Wakeboard I/O?

[fool29]

Are there any wakeboard boats that are I/Os? The lake I board on is big but gets shallow near my dock so a v-drive is not really possible. The tower is the most important thing I am interested in.

 

[Dave.Mishchenko]

Re: Wakeboard I/O?

You can wakeboard behind almost anything if you want to. As an example, this video demos a "wakeboard I/O" - http://www.boattest.com/Partners/Partner-Main.aspx?lp_id=47&t=BOAT-TEST&Videoid=953&p=0&s=, but you'll note that they never show the wake from it.

There are a couple of good points on this thread about the advantages with a v-drive over an I/O - http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=232716. In this thread there are some images of wakes behind an I/O - http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/1/234361.html?1119367972.

My family has been using an I/O for wakeboarding for the last 3 years and we have fun with it. We have added 700 lbs of ballast, which is something you'll need to do with any boat if you want to increase the size of the wake. But we're at the point where we're looking to switch to a v-drive as we're looking to create a better wake and have a better experience and it's not going to happen with an I/O.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Wakeboard I/O?

Chapparal markets some wakeboard specific IOs. What is not clear to me, though, is if they come with speed control or not. That would be a huge plus.

Also, if you are worried about shallow spots, both yamaha and sea doo have wakeboard jet boats. I have never been behind or in one though.

A V-hull IO does produce a nice wake. The con is holding speed and getting them to plane.

 

[pat8839]

Re: Wakeboard I/O?

I will add to sickwilly's comment about the jet boats. At our recent boat show I looked at an incredible Yamaha that had dual jet engines which means no prop to worry about sticking out under your boat. They came with a VERY solid tower and an awesome set up overall.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: Wakeboard I/O?

The jet boats put out very little wake. But like any other boat, you could always add ballast.

I wakeboard behind mine, but even my i/o puts out a fairly small wake. Previous owner had 600 lbs of sandbags in it for extra weight and he was able to get a nice wake.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Wakeboard I/O?

80% of my boating is dedicated to wakeboarding. I'm far too frugal to own a $40K to $90K wakeboarding boat.

So we usually use my plain ol' runabout, 1999 Stingray 200LX with a 5.0L Volvo. The wake is fantastic. I've gotten too old to do big air tricks anymore beyond basic wake-to-wake jumps, but a couple of the guys I go with are still going pretty big....and flips, rolls, tantrums, etc are absolutely NO problem for them behind this boat...with no ballast. Going wake-to-wake and landing far into the flats is a breeze, we usually are running approx 60' rope, but we each dial in our preferred rope length each time we take our turn, depending on the rider's preferred speed and how the wake shapes at that rider's location.

Two things that I added that made it a wake boat. And I think both are positively madatory:

1. Tower. I purchased a DIY Wake tower and installed it myself. Proabably spend $750 shipped to my door, which included a pair of racks for board storage. ZERO complaints.

2. Perfectpass Stargazer. After I was done choking on the $1,200 price tag, I used it, and have determined it is THE single best investment I have EVER made, on ANY boat. Most of us like to board at 21.5 mph. Some prefer 23. A few beginners prefer 18.7. All the drive has to do is hit the up and down buttons for the rider's requested speed, then accellerate, and then hands-off-the throttle and steer. The PerfectPass holds that exact speed within 0.5 mph, no matter how hard the boarder yanks the boat around...

So IMO get any I/O you'd like, but I say no smaller than 20 feet because you need some weight to make a good wake. 18's are too light. A 22 or 23 footer would be even better. Then spend $2,000 to add a tower and PerfectPass, and you'll be able to do just about any trick you want except for wakesurfing...

And don't waste money on ballast until you try the boat without first. We have 3 very large ballast bags laying around. We tried them and they did nothing for adding to the quality of the wake behind my boat, nor did it improve pop off the wake. So we simply don't use them anymore....

 

[Varago]

Re: Wakeboard I/O?

I have a question for scooper the problem I read about with jets was tracking, a hard pull to the side would steer the boat. Jets have nothing in the water to keep them going straight besides the hull. Do you have this problem?

"A V-hull IO does produce a nice wake. The con is holding speed and getting them to plane. "
In a word SMART TABS and maybe a Highfive(stern lifter). But then again some dont like the wake with smart tabs

Someone tell if I am wrong but I ould NEVER take an inboard in shallow water, the cost for a grounding would be rather large, at least with an IO you can raise the drive.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: Wakeboard I/O?

I wakeboarded behind a little 14.5' seadoo jetboat, 110 hp. Pulled me right up, and went where the wife told it to. Yes, if I cranked REALLY hard outside, she could feel it, but it didn't affect the direction of travel at all.

no wake, at all. maybe 4-6 INCHES tall.

when I was a kid, we all slalom skied behind an 18' big-block jet boat, no problems at all with that one, either.

And for what it is worth, I weigh around 200 lbs, so there is quite a bit of me pulling that boat around.

 

[solar7647]

Re: Wakeboard I/O?

any boat can be a wakeboard boat, but with each kind you will have a limit on how big your wake will be. A good size IO boat will produce a good wake for messing around with and if it has a larger engine 200hp or more you can add a good amount of ballast to get that wake pretty big, its all about how much water you can displace, my boat is a 87 IO and i get a pretty solid wake without ballast i add ballast and i get more wake then i need but nothin a pro rider would want...lol