Surfing bad for the boat?

Im just curious here, with the ballast loaded on one side the low speed and all is wakesurfing bad or harder on the boat/motor? Ive noticed that after surfing for awhile it takes a second to start the boat up again and blows a little smoke for a second. Is this from running the motor under a load in the improper rpm range than the motor was designed for.

I am always worried more about the tranny than the engine but it has to be a little tougher on the engine than regular boarding. How much, who knows?

I've always worried about the oil circulation given the fact that the boat is listing. There are guys in the wakesurfing section that log most of their hours surfing though and i am not aware of any of them having problems yet.

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/588622.html

I was out last weekend and and my friend who was driving said it felt like my trans was slipping a couple of times. Anyone have this problem? It was the first time we've surfed behind the boat and I was the only one who surfed so I didnt get a chance to feel it myself.

Check the fluid level. They slip when they're low on fluid, and being tilted to one side would exacerbate the issue.

Is it possible you were just cavitating? I don't surf much, so i don't know if you guys are listing the boats that far or not.

Yeah im hoping that it was just cavitating. I have an 06 Moomba V-drive and only have a 100 hours on it. I had it leaned over pretty good and it only did it a few times so mabye thats it. I'll re-check my levels also to make sure.

Check your tranny fluid level just to be sure. I would bet on cavitation though. If you were listed pretty good, you were most likely pulling in some air/wash from the opposite side. We experience it constantly when really loaded down. It can definitely startle a new driver that has not felt it before. As a precaution we do check all of our fluids at the end of every day of surfing.

As for oil circulation, I wouldn't really be too worried, as the pickups in a boat are going to work at more extreme angles than that of an automobile. Obviously there is a point of no return, but there really should be no problem with surfing (unless you're about to completely dunk one side of the boat). Think about the angles that most boats can operate at and how often is your boat actually sitting perfectly level?

I haven't ever seen the inside of an oil pan out of a boat motor, but I would bet there is some sort of baffle(s) built into the pan to help keep the pickup submersed in oil at all times.

Trevor, did you happen to see where the smoke was coming from exactly? You may have a leaky gasket, which could allow for some oil to seep out while you are listing. Which would begin to burn off causing the smoke. As for the starting difficulty, I've never experienced that, but then again, we rarely shut the boat off completely.

My short answer would be yes.

Carbon build up could cause all kinds of trouble. If it builds up and breaks apart it could clog a injector,, restrict air flow, and even bend valves (not likely). But most boat owners run premium gas and all most every body goes WOT at some point so their is not as much concern for this to happen. With better ignition systems and computer controlled air/fuel mix making it all closer to optimal fuel burn. How ever I am not sure what formula boat ECM's run on,so I am not sure if they have a preset fuel curve or if it adjust as needed(like a car).

They run on preset "best-guess" curves, or at least they did up to the advent of cats in boats (I think). I am pretty sure they have O2 sensors now. Not sure if the new ones run off of MAF or MAP, though.

Considering the RPM levels and durations, I don't see any reason there would be more carbon buildup in a boat used primarily for surfing vs. any car or truck. Less reason, in fact - what about driving a long way on a flat highway? Say 30 min at 2000 rpm?