Wake Help on an I/O

(izzy) · (izzy) **Join Date: Apr 2007** 06-21-2007, 1:52 PM

Ok don’t make fun of me! I am in the Air Force and poor HEHEHE. I have an 18 ft I/O with a 135 hp a Stainless Steele prop and tower. My wake looks (ok) but it seems soft and I can’t get any pop. I can jump wake to wake at 21mph but I only get about a foot or two off the water. I have been thinking adding about 500 lbs in the front. Will this help the wake or just kill my engine.

(hbguy) · (hbguy) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 06-21-2007, 2:00 PM

I used to have an I/O. Some weight helped, but too much weight made the wake mushy. Play with the weight and see what works best on your boat.

In my opinion, the trim tab is your best friend on an I/O. Trim it about 1/4 and you will get a bigger, peakier wake.

(extremeisaac) · (extremeisaac) **Join Date: Aug 2005** 06-21-2007, 2:03 PM

Michael, you dont need a badass boat to go big. Just make sure you edge properly, get the speed and stand tall at the wake. Hold the handle low and this will help with your pop. Make sure you also trim your motor up as this will sink the back of your boat a little and make your wake a little better.. we have the same motor in our boat and we have lots of fun. Im not saying the wake is as big as some of the wakeboats on this sight but its plenty to still have lots of fun on. If you do put the 500lbs in and depending on how many people are in the boat, you might want to reprop. I went to a 4 blade 18 pitch prop and that made all the difference with having more weight in the boat.

(nwsjake10) · (nwsjake10) **Join Date: Feb 2007** 06-21-2007, 2:32 PM

60/40..60% of weight in back..40% of weight in front...adding more weight to the front will help, as long as there is a little more in back to counter..

(bstroop)

Sheppard AFB huh.............sorry. J/K

(hixsonaz) · (hixsonaz) **Join Date: May 2007** 06-21-2007, 2:40 PM

Michael, I had a 20 ft I/O with a 190 hp 3 blade stainless. I had the most success trimming up about 1/4 and making sure to have one or two people in the bow. I couldn't really weight the back without making it very difficult to stay on plane at beginner speeds. As speed increased it got a little easier. Our wake was clean and sharp, but didn't have much beef.
Experiment with moving passengers around and trimming up a little.

(wake_pirate) · (wake_pirate) **Join Date: Mar 2007** 06-21-2007, 3:13 PM

My Four Winns has 4-600lbs in the back, & with the weight & trim tab it gets pretty rampy, but wide. oh well new boat new year.

(izzy) · (izzy) **Join Date: Apr 2007** 06-21-2007, 6:20 PM

Brian Sheppard is great! I was stuck at Holloman for 4 1/2 years. Hehehe I love sheppard

(guitsboy) · (guitsboy) **Join Date: Aug 2005** 06-22-2007, 6:40 AM

Im riding a 18' 190HP I/O with a 4 blade 18 pitch prop. Ive got 400# in a locker sack, and another 600# in a duffle fat sack that I put between the two front seats and T up against the rear bench. Add about 1/8 trim and the wake is damn good at 70-75 feet. About as good as an IO with a deep V will get.

Add ballast to your boat. Play around with weight positioning and the trim tab. It will take a little bit longer to pull you up, and keeping the speed steady will be more difficult, but it will be well worth it. Also consider making a cheap DIY pylon if you dont already have one.

(luke22885) · (luke22885) **Join Date: Jul 2006** 06-22-2007, 8:30 AM

I got an 18 ft sea ray and the best wake I ever had was with my 750lb bag right in middle plus 3 people in the back and 2 people equaling about 350 in the front and the trim at 1/4. Biggest wake I ever got on it and it was pretty damn good for an I/O. Im looking to get a bag for the front because we only usually have 3 or 4 people. If you put weight in it just watch that water doesnt come over the front when you stop fast.