Wake Tweaks - Coveting thy neighbors boat...

[SpartanSki]

So I've been smacked with the fact that my friends SN does have the best wake off all the boats in my general group. A hard fact to come to terms with from a devout Malibu owner. Here is the list of boats in our ski group roster.

 

2003 Malibu Sportster LX (open bow) - Tower/Wedge but no speed control, I know I know, I'm a former recovering wakeboarder

1993 Prostar 205 open bow - PP no notable accoutrements

2005 SN 196 closed bow - no speed control

2007 SN 196 closed bow - PP and Hydrogate

 

I've always skied the best off the 2005 196, at 15 and 22 off the wake is phenomenal. For awhile, my scores were so drastically different, I was insistent that the speedo was off. Well, we timed the segments the other day and both his 196 and my sporty were right on the money.

 

The weird thing is if I were to rate the wakes, the 2005 196 is way out in front, the Prostar and the Sporty have a pretty respectable tie for second, and the 2007 is trailing way off in the distance with a wake that is hard as rock and has a huge table top plateau in the middle.

 

Any simple tweaks I can do to my bu to get closer to that 196? I have an 80# fatsack block that I'm going to try throwing in the bow, too much? More? Less? Any thoughts?

 

[kfennell]

Take the Wedge especially, and possibly the tower off the boat, and put some weight in the bow, not sure how much will be right, you will have to experiment.

[Jody_Seal]

Dang dont have to put weight in the Nautique! :)

 

[jhughes]

Sportster is a narrow boat and that wake is HARD. There's a reason that it's one of the most coveted boat for barefooting ever made! +1 on bow weight and keep that gas tank at 1/4 full max.

[rodltg2]

You must have the hydrogate up on the 07, that wake is butter at those line lenghts. I have alot of time behind that boat @ 15,22

[SpartanSki]

I vaguely remember someone on here stripping a wedge off a Response to improve the wake. I guess it is a fair chunk of iron hanging pretty far off the back, the socket wrench may be coming out...

 

jhughes, It's funny, I've never really thought about how narrow the boat is in terms of the wake. That makes perfect sense though.

[Waternut]

I ski long line and slower speeds and I used to love the wake on my 86 Dixie skier until one day I rode behind a 98 SN. I was instantly disapointed by my wake that I started looking at the possibility of selling my boat and getting something newer/better. I started reading up on wakeplates and various other things as a last resort before selling. I decided to get the Bennett X-18 hydraulic wakeplate. That thing is awesome and I love my boats wake again! Depending on speed and weight in the boat, I can reshape the wake to suit my needs.

 

It was a little pricey at $500 but I bought it from overtons and used the AWSA discount to help out.

[SpartanSki]

Rod, I would love it if that was the case but we've spent a lot of time messing with that hydrogate and we simply can't get the wake to change much. It really surprises me the drastic difference between the 05 and 07.

[Not_The_Pug]

@spartanski, you should check to make sure the wake gate is working properly. It can really affect the boats slalom wake if in trick or jump mode. On the current ones the lever is forward for slalom and back for Trick/Jump/Cruising. Check the screws to make sure they are tight too. There was one in this area that wasn't installed correctly and had to be fixed by the dealer.

[6balls]

'97-'09 SN196 wakes should be muy bueno. If not something amiss.

[DW]

Taking weight out of the back really helps the wake on those boats, remove as much stuff as you can. Wedge needs to go, rear seat and back if you don't need it, don't throw stuff back there. Run the tank as low as you can and also removing the tower will help. You really want to "lift" the transom as much as possible but also less total wieght helps. If you can find a lighter platform, that also improves the wake. Remove stuff before you add nose wt., but that can help also. That is a narrow boat and does have a harder wake than the Echelon / Response.

 

BTW Spartanski - where are you located

[SpartanSki]

It is pretty much agreed that someething is amiss with the 07 196, but we can't convince the owner that we need to tweak it.

 

I already run it without the rear seat, it is a family boat so I'll have trouble gutting it too much. I'm going to start with 100ish pounds in the nose and go from there as well.

 

I'm in Clarkston DW, I'm on Greens Lake though I don't ski it yet..., but ski on some other lakes around Waterford/White Lake

[andjules]

At my skiing level, I have no right to comment, but it seems to me that it's one thing to be able to tell the difference between those boats, it's another to get drastically different scores. Having owned a Sporty and skied regularly behind an early 90s PS205, if your scores are way lower on those boats, you're not stacked/strong through the wakes. Assuming you're skiing 32-36 mph, yes, their wakes may be bigger compared to the 05 SN196, but they shouldn't be enough to throw you or hurt your skiing. They're frankly pretty nice wakes, all-in-all. Even with rear seats, towers and wedges, I wouldn't pass up a run behind any of those boats.

[SpartanSki]

@andjules, I completely agree with you there, I'm sure I'm not stacked/strong enough, still working on it. I'm not going to blame the boat for the low scores, but it does highlight my deficiencies quite nicely. I don't think my Sporty or my friends 205 have a bad wake nor would I ever turn down a tow, but the 05 196 wake is something else, on par with the TXI I skied behind.

 

The 07 196 on the other hand, has a pretty rough wake, I think I would struggle through the course behind that boat.