Rank the Wake

1. 18’ Hydrodyne. - Yes, these boats look cool, but the main reason I love them is because they have the best wake. I love that fact sheet Twinrigs sent in. It says:

“Crisp, Well Defined, Symmetrical Trick Wake, with Flat, Turbulence Free Table – This gives the trick skier the wake they dream about, well defined, crisp for good air and no turbulence to trip you up.”

See Dad? I really didn’t imagine it!

2. 17.6 Hydrodyne - Well, I have to admit the wake is not quite as good the 18’, but it is close! I find it to be a little more turbulent. However, it is a better family boat, and I don’t worry about my kid falling out.

3. 20’ single rig – It has been a long time since I skied behind one of these, but from what I can remember it is comparable to the 17.6. However, if the throttle is not set up to hold the speed - forget it! Keep me at 15.45962 mph please.

4. I am not a big fan of inboards, but if I had to have one it would be a Malibu Response. It has the best of the inboard wakes, but still no comparison to a Hydrodyne.

5. Ski Nautiques and Mastercraft – I’m sorry but skiing behind one of these is like skiing in a bowl of mashed potatoes.

6. 20 Twin Rig – The wake starts to get a little too turbulent for my taste. I can’t imagine swiveling behind a triple rig.

7. And coming in last place – a Jet Boat! Yikes, It’s like being dragged across a gravel road on my swivel ski.

 

She is not kidding about the speed. Mine is set up to hold it within 1/4 mph.

There in lies the reason the outboards are not popular with some skiers. With the current throttles and linkages the outboards (especially the big ones) can be touchy at low speeds. Some are better than others, but they can all be fixed with a little work. My boat has better throttle response than an inboard now. It is not difficult to do.

jim

 

I find that it is much easier to hold a speed with our optimax 135 than it is on my uncle's older Johnson 110. I wonder if the fuel injected outboards provide better speed holding. It seems like with the carb engines it is harder to keep the engine running at a consistent RPM.

 

I found that when I trick skiied behind my 18' Dyne it held speed just fine, and that's with my mom driving! Whenever I drove for my step daughters my Optimax 150 held speed just fine. I loved the setup I had. I ran a high five for a prop. I tried about 7 different props before finally going with that one. I tried a four blade, and numerous different 3 blades in stainless and aluminum. The three blades gave me way too much torque steer at higher barefoot type speeds. The only down fall on the high five is that is seems to cavitate when you hit it hard in reverse. The hole shot was incredible though!

Greg

 

Shot of the high five with the Mercury Optimax 150.

Greg

 

Mark,

First of all you need to bear in mind that my answers are geared to holding 16 mph very accurately. I will accept high speed issues to achieve that.

The Mercury has the best throttle linkage on the motor by far. I don't think it has anything to do with injected or carb. The Mercury cable pulls for power which is the way it should be for least friction. The linkage itself has few moving parts and there is not much play. Swvski1 has a new Merc 75 with the built in throttle control (binnacle). It works fine (very little play) with no modifications, and that is a first for me. However, her motor is only a 75 (lake restriction) and therefore it is not touchy on the throttle.

My Johnson faststrike and her Evinrude Intruder have a nightmare throttle and spark linkage with a lot of play and other issues. The cable pushes for power which increases the friction and play significantly. I tamed the beast with some linkage modifications and return springs, and the system has no play in it but the throttle does want to return at high speed. I have another modification in mind when I get around to it.

I have run a Yamaha V-4 115 also. The cable pushes for power like the OMC but it is a little better. It needed modifications also for good speed control. I have heard that the Mercury motor with the Yamaha binnacle is good, but I have not tried that combination.

Greg,

I run an aluminum three blade because it is modified to produce the exact rpm and vortex that I am looking for at 16. I have made a very good wake better. I also modified the Evinrude prop when it was on her 17.6 and it took a slightly different mod than mine to optimize it. I never was able to get the turbulence out of that wake until she got the 75. That prop is not modified at all and is excellent.

My boat has a ton of torque steer at high speed which does not bother me. Hers has the seastar steering which is a no feed back system, so no torque steer. I also run a torqueshift occasionally which is also a three blade and it has a lot of torque steer also at high speed.

jim