CCF Product Review - NautiCurl Wake Shaper

I know that wake-surfing is not everyone's preferred past-time on the water but I find it fun and a very social aspect of using my Correct Craft.

I'm always interested in unobtrusive ways to improve the performance / versatility of my '97 Sport Nautique and was considering a wake-shaper for surfing. I was surprised at the price of some of the options and the fact that they did not float. I couldn't imagine paying $500 for a wake-shaper only to have it disconnect and then sink.

I was going to follow some of the DIY instructions but still was faced with the idea of using either a tether or risking it sinking if it became detached.

I then found that NautiCurl was coming out with a floating wake-shaper. I reached out to them and they were happy to send me one to test. I received it last week and, with the help of my 12-year old son, put together a short video of the test.

In general, it's very well made, simple to install/uninstall on either side of the boat, significantly improves the wake and it certainly floats.

Hey Dave,
Yes, stayed firmly attached. I was skeptical that it would especially giving that I mounted it over the graphic pint-stripe on my boat but it never came off on it's own.. I used it all weekend, mounting and remounting several times and even switching sides (my brother-in-law surfs goofy). Not one issue.

The design may help with keeping it attached. If you notice it has more surface area against the boat than it does in the angled wedge. The hydrodynamics may help push it into the boat putting less stress on the the suction attachment ... I will admit however that I really have no idea if this is true..

The materials may help as well. It is not made of plastic but rather aluminum alloy. It's rigid and very strong. Although I'm sure it flexes under the pressure of the water, it must flex far less than if it were made of plastic which I would guess helps with the integrity of the suction cup seal.

-Keith

Keith,

I have a buddy with a 2005 SV211 that I ski with who is not a CCFaner. Thanks for the review he is going to pick one up. I also ski with a buddy who has a 216 that will likely want one. I am not a surfer, but I am a player. My kids are surfers and I built a suck gate for my two friends to share just for fun. Also, so my kids can surf their boats.   

I like the fact it has replacement parts and FLOATS. Other threads show they have good customer service.

CQ's wake shapers cost more than $200 to feed.

I have just one 800 lb bag across the back seats. This alone makes for a pretty good wake. Adding several passengers (adult passengers) completes my ballast setup. I typically have one adult on the engine cover, another in the the observer's bench and one in the jump seat (and one driving, of course).

The best part of the wakshaper is that the boat no longer needs to be weighted to one side. You can weight the boat evenly.

-Keith

My buddy with a 2005 SV211 picked up one of these earlier this week. We tried it out last night for the first time. It was an improvement over the Suck Gate that I built last year. Suck Gate would throw a big roster tail against the hull right at a rear vent. This would cause the back compartments to get wet. When we stopped last night the compartments were dry. The unit never came off and was a ton easier to take on and off than the homemade suck gate. The wake was larger, cleaner and more defined. My buddy felt it was worth the $249.00 with shipping and float attachment.

Gary,

The key is not to own a newer boat but have friends with a newer boat. Do not socialize with poor people if you want to ride on a newer boat Maybe poor people with good credit in my case.

Remember what your mother told you? Choose your boating friends wisely.   

Donald

I see the changes in the wave, but let's see yall ride the waves.

Went out for a surf with the family last night and did a little more work dialing in the wave. The Nauticurl does a great job on an older boat that can't really carry a lot of extra ballast to make a very surfable wave.

Cam has a smallish thruster, can that be used to wakesurf? or do I need to buy more stuff?

I bought mine off a guy who also sells them on Ebay. $130.00. I tied a rope around mine, attached to a couple of bouys that are placed inside the boat. If it falls off just retrieve the bouys.   Mine has not fallen off yet.

Keith,
Following up on your original post and with Donald's friends review, I too invested in this wake shaper. With little success in keeping the DIY one on the boat, after the very first application to the hull, the Nauticurl had us surfing on the first try. While we are still trying to figure out how to elongate the wave, the 211 is finally doing it !!!

Moj'

JoeinNY wrote: Mojo wrote: Keith, While we are still trying to figure out how to elongate the wave, Moj' In my experience you have to move to or add weight to the front to get some more length.

Tried about everything so far with little success joe.. Still working on it..

Here's my son surfing behind our '97 Sport this past weekend. The NautiCurl makes a huge difference. We had our 800 lb bag across the stern seats. Otherwise only my daughter (100 lbs) and I were in the boat.



-Keith

Mojo wrote: Even after an alcohol bath to get the wax off..

hmmmm......whata visual......



john