Wakesurfing an I/O

[Surfdad]

This is a quote from Tim Lopes - formerly with Centurion Boats and the "godfather" of wakesurfing. He was the head of their Merced factory for ages. He left Centurion/Fineline Industries to join Calabria. In regards to surfing an I/O he says:

"There is absolutely no market for inboard tow boats in Hawaii. I’ve found some of the best wakes behind I.O’s…. No need for sideswipe, they exhausts out the prop. You can trim with the out drive and shape the wake to massive size. All the talk about hitting the prop is just propaganda created by the inboard boat builders to scare people into buying there products."

Full text is at the end of this thread:

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/m...tml?1214425214

I think we are all used to manufacturers spinning their product to be the best, but what do you think about the potential that they just lie to scare consumers?

[mtnsmith]

I don't know about that, there was one kid injured very badly here, I believe lost his leg, last summer from wake surfing an i/o that did not have much of a swim platform. It is a fact that he contacted the prop. I've seen a few people wakesurfing big center console outboards and I think that is definitely the dumbest thing to surf behind. Given that you could fall and contact the swim platform I guess, but atleast it's not the outdrive!

[Carter13]

I was not aware that Calabria built an I/O.

[Surfdad]

Hey Carter13,

I'm sorry if I was unclear - Calabria doesn't make an I/O.

Mtnsmith - do you have a published report on that? I have never heard of any wakesurfing related injuries associated with an I/O. I think that what Tim is indicating is that such gossip is BULL created by inboard companies.

[samw]

I have to admit I have surfed behind a I/O. I don't condone it but it was be hide a 212 Rinker with the extended swim platform. That sucker was like 4 feet deep. But still not the smartest thing to do but it was also our only means.... I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND SURFING BEHIND AN I/O EVER....
My 2

[Surfdad]

Samw,

You know I always shared that same opinion and then I read that statement by Tim and I was wondering is there any emperical evidence to support the danger? I've read that the force from the prop is so strong and the movement away from the rider is such that falling into the prop is virtually impossible.

Just wondering if that is true?

[sagmanaur]

Jeff,

It's not something I would like to try to find out.....

Sounds like a job for the Mythbusters, with their ballistic gel dummy.

[dogbert]

We've had several folks get injured here in Austin by I/Os that were in gear with folks near the swim platform. The problem is the prop is usually behind the boat. Very few I/Os have the kind of platform samw is talking about. If you compare the distance to the prop from one of our swim platforms, it's quite a distance.

[LovinPowell]

I guess time will tell. If it is possible to get injured from the prop of an I/O then it will happen sooner or later. If it has already happened (as has been stated) then it will happen again.

[KonaKing]

Stupid is as stupid does

[dogbert]

Stupid is as stupid does

Yeah, really. Maybe that guy's a good candidate for the Darwin awards.

[Surfdad]

I don't think that Tim is stupid - he's designed boats and run boat manufacturing plants for ages. I once tried an experiment. While surfing I took a full unopened can of soda and tried to throw it at the general location of the prop. Figuring I was going 10'ish MPH and let's assume I tossed it at 40 mph, the combined speed with which it hit the water was around 50 mph. The can stopped literally where it hit the water.

I'm not trying to condone the activity, I'd NEVER let my kid do it and that is MY benchmark but I have to wonder if inboard manufacturers have made it a bigger deal than it is. I hear the "stories" of I/O related wakesurfing injuries but have never seen a documented case.

[da.bell]

Not to add a wrench to the fire here but couldn't they just put a "cage" around the prop that wouldn't allow you to get close enough to hurt yourself? I am sure they have made them.

I am with everyone here also. I don't think that it's a good idea to wakesurf behind an i/o.

[Surfdad]

There are a few manufacturers of those cages - someone once pointed out that the issue is they rust and get flimsy and so it becomes a false sense of security. I'm still back to the original point - is it just hooey? or a goodly portion of it hooey? We are accoustomed to manufacturers trying to manipulate our opinions with advertising - the whole our boat is better because our cupholders are stainless steel - is it possible that there are some that also contrive safety issues? THAT I found incredibly interesting coming from an industry insider.

[da.bell]

I would say testing is in order. Not just a soda can but maybe a mannequin or a test dummy. Even a clarification of the statement would need to be done and his testing to the reason why he has come to the conclusion needs to be discussed.

At one time someone said the the moon was made out of cheese. Today, we know this not to be the truth because of facts. So, there isn't enough facts to support what Tim Lopes has said. That is not saying that he hasn't done the research. It is saying we do not have enough information here to make an educated "guess" on it.