Opinions sought on wake...

I'm considering investing in a ballast system (500lb locker sack), but I'm not sure if it's worth it. I'm torn between pickin up the '06 Substance Thursday or getting a fatsac/pump. I'm semi-pleased with my wake, as we don't have any weight in it and we still go w2w with little to no effort, but I'm not sure whether it's worth it or not to invest in weight.

I know it's personal preference, and it's hard to tell without riding it, but just by the looks of it tell me what you'd do.

I think I'm trying to trick myself out of buying the Substance Thursday, subconsciously. haha

Also, the rider pictured is riding for his first time in this pic. We took the photo in hopes of catching a good fall, so forgive his form Also, we ride about 5 feet in from where he is there. I have him on the tow pylon rather than the tower.

I would borrow a 500 pound sac and a pump & try it and see.

cody i would definitely get some more weight in the boat. hold out on the substance. you will notice much more of a difference with the added weight than riding a new board.if you can afford to add another sac in the bow and one in the rear youll be set. add as much as you can afford, its the best investment you can make.
btw is that a nonstretch rope? maybe its just the photo but it looks huge.

yea, it's just the photo, it's non-stretch. That's a SL Ultra Lite.

Oh, but I want that Substance so bad! Heck, I don't know what I want. I'm trying to keep more people on the boat with me, this used to not be a problem, but I can tell those less dedicated than me are burning out on it.

They wake looks well formed. But it looks like the rope is a little long or your going a little slow. As a driver I want to deliver the clean wake to the rider.
If you are set on putting weight in the boat be sure to weight it evenly, as I said it already looks clean.

Yea, it was a tad long cause we moved it from the tower to the pylon for my buddy to try riding. That was his first time. And I may have been running at 20mph at the time, as that's what I usually ride at for newer riders.

Good shape, just needs to be a little bigger. I would put a 500-600 lb. sac in the bow walkway and about that much (maybe a little bit more) in the back. Or, if you have a direct drive, I would reccomend one 600lb. sacs on each side of the engine, and one in back (if the other two aren't enough).

I'm not sure what kind of pump/sac combo you're looking at, but I would think it would be a lot cheaper than a 2006 Substance. Probably about $60 for the pump and $100-150 for the sac. If you can get a Substance for around that, let me know!!!

Ah nah, I'm gettin hooked up on the Substance for a real good price, but the sac is still a little cheaper. That's also one of the problems with me gettin the sac, I really want to take advantage of the price I can get it at right now.

I have 400 pounds of weight in dense stainless rollers, eight of them. They're each smaller than a 2 litre bottle. I could just build a box that would fit in the ski locker or in the walkthrough. What do you all think?

Is that the GlasSport wake? If so, it looks pretty good. My friend had an 80's GlasSport and the wake was small. We tried putting some weight in there but the 3-liter 4-banger would barely get the boat on plane. He gave it away when I got my boat so we never tried different props, hydrofoil stabilizers, and all that.

Anyway, whatever boat that is, I think it could benefit from more weight. It looks like it has a pretty good size and it looks pretty clean but it also has a long transition. In my opinion, this necessitates a much bigger wake--compared to a very vertical wake which can have a smaller volume and still provide good pop.

Finally, why would you put a new rider on the rear tow point? It's much easier to get up with the tower. In fact, I can't think of any reason to EVER wakeboard from the lower tow point.

Yes, that's the Glassport wake. I'm pretty happy with it, especially since it's such a small boat (16.5 ft). It weighs alot though, more than most 17 footers. It does take a while to get on plane, however that is what some forward ballast will help with. This is also the 3litre 4-banger, haha. I really love the boat though, especially considering I only paid $1000 for the boat and nearly $300 for the tower :P.

is the deal on the substance going to be there in a few weeks? if so, get the weight. I don't know your hookup situation, but the board should only get cheaper. sac it out!

Hey Cody...dude, $1000 for the boat and $300 for the tower...you're doing awesome for that little of money, good job...wake looks pretty decent. I would go with what everyone else is saying and add more weight to your boat to get the wake up. I would think that would help more with your riding than a new board (I'm also trying to talk myself out of one).

By the way, how is the lake up there doing...still easy to find good water? I went to UT for a while and was on the UT Waterski team (where I was introduced to wakeboarding and learned how). Anyway, I love that lake up there...its such a nice lake. I know live in Atlanta and it is getting harder and harder to find good water...everyone and their mom has a freakin tow boat now and good water can be scarce on the weekends.

Anyway, good job on the boat and tower...add some more weight to get that wake up.

Andrew, thank ya much! Yea, I got pretty lucky on the boat and tower work. I'm fortunate to have not had any serious problems on it either.

And yes, the river is still perfect. Any day I want to, I can go to this little dock just down the river in Watt's Bar and have miles of uninterupted glass. It's a great place to live, if only it never got cold, haha. I'm friends with the current president of the Waterski/Wakeboard team, Adam. He urged me to join up in the Spring but I'd never rode before. I told him I'd ride all summer (which I have) then join this Fall, regardless of how good I am. I can't wait to get riding behind that Mastercraft. School starts in only 13 days.

Nacho, I'm not sure if the deal would still be there or not. He told me he'd sell it for this particular price right now if I would buy it right now. I told him I don't get paid till next Thursday and that's when I'd be able to get it. He said he'd hook me up. I'm not sure for how long it'll be. He hasn't set them out for sell yet, as he's trying to unload more of his '05 gear. I have a feeling he'll not want to hook me up as much once he sets the '06 boards out, and I don't blame him, lol.

(Message edited by loudontn on August 11, 2005)

that guy in the pic is jumping super high dude!!!!

WHAT ABOUT THROWING IN SOME FAT GIRLS IN THE BACK OF THE BOAT IM SURE SOME OF YOU GUYS KNOW SOME

Cody, you mentioned you were towing the guy from the rear tow hook because he's a beginner. I think most people will find it easier to learn from the tower, just because the rope angle is higher. That has been my experience in teaching beginners.

BTW, if you've got some year-end deal on the board you want, get it. Once it's gone - it's gone, then you're looking at the new models. Board prices fluctuate a lot, weight stays the same, plus you can improvise.

Rich, it's the '06 board, not the '05. I imagine it only getting higher however. Not much of a year "end" deal, but a year "beginning" deal. lol.

Well, I think I'm pretty set on getting the sacs next week. Thanks!