Can you produce big air without big $ boat?

I own a 2002 Searay 182. All last year I blamed the lack of a tower for the lack of big air. I am adding a tower this week. But am I ever gonna be able to produce big air tricks behind that boat? Is ballast gonna help that much? When my boat is loaded down with 8 of my buddies all over 200 pounds the wake size increases significantly along with setting the trim. Is ballast gonna ever get wake size anywhere near the top boats? Thinking seriously about selling the thing for a bottom line ski centurion. Is it worth the trade out?

Big air is easy with a foil

Yes you can build the wake size to that close to a medium weighted v-drive but the I/O wakes are always significantly softer than comp boats. Probably the biggest limitation is the quality & width of the wakes as you go further back, there are very few I/O's you can ride on a line length 70 foot or greater because either the wake crumbles or shrinks or are miles apart. Having said that go watch Natural born thrillaz, in the Randy Harris section in parts he is riding behind a pos outboard boat with a 4 foot pole, he is going huuuuge. IMHO going big is about more about riding technique than wake size.

All the shots in this gallery are behind our I/O
http://www.wakepics.com/member/Ralph!

the size of the wake is not as important as the shape and firmness.....

Can you go big off that boat - sure - but it honestly will not be like a tourny...

PLEASE...if you do decide to buy a $$$ boat...DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT buy a centurion! We currently own a 2000 Elite V-Drive Ski Centurion fully loaded with the Air Warrior package and it's a P.O.S. I have very strong feelings about those boats. I have absolutely no intentions of ever using it anymore, even if it's my only way of going out boarding on a beautiful day...AND I LOOOVE WAKEBOARDING!! It's for sale if ya want it hahaha! Our neighbors at the lake just bought a brand new centurion last year and have already had MAJOR problems (that's how we met, he wanted to know if ours sucked too) There are many stories about centurions that i don't want to waste anymore of your time with. So anyway...i know it's a little bit off the subject, but believe me...they're more STRESS than fun! (and the wake really isn't THAT great on it either w/ 3 ballasts and friends..it would be considered an intermediate wake)

(Message edited by MasonLakeRider on April 05, 2003)

(Message edited by MasonLakeRider on April 05, 2003)

You have a great boat that's a decent boat for wakeboarding as well. Fill it up with friends, sacks if you got em. Shorten the rope up to about 50-60' and land wake to wake 360's, go for the Tantrum. If you get there, ride behind a X-Star, SAN or Wakesetter and see what new moves you can stick.

At that point you'll know what you'll need to do, but until then enjoy your nice boat.

Bill

Chad,

For every bad story you tell me about Centurion, I can give you a bad story about CC, MC, Bu, etc. Some boats are lemons. Enough said.

This guy just registered on the 2nd of April and comes out bashin'

Chad,
Since you lack an objective point of view, why does your profile say you (or your parents at their "lakehouse") own a '03 SANTE? Maybe you could just chalk the Centurion up as having numerous issues and enjoy your new CC? I know plenty of less fortunate, "intermediate" friends that would love to have your boat and its "wake" for a "beautiful" day of boarding! I would hate to see someone form FineLine get a hold of this thread and contemplate your libelous and slanderous remarks toward their feature product......Might try stating "in my opinion" next time?

"We currently own a 2000 Elite V-Drive Ski Centurion fully loaded with the Air Warrior package and it's a P.O.S. " This is what he said and it doesnt sound slanderous to me, just sounds like a statememnt he is making about his boat. It should not matter if he registered yesterday, we will see while he is here if he is full of bull.

It was a pretty obtuse way to hijack a thread.

Bob, you are right and I stand corrected........

According to Webster's-

LIBELOUS: a written or oral defamatory statement or representation that conveys an unjustly, unfavorable impression.

SLANDEROUS: utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation.

10 years in the Navy and those are the only two legal terms I learned from my JAG roommate.

I have seen pro's do back roll and other air tricks out on the flats. No wake.

Big air is mostly related to the progressive edge.

I own a Glastron Ski boat. Designed for slalom skiing, but weighted down and trimmed, it produced a decent wake. In fact, for most people it is more than enough. We get plenty of air and I have had one rider do tantroms and backrolls off of it.

Progressive edge technique is the ticket to big air. Once you have a decent wake.

I have boarded in amatuer tourneys and taking lessons behind an X-star and a Wakesetter and I will tell you that the wakes behind those boats are intimidating. I would love to ride behind one all the time, to get used to it, but for the riding ability of myself, my kids, the people I ride with, and probably 90% of wakeboarders, our current wake height and yours is plenty.

Potter,

No offense, but I don't think that boat was designed for slalom skiing

Slalom boat =


The glastron is what you would call a runabout.

(Message edited by kstateskier on April 07, 2003)

Potter, I just bought a glastron like yours and put a tower on it. I was curious how you weighted it down.?

You are correct, it is a runabout.
Glastron did design the hull of their boats(or so they say) to produce little or a very small wake which seems to me to be desirable for water skiing.

Nick, there've been plenty of non-inboard ski boats. Glastron is well known for free skiing and the wake is smaller, way smaller than a Nauti.

Bu's have about a 2.5" wake that's pretty stiff.

You should try a couple runs behind a Ski Ray or similar barefoot boat. It can be a kick.

Ryan,

I have the ultimate in DIY cheap.

I use 39 gallon heavy duty contractor grade trash bags. They fill the spaces to the right shape. No-one knows they are there, they take up no floor space(a necessity with kids). They are cheap. If they leak, a rare occasion, I use them for trash.

I put 2 in the ski locker, and 1 under each of the front 2 seats. I also tried 1 each on both sides of the engine, but it was too much-too far back. Made it hard to plane. I think the key is filling the ski locker area. Sets the boat down.

The four bags, I use now, about 500-600 lbs total, do not affect take off performance any noticable amount.

A very slight trim and I get a real good crisp wake.

We also installed a Perfect pass. It is one of the best investments in my wakeboarding experience. I actually get to ride at the same speed all the time. Before I got it, with wife unit or someone else driving, it was either 18 or 28 mph. No consistancy. Now even the boat owner gets a good ride.

Potter,
Are you filling those bags with water or sand?? i have a bayliner and i am looking for cheaper ways to weight it...i have two in the ski locker in the floor in the middle of the boat...i want some weight up in the very front too...where do you get those bags at?? and do you just keep them full of water all the time even trailering and pulling???

Lots of questions...sorry

I bought the bags at Lowes Home Center. They are black heavy duty puncture resistant trash bags. I think they were $8.96 for 40 bags. I use water to fill them.

I have left them filled for a couple of weeks. I probably shouldn't. I have a bilge type pump and hose to fill them at the lake. I have found that for the front seat bags, I just hold them under water to get about 8 gallons in them speeds up the process. I use the pump to fill them the rest of the way. I usually fill the ski locker bags with a water hose at home.

I tried a borrowed fat sack one time but it took up the floor space of the boat and just wasn't workable. The trach bags fit my spaces. I would love to flip a switch and fill plastic built in tanks, but not on this boat.

I'm pretty experienced with Glastrons. Used to have a Carlson CVX16. Had a friend with a CVX 20 Ski Machine. These boat were "ski" oriented, but calling a I/O runabout a slalom boat is a stretch to me. I don't call an I/O runabout a wakeboard boat. Sure, you can do it with anything, but I would have to say an I/O Glastron is better for wakeboarding than it ever would be in the course.

Leggester,
Are you saying a Glastron runabout has a better slalom wake that an '03 Response LXi?? Sure the wake may be better than an old Nautique, but I'd still choose that Nautique over a Glastron I/O in the course anyday (handling, speed control, etc.).

Potter,
It does sound like you have that bad boy ready for boarding though.

Well, it had a smaller, softer wake than a 2001 'Bu. Yep.

And I did say free skiing, not course, eh?

My boat is good as it ever will or can be for boarding. I bought the boat new in may 1999. I had never seen or heard of wakeboarding. I had waterskiid slalom(free) for 30 years and needed an inexpensive runabout for my family. A couple of weeks after I bought the boat, my nephew loaned me a HO 1 directional wakeboard to try. I got up on the 3rd try and haven't water skiid since. I am 44 years young and love the challenge of wakeboarding-learning new tricks. We have a Hperlite Premier, Vero, LF Minisquirt, and an O'Brien Wakeskate, Perfect Pass, Tower, Spectra line, an authentic wakeboard handle, Hyperlite Highbacks, and real binding lube. My nephew and I have competed a couple of times in the beginner class wakeboard tourney at a local lake. We have both had a lesson set from a professional, Brian Sasser out of Edmond and Dallas. We have enjoyed every minute of time spent on the water wakeboarding.

Whatever boat you have is a wakeboard boat. A person has to just take off.

Good last sentence potter

Leggester,

You have to be kidding me if you think a I/O has a smaller wake than a '01 Response. Softer maybe, but smaller????

We had both boats there Nick. The first pull ( I'm pretty agressive for a 44 year old ) I was waiting to feel the wake and found out I was on the outside of the turn.

It had an extremely small fluffed wake. We could at least feel the 'Bu's wake. I was waiting for a bit of compression the first time.

That's around 34 w/28 off.

Could have been just softer.

I'm not a big fanatic of any one kind of boat. It's just what we happened to have that weekend camping. The 'Bu is a friends boat that we use on his course and, of course, it's a fantastic boat.

Just for what it's worth.

Matt, if that's true I can't wait to tell my friend that is a Malibu promo guy, I think he will cry!

We were quite amazed ourselves. After that, we loaded down the 'Bu for boarding and used the Galsstron for foiling and skiing.

It might help that the Glastron is a lighter boat than the 'Bu.

Um, all (most? I can't think of exceptions though) the "wakeboard boats" are either skiboats and/or runabouts with ballast and towers and of course funky graphics. Using MC as an example, all of the "X-series" are either prostars (D-Drive skiboat) or Maristars (MC V-drive version of a runabout). One argument for an I/O is they tend to be a lot easier to run in rough water, passengers don't get soaked. Riding behind an I/O myself, I do prefer an inboard wake, somewhat, but you can get a nice big, and yes clean I/O wake with a little work. It depends on the hull shape and weight distribution, just like an inboard.