flotable device to reduce backwash

[jcwaterskiparadise]

Hi ballers, i am looking for advices and references on products for a flotable system to reduce backwash, on one side of an open lake, for a new project. What's the best options when you can't use tires on site, like Beaurech or gravon, in France per example?  Thanks for infos and links!

[Luzz]

@jcwaterskiparadise we have been working on this at Jolly Ski for 2 years in an effort to divide our lake. There are several options out there and, admittedly, none specific to water skiing. I have been submerging in the strange and variegated world of "wave attenuators" for a while now. The three main points I gathered which might be helpful:

• Mass of the attenuator is the most important aspect to consider to avoid lake1->lake2 waves
• Shape of the attenuator is crucial to avoid lake1->lake1 waves
• Anchoring is going to be essential. Weight/complexity of the anchors will increase with higher weight of the attenuator
  • Not to be confused with its mass

Our first tests last year were with concrete floating pontoons by Ingemar. These were modified by attaching adjustable bolted shores using fiberglass. In short, the more we were improving shape, the better (i.e., more expensive) anchoring required. We abandoned the project in the testing phase as the price of anchoring made the whole divider 3x more expensive.

We are currently evaluating the Wahoo Wave by Wahoo Docks. Judging by the video you see on the page, it looks super super promising. I am in constant communication with them and hoping the estimate I receive is good enough to make a trip somewhere to test it :)

I don't know much about your project but it all comes down to how good of water conditions you need. 

[S1Pitts]

@LuzzPlease report back when you get out to see it live. It would be interesting to see a video like the example on the Wahoo Wave website using a surf boat running down the length of it rather than the low wake boat that they used. It potentially looks good for your application.

Edited December 28, 2022 by S1Pitts

[jcwaterskiparadise]

Many thanks Luzz for the link. Wahoo waves system is exactly what i need for the place i am looking for!

[Kevin89MC]

Wow, very interested in this too. I've been thinking about how to solve our wave bounce-back problem at a slalom course I ski on a lot. Most of it has a pretty steep rock wall on one side (it was an old quarry) and depending on the water level, it can get a little rolly in the course after 1-2 passes. That Wahoo Wave set up looks really cool. If anybody install this next to a slalom course, I'd love to see some video of it in action.

Kevin

[lpskier]

I was required to devise and install such a device for the 2014 Eastern Regionals. The factors we considered were cost, ease of installation and effectiveness, more or less in that order. We settled on 100 foot rolls of 6” dia. perforated perimeter drain pipe.  The mass needed for wake attenuation was self provided by the water in the pipe. For floatation we used swim noodles. Get them at a Dollar Store where they are $1 not Walmart where they are $3. We used inexpensive rope and concrete filled chimney block for anchors. All product was new and clean so we had no push back on potential pollution. The hardest part of the job was pushing the rope through the cavity in the noodle. 
 

I’m sure that several hundred tires or a mess of phone poles would have done a better job but neither option was practical for us. In your case you make have to install several rows of pipe to accomplish the job. 

[ToddL]

In the audio world, sound attenuation takes into account the frequencies and wave lengths to be controlled.   Very thorough studio or installed solutions would require customized products of differing mass with varying void of air between them to achieve the goals.  One can surmise that similar physics would and should apply to wave attenuation in water.  

 

I wonder if the averages and range of amplitude and frequencies of adjacent watercraft, etc. could be measured and any solution optimized to disrupt those specific frequencies.

[jcwaterskiparadise]

Hi luzz, i get an email from brad Miller of Wahoodocks. They are talking on their video of a low cost solution, not really, 1475 us dollars without the anchoring and the shipping cost, per meter, for the small section of 36 inches... bummer and impossible for a ski school. 

If you have a better solution?

 

[BraceMaker]

@jcwaterskiparadisecompared to the shipping cost of buying a bunch of fill rock and having the lake drained then installing that rock... Its probably low cost if it works.

[Luzz]

@BraceMakeryou already see the type of rationale we have been going through…

@jcwaterskiparadiseI'm still waiting for Wahoo Docks to send me an estimate, which is turning out to be a lengthy process given that we are based in Italy. We are seriously considering rock but it's a very steep price.

[Gerald Carson]

Try growing weeds