Hey guys i have a closed bow 20 foot Sea Ray with a 165 HP I/O and want to wakeboard behind it....is my horsepower sufficent to add a ballast system?? If not, what can i do to get a better wake? any help would be appreciated
Here's my opinion for you, other's may vary. In order you need: A hydrofoil on the leg. I used the Stingray brand. A lower pitch prop. Maybe two inches less pitch than stock. I liked the 4 blade Vensura but lots like the High 5 A non stretch line. Bow ballast. In the ski locker is great. Then add a pylon or tower or more ballast, if you want.
I had an 18' with a 170 hp. Mercruiser 4 cyl for a lot of years.
I haven't re-propped my boat yet but they say the difference is like night and day also put most of the weight up front or in the walkway I had a 19" Fourwinns i/o w/ 175hp and ran around 750lbs with 400lbs in the bow and 350 in the walkway and the wake was pretty damn good
(Message edited by lovin_the_wake on January 28, 2008)
I've got a 1990 Sea Ray 17' with the 130 hp motor. Using the 19 pitch prop we had two 400 lbs fat sacs and usually two people in the boat and a tower. Before I put the foil on it took a little longer to plane, but it pulled fine. Speed holds reasonably well, usually within 2 mph. We had a sac in the bow and one back by the motor. Not a bad wake for an I/O.
re prop it and ride the heck out of it. don't worry about fixing it up to much (open bow topic). My first boat was a 16' (closed bow) with a 90 hp outboard. I had a blast with that boat. (sometime I think I had more fun with that boat than the one I have now...no radio, no ballast, no money etc..)
My first boat was the same SeaRay Brandon has. I had a hydrofoil on the leg, a Waylon tripod extended pylon, and about 500 lbs of ballast in the rear & bow. It did OK for us at the time & we used the hell out of it for like 3 yrs.
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