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Advice for getting to surf speed?


Guppydriver

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Last night for the first time, we had 8 in the boat. No one really heavy and my youngest isn't even 100 pounds.

Anyway....

1. Had 150 lead in the bow, 200 in the rear lockers that I always leave in.. had about 380 pounds of people in the bow.

2. Deer Creek elevation about 5400"

3. Raptor 400

4. All Bags full

5. 23 Alpha

5. 3065 prop

I really had trouble getting to surf speed and the wave won't form below 10.5 mph, just a bunch of white wash. I initially had the cruise set to 11.6 (what TBS recs for the alpha), but lowered it to 11.2 , but it really struggled even getting to 11.

I don't really know how to use the cav plate, but I fiddled with it a little. I eventually just emptied the bags quite a bit to get in the low elevens.

Is this pretty much normal at high alt with a base engine? Any tips you pros use when you have lots of people and/or at high alt? I was a little surprised because 8 isn't THAT many, as I imagine there might be once or twice a year I see even more than that.  Input appreciated!! 

 

Aaron

 

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Move more people/add more weight to the bow. 

I’m running at 6000’ altitude and it seems whenever we dont have enough people in the bow the nose is too high and we just push water, and the boat struggles to get up 11.5, which is what we run. 

Plus as an added benefit it elongates the wave. 

Oh yeah and we run 300# in the bow but going to bump it up to 600# so we dont need everyone in bow. 

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Yep Guppy I have the same problem at Deer Creek, I was there yesterday with 10 in my boat. I have 300 pounds of lead in the bow and 200 by the batteries. With so much weight in the back of the boat you need to get at least 3-4 in the bow and I have the people in the back not sit in the rear seat until the wave forms and then they can move around a little. Or you can always not fill the rear bags and just use the hard tanks, I've done that as well if we have 8-10 people in the boat and then you don't need as much bow weight.

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1 hour ago, oboyskibum said:

Sorry I won't be any help. I am loving the 575 just for that reason. My biggest problem is too much weight in the boat and taking a wave over the front or back when another surf boat drives by when I am stopped.

 

There is always the one guy with the 12 incher whose biggest problem is getting it to fit...

 

😄 Can't wait to see the Beast on the lake soon!!

 

 

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6 hours ago, schill38 said:

Yep Guppy I have the same problem at Deer Creek, I was there yesterday with 10 in my boat. I have 300 pounds of lead in the bow and 200 by the batteries. With so much weight in the back of the boat you need to get at least 3-4 in the bow and I have the people in the back not sit in the rear seat until the wave forms and then they can move around a little. Or you can always not fill the rear bags and just use the hard tanks, I've done that as well if we have 8-10 people in the boat and then you don't need as much bow weight.

Thanks !

Do you run the cab plate at all when heavy 

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Yup, bow weight will help. You are feeling the wrath of the 400 ( my 440 would shine in situations like this just enough)

usually when my crew is having a good time but i need people in the bow, I don't ask them to move, I just dump ballast until it reaches speed and the wave works every time.  the wave is soooo much easier on these new boats. I hardly ever make adjustments to peoples placement. 

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We have a 2021 alpha b52 with the 400 engine, I run 200 pounds of lead in the bow .,, 200 pounds of lead just forward of the batteries..200 pounds of lead underneath the driver feet/floor/Windshield/ Area that compartment you access from the Bow, sliding the weight backwards as far as possible, this puts the weight approximately where the drivers feet would be... i’m sure you understand, this set up works absolutely awesome.. and nobody needs to sit in the bow at all.,. 

AC808699-F035-4CE9-8EC0-890DC25C6D03.png

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We first started with 150 pounds in each of the 3 area’s that I talked about, and that seem to work pretty good also, I definitely would not add any more weight to the rear end of the b52 alpha, I believe if you have any type of lead weights further back than the windshield that’s going to make things worse.....

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13 hours ago, Moto1 said:

We first started with 150 pounds in each of the 3 area’s that I talked about, and that seem to work pretty good also, I definitely would not add any more weight to the rear end of the b52 alpha, I believe if you have any type of lead weights further back than the windshield that’s going to make things worse.....

Thanks!  I was going to ask about additional weight in the rear. You read my mind.

 

First thing I'm going to do is remove the lead bags from the rear lockers and redistribute them up front per your suggestions.

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6 hours ago, bloodiestcadaver said:

IM not a wave chaser, but I don't run any extra weight and the wave seems perfect every time. 

So you have nada in the bow? I thought TBS put #150 in every new boat. Maybe that's just the new Alphas

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OK just a recap, start with 150 pounds of lead in the bow as far forward as you can get it underneath that smaller cushion in the center, and then place 150 pounds under each windshield on each side, Port and starboard windshields

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On our new alpha, the front tank is on a switch to fill or to drain, it does not have a timer, when it’s is full water comes out the side of the boat, when that tank is empty we have to listen for the pump making the empty pump sound.... we ordered it that way! ......... .......... ............

now talking about the rear ballist.... The rear bags themselves are on timers, do not trust the timers make sure your rear bags are full of water and the air is completely bled out of the bag,  Depending on how the rear bags are plumbed,  they may trap air?

Our rear bag timers are pretty close but not exactly perfect.. and we always have to bleed air out of them, It looks like another air bleed port is in the future.,.

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