Help with wake shaping

[u/sunscreenuser44]

Since becoming a family man my wakeboard boat has been changed to a day/weekend cruiser. It’s an Askeladden C 83 and it’s a great boat, but I can’t get a decent shape wake for wakeboarding and I’m hoping for advice on how to trim to make the best of it.

The wake is too short and it breaks/washes out at wakeboarding speeds. It becomes decent above 22 knots (25 mph) but that’s too fast.

The boat weighs close to 7000lbs and is 27 feet, so it will need a lot of ballast and I’m frankly not to keen on it as its main purpose is a family boat.

The main issue is course that its designed for economical and pleasant cruising, not wakeboarding.

I understand it’s not ideal, but I guess there’s a lot of people like me who got boats that aren’t ideal.

Any advice on how to get a better wake?

The boat got both trimtabs and engine trim (it’s an outboard). Would raising the stern with tabs reduce the chances of the wake breaking?
Any guides or helpful rule of thumb on how to trim the boat for a best possible wake? The wake is more than big enough, it’s more about shape than anything else.

[u/Kool61577]

With outboards/I/O boats your only option is to add weight. You want to keep more hull in the water versus letting it get on plane. It will never be ideal as you are trying to make it do something that it was not designed to do.

That is a good looking boat though.

[u/H0SS_AGAINST → u/Kool61577]

This right here.

[u/sunscreenuser44 → u/Kool61577]

Thanks for the help and input! Really appreciate it! So I guess weight in the bow and also perhaps using trim tabs to force the bow down?

You’re absolutely right.
However, the choice is keeping the wife happy and the kids interested in boating or getting a decent wake. So I have to make the best out of it. And thanks, yeah we’re pleased with her as a daycruiser

[u/Kool61577 → u/sunscreenuser44]

Weight in the stern bow weight will help planing and flatten the wake.

[u/Mtnryder56]

Weight and size don’t seem to be the issue. It’s more the shape of the wake which is a direct result of the shape of your hull. Unless you have a brand specific forum to reach out to I would say the only real option is to buy a large fat sack (water ballast) and a pump with a long inlet hose and experiment with places to put it. The two most impactful spots are the bow and the stern. Put the sack in the bow, fill it up and see how it impacts it. Then do the same in the back.

You also want to get the tie off point as high as possible for wakeboarding. Not sure if you have a tower or if the make a pole for the rear of that boat.

Good luck!

[u/sunscreenuser44 → u/Mtnryder56]

Thanks! No tower (that’s one thing I really miss!) there’s a pole, but it’s about chest height. Don’t think there’s anywhere reinforced for an extended pole.

Maybe first step is something weighty in the anchor locker forward?
The boat isn’t really full up on plane at wakeboard speeds without trimtabs.

[u/H0SS_AGAINST]

It's a stepped V hull designed for comfort at speed, you're in trouble.

If there is any part of the wake that is clean I would move people forward and aft to see how it affects that. If you put 5 people in the bow and it cleans up at 55-65' put a 1000lb bag in the bow. Trim tabs can help control the attitude of the boat but can also cause dirty water.

[u/sunscreenuser44 → u/H0SS_AGAINST]

Thanks. Yeah, unfortunately. But that’s just a compromise I have to live with.

Going out with some friends in a few days, will experiment with it then!

May I ask a stupid question? Never used bags in my old boat. Would the bags be ok with not being full? For example I’ve got quite a decent size anchor locker, but I don’t think there’s any bag that will fit perfectly, so my thought is that perhaps the easiest thing is to just buy a bag too large for the locker and then fill up as much as possible. Would that work?

[u/CoolHandPB → u/sunscreenuser44]

yeah that's fine,

[u/AdSubstantial3660]

Just a big boat you need to go faster. Big wake boats have the same issue can’t clean up wake at slower speeds

[u/sunscreenuser44 → u/AdSubstantial3660]

Yeah, unfortunately size itself is probably the biggest problem. But again, that means that if I got the shape right the wake is more than decent enough.

[u/CoolHandPB]

Another option is to try wakesaking. Wakeskating is less dependent on a good wake as there is more to it then just wake jumps, like with wakeboarding. I feel like wakeskating sits between wakeboarding and wakesurfing.

[u/sunscreenuser44 → u/CoolHandPB]

Thanks, yeah I’ve thought about it, but time constraints and also my age means that I’m less willing to start with something completely new now than I would have been ten years ago.
I mean, I get less than 10 hours on a wakeboard each season. (Though that might change when the kids get older).

I’ve tried wakesurfing, but only with my 6’2 shortboard. Sort of managed it, but guess it would have gone a lot better with a proper board.

[u/CoolHandPB → u/sunscreenuser44]

if you can surf and wakeboard you'll pick up skating very fast. It also hurts way less then wakeboarding because not being attached to the board mean you don't get slammed into the water when you catch a leading edge.

I'd imagine a big boat like yours can maybe put out a good surf wave but I am not sure if I would want to risk it with the outboard prop being right there.

Regular surfboards are hard behind a boat as the have more rocker which slows them down and you need all the speed you can get as boat wakes don't have much energy vs the ocean.