The Wake9 Experience

So I have been sorting through tons of images, while RJ is editing video, and I created this set from the first photo shoot we did with Tige and the 2010 Tige RZ2 on Camp Far West Lake. This was on Thursday Evening and near perfect conditions. James Walker and Nick Scott and Sean Cummings were on board. We used the red RZ2 to surf on and the beige one to chase. The camera taking these pictures was on my pontoon boat, and Whitney from wake9.com was the photographer. Here are some of the best shots, and GEEZ did James kill it that day. He seemed to really enjoy the wake and the conditions.

Go to flickr.com/wake9 for all the wake9.com photos, but here is a slideshow of 100 images. Hit the Play button, then click the Full Screen icon in the lower right corner of the slide show and sit back and enjoy for the best viewing experience.

OK, so here we go with the official pictures and such. What a great time had by all. Special thanks to Tige and the boats. They were incredible. The pictures you will see are all from the SAME boat, both goofy and regular, the contest was pulled by one boat. It wasn’t the plan, but we damaged a boat and so we went for it, knowing the 2010 Tige RZ2 would produce the same great consistent wake on both sides. Dennis, the Wakeologist, basically weighted the boat the same for both sides and just switched over. Towards the second day, we were switching in minutes. Hats off to Tige for there great automated ballast, and we just added some lead to that.

Special thanks to Cal Marine Sports for the giveaways, all the help and support. Special thanks to Jeff and Judy Walker for allowing us to stand on there shoulders and start with a great foundation. Special thanks to the Wakesurfing ambassador that is Sean Cummings, and Wakeshredder. Special thanks to Ski Supreme for allow us to do demos on their new V226. Special thanks to Chris Martinez, and everyone else that helped so much. Special thanks to Larry Mann for allowing us to give away a FAE system. And special thanks to Lake Wakes and The Walker Project for all the board demos.

My favorite view of the this recap, with the podiums at the end, is in this flickr.com slideshow. Click the FULLSCREEN icon in the lower right of the slide show below and sit back and enjoy!

Here are individual images of each rider. You may also see them at Flickr.com

First the Juniors

Then we had some amazing surfing from the pros. This class was for the riders to just try to through their best tricks, with no concern for landing them or not.

Expression Session

Then another fun class. We liked to call this the Wake9 Smackdown between the Cocoa Puff and the Vanilla Wafer.

Tandem Wakesurf

ok, I know I am partial to my daughter, but this one is my favorite picture of the contest. Dennis looks like the old superman training a new recruit.

Then we moved on to the Surf/Skim challenge. This was ride one way on a surf board, and then back on a skim board. Who is the best overall rider?

Surf/Skim Challenge

Then we moved on to Sunday, for the main event classes. We combined open women and amateur women, but combined the prize money also, so the girls were happy about that.

Open Women

Open Men Surf

Open Men Skim

Amateur Men

This is Frank Wolter’s sun, he is 14, and its his first competition. What a great job he did.

On to the Masters

Some great images right? Thanks to the photographer, David Wilsey, who you all know as notsobueno on WakeWorld.

Make sure you show up next year, and bring your friends, the event will be even better. Feel free to embed this slideshow or the images on your site, as long as you keep the watermark on the images.

Here is a map of the site, and we will be taking on site registrations on Saturday, and early sunday morning. Check back here or in the community forums for more information on on site registration this evening.

Map to Site.

Had some fun testing the new RZ2 with some extra weight in the boat. We filled the in hull rear tank on goofy side, then added a 1000 lb sac in the locker stuffed up to the ice chest on the goofy side. When riding, we had the rub rail touching the water. 5 of us in the boat, no one up front so we filled up the front ballast on goofy side up with about 150 lbs to knock down the curl a bit, we normally ride with at least one person up front, but it was a bit chilly.

Sorry for the bad audio with the wind. When I am showing the camera, I am trying to explain that we have a new wide angle lens for the portable Aiptek HD cameras, so that we can now mount the camera in the back of the boat low, instead of up higher, by the tower. This allows for an unobstructed view of the surfer, and a flattering angle for the surfer and wake. Hope you enjoy!

Pay attention to the podcast, for extra giveaways for competitors. We will giving away at least 1 1000lb fly high vdrive sac with tsunami pump, and we have a basic FAE (Fresh Air Exhaust) system worth $440 also. Another reason to make sure you register to compete in the contest. Prize money, and great giveaways.

We will be posting map links and last minute registration information later tonight, so stay tuned.

Its a bit rainy now, but the weather looks like it is really shaping up for this weekend. Looks like you just lost your LAST excuse to not head down this weekend. Grab your board and register for the competition!

So we have been working through our equipment, computers, and the logistics of putting on a first class webcast, and also broadcasting to a station on the shore. It has been one my goals to help make wakesurfing competitions more fun to watch. Its great from the boat, but not quite so from the shore. We are going to give a boat’s eye view to those on the shore and to those at home watching the webcast.

Here is a short quick podcast that gives an idea of what we are planning.

We had a great opening day at Camp Far West Lake. We were there to prepare for our upcoming Spring Wakesurf Festival. Its a don’t miss event. Make sure you watch this podcast to the end, there is some sneak peek info about the new Ski Supreme V226.

We still have room to register for the competition, so please get your registration in soon. There is no guarantee if you wait til the event. At least email us and let us know you are planning to attend.

Tigé gave us a great opportunity last halloween to review the RZ2 with the pro ballast setup. We had a lot of fun and it was a great boat. We did a full write up of the day which you can find here:

2010 Tigé RZ2 Review

We held the video until now because the season had wound down and we decided to hold the video for our first podcast in 2010, and now we are here. The funny thing is, I intended to make all podcasts in 2010 to be 5-6 minutes long at average, but this one is almost 20 minutes long. As we edited the video we found that the information we needed to cut to get the time down was removing info that we would have wanted if we were going to buy a boat. I have gotten to know many of you that watch our videos and read our articles, and most of you are just like me. Mostly Dads who love boating with your family and you like good information when thinking about purchasing a boat. I have never been fond of the “boat test” or waterski mag type reviews, that all say the same thing, and are basically advertisements. So here you go, its long, but lots of good info. Let me know what you think. Head over to the community and give me some feedback.

One last note, I added the graphics and opening, but RJ edited this completely on his own. I have been teaching him, and he will be editing future podcasts, so it will help us keep up a pace of about 1 per week. Great Job RJ!

NOTE: If you are a boat manufacturer, and you would like wake9 to give your boat the same treatment, feel free to contact us. We really want to promote great wakesurf boats, particularly wakesurf boats that throw a great wake on both sides.

Here are the best 150 pictures of that day. What a great day.

This is part 2 of the review of the 2010 Tigé RZ2. CLICK HERE for part 1.

In 2007 when we purchased our 2007 24Ve and it was very much a family decision. We went to many dealers and sampled several boats. We knew we wanted an inboard wakeboard boat, and we thought we needed a 24ft boat, or a boat that at least held 16 people. We have 8 in our family and frequently take guests with us so this new boat had to accommodate two families comfortably. For various reasons we settled on 3 boats. The Malibu 247 LSV, the Mastercraft X45, and the Supra 24SSV in that order. We had no Tigé dealer anywhere in our area so even though the 24Ve was on the short list of online research, we didn’t consider buying one. My family didn’t like the playpen bow of the Supra which is just a preference issue, but a biggy for the girls. We were looking hard at the other two and were ready to pull the trigger until we heard of a new Tigé dealer within 2 hours so we headed out. We settled on the Tigé 24Ve mostly due to function. It was a versatile boat, and we liked the TAPS system and convex V hull and other features. However, even from the beginning we knew we were giving up some of the frills. The “Sugar Coating” which isn’t so important when you are 25, but when you get older those things are nice. There is no question that the Mastercraft and the Malibu had a fit and finish that outdid the Tigé. Snap out carpet, beautiful and seemingly more durable vinyl upholstery, there was a polish to the interiors that was noticeable. The vinyl and interior on the Tigé seemed to suffer. Our Tigé is built like a tank and has been incredibly reliable. We have almost 500 hours on our Tigé and I have only had to change the oil and perform regular service. Its been a great boat and has served us well, but at times we have missed some of those niceties, especially the upgraded upholstery.

All that to say, the first thing I noticed when stepping into the new RZ2 was the fit and finish and the beautiful, supple vinyl upholstery. Combine that with the snap out carpet, sculpted dash and touchscreen, black alpha z tower and matching graphics, this boat had the Sugar Coating AND was dressed to kill. You know what I mean? Form and function. Here are some pics of the RZ2 interior:

I also noticed that the floor of the inside of the boat was reinforced. Being the big guy that I am (400lbs) I can usually feel the floor move beneath me when I move around. Not in this boat, it was rock solid. I also noticed that at 6’2″ I could walk under the tower. I must admit that my hair does scrape the tower, but I don’t have to bend down. So we gassed up the RZ2 and started heading out. Since Lake Oroville is so low the 5 mph zone is almost a 20 minute ride out. So I got out the ipod and decided to take the touch screen out for a spin. For a geek like me who has purchased each iPhone as they were announced, I LIKE IT. Very cool. I love the audio controls that are always accessible and the ability to have so few gauges but have a multitude of information at your fingertips. What do you want to know? Its all there. When I finish editing the full video review you will get a better look at what I mean about the touchscreen. I had no problem reading the screen in full sunlight without the bimini and was able to hook up my ipod and instantly traverse my playlists from the screen. Me likey.

So what about the ballast and the wake?

OK, so I know that is what you are all waiting for so let’s get to it. First I hit the “Switches” button on the touch screen and then “Ballast”. This boat has the PRO ballast option which is 4 separate zones totaling 2000lbs. I have learned over the last couple of years that on the Tigé hull you just want all the weight in the corner for wakesurfing. So I just turned on the fill for the goofy corner and nothing else. Here is where it starts getting interesting. I had spoken on the phone with Tigé about this ballast system of 2 in hull tanks on each side in the rear, and in the surf and pro ballast options a 350 lb fat sac in each vdrive locker in addition. This whole time I thought the in hull tanks were 450 lbs each and the sac was another 400 lbs. This would give 850 lbs in the corner which seemed adequate to me since I have about 1000 in my 24Ve which is a bigger boat. The truth is that the in hull tanks are only 250 lbs each and the fat sac in the vdrive locker is only 350 lbs. This means there is only 600 lbs of water ballast in the corner. I actually didn’t realize this until AFTER the entire demo. Here is a picture of us after the tank is filled and we are about ready to go:

I feel stupid admitting that to everyone, but I think it was for the best. Remember that I was ready with pumps and an additional fat sac, a prototype swim deck, and a custom prop to FIX the wake on this boat to my pleasure. So we start riding as is, only 600 lbs of additional ballast in the corner and HOLY CRAP, the wake is almost perfect. There is a VERY minor cut in the wake from the corner of the deck, but it is not hurting the lip and is just producing some extra whitewash at the top. The wake is virtually the same shape as my 24Ve and the same size. RJ comments to me that it is about the same size, maybe a TAD bigger but he thinks it is definitely a little longer. How can it be longer? Wouldn’t the 24 foot boat produce a longer pocket? I am no hydrologist or whatever, but it doesn’t make sense to me that this RZ2 (22ft) wake would be longer than my 24Ve (24ft). How can this wake be longer with only 850 lbs of ballast in an empty boat? This boat had a coast guard kit in it. It was empty other than what we brought on. And remember, it ACTUALLY only had 600 lbs of ballast in the corner, but I was ignorant of that. Here are a couple of pics of RJ on the goofy side:

Here is a good pic of the boat that shows the weight of just the 600lbs and people (I know, I make good ballast) and you can see the boat is riding with the rub rail just in the water and the bow high. The weight is adequate and doing its job. Nice long pocket as well.

So T-Bone gets a try then we do the big test from side to side. 8 minutes 45 seconds. I had Ben hit drain and fill and start the motor to keep the volts up and I timed it on my iPhone. Yes, there’s an app for that. 9 minutes is almost too short. Not enough time to take a swim in the summer, which is what we usually did. We have ballast puppies in our 24Ve which work great, but a bit slow. Not to mention only 600 lbs of water is pretty quick to move. So we throw Ashley out. She says that the wake is the same size, or she can’t tell if bigger but she also thinks it is definitely longer. What the @!#$#! How can that be? I always expected the RZ2 to be easier to weight for a good size wake, but I also always expected that the 24Ve or RZ4 would have a longer pocket. Doesn’t seem to be the case. It was VERY easy to notice in this boat that it was more sensitive to weight than the 24Ve. When I moved from side to side the boat moved much more than my Ve moves. But only 600 lbs to make the same wake as my 24Ve? I still am amazed at that. The pics on the Regular side came out even better. Ashley doesn’t slash up the wake like RJ so it stays pretty clean. You really get the “waist high” perspective from this side with Ashley. Ashley is 5’7″ and RJ is 5’9″. The Convex V or “Non Planing” hull seems to be doing a great job at sinking in that corner with less weight than you would think.

So I decided to not add extra weight, there was no need. And I also decided with RJ that the minor cut in the wake was negligible and didn’t warrant a custom deck. Here is a picture of the deck on the 2010 RZ2 and you will see that even though there still is a lip, Tigé made an attempt to fill it in so that the lip under this deck is VERY small, only a half inch or so.

So we 86′d the extra weight and we 86′d the prototype deck. What about the prop? Well my 24Ve would cavitate/slip with the stock prop when I weighted it the way we do, about 1000 lbs per side. The RZ2 didn’t slip or caviate ONCE. Even with the 1235 prop the 24Ve will still slip on occasion. The RZ2 was rock solid and I never noticed a single issue for the several hours we were out. The boat also handled great unweighted with that PCM 409 powerplant. Ben pointed out that my 24Ve could have the issue as a combination of the MP 340 and the stock prop, it might not just be the prop setup. Who knows, all I know is this boat doesn’t need another prop with the way we were using it. And we were using it just like we would our 24Ve.

So I expected this boat to do well. And I expected this boat to come as close as I have seen to my Wake9 Wakesurf Boat Checklist, but I didn’t expect it to actually meet all of those expectations without ANY tweaking or additional weight of ANY kind. This is the first time I have ever been discontent with my 24Ve. This boat handles better due to the smaller size and creates at least as good a wake, probably longer and better with almost HALF the weight. Amazing. Take a look at this pic.

The Gripes

So I have to admit I want one now. Going to have to start working on the wife. So are there any shortcomings? What DON’T I like?

• I admit the alpha z tower is growing on me, but I am still on the fence about it.
• The speakers on a reverse arch tower like the alpha z are too far forward. You crank them for the rider’s enjoyment, and blow the ears of the people sitting near the back of the boat. This is especially true when wakesurfing and sitting in the ballast boy seat.
• I LOVE the bow, its huge and roomy. My wife and kids want it. But the way it points down, its like a shovel. This boat is more likely to plow some water then a Ve.
• The goofy side will NOT allow sacs up the side of the boat. The ice chest is now just behind the driver. This leaves VERY little room on the goofy side for a custom sac. On the plus side it is very nice not to have to get up from the most comfortable seat in the boat when a drink is needed. Also, you could put a sac on the regular side from the vdrive to the bow, its all open. If you are a DJJamez style surfer, you could really sac this side out.
• The TAPS gauge doesn’t move fluidly, it moves in steps. The TAPS plate still moves fluidly so it is difficult to make minor adjustments.
• I don’t like the mirror on the windshield. I am tall and have a huge noggin. I put the mirror up and only see my head. I would have to find a custom alternative.
• The PCM power and throttle is jerky at take off, where my MP setup seemed liquid smooth.
• The deck would be PERFECT if they just cut the corners off.
• Carbon Monoxide seems just as bad as my 24Ve before the FAE.
• If you install the middle 2 speakers, watch your head.
• I don’t have one yet.

Those are my only gripes. Overall its a great boat that exceeded my expectations. 16 thumbs up. If you have the means and you like to wakesurf, go buy one.

Lastly, we will be posting our video review soon, but here is a quick video we did that speaks no words and just shows off the wake. Enjoy.