Trick to wakesurf on a direct drive boat! (homemade device that transforms your wake)

Like to surf but only have a direct drive boat? Now you can with this clever device.
I build a DIY wakesurf shaper to turn my ski boat wake into a monster surf wave.

[@klots007]

you got some fleet of nautiques and master crafts behind you back on marina!

[@RickyImpey]

We do Andre, 70 boats at our lake😳

[@gringoazucar]

Ricky, I thought I had posted a comment but I do not see it. Can you send any plans you may have for the installation? This would be a great help. Thank you!!! Stanley

[@koswimmer1967]

Hey. This is a great video. Thanks for publishing it. We have an 80 Ski Nautique and no plans to sell it or get a different boat. I'd like to try your setup on our boat to see how it works for my kids. Would you share the specs on the wedge you made so I could copy it?

[@RickyImpey]

Sure, no problem. I'll have to take some measurements and draw it out some how. I think I may have CAD modelled it at some point if that's of any use to you. Drop me an email at [e-mail] and I'll sort out what you need.

[@jtaylor2563]

I just picked up the new system from Surf Mode it's a tri-wing system made for direct drive boats. I will give it a try on Sunday. Had a single wing system before with 800 pounds of ballast worked okay but always looking to improve!🏄

[@RickyImpey]

That sounds interesting, I just googled those. Do you get all 3? I'll be really interested to hear how you get on with each of those or even all 3 at once! Please let me know what you find👍

[@DanielGates]

how did it work? video response? what is your boat?

[@tannerdns9048]

any updates on that?

[@tiborhuszarszki5203]

Thanks for sharing your ideas and how it worked out for you. I guess we are many who doesn’t have so much money but want to wakesurfing on a lower budget. Question: Is basic wakesurf board not rideable with these shapers since you have made your own board as well.

[@RickyImpey]

Hi, no we use normal wakesurf boards too, I have literally just finished doing exactly that! The board I built just helps give more push which makes it easier especially for larger riders.

[@tiborhuszarszki5203]

@@RickyImpey Thanks for the reply. Hope to see some other video with that boat and you guys wakesurfing. I am aslo looking for a smaller boat... All the best for you and your the projects in the future.

[@thomaskutches2613]

Hi Ricky, so if I understand your set-up correctly you used the shaper and placed all the weight in the center rear correct? Thanks!

[@RickyImpey]

Shaper on the opposite side to the side you want to surf, all the weight in the back but more in the corner, the same side that you want to surf. We play around with quite a few different direct drive boats and they all like a different setup so unfortunately you have to experiment a little. Start with the above setup and tune from there. As you can see in the video, the shaper is the most important part on our boat.

[@christianqueen6254]

Nice design! Do you think the angle between the boat and the shaper is critical?

[@RickyImpey]

It seems to be a bit different for every boat to be honest. I have had a couple of different angles from around 30-60° and the wave looked the same. The same shaper just doesn't give a decent wave on one of my friends boats 🤷‍♂️

[@christianqueen6254]

@@RickyImpey Thank you for the reply! I have a 1995 prostar 190 so if I make one I will report back!

[@lukerogers4368]

Would be interested to see no ballast with the shaper

[@RickyImpey]

To be honest, it's just the same as with ballast but smaller. I find I can surf it but not really move around as there's hardly any push. The best setup we find is most ballast equal across the back with it biased towards the surf side a bit. Total ballast we run is probably about 600lbs/270kg. We find it really depends on the boat too. Some boats are much easier to get a good wave on.

[@GearsAndTech]

Smaller boats can make a GREAT wave with less ballast needed. Those big surf boats need 5000 lbs of ballast before they come alive. On your boat take the back seat all the way out and get another 1100 lbs ballast. Shove it all the way back and you will not believe the difference! I made a similar video showing a ski boat with closer to 1500 lbs in the back and the wave was just as good as my old Wakesetter (actually better) and my Centurion (both V drives). Dont sell your boat short, it can make a wake that you love. Youre almost there. Also, the paddle on the suck gate does not need to be that big. cut it in half and your wave may actually get bigger.

[@RickyImpey]

Funny you should say that, I plan on testing a smaller face on mine this week. I'm also going to try a concave face as I've seen a few commercial models have them and I want to see what it might do. We did try adding quite a bit more weight but all that seemed to happen was that the boat struggled to pull it all and the wake didn't get any bigger. Unfortunately our lake is only about 8 feet deep at best so I think that may be our biggest limiting factor. I'm always trying to improve the surf wave though and will keep going. Thanks for your comment.