2006 24VE Setup for surfing

[fraserparnevik]

New to surfing...
I have no factory ballasts. I have added two V-Drive sacs (550lbs) and a integrated bow sac (450 or 550?).
I have been using no weight up front, tried the back sacs full, then full only on the riding side, half on the other.
Honestly, the wake is okay, not great.
My "Malibu" buddy came with me on the weekend to try and get things figured out - he said no Taps, makes the wake to narrow, not wide enough?
Have been loading the passengers on the riding side, helps.
Do I need more ballasts? Use the Taps? Partial maybe?
Can't say I really know what I'm looking for or playing with the above might help.
Any commments and or suggestions would be most appreciated. Tha

Fraser

[jbort]

i'd try all ballast and peeps on rider side w taps at 5-6. I'm told 24's need more weight cause the boat is bigger. others will chime in.

[Guma]

Put all your weight on the riding side and none on the other side, including people. Experiment with some weight up front, it will lengthen your pocket, but knock down the height. Definitely use the TAPS! I run my on 3 or 4, depending on how much people ballast I have. A good range to start on speed is in the neighborhood of 10 mph. I started there in our 22Ve, and end up using 10.4 and sometimes 10 flat.

How deep is the water where you are surfing?

We use an area of the lake where it is 12 to 15' deep and get a good wake. I have been told, not witnessed yet, that if we get in 20' or deeper we should see a big change in the size of the wave. Anything less than 10' and the bottom of the lake is killing the wave.

[chpthril]

Try both sacs stacked in the locker on your surf side, this will give about 700lbs. The 24Ve will produce a great surf wake, but needs a fair amount of weight due to it's size. Also, what speed are you running? The 24Ve likes about 11 MPH. Of course, amount of ballast and TAPS setting will effect this as well. As noted, water depth has a huge effect too.

[akdoc]

I have your exact boat. I would do as suggested above, put both v-drive sacs on the surf side. The integrated bow sac isn't great for surfing as you can't control the water from going on one side or the other. I would get two different sacs for the bow so you can fill front left or front right. We usually run between 10.5 and 11 (we have Tige Speedset so it's hard to tell exact mph). Taps between 1 and 4 usually depending on people in the boat. Weight in the front is key to getting a longer wave and it actually makes it more surfable in my opinion. We have a monster wave and we run 750 port rear locker, 300 under long port bench seat, 300 port side bow and put all the people on the port side.

Good luck!

[HippoBoatamus]

I have your exact boat. I would do as suggested above, put both v-drive sacs on the surf side. The integrated bow sac isn't great for surfing as you can't control the water from going on one side or the other. I would get two different sacs for the bow so you can fill front left or front right. We usually run between 10.5 and 11 (we have Tige Speedset so it's hard to tell exact mph). Taps between 1 and 4 usually depending on people in the boat. Weight in the front is key to getting a longer wave and it actually makes it more surfable in my opinion. We have a monster wave and we run 750 port rear locker, 300 under long port bench seat, 300 port side bow and put all the people on the port side.

Good luck!

Holy crap! How does it handle with the tracking fins out of the water?

[akdoc]

Holy crap! How does it handle with the tracking fins out of the water?

Haha, pretty well actually. We had a boat come over and ask if we were ok! The best wake we have ever had was at table rock this year, we have 3 250 plus guys with us all sitting along the surf side with the ballast full. Guys that have a 24ve should appreciate this, but we had the rear port rub rail in the water

[fraserparnevik]

Thanks.

The lake is deep, no problems there. Crap, just bought that integrated bow, and the V-drives for that matter.

Was reluctant to stack them, thought I might be draining a few hundred litres out of the bottom of my boat?

I have been running between 10-11, I too have Speedset, not that exact, wish it was.

I'll try both V-drive sacs in the surf side. When you say longer wave, do you mean out from the side of the boat? Referring to distance away from the boat(back)?

Looking forward to the weekend!

[Coop]

Thanks.

Was reluctant to stack them, thought I might be draining a few hundred litres out of the bottom of my boat?

I was initially reluctant to stack the sacs as well, but I've been told people who sell the fat sacs say it's not a problem, and they have not seen seams bursting. Last weekend, we stacked a 450# on top of a 650# in the rear locker and even put a couple of 1/2-full to 3/4-full 150# "bricks" on top of that. Also had people sitting on the other 450# that we put on the back seat. No problems, and a really good wake.

[Coop]

One thing I will say if you stack them or sit on them is watch the quick-release valves -- it's pretty easy to open them accidentally when you bump them.

[akdoc]

Thanks.

The lake is deep, no problems there. Crap, just bought that integrated bow, and the V-drives for that matter.

Was reluctant to stack them, thought I might be draining a few hundred litres out of the bottom of my boat?

I have been running between 10-11, I too have Speedset, not that exact, wish it was.

I'll try both V-drive sacs in the surf side. When you say longer wave, do you mean out from the side of the boat? Referring to distance away from the boat(back)?

Looking forward to the weekend!

I am referring to distance of the wave starting from the boat and back, not to the side. You will have a longer surfable sweet spot with weight in the front. Stack all the weight in the back and the wave will get taller but shorter, so if you start to fall back you'll get eaten by the curl.

[akdoc]

Also make sure your bilge pump is working. I have had the quick connects pop off my 750 pound sacs more than once. We also carry an extra pump in the boat in case we have serious problems since we run so much water ballast. Gotta be prepared!

[Shamus]

Also make sure your bilge pump is working. I have had the quick connects pop off my 750 pound sacs more than once. We also carry an extra pump in the boat in case we have serious problems since we run so much water ballast. Gotta be prepared!

X2, gotta be really careful packing that much weight.

[Coop]

Maybe a stupid question, but the post on safety had me thinking -- has anyone heard of any possibility of capsizing when carrying a lot of weight and people on one side?

We had a lot of weight in the boat last weekend (probably around 1,700 pounds -- all on the surfing side towards the rear, plus 3-4 adults on that side). In circling back to downed riders, we would generally turn away from the surfing/weighted side because the boat spins easier that way (in other words, turn left when riding goofy). If you turn a little early, sometimes your rollers can catch you broadside on the non-weighted side. This can cause a LOT of pitch towards the weighted side, which had some of the newbies on my boat looking a little nervous.

I calmly assured them there's no way the boat would tip, and I believe that, but it made me wonder, has anyone ever heard of that happening? Will the physics/design of these boats allow it?

[chpthril]

Maybe a stupid question, but the post on safety had me thinking -- has anyone heard of any possibility of capsizing when carrying a lot of weight and people on one side?

We had a lot of weight in the boat last weekend (probably around 1,700 pounds -- all on the surfing side towards the rear, plus 3-4 adults on that side). In circling back to downed riders, we would generally turn away from the surfing/weighted side because the boat spins easier that way (in other words, turn left when riding goofy). If you turn a little early, sometimes your rollers can catch you broadside on the non-weighted side. This can cause a LOT of pitch towards the weighted side, which had some of the newbies on my boat looking a little nervous.

I calmly assured them there's no way the boat would tip, and I believe that, but it made me wonder, has anyone ever heard of that happening? Will the physics/design of these boats allow it?

First, i would recomend pulling to neutral and letting the wake pass by/dissipate, then turn at idle back to your rider. You can also reverse back to the right, then forward to the left and you end up back in your original line looking right back at your rider. Dont take offese, but it sounds like you are doing a surf speed power-turn.