barefoot boom on wakeboard boat

Ok so I am and have been really pumped about my 06 X2, but one thing I really miss about my old prostar is the barefoot boom. I know they make tower booms, but the spray on the X2 appears to be right where the barefooter would be. Using the rear pylon it would be even worse. Plus I am concerned about the stress a boom would put on the tower.

Has anyone experimented with a boom on their wakeboard boat? I would love to see a picture or video and I haven't been able to find much, especially on newer Mastercrafts.

We had one on our old Xstar off the ski pylon. It worked fine. Sorry no pics. I don't know about the new x2s spray, but don't forget you are moving a lot faster than wb speed.

Yeah that is a good point. I have considered the spray at around 28 mph, but it could be reduced considerably at 34+ mph. Ill have to check it out this weekend.

When you say old X Star, I assume you mean current X1 hull? That is similar to my old 190 hull, so one wouldn't expect too much spray.

I hate to make this a $600 experiment so hopefully someone has done it with a 06+ X2....

Barefoot International makes a tower mounted boom, i do not know how well it works. BI also makes a 2 foot boom extension that will put you a little further away from the chine spray. you can look at it on fatsac.com

Yeah that is the exact boom I am thinking about getting. Did not know about the extension, thanks.

I just got one today. I haven't had a chance to put in on yet. I am heading out of town until Monday, but will be putting it on ASAP. I will post some pics up. Mine is going to be off of the pylon. I got the boom extension to get you past the spray. I spoke with Seipel about it and he said it would do the trick. You can put on more than one extension as well.

knowing your friends, you may be safer buying $600 worth of samuri swords and chineese stars for the boat.

(Message edited by acurtis_ttu on July 22, 2008)

I have a Barefoot int'l Siepel Signature boom if anyone wants it. $200

Andrew,

Being "old school" I had the same desire & concerns. So far, I've only used the boom twice, once with me on it (below).

I put Barefoot International v-drive boom on my Sanger V210 and it works just great at 38-42 mph. You can see how it's set up in the first picture, curving forward about 18". I don't have any issue with chine spray but have yet to try with a short-line attached to the boom. This may put me back far enough that I'll be footin' in spray requiring an extension or two to get me out of it.

Any more questions I can help with, let me know.

I am not sure I am going to let some of my friends use it Adam. I had bad luck with letting non-experienced people use my old one.

wakemikey - is yours a tower boom? If so, what size tower (tube diameter) is it set up for?

Travis - I would love to see some pics in motion when you get it going. I assume you are putting it on the Star? Tell Shaun I said what's up.

Andy thanks for the pics. It looks encouraging. After seeing yours and hopefully seeing Travis' pics I may go ahead and take a chance on it. I definitely like using the 5 foot line.

Looking at my last pic, I was thinking about this: a short line would move me out another 12-18" and may be enough. Next time out in calm water, I'll give it a try & post up.

I have used a BI tower mount boom on my last 2 V drive Centurions.

They have some big advantages
The telescope together for better storage
there is nothing in the boat when in use.
They are longer than the rear mounted V drive booms so your are not as close to the boat as you are in the above picture.

You are way farther forward and out of the spray

This was my tower mount on my Centurion Cyclone




The bad news is they are harder to adjust and take longer to mount

I have an '08 with the BFI Tower Boom on it. Full disclosure - I am a BFI dealer (www.boarditup.com). It works well, gets the skier/boarder/footer out ahead of the spray.

Downside - two person job to install where you have footing. On my X-9, I could to it myself, from the boat, over deep water.

Tip - have a 1' long loop of heavy duty rope or webbing to attach to your cleat so the hasp does not scratch the gel-coat.

I don't have pics, but it looks fine and works well - actually better than I expected. The X-2 hull has a lot of spray where the boarder would be with the pylon boom. The tower boom is the best option.

Yeah I would never buy a V drive until BI tower boom came out. I could not deal with all the chin spray

here is a picture of one mounted on a tower on a Sanger DXII and KSO also has Mastercraft as a sponsor http://www.ksobarefoot.com/tow_boats.htm

Yes, I am putting in on an X-Star, and I got he plyon mount with the extensions, simply for the reason Karl stated. Seipel said the tower mount is definitely a two man job where you can stand up. I was looking for someting I could do on the fly.

Wow they should have told me that 3 years ago when I bought it. I have been installing it myself this hole time...now I will have to get someone else to help

Let us know how the rear mount works our with the spray

Post the video. I cannot get the cables tight enough without standing on the ground. We do use it with the trapeze so people can sit in the EZ-footer for training.

I've had the pylon mounted Barefoot boom for 7 years- it's the one for V-drives with the bend in it ( pictured above) and it works great. We don't barefoot- but it's the single best training tool for newbies ever-period-end of story. You can adjust the cables - there's a fitting with two hex screws in it to oshorten or lengthen the cables to your liking. If you're truly going to barefoot- there's the extension piece you can get which will put you well out of the spray.

question...I had the boom back in the day for my sn2001 and malibu rlx...but for a vdrive (specifically with the rear pylon boom and extention(s)..) it almost seems like you might need to fill the right ballast tank to keep the pylon from dipping down low. I don't know how finiky the xstar is but I know on some boats it would be a must.

Karl - pm coming at ya

Thanks for the help everyone.

Ripin brings up a good point. I had this worry on my Sanger V210. As you can see from the pics above, the boom works fine but is a bit low, at waist level if you stood straight up on the water (not recommended while footin'!). For your boat, be aware of how high the gunnel is compared to the base of your pylon. The Sanger gunnel is a bit lower but I can get mine to workout OK if I make sure to mount the end of the boom as low as possible on the pylon (pushing down the sundeck cushion a bit helps). Due to it's low freeboard, Sanger gunnel is lower than many other V drives so you should be OK. If you want some measurements of the height difference between my gunnel & pylon base let me know and I'll take a look tonight. You can get an idea from the picture below. I'm thinking maybe 3-4" and it still works fine.