Sanger V215 Ballast Q

Wondering if any of you 215 owners notice this:

Was out yesterday, 6 people in boat. Most are beginning riders, so we pull around 19 mph with no ballast. Wake looks perfect, with nice rampy lip.

One rider likes full ballast (1000lbs) and 22 mph. Wake should be bigger, but it actually looks less rampy and not really bigger.

Does the increased speed offset the ballast? I know speeding the boat up will make the wake lay down in general (my wife skis behind the boat at 28 mph) so I'm curious if anyone has any ideas....

Weighting the boat sinks it lower and needs a higher speed to force it on to plane. The best wake happens before it planes out. So, yes, the higher speed lifts the boat out more to shrink the wake but you get the best wake at a higher speed if it's loaded. The wake should feel harder at the higher speed.

The faster you go the smaller the wake will be. 1000 pounds in a V215 is running pretty light. Put another 1500 pounds in it ant the wake will be great but you won't be able to run as slow. (wake will wash out)

I have a V215 and ride around 23-24 mph even with 3-4 people at full ballast and I think the wake has real good size and lip... but I do have the Bennett trim tab that adjusts how far the nose stays up or down (or in hull terms - how much it sinks the back or planes out). I do also ride at 75'-80'

(Message edited by ldp_rider on June 29, 2009)

Can you tell me about the Bennet trim tab? Never heard of it....I have what looks to be an adjustable 'wake plate' or something on the back of the boat, never messed with it...

That plate/trim tab is ony to correct the "porpoise" effect common with some v-drives. Trim tabs do not make the wake bigger. Hull design and ballast make the wake bigger. A 215 needs a solid 2k+ to produce a "quality" wake. Boat speed also plays a big roll in wake size and how "clean" the wake will be, and amount of ballast also ties in with it. Sangers' like more weight in the nose too. Probably like 60/40 or so.

^^^2k including people and I feel you can get a "quality" wake with less. That said I do 1000ish up front 800 rear plus driver/observer weight.

I'd love to see what kind of wake with 2k pounds in it would produce. I've filled up the 1k with a full boat before but even another 1k must be huge.