Video Transcript

What's going on, guys? I'm Parker. Today, we're on beautiful Lake Lucerne up in Northern Wisconsin thanks to WakeMAKERS. Today we are showing you how you can take your ski boat and set it up for wakesurfing. So if you're like me and you enjoy barefooting and slalom water skiing, you probably don't have a V-drive boat, you probably have a direct drive boat like this one. This is a Tige Pre 2000 WT. It's going to be very similar to any other direct drive ski boat where you have the engine in the center of the boat rather than the back like your traditional V-drive boat or any of the wake surf boats that you're going to pick up off the showroom floor.

There are definitely options out there if you want to spend $100,000, $150,000 to $200,000 on a boat that you can surf right out of the box with, but if you have something like this that's been in the family for a long time or you're like me where you enjoy all different types of ski events. This is how you can set it up to wakesurf behind your ski boat.

Step 1. Weighting Your Ski Boat with Ballast Bags

At the back of the boat we have the WakeMAKERS UniversalFIT Ballast Bags. These are two 610 pound bags that are about 95% full. We want to weight the rear of the boat down so you can get close to the rub rail. That will displace the back of the boat further in the water, which in turn will create a bigger wave with more push. More weight in the rear is going to make a taller wake, but you also need to lengthen the wake so that it's usable. Upfront you can't see it because this is a closed bow, but we have two 250 pound bags in the bow as well, so 500 pounds upfront and about 1,200 pounds in the rear, and that's all you really need for weight.

To fill these portable ballast bags, we've got the FatSac SUPA Tsunami Pump. This is the juiced edition, so it's the newest and fastest pump from FatSac. It fills at 1,700 gallons per hour and gets these bags full in a few minutes.

Shop for Ballast Bag & Pump Combos »

Step 2. Use an Aftermarket Wakesurf Device

The next thing we'll need to improve the wave shape and push is a wakesurf device. We are using the Mission DELTA 2.0 Wake Shaper, but any aftermarket wakesurf device is going to help. This device attaches to the back of the boat on the opposite side to the surfer. I ride goofy, so that means I surf on the driver's side of the boat. To start, you're going to take the wake shaper and mount it on the opposite side of the rider. This particular surf device mounts with suction cups and it does float, so if it pops off, and you can easily retrieve it.

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Lastly, we recommend using a ski pylon to help riders get up. Ski pylons pull from a higher point which makes it easier for riders to stand up and start surfing.

If you have any questions about weighting your direct drive ski boat for wakesurfing, please feel free to contact us. We'll see you on the water!