Inland Surfer Yellow Loogey for a heavy rider?

I just started wakesurfing and i'm hooked. I am 6' 230lbs and I bought a hyperlite broadcast 5'6". I have a 98 Malibu Sunsetter VLX with a 350lb sac in the back corner and a 750lb sac to put on the side seat if we don’t have enough passengers. My wake is decent. I can ride the Broadcast fine with no rope pretty far back, but I think it is a little big for spins. I want a more maneuverable board so I can start to attempt more advanced tricks like 360's. I'm considering the Inland Surfer Yellow Loogy. Will I be able to stay in the pocket with this board at my weight without too much effort (more than the Broadcast)? Wakesurfing Magazine claims a max rider weight of 300lbs for the Loogey. At first I was considering the Blue Lake or Red Tide but I don’t think I want another big board. Any additional info on boards for riders of my weight would be appreciated.

Both the Blue Lake and Red Tide are the same length as your broadcast at 5'6" so you wouldn't gain any size advantage with those boards. The Yellow Loogey is short but is also VERY WIDE. IMO surface area is the factor, not length for riding, although shorter is easier for surface spins. The twin fin setup on the Yellow loses a bit of drive compared to a thruster, but offers considerably more drive than the Broadcast. I would question the rating of 300 pounds, but I do believe that if you are riding the broadcast without a problem, you can ride the Yellow Loogey also. I would ask you one question though. It's possible to "ride" a board but be so overweighted that you simply can't perform tricks. On your broadcast, do you have a huge spray (reaching as high as your knee) coming off the rail that is in the wake? And is the spray from the opposite rail shooting out two feet or so towards the flats? If such is the case, you are overweighting that broadcast and simply finding a board that fits you might allow you to do the tricks you want. Consider surface area and not simply overall length when considering a new board for stepping up your game.

(Message edited by surfdad on June 11, 2006)

Jeff, looking at some pictures I think I am overweighting the Broadcast. Doesn't the thickness of the board effect how much weight you can put on it? The Broadcast is very thin (fits in board racks) giving it less buoyancy. I was hoping to get a shorter wider and thicker board giving me more maneuverability. How thick are the Inland Surfers? What board would you recommend? What about the Phase 5 Oogle? I would like to demo some of the higher end boards, but I don't think there are any dealers in the St. Louis area.

Hey Matt, I used to be convinced that the thickneess of the board was the key, until I shaped a new board for Dennis. It was 3 inches thick and Dennis sank the tail. So I started studying Trick Boardz and Calibrated designs. Trick Boardz in particular gain surface area by virtue of the concave bottom. Those boards are ridiculously thin and still plane across the surface. I have concluded that "surface area" is the greater factor. In looking at that picture I'd guess you need a bit more board. You're able to ride it because you have some skills. I believe that the Yellow Loogey is about 1 3/8" thick including the recessed EVA foam. None of the Inland products fit in my racks, although I havee heard others say they do. If fitting your board in a standard rack is a priority then the Phase 5, Victoria, Trick Boardz and I do believe Walzer's all offer boards that will fit your size and your rack. Of all the boards listed, the Inland products will be the fastest (I haven't been on the Walzer's yet, however) down the line. I find the Trick Boardz to be the easiest boards to spin and stay in control. I would put the Phase 5 and Victoria options at the bottom of your list. IMO those manufacturers are not supportive of the sport, merely offering an adjunct to their primary product lines to make a few bucks. The other manufacturers are principally involved ONLY in wakesurfing and their products reflect that. I think you'd enjoy either the Yellow Loogey or one of the Trick Boardz for what you want to achieve, so those would be my recommendations.

Thanks Jeff, Fitting the board in the board rack WAS important to me and that is the primary reason why I got the Broadcast. Now I just want the right board and I'll figure out where to put it later. I started looking into the Trick Boardz Mojo XL since your last post and this may be what I'm looking for. I have been overlooking it because I always figured I was too big for it since it is a relatively small and thin board. It is a lot cheaper than the Yellow Loogey and they have a money back guarantee so I can send it back if for some reason I can't stay in the pocket. I'll keep you posted on my decision.

Thanks again for all your help Jeff. I have been reading a lot of your posts on this forum recently and I was hoping you would respond to my thread.

Does anyone else have any comments on the Trick Boardz Mojo XL?

Yeah, you have to love the Money Back guarantee. Hit Ed Sullivan up, he went the same route as you, broadcast and currently is the resident expert on the Mojo. Glad I could help out.

The Mojo XL works just fine for me. I didn't think about the concave shape adding surface area, but it makes sense. I'm 6'2" and about 220. Last year I started out on a broadcast 5.6 and can ride it without any problems. It took a little while to learn to use the edge on the Mojo for carving. Now that I'm more familiar with the Mojo I've found that I can ride it at higher boat speeds than I can with the Broadcast and I can recover from further back in the wake. The tapered tail reduces the amount of the board that gets buried when you fall back too far helping you maintain speed to recover. The board also seems to have some good acceleration, definitely faster acceleration than the Broadcast. You do have to keep the inboard edge in the wake or the board on top. If the outboard edge goes low the board will slice right into the water, again you have to learn to use the edge on the Mojo.

One interesting thing I did today while driving for a surfer was I saw he was losing the wake. I made a slight turn, rider on the inside of the turn, which improved the wake and slowed down the boat sped relative to the rider speed - vector math. After the rider recovered I straightened out and got back on course. Has anyone else done that?

Jeff, my wake still isn't what I had hoped for. I just got a call from my metal shop, my custom hardware is ready for pick up. I'll probably get a chance to try it out early this week, I can't wait to try it out.

Hey Ed, we do the same thing in regards to the turn to catch a rider. I can't wait to see the results of your hardware expierment also!!!!! I do hope you're keeping in mind a universal application, should it give you the desird result.

I might be counting chickens, but I think I’m on to something. This first pass is a simple proof of concept. If it does work out I think the idea can be retrofitted but would work better on an OEM install.

(Message edited by Bigshow on June 11, 2006)

I ordered a Mojo XL this morning. I should get to try it out this weekend.

No pro here, but i have the Yellow Loogy and love it. However i do find it somewhat easier to ride other boards -- like the broadcast. the Inland surfer is very fast, and less forgiving. However, it is very buoyant. Speaking of it fitting in a rack-- its never going to do it. Just last week i finally broke down and purchased the surf rack from Monster and love it-- it looks great and has a quick disconnect... Good Luck..

Regarding Trick Boardz, I had a nice long chat with Larry Mann, the proprietor, and for a rider of my size (210 lbs), he recommended the Mojo Grande, not the XL. It just arrived today, and when our weather clears (Darn you Seattle!!), I'll be testing it out.

Let me know how it goes SeaDawg.

SeaDawg - share with us, guy. Larry pushes the XL over the Grande, share with us the specifics of the conversation, okee dokee?

Larry sure didn't push the XL over the Grande with me, Jeff! I think it's mostly because I'll be surfing behind a Calabria Pro-V, which according to him, should throw a really good surf wake. That still remains to be seen from my perspective (haven't surfed yet), but I'll find out soon enough. I'm starting with full stock ballast (700 lb), plus a 700 pound bag in the port v-drive locker and one spotter. I like the look of the wake at 10.5 mph with just 2 adults and 2 kids in the boat, without the extra bag yet, so my hopes are high.

I still don't fully understand why someone wouldn't go with the XL if they're borderline, but I seem to recall it had something to do with being able to more advanced tricks on a smaller board once you get the hang of it. I decided to take Larry's advice, and like he said, "if you can't find the pocket after a few sessions once you have the wake dialed, just swap out the Grande for an XL, no sweat." You have to like customer service like that!

The last thing I have to do is pick up a 5" handled surf rope from Adrenaline Watersports, then I'm set!

My Bad - I must be dyslexic! Larry is recommending the Grande (which is smaller than the XL) but you're not fully sure why, if a person is right on the borderline.

I always prefer to start out larger, then size down...but like you point out, Larry's return policy makes the process much painless.

You've got it, Jeff.

Larry did mention that his son is about my size, and he's able to use an even smaller board than the Grande. Though it's important to note that he's got a few years surfing under his belt.

I was riding my XL last night. Perfect Pass died on me last Thursday, so we were on manual controls. At one point we were passing a good looking woman on the shore and the driver got distracted and so the speed crept up over 14 mph and I eventually lost the wake.

I've been riding the XL at 10 to 10.5 on PP. On another pull after the distraction the driver apologized for letting the speed creep up to 11.5 but I asked him to run there again. I rode most of my second set at 11.5 mph and maybe a little higher, I was really cruising and having an excellent ride on the Mojo. I think it’s an experience issue, I don’t think I could have ridden that fast a month ago. Also I’d say that my wake shape looks a lot better above 10 mph.

Perfect Pass Died. I occasionally forget to set it and I can't wait until the rider falls so I can turn it on.

I wish my Mojo was in, I'm taking off work early and going surfing.