, we just traded it in. Anyway, for that boat you are going to have to put almost more weight in the front than the back. We had the crappy tige factory ballast, we put a 540lb. sac in the front walkway, a 200lb. v-drive sac in each rear locker, and then you have to put people in the front of the boat. We could never run taps over 3 or 4 because it would porpuse like crazy. That hull design is not that great. If that doesn't work put a shim in your taps plate, use something that is about 3/4" thickness and mount it between the plate and the arm. Good luck.

[harv]

This doesn't make me feel too good. I tried to do as much research as I possibly could before buying a new boat. I knew that there were boats around the same price range that make a great wake with some added ballast but I was impressed with the Tige' quality. I took a demo behind this boat and thought, man this should boost a really nice wake as well. I guess I made the mistake of not bringing all my buddies with to weight the boat.

I talked many times with the rep for this area and he said that the hull is identical to the 20V and that boat would throw a great wake with ballast. I guess he forgot to mention that the 20 footers do not like ballast.

Right now I've got some serious buyers remorse.

By the way, the surf wake seemed fairly decent (if that adds any positive light to my dark situation)!

[akdoc]

Harv,

Don't beat yourself up yet. The switch can throw a good wake but you need a lot of ballast. Add a sac in the bow, I will sell you my 540lb sac for cheap if you want it. Shim your taps plate down so you can control the porposing. The attached pic is the wake of our switch v with 2000lbs. ballast, 4 or 5 people, taps probably at 2, 22.5mph, 75 feet out.
For the surf wake fill ALL of your ballast and then sit everyone on the side you want to surf. Make sure you have 2 people in the bow sitting on the side you are surfing. This will help make the wave longer and cleaner.

[akdoc]

Surf wake with 2000lbs. Going about 10 mph.

[Gschmidt1]

Especially when my buddy said that he hoped I did not pay very much for the boat and I should look at getting another brand ASAP!

Guy doesn't sound like a friend, sounds like a ****. I would get rid of him...ASAP. Anyone who trashes on a boat that isn't theirs after they are INVITED on it should just go jump off a freaking cliff. Even if there was a porpoising issue, it is not their place to be critical, they spent no money on it.

On another note: I actually have akdoc's old boat...and really have not had a lot of porpoising issues. The first time we had it out, we ran it with 8 people, full stock ballast (none extra with sacs, though we had em), and taps on 7. The only time it jumped was when we crossed over a big roller, even then all we had to do was tap it down for a sec, and then back up and everything was gravy.

Another thing you should look into is dumping some of that back ballast. I know it sounds stupid, especially after you bought the rival system, but you probably have an overkill amount in the rears. Rule of thumb is 60-40, maybe even more as dog suggested. The hull shape has exactly nothing to do with the porpoising, contrary to popular belief. The real issue is that Tige installed the tanks in the mid of the boat, and not the nose, which makes the hull settle. With such a large engine on a shorter boat, this causes the boat to want to "launch" when it settles. Fix? Put two people (or some lead) up front, it should help fix the issue. The shape is just fine.

Also..everyone thinks that you need a **** ton of ballast to ride well...don't kid yourselves, its not a wake thing, its a fundamentals thing. Sure, a larger wake makes it easy to go big all the time, but good pop (good form) is where it is at. Don't trust me? Go out for a weekend, no ballast, and do some pop and cut drills. Then actually fill it a bit, and hit it. I have been working on these all summer, and have seen a very large increase in height and control, even though I still have a long way to go.

My buddy and I both have the same hull, and we talked pretty extensively to a local outlaw rider with the 22v (actually watched him compete in summerfest this weekend). He had the exact same porpoising issue with his boat and aftermarket ballast. Its just the nature of the beast with Tige ballast placement, but dont lose your head about it.

[harv]

You know, about that friend of mine. I'm not to bummed that he got a bad first impression. He is one of those fair weather riders who insists on taking way too long of a set and grumbles as he gives a dollar to pay for his enjoyment.

I do appreciate all of your input and I was out again just after that and started with no weight taps at 6 and a friend that I towed this time seemed like he was having plenty of time to do his tricks with plenty of air also.

I am still recovering from a sprained ankle from last November so I've got a lot of time to dial the wake in using test subjects. I can surf pain free so atleast I've got that part going for me.

akdoc,
How much for that sac?

harv

[dogbert]

Well, good luck with the ankle recovery! As for weighting, you've already witnessed how well the TAPS/Convex V Hull works without ballast, why not try adding evenly distributed ballast throughout the boat. You're obviously doing it from side-to-side, why not front-to-back? Trust me, it makes a huge difference. You want at least 50/50 and an argument could be made to add more weight to the bow.

[akdoc]

Harv,

The sac is a launch pad lounge sac. I will attach a pic. Say $40 bucks plus actual shipping, I am in Kansas so it should not be that much to Minnesota. I also have a pump if you need that, I think it is 1000gph but I am not sure, I will sell you that for $40 bucks also. Let me know.

[Nick Howard]

Hey Gary,

As the other guys on here have mentioned, try adjusting the amount and position of ballast in the boat. Rival has done a nice job of allowing you to control exactly where you want the ballast. It sounds as though you may be happier with a weight distribution closer to 50/50. Next time you go out, fill the forward ballast all the way, but only fill the rear ballast about a third to half way and see how that works for you.

Btw, which sacs did Rival ship you, weight wise?

It's not out of the ordinary for it to take a trip or two to the lake to get a wake dialed in exactly how you want it. Every time I get a new boat, I always take it out for a day of testing with sacs prior to towing a tournament or towing one of our pros. Sometimes I get it dialed in the first time, sometimes it takes some adjustment.

And keep in mind, that even with the larger boats, I currently have a 22Vé; I never run TAPS all of the way up when I am using phat sacs. My TAPS setting varies depending on whether I have sacs in the boat, how many people are in the boat, how much fuel is in the boat, the depth of water, speed, etc.

I understand that your first trip out was a little frustrating for you, but I encourage you to be patient and let's get the perfect set-up for your Switch V dialed in.

Btw, I'll be at the Minneapolis Pro-Tour stop this weekend if you want to stop by. We can talk in more detail about your set-up.

Nick Howard
Midwest Rep
Tige' Boats

[harv]

I have two 440's in the back which is more than I need I'm learning and I have two 200's in the fron which because of the limited space will only fill about half way, so I figure I can get approx. 200 lbs in the front with my current set-up. I almost installed sacs (blocks) in the front lockers instead of the sacs under the cushions but I figured I could easily change that later.

akdoc,

I wonder if that sack would fit in the walk thru? I would like to keep the center of the boat open for quick moving if needed.

I'll hopefully be hitting the water again tomorrow, I will start stock and SLOWLY add ballast, adjust speed and taps.

Again, thanks for the input.

harv

[akdoc]

Harv,

We put that 540 lb. sac in the walkway to the bow. It actually fits really well and fills completely. I also hated having a sac out in the open, but it made such a big difference we got used to it. Let me know if you want it.

[harv]

akdoc,

I'll get back to you on that.

Thanks

[Gschmidt1]

Tried a 540lb sac today in my bow. Didn't really do much, it made the wake decently hard on the edge, but it was so rough that the wake fell over and whitewashed most of the time.

Upside of the deal is that I hit 5 360's back to back tonight, I was pretty stoked.