Tried surfing this past weekend...

[Timmy!]

I borrowed a CWB Ride and surf rope from the dealer this past weekend and all I can say is that I am HOOKED! It was so fun and relaxing at the same time. I was only able to ride without the rope for a few seconds towards the end but I am confident that I will figure out the sweet spot in a couple more trys!

Do you have to always "pump" the board on the wave or is there a point where you can just sit in the pocket and have it carry you? We set the cruise at 11.4 and had Taps on 6 with 2 adults and 3 kids on the port side and it looked pretty decent. We had never seen anyone surf in person so it was the blind leading the blind.

Needless to say, I am going to buy a board and rope now
Pic from the very first attempt, before we figured out the right speed and taps setting, think this 1st attempt was 10 mph and taps at 4 (not very good!)

[dogbert]

I usually go a bit faster than 10 (10.5 or 10.8) and set TAPS all the way to 7. You want to put as much weight in the rear corner of the boat. If you have a large cooler, try putting that in the rear compartment you're surfing on. It will make your wake taller.

[Matt Garcia]

Do you have to always "pump" the board on the wave or is there a point where you can just sit in the pocket and have it carry you? We set the cruise at 11.4 and had Taps on 6 with 2 adults and 3 kids on the port side and it looked pretty decent.

No you dont always need to pump the board. If you load it down with ballast it becomes much easier to stay in the pocket as well as drop the rope. Below is picture of my brother in law and this was his second time surfing. He was able to drop the rope and ride for a while. This picture is with rear port side ballast full, another 500 in rear, 3 adults on one side, 2kids in bow, Taps at 5 and speed was about 10.4.

I am still playing around with my surfwake and have learned a few things about it over the last few weekends.

If I am cruising at the speed and setup mentioned above the surfwake is big but has a small wash on the top face. But its really easy to ride.

If I use the same setup but with a speed of 12 or 12.5, TAPS at 3-4 the surfwake gets longer and cleaner but harder to stay in the pocket.

I have also noticed that some bow weight will help the length of the surf wake.

So far I am trying to find a middle ground between the two on the perfect shape, size and length.

[Coach]

I am with you. I am hooked. I have been surfing the last 3 trips out. The best wake I was able to create was 300 lbs bag in the locker, 4 adults in the corner, 1 adult and a few kids in the bow area. Taps at 5 and speed at 10.4 mph. The wake was a bit longer with the bow weight. It seemed to me that the fast I went I lost height in the wake. Last weekend we had 3 adults in the rear corner and some kids in the bow (100 lbs tops) and the wake was smaller but still very ridable.

[Timmy!]

I won't be able to get ballast (other than people) anytime soon so I will need to figure out how to do it without it.

[NICKYPOO]

Surfing is definitely the hook. My wakeboard hardly ever gets used anymore.

You can pick up a sac and a pump for pretty cheap these days. You have to hang the pump over the side, but it's not that big of a deal. If money is really tight, you can pick up some sand bags, wrap them in a garbage bag with some duct tape and drop them in the back corner.

Fat friends work pretty good as well.

[wakeboarder247]

I have also noticed that some bow weight will help the length of the surf wake.

Yes you are correct. more evenly distributed weight (front to back) on one side (port or starboard) will make for a longer pocket. If you put all the weight in the back it pushes the back corner of the boat down which causes the wake to be forced up more (makes it taller and "look" bigger) but the pocket is much smaller. You don't necessarily want a really tall wake. You want a shorter, stronger wake w/ a bigger pocket.

[sagmanaur]

Timmy,

If you need a "ghetto" ballast, try getting a plastic container at your local Walmart, container-r-us store, and set it on your swim platform on the side you want to surf. I did this all of last year, and made a huge difference when we didn't have a bunch of people ballast.
Get a container that holds about 20+ gallons.. that is 160+ lbs of weight at the very back corner of your boat. I ended up using a $10 strap from the hardware store to hold it to the back of boat. This would be equivalent (in my opinion) of about 300-400 lbs of ballast in your rear corner seat. It also makes it real easy to move from port to starboard if you have different side riders.

Give it a try, until you can afford some Fat Sacs.

[da.bell]

Timmy,

If you need a "ghetto" ballast, try getting a plastic container at your local Walmart, container-r-us store, and set it on your swim platform on the side you want to surf. I did this all of last year, and made a huge difference when we didn't have a bunch of people ballast.
Get a container that holds about 20+ gallons.. that is 160+ lbs of weight at the very back corner of your boat. I ended up using a $10 strap from the hardware store to hold it to the back of boat. This would be equivalent (in my opinion) of about 300-400 lbs of ballast in your rear corner seat. It also makes it real easy to move from port to starboard if you have different side riders.

Give it a try, until you can afford some Fat Sacs.

I wonder if surfdad is seeing this one. Could be a temporary solution to his problem.

[five o'clock]

Timmy,
Where were you boating this weekend? I was driving south on I-25 Saturday morning and saw an Avalanche heading north with what appeared to be an RZ2 behind it. Was it you?

[Timmy!]

That would be me! We were headed to Horsetooth saturday morning.