I.O. How to Build a Better Wake?

Besides Buying a Real Boat!
What can I do to build a better wake with our 2000 SeaRay 19' I.O???
I see on this Forum people are loading up their boats with as much as 3500lbs of Ballast, People and gear!! What is the rated capacity of these boats?? Our boats Capacity is Rated at 1400lbs Total!
If I could get a couple of the Local BIG Honeys! I could have Somewhat moveable ballast to try before buying Fatsacks!

First SEARCH as this topic has been covered hundreds of times.

Next, load the bow with these fat chicks as most i/os do well with weight up front vs the rear. Next, trim the engine up somewhere between 1/4 and 3/4, depending on where it cleans up best for you.

Lastly, if you have a 3.0 engine instead of the 4.3 or bigger, buy a stainless steel 4 bladed prop with a smaller pitch than what comes on it. I believe those boats come stock with a 19 pitch and you want somewhere in the 17 range. Much better hole shot, but you'll lose 5mph top end.

Thanks Scott
Having the load in the bow does help the boat to plane out quicker! How does this help to produce a larger wake? I would have thought burrying the stern deeper would make a bigger wake? But it is difficult enough to maintain correct speed with the I.O.
We have 5.0L and running a 14.25 dia 3-blade S.S 19 pitch prop that is putting us at 4600rpm. the range for this engine is 4400 to 4800rpm.
Will a four or five blade prop help with maintaing slower speeds? 18 to 21mph.

it helps because you have more mass of the boat in the water, thus displacing more water, thus bigger wake. The mistake most i/o owners make is not weighing the bow and then they wonder why their wake is all whitewash. I'm not saying you shouldn't weigh the back, just that most i/os do better with more bow weight.

I dunno about the speed question, that's a good one.

(Message edited by taylormade on September 06, 2005)

Yes it will as it puts the engine "into" the power band better at those speeds. Tip: "just cause the throttle goes to the wall doesnt mean you have to put it there, do you in your car?" ...Just say no to over speeding/reving the engine...I run a 19" pitch high five, with perfect pass and the trim at 50%. Perfect pass makes all the difference in the world.

Bob, what's going on man?? How's the panhandle holding up? If you're ever down here, look me up, I got rid of the Chaparral and bought a somewhat serious boat finally.

/end hijack

I use an old outboard and throw a big bait tank up front, holds 40 gallons or something, not really sure, but it's huge. Makes the wake perfect.

Thanks everyone for input!
Bob at Wide Open Throttle with the Hi5 19P are you at the top of your RPM range or over?
Did this Prop make a big difference to you?
I am debating the Perfect Pass and Prop!
After putting Monster tower and Swimplatform on the boat I keep wondering do I want to keep putting $ in this boat OR just trade her in and go for a Malibu or Tige! Hmmmm

Scott T, we are doing ok except for the gas bs. Finally got a generator right after dennis while the power was still out so fema paid for it. Ive seen your boat in your profile or pics you posted, it looks great. I recently finished a speaker box for the tower with 4 6X9's and it is insane loud. Quite a difference from the west marine speakers I had been running for a couple years.

Scott R, i think it will overspeed the engine as ive rolled up to the 4400 wall with room to spare a few times. With this prop you dont have to hammer the throttle to get even 2 rides up with weight in the boat. Question you need to ask yourself is are you planning on going pro, do you run in salt, do you run in rough water frequently? All of these make a big difference. Properly set-up your i/o should throw a very good wake but will be wider then a comp boat wake. Im running a 4 blade aluminum 18 right now as my high 5 had a small problem im too embarrassed to even mention on this site.

Scott, I also have a 19ft bowrider w/ 4.3 litre W/ 3 blade 17 pitch. (good for hole shot and steady speed)I run with 1000lbs of sand with about 350 in the bow and 650 under rear seats,deep in ski locker,and next to engine. Add two passengers on average thats about 1300lbs. Produces a pretty clean decent size wake. I hope this helps some...

The high 5 prop (21p) was the single best purchase I made when I had an I/O.
I had a 19ft w/4.3L EFI
I can't say enough about these props!

After the prop, I had ~700lbs up front, 550lbs in front of the rear bench, plus people...
Also had an Air-boom extended pylon (wow, this thing was solid! better than any tower I've used, just takes up a lot of room in the boat...)

I was able to get a really good wake out of the boat (I did not use any trim at all)
Wake was super firm and clean back to 70ft

Only negatives is the I/O's are a lot more diffucult to maintain speed and don't track as well as an inboard.

It was a good boat though, and I'd have no problem riding behind it anyday as long as I had a good driver to maintain speed (or perfect pass)