I wish dealers would.....

allow people slam a boat if they wanted to do so for the test drive??? i actually dont know if they will but was just thinking that as a wakeboarder looking at a new boat that was gunna be running lots of additionaly weight id like to test drive to see the wake and how it handles under that weight??? but thats just my .02 just random thoughts i think of while sitting at the computer after a party at aobut 1 in the morn lol what does everyone else think about this idea

Kyle,

Let me fill you in from a dealer's point of view. All new boats have a factory recommended break in procedure, most up to at least 7 hours. During this time there are RPM limits, you must vary your speed, and of course run NO ballast at all. So if a customer did want to demo a boat that is slammed, to do it right the dealer would have to put 7-10 hours on the boat before you even get to ride in it. Most dealers do not have the time and besides that, some people would not consider that boat new anymore and would want it at a discounted price.

As a dealer I designate a boat or two on lot each year to use for our personal use and tow tournaments with. I would give a demo any day with this with as much weight as you would like in it. I also have customers that have become very good friends that I could call and they would have no problem giving pulls with their boat.

I guess when it comes down to it, it depends how good your dealer is.

I have let customers slam boats before, we typically don't do it with brand new no hour boats but if someone is serious about buying a boat conditinional on the wake being up to snuff I've done it.

I brought fly high sacs to my test drive and slammed the boat. It was the dealers "test drive" boat and they had been using it all summer (same hull and engine), so break in didn't factor in. Chad at Carolina Mastercraft is great to work with. I could see the dealer having an issue on a new boat. I am sure they could get you hooked up with someone that slams that model of boat.

I'm with Corey, it could be a good closing tool and and excellent way of gaging a customers commitment level.

I never knew a dealer who didn't have some way of setting up a rider in a boat fully weighted. Usually it's a sponsored rider's boat, a promo owner's boat or a boat used for tournaments. Bakes & Copes were always really good about this.

Heres a shot of a test ride we took when the X-star picklefork came out. Both boats were owned by the dealer at the time.

Is there a reason both boats are running next to each other like that? I've never seen anyone do it for wakesurfing before. Does it help the surf wake?

That was in 2003, before many people were surfing behind a boat. We were just trying to get the biggest possible wake we could. Both boats had their stock ballast full, plus a bunch of lead from several other boats in them.
Having the boats close like that created a big hole the surfer was able to play in. It was really more chaos than a nice clean wake.

Haha I haven't scene that pic in a while.



Bill, thats actually my silver boat on the left and me surfing.

Hehe, small world, eh JS. That was a fun day. Hope you guys still have some of those on the X-star.

Since Copes pulled out of Renton I haven't heard from or about Ken (the guy who put that day together) at all.....

We definitely still have good days out there....

Shred is still around, I talked to him a few months ago and doing well.