Wakesurfing the Epic - Part 2

Well, we were fortunate enough to get the Epic 23V out for some work on the port side. Props to David, the Epic dealer out of Rancho Cordova.

We wound up having some trouble with Perfect Pass, so it made it hard to dial in the wake, but overall I think we had some success on the port side.



We still had to turn into the wake in order to clean the face of the wake up. We also found that running a bit faster gave us a slightly less high wake, but EXCEPTIONALLY long. I would estimate a useable pocket length in the area of 25 feet.

I believe that the starboard side is the better of the two sides.

We loaded the factory standard ballast on the port side and an additional 400 pounds of ballast in the rear corner. In messing with the ballast placement we found 1/6 of the standard bow ballast (est of 2-300 pounds) and the trim tab set at about 60% gave us the best balance for rideablility.

On the starboard side, this same configuration proofed to be too much ballast. The gas tank fill cap went under water, we ended up removing about 300 pounds of ballast and I had all the passengers move to the port side!

We didn't have this problem on the port side, which also has a filler cap.

In looking at the prop I believe it is RH rotation rather than the LH rotation that most boats have. I can't say with 100% certainty, but it would explain why the boat favors the starboard side.

Jeff,
That first picture looks like you almost caught air coming off the lip on the way down. Now that's steep.

I dunno Dennis, did you find it to be steep?

Wellllllll maybe

Steep enough that James is shocked and about to drop in.

Too funny. Dennis, I'm not so sure that the issue is the steepnees of the wake. It's the lack of any substantial transition that is the problem. We got the face clean, the height is admirable considering the speed (why does "velocity" as measured in FPS seem more appropriate? ) we were traveling.

Look at this quick comparison:

Epic on the left and my Tige on the right. The Epic wake is about 8 to 12 inches taller. The effective pocket on the Epic is twice as long, both good things, but at the bottom of the trough, my Tige is smoothly rounded and the Epic appears almost angular.

There is a greater or steeper angle of the water that enters the face of the wake and almost no transition or maybe it's best termed as an abrupt transition. It's certainly surfable. I think after getting used to it, an excellent surfer could toss some huge airs. At the bottom of the trough it was easy to ride. Plenty of push...so newbies could ride it easily...I guess it's the in between that needs some help. If the transition could be made more gradual, I think you could develop a GREAT all around surf wake.

This is the area that I am referencing.



It really isn't much more steep, up at the lip, than my Tige, but the transition is significantly more abrupt on the Epic, PLUS, the only way to develop a clean face without a step on the Epic is to run fast and turn into the wake.

Sheesh, I don't like that referencing picture...I "think" this one is more clear.

Jeff,
Just a note. The prop rotation is the same as your Tige Based on the pictures of the props.

My prop has NO rotation at the moment!

I did check the prop on the Tige (mechanic's full employment act? ) and it's the same as the Epic - is that LH? and is the '05 and previous Natique RH? Either way - my theory doesn't hold true.

Good illustrating, I understand what you mean. So you pretty much have to keep turning, even just slightly, to keep it clean? That could be problematic if you wanted to surf in places that require a straight path... like some rivers, and the Delta.

Jeff,
I woud be interested to look at pics of other Epic's Surf wake to see if they to have that feature. It might be caused by the twin rudders. The preproduction boats only had one rudder.

Yeah Kevin, in the above pictures where we are surfing behind the epic we are turning a circle that is perhaps...3-400 feet in diameter, I'm just guessing on that number, but it's a pretty aggressive turn is what I want to convey.

We did notice that the one rudder on our test boat was not aligned properly - well, it looked that way to us and that could create a problem also.

Dennis, when I was looking at the transom while surfing, the step in the wake appeared to originate from the bottom rear corner. I noticed that when James went out to wakeboard that the wakeboard wake, beyond being HUGE, was also exceptionally crisp at the lip. So there was a nice ramp and then about half way up the wake seemed to go vertical very nicely.

I would think from a wakeboard perspective this would be the perfect wake. Large, solid, rampy with a solid boot at the top.

Jeff
At what speed did you run to get the long "25ft" wake. How many people where on board, did the driver stand on port side while you rode on that side?
I am going to try one out monday.
~S~

Hey Scott,
We had 3 people on board. Driver stayed in normal position. I believe that I was driving and I weigh in at about 260 and the effect was minimal. We would be very interested in pictures of the wake behind another boat as we think there might be some small rudder adjustment which might be effecting the wake on this boat. Let us know what you think.
Dennis

My son drives when I surf and only weighs a buck and 1/2. Our boat is a Supra SSV - when he stands on the other side with only 2 other people in the boat the effect is significant. Washed out to smooth. Another problem I have to overcome is that I removed the sacks in the rear and fabricated heavy SS tanks, the empty tank on the starboard side weighs 125LBs. I did this before I knew about wakesurfing and my old bodies limited tolerance to pain from wakeboarding. Its great for boarding - just need that one extra person for the surfin
Thanks for the info

Man I miss hanging out with you guys. I need to get out and surf. You guys are having way too much fun.

Saw the Epic on the river for the first time. I hope that this was a pre-production model because IMO it did not look all that good. I thought that some of interior looked poorly done and the gel coat was nothing to write home about. I hope the wake makes up for the other items. At the same time, I saw the new MB Tomcat out on the water. Although the massive forks upfront are not my favorite, the fit and finish looked good (much better than the epic).

Scott, To get that LLONGGGGG pocket we were running about 15.5-16.5 mph. When I was riding the Ja Mako, I could keep up, but I wasn't really surfing that wake. Now I pulled Dennis on his 6'2" and he was ripping at right around 16 mph. It would be great fun on a longboard.

Laci, good to see you again. You are always welcome to a pull when you can make it back to NorCal.

Tom, I found the boat to be sort of a mixed bag. Parts of the boat seemed flawless and the design was, in many instances, so much better than boats from the larger manufacturers, then something like the throttle touching the steering wheel would glare at you, in those instances I agree with you - it's like the Epic, in certain instances is a throw back to the 70's or 80's.

I personally liked the interior on the Epic, it's sparse, but my Tige with the bolsters and nonsense split at the seams every 19 months and the tan inserts get so hot you can get blisters. The metal Tige emblem in the back just hurts folks. Getting the interior redone on my boat was quoted at $3K after 3 years!

The Epic we tested, solid white - no burns on your skin and each section can be removed so when you get the inevitable slice, you take that piece to get recovered. I think the more sparse or downplayed interior will result in a longer life.

The Epic doesn't compare with...say a Malibu interior, but IMO it isn't poor.