water over the bow on a 21I

[spixley@autocrib.com]

When putting balast in the bow to stop the wake from washing, the nose is so low that I can't even cross my own wake with out taking water over the bow. Does anybody have any solutions to stop this from happening.

[scottie4421]

I have the same problem without any ballast. The 21i is notorious for this. You can't take a wake at idle head on. The first roller will be fine, but the bow will rise up and dip into the second roller sending a huge gulp of water over the bow (as you've already discovered).

I changed my driving habits to compensate. If the rider drops, immediately back off the throttle, let the boat slow down to a crawl or idle speed, make a hard right U-turn at idle speed, as hard as your boat will turn, then drive slowly back to your rider. You'll see that you don't drive back through your own wake, you drive inside of it....meaning the rollers will go past your turning axis. This is opposed to the classic wide arc'ing power turn which takes you outside your own wake, forcing you to cross it, which also sends huge rollers across your riding area.

If the problem is another boat's wake, hit the wake at a 45 degree angle or completely sideways. Or you can bump the throttle as you go up the wake. This takes some practice.....timing is everything. The first few times I tried it, I bumped the throttle too early. This caused the bow to rise up, then dip way way down into the next roller, which made the gulp of water over the bow worse than if I'd done nothing.

Try these out and pretty soon you'll stay dry 99% of the time.

Good Luck!

- Scott

[joe8395]

Good advice from Scott...I have a 21i as well and it just took some practice using the boat to keep from taking a roller over the bow.

[spixley@autocrib.com]

Thanks Scottie, I have been using the tight right turn method and it works fine %95 of the time. The big problem is when it is my turn to ride the wife, daughters, friends just don't get it. I come back to the boat with the speakers under water and the beer cans - t-shirts and towels floating around. Have you heard of any kind of a canvass cover or deflector for the bow area? That would keep the water out.

One other thing how do weight the boat to keep the wake from washing I use 360 pounds of lead in the front and about 250 pounds in the rear works great with 3 or 4 in the boat but not more!

[scottie4421]

I don't know of any covers for the bow, but that's a good idea.

There's some good info on this site about weighing your boat. Do a search and you should find some stuff. Check out wakeworld.com as well...they have a ton of info in their discussion area.

If you have TAPS, try a lower setting...maybe 5 or so. 7 makes the wake really tall and steep, so if you add any weight, the wake base can't support the peak....that's when you get the wash.

[Matt Garcia]

Originally posted by spixley@autocrib.com

One other thing how do weight the boat to keep the wake from washing I use 360 pounds of lead in the front and about 250 pounds in the rear works great with 3 or 4 in the boat but not more!

Check out this thread, http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=17&perpage=15&pagenumber=3

this is jeffros setup:

500# in bow walkway (as far forward as possible)
350# on each side of motor
500# in rear gullwing storage area

[spixley@autocrib.com]

Matt

You can't put 500 pounds in the front of a 2000 21I the nose is so low, if you come off plane the nose drops under the water line, in flat water and starts to sink. I know because I tried this, I was the only one in the boat so I had to hit the beach on plane to keep from sinking. Very Embarassing! My buddies still give me crap about that one!

Thanks for the suggestion though.

[Paublo]

My first Tige was a 2001 21i (old style) and I know what you are talking about. I had pretty good luck with 600# in the front walk-way and 600# between the motor and the back seat. The front bag started at the pylon. I found that with the extra weight in the back there was actually less nose dip when weighted than unweighted.

I also tried more weight and it didn't seem to help- like it was maxed out. I tried the 2-600# bags on each side of the engine as far forward as possible, but didn't like that quit as much. My only complaint with the boat was I couldn't stop the boat with two people in front without water coming in. But the problem was minimized when weighted down.

[Ponyh8r]

Have they fixed the bow wash problem in the newer 21I? I have a 04' that is new and I haven't used it yet. I am wondering if I will have this same problem?

Thanks

[lee]

Ponyh8r,


You have the new 21i design and should not have a problem.

[kskjbuzz]

Yes you will stil have the problem. Until you or whoever drives learns to drive the nose stil dives when the boat is unweighted. Can't say what an 04 21 i does weighted. But my wife like to fill her up.

[Flying Tiger]

We found just motoring thru the approaching wake cures the problem

[Tige M.D.]

wasn't the original question, how do you keep water from splashing over the bow when you have ballast "in the bow"? i have an idea on how to remedy this but i don't want to sound like a smartass. well, i'll say it anyway, take out the ballast in the bow:D which problem is worse, the water in the bow or the washout in the wake. i'm sure there is a happy medium.

[jeffro]

03 and up 21i's wont have the same problem as the older tiges with ballast.

#1. Yes you will have to drive a certain way when you have 500#s in the nose. That's usaully, turning SLOW, and watching the rollers. power turns = bad. Come off the throttle, let the rollers pass, turn, pick up rider. easy, works everytime if you pay attention.

#2. if you have your ballast distributed properly water over the bow will be less of a problem.

i have an 03 21, we run 500+ in the nose, 700+ in the gullwing, and 250's on each side of the motor. I rarely get water over the bow, (mostly due to someone elses rollers at the wrong place wrong time), but like i said if you pay attention to the rolloers and boats around you, water over the bow is not much of an issue.

#3. dont be afraid to teach others how to do it! there is no rush, keep that water calm so everyone can enjoy a good pull.

[DanB]

How is the boat unweighted (re: water over the bow)? Haven't seen a lot of pix of 21i's in the water. Do they run real low? I'm picking up a used 21iR, and am concerned about kids in the bow. If I can learn to avoid the issue that's fine. But what if you're sitting there eating lunch, and someone else's big wake comes barreling in?

[joe8395]

I have a 2000 21i and on occasion when slowing down the bow dips and I take a good bit of water in but nothing serious...just enough to cool down the ladies riding up front. When just floating I've never had a problem with water getting in the boat.

[DanB]

So are you saying that when just slowing down, the front of the boat actually goes under water??? Or it just gets low enough so that some moving, turbulent water creeps in? Geez, I've seen some low boats (lots of locals have Moombas that seem to ride about 6" above the surface!). I though a Tige (even the D-drive) would stay up higher!

[DanB]

...and one more thing. Is that cutting the throttle sharply, or just slowly throttling back.

How does one prevent this if you really don't want someone riding up there to get wet?

[joe8395]

The front of the boat has never gone under water....but turbulent water has found it's way in. The 03 design change got rid of this problem.

Depends how heavy the ladies are I suppose...

I generally keep away from sharply cutting the throtle and if I only have a few guys in the boat none of what we are talking about is an issue..only when I have 5 or 6 other people in the boat do I need to manage speed to insure I don't get the front end wet.

I would really recommend you test drive a boat...I love my 2000 21i...I would love to be able to afford a new one given the design changes but I love my boat and have never not felt safe and secure with it's design and operation.

[DanB]

Thanks, Joe!

[scottie4421]

Dan,

If you're eating lunch and a roller comes head on, the front seats are gettin wet. I wouldn't worry too much about the kids. We're just talking about a small amount of water.....nothing that's going to send the kids overboard.

Like Joe, I have a 2000 21i and I've always felt safe in it. I love it. No worries at all. I usually boat on Lake Travis in Austin. I've been out in the middle motoring through some huge huge waves and never had a problem. I'm talkin' 3 foot rollers. I remember eyeing them thinkin', damn, those are big waves, but the 21i handle them just fine....made the wife a little nervous though.

We usually encounter the gulp over the front when we're picking up a rider or hangin out. Other than that, you'll love the boat.

[lee]

DanB,

The new design of the 21i started in 2002 so you should not have any problems.

Lee

[Laketrash]

I have a 2001 21i and have taken on water. Freaked me out the first time, but like several have said, it is not that much. Once you get the feel for how to and how not to and you'll be able to do it when some in the front is giving you crap about something, ussually shuts them up. :p

[pwhicks]

I have a '98 21i (2100wt) and have learned a few tricks to keep the boat and people dry. It is particularly relevant with multiple people up front (or water ballast).

At anchor or rest, water does not come over the bow unless its massive. Normally, it has to do with a moving boat and moving waves.

To avoid your own rollers when you lose a skier, I found that if I turn to the right 90 degrees, then again 2 more times creating a rough square, I can approach my down skier from the side always in full view. When I get to the first roller, I start backing off (disengaging PerfectPass) and time it so that I'm hitting nose down coasting idle right after the last roller. When timed right, all the wakes miss both the skier and the boat and all the speed is scrubbed before nearing the skier. This also saves a bunch of time, so everyone can get in more rope time. If you've got massive ballast, the slow down and idle approach might be better for you.

The other scenario where most people potentially get drenched is when the boat is off plane but under power or coasting and another boat's rollers are heading towards the bow. When moving forward, you drive the nose straight through them, bringing in a bunch of water (Our record was a couple inches in the entire boat). A show skier friend of mine showed me that by gently hitting reverse as the rollers come by, it keeps the nose from driving through and everyone stays dry.

Unfamiliar drivers usually means a wet boat at some point.

[dogbert]

A couple of suggestions:

1. If you're anchored and you're worried about water over the bow, get a Tanneau cover for the front of the boat, it'll keep the water out.

2. I learned a little trick from the Pros while riding with Erik Ruck and Team Tige when they were in town. Whenever they lose a rider, they throttle back all the way and, once the boat is off plane and the wake is beginning to pass them by, they idle 180 degrees and pick up the rider. This way you never have to cross your own wake.

You'll still need to watch out for other's wakes.

[CP3]

I havent tried it yet but I saw in one video.
After the rider fell, the driver pulled back on the throttle at the same time he turned hard to the right. but instead of stopping in neutral he continued into reverse. there was wake behind him to go over. Looked pretty smooth to me. I am going out saturday and will tell you if it works.

[TeamAllen]

What about the rope?

[CP3]

I dont know I will tell you tommrow hope it works right. It looks cool.

[steedracer]

I'm really hot on a 22i that I've come across. I'm doing my research and came across this thread. I'm getting out of a 19' stern drive and looking forward to a DD or VD boat. This thread has me a bit concerned. Should I be concerned about water coming across the bow of an '02 22i (which I understand has the newer, bigger/deeper hull, but not the latest convex2 rear changes)? Thanks!:confused:

[Laketrash]

It really not that big of an issue with my 21i. As long as your slightly paying attention, you probably won't have it happen.