Slamming your VLX...

How much weight do you throw in and where?

Trying to figure out what I will try as a set-up when I get the boat later this month...

Make sure you get the ballast for the front 1st off. An additional 120lbs (240lb total) worth of led in each storage slot in the bow will help dramatically. Then add 450lb-600lbs in each rear locker. If you want to make it real fat then put a 500lb next to the driver in the walk way just further back. This is all with the wedge up, this will make your wake insane, you want to think about re-proping though if you are always going to run this kind of weight. BADBADBAD fuel economy. Make sure you use protective gear when riding like this also, you will get so much pop it is unreal. It is almost like hitting a ramp with all types of vert, it pops your knees into your chest. Note: this is for a 05 VLX or newer.

(Message edited by ncbschzzt on September 12, 2006)

wayne,

the weight configuration that daman explained will work for a 04 vlx also. just about the same setup i run. Daman, did you change prop size? I was thinking about it for the same reason as you.

'06 VLX:

500-600 sack plumbed in each locker
400 in the nose in lead (pop-bags)
full MLS
no wedgies

It's really nice with a driver and spotter and just gets better with more people. I suppose you could add more ballast but I don't want to add more lead or think about plumbing more in anywhere else.

You may want to consider a different prop once you load it down, I went with the acme 1235, that thing works great.

I don't know if you'll ever get it slammed without losing any seating/walking areas, that thing sits high above the water even loaded.

Hey Brooke,
Did you notice any difference in gas consumption after changing the prop? How about performance, was it a dramatic change?
Thanks
Johnny

dittos to what Jonny said .... pics ?

Yes, I changed to the 1235 and it has worked great. Thanks for the info on that prop.

Johnny and BadBob (badbob, awesome name!):

Gas consumption is down for a couple of reasons:
* we aren't pros so we fall a bit (sometimes a lot!) the holeshot is so much better that we're on plane and off of full or nearly full throttle in a real hurry
* I seem to turn less RPMS or very very close to the same with the new prop so no loss of gas there

Handling/performance:
* much better hole shot as mentioned
* less high siding when heavily loaded, that used to be a pretty big problem, now it turns without any issues, really tight turns are fine when loaded down

I've heard people say that because the prop is bigger you are able to hit the trailer if you get off center while loading it up, but we don't trailer ours, it's on a lift we don't even own a trailer, so that's no issue at all!

I love that prop, kept the old one as a spare incase I run into something or a fish wearing body armor hits me!

Pics?
Um...I don't have many recent pics posted anywhere, I'll see what I can dig up.

This is Mike Schwenne's VLX at West Coast Camps. They use full ballast, that huge nose sac and various hunks of lead everywhere. SLAMMED!

Credit to scott a with the picture.

HUH!!!!!

Sometimes ya just have to wonder.........what are they thinking!

NOW that is slammmmmed !!! how do you turn to pick up downed riders, without swamping through the wake

( thanx diz )

dear god.... I hope that thing is closed bow....

Great shot. It sure looks a few inches from going under!

They definately have to come to a complete stop before turning around. That way the wake has moved away so they can make their turn. Its funny when people talk about touching graphics as loaded. This is a case for burying graphics. Oh yeah they don't use the Wedge either.

Slammed but the boat is moving forward and it looks like the driver just cut it off when the pic was taken so it looks a lot more then it really is.

Having been in that boat before, forward motion may affect it a little bit but Schwenne loads the heck out of that boat. Yeah the nose is low but look at the transom, its sunk too.

My buddies are coaches(the curly haired fellow pictured), I'll ask what they put in the VLX when they wanna slam it.

maybe that is the one for sale that sunk on another post

and to think some sucker bought that boat from Mike!!!!

570 hours in 1 year with that much weight in it.

That thing is going to need a whole new drivetrain soon!!!!

The upside is that he was only asking $36K for it.

Shhhhh, E Double I was thinking the same thing but you said it out loud.

The simple fact is that for 90% of the hours it was maybe using factory ballast. Most of the campers there don't require a full load. Plus that 570 hours was from two summers of use. They take good care of the boats and change the oil every week so for a two year old boat with a lot of hours they should be in decent shape.

Not to mention at 570 hours on a boat is equivalent to a 20,000-30,000 miles on a truck.

Oh god, please not this arguement...

So in theory, a wake boat should last between 3800-5700 hours? Thats if you figure a truck will go 200,000 miles. I say that is a load of ish.

And I would worry about a car having 30K miles in one year.

Eubanks,My 2005 GMC has almost 39k.

Like new,nothing wrong