Ballast? Speed? Length? For Wake Boarding

I have a 1980 that we ride behind in Australia. It depends on how big you want the wake...With 450Lb in the rear in place of the rear seat, the wake is good & fuel consumption is good too. Put another 3-400 down the back & 200 up the front & the wake is massive, but the consumption suffers significantly. This photo has 400Kg (circa 850Lb) in the rear & 100Kg up front plus driver & observer

Bimmerboyz wrote: Also what is your favorite spot to mount sacs? Favorite speed to ride at and length?

Egad, this is going to go nowhere good...

Sell what prop are you turning???

I own an 80' as well, last week I had one 350 between the engine and the rear seat and another 350 over the observer's seat, plus a 200lbs driver. I liked the wake shape but felt it needed more weight
I ride at 22mph and 70feet rope.

Hi Luchog - I am running a 13x13, with a fairly substantial amount of cup. It is not an OEM federal - the blades are much larger, more like an ACME or OJ.
I think you are a bit forward in the weight bias. The wake will steepen as you bias to the stern, but give more punch. We always ride at least 22 & on 70 feet off highpole mounted to centre pole.
BTW, I found that running 350 each side of the engine made the wake was terribly crumbly.

86 - Had my Bro-In Law out over the WE. He is a skiier/footer & had him footing with 450 lbs in the rear. Fairly big bump for him to cross & the boat was porpoising quite nastily

I have an '88 that usually has 400lb of lead under the back seat + 100 lb lead under the bow + driver. that wake is quite nice. many times there are an extra 2 people sitting on the spotter seat and I add a 250lb sac behind the motor box. that wake is really nice and big. I usually ride at 23 MPH and 70' line.

I dont use lead weights.

i have 25lb bags of lead shot (same as you would buy for reloading shotgun shells) wrapped in plastic bags and then wrapped in duct tape. easy to carry around and stash wherever you need. i've heard of people getting old wheel weights from tire shops, melting them down and forming them in to bars. you need to be very careful about that due to the highly toxic lead fumes. i've also heard of people filling PVC pipe or square steel tubing with old wheel weights or sinkers or whatever. square steel tubing seems like a good way to go...you could weld caps on the end and paint it and it wouldn't roll around. you could also buy bags of steel shot. i think there is a company in california called pop products but there are many others who make these bags for use as ballast in cars for safety testing.

MI-nick wrote: i have 25lb bags of lead shot (same as you would buy for reloading shotgun shells) wrapped in plastic bags and then wrapped in duct tape. easy to carry around and stash wherever you need. i've heard of people getting old wheel weights from tire shops, melting them down and forming them in to bars. you need to be very careful about that due to the highly toxic lead fumes. i've also heard of people filling PVC pipe or square steel tubing with old wheel weights or sinkers or whatever. square steel tubing seems like a good way to go...you could weld caps on the end and paint it and it wouldn't roll around. you could also buy bags of steel shot. i think there is a company in california called pop products but there are many others who make these bags for use as ballast in cars for safety testing.

I preffer filling the bags as carrying lead or other stuff its dead weight and I have like 1.30 hours round trip to the ski area and that extra weight in the cruise means lots of cash in fuel...

more ideas for dead weight are the counterweight bars used on elevators....they are in the 60-70lb each and quiet small....

Sebastian,

I put the about the same amount of weight as you in my '93 and the wake still isn't as good as only 500lbs lead in the '88...and fuel consumption is terrible...but, it's still a great boat...

Bimmerboyz wrote: kapla wrote: at this level I give a sh## on fuel comsuption... kapla wrote: I preffer filling the bags as carrying lead or other stuff its dead weight and I have like 1.30 hours round trip to the ski area and that extra weight in the cruise means lots of cash in fuel...

after posting this I though of the controversy yes..but I mean if I have to get a decent wake and sacrifice fuel consuption is all rigth for me..but not all the time.. just when i´m ridind and not while cruising boating etc....
To get to the ski area we ride the same canals the big cuisers go so water get little choppy sometimes and having that extra lead would compromise driveability

We used to board behind a 95' Ski (GT40 Pro Boss), we had over 1000lbs over it, the wake shape was quite nice (it was noticeable steeper with the 3 blade) and fuel usage was good, around 7gph

sorry, fuel usage was 24-25lts/hour boarding, 19 cruising.

carnes99 wrote: We used to have an 89 ski nautique and we ran two 540 lb. launch pad sac's on each side of the MC. We thought the wake was good. Then I got my 05 SAN and I have a 250 lb. sac on each side of the motor, 540 lb. sac in the front and center( not much walking room). This plus the 850 lbs. of stock weight and that my friends is what I call a wake! 2450lbs.+ passengers.

Some of us can't afford a new SAN. I have seen almost every trick hit behind my boat. So a Huge wake isn't a necessity.

be careful with too much lead weight on the trailer. It might get weird. as far as the line length goes, just let it out as you get bored. I think that we ride 70 feet now but I hear of people at 85 all the time. We started at like 50 feet. It really doesnt matter, its just more fun to jump farther. Also, as you let the line out further you can go different speeds to shape the wake or change the weight around. It all depends on the mood of the day I guess. If you need more weight get some bigger girls and tall beers.

Is not on the size but on the skill of the rider...LOL... I can land a backroll with or without ballast.. but its gonna be easier with the sacs though.. As for the size of the wake mine has a reasonable wake.. and was the best boat availabele when I made my first move on the wakeboard... I drulled at her when PO used it.. Also It used to be the official towboat at the local tournaments....And all the pros shoot their flipos behind her....Then when I got the chance to buy her I didn´t doubt it...