balast needed?

Ok so we ride behind my 07 180 fourwinns. The wake is ok and I have a tower which has helped tremendously with my hang time. My friend rented a sanger this weekend and he said it had a bit steeper wake and he was hitting wake to wake effortlessly and landing way out in the flats as behing my boat we have to struggle hard. So I was thinking of taking my friends 200lb fat sac and sticking it in either the ski locker or in between the front seats in the bow to get the wake bigger. In your opinion does the bigger wake give you tons more air?

Yes and no.. your technique will matter most. In all reality, a 200lbs sac really isnt going to do much.. just add the sack with 4 more people then normal and see what it looks like

yea I think that we are getting way better on our technique. edging and all but it just seems like we arent getting the results and it would be nice to get some major air for our efforts. I feel like we have stopped progressing. I think I may go bigger on the sac. Going to need a 4 blade prop I am sure. I was just amazed when he said that it was effortless and man I have been following the basics for a long time and using progressive edge I bought the book and follow it alot. He alwso just got a brand new faction which I LOVE the edge ono that board. The top faric type material is a bit of a joke but the board rides AWESOME.

I am loving my Faction board as well. I can tell you that in my experience, a bigger wake wasn't what got me to go wake to wake, it was technique. I think it is better to dial your technique in and then when you do increase the wake size, you have a great foundation to build on. On the other hand, if you have the sac, try it out, a 200 lb sac isn't going to make a huge difference and if your technique is there, you just might get that extra little kick that you need.

Are you doing any filming?That can help. Ride a longer line. In all honesty, the board really doesnt matter that much, I personally think people read into that stuff to much. Most importantly, have fun and dont be afraid!

yea I have some filming will upload a little later as I dont have my camera here. If I ride a longer line I dont get in a good spot on the wake. Let me link you to some vid's a little later so you can give me a little coaching.

You will definitely notice a difference with a bigger wake. It is more important than a tower or pylon. You will probably want one or two large size fat sacks and that will make a huge difference.

ithink i want to try what ever size fits in the locker and between the front seats/bow. we are trying hard as hell on our technique and not getting any results

Dude, TECHNIQUE! You've got the right idea about working on technique. The reason that he did go big effortlessly behind a wakeboard boat is because you guys have good technique. But keep working on it, and you'll eventually be able to go big behind your boat.

For the longest time I thought that ballast and a tower was really important, but it's all technique.

Lately I've been riding really consistently behind a 1992 outboard deckboat. The wake sucks, and the pylon is only high enough to bring the rope over the engine, but still. I've never made it into the flats behind that boat just doing grabs, but I can put the line out at 80-85 feet and pound out really long poked out grabs all day long.

And although I haven't landed it yet, every backroll that I've tried behind the thing at 75 feet has been consistently in the flats, all because I'm working on technique now more than anything. You'd be surprised at what the proper technique can do for your riding. Just because you bought the Book doesn't mean that you're following it's instructions properly.

Maybe just stand taller at the top of the wake, that could also be part of the reason that you have to struggle to get out into the flats. I noticed in video of myself that I was never standing tall, which would yield crappy results of just poorly grabbed w2ws.

If you want an example of what a proper technique will give you in hang time, look at my profile pic. That's 80-85 feet back, going 27 mph behind a towerless and weightless deckboat. There's actually more heighth than the picture tells, but still. Try standing taller at the top of the wake. That just may help you.

Nick thanks for the words of encouragement. Yea our technique is definately there. Trust me it wasn't easy. We just need that little push onto the next platue if you know what I mean. The boat was a sanger mid engine with no ballast but the wake was slightly bigger which helped. Been looking at streight line sacs Looks like they have a nice one that fits inbetween the bow and walk through and holds 750 Lbs !!!!! might be just what I need.

i used to have that same boat just a few years older and i ran 1 500lbs bag in the bow and a 750lbs bag right infront of the back seats... i also put a new prop on it to get a much better whole shot with an addition blade on the prop to get me out of the whole...it took a bit to get a plane but it had a pretty beefed up wake. you can buy the fly high fat sacs on EBAY for cheap. and yes the bigger wake helps with air. I upgrade my boat this year to the mastercraft x-star and my air about doubled. but definetly add some weight and you'll be pleased.

man maybe you can help on prop selection. i have the 4cyl volvo outdrive. some say i shouldjust drop pitch one and 4 blades. what do you think ?

I would stop worrying about all these little piddly details like prop selection or fat sacs. Take some vids of yourself and compare it to how the pros edge. I can tell you for a fact that if your friend is getting the pop you want, it's technique. I used to have a hard time getting enough hang time for a decent indy grab. Then after I took a ride w/ the midwest militia my technique alone gets me more pop. Same board, same boat.

just think 200lb sack is roughly 1person

all good got two 350lb sacs from a buddy and a prop from iboats dropped a little in pitch for a hundred bucks. lets see what this does

I really dont know how well that motor is gonna get all that weight on plane.. sure.. eventually it will but its gonna take some time.