What is the best Speed and TAPS combo?

[porky1]

Hi all-

Just purchased a '06 22i and have been trying to create the best wake possible without a ballast system or fat sacks. Any recomendations on what speed and TAPS combo to try? Am I out of luck until I get some sacks thrown in? Thanks!

[G-MONEY]

Hi all-

Just purchased a '06 22i and have been trying to create the best wake possible without a ballast system or fat sacks. Any recomendations on what speed and TAPS combo to try? Am I out of luck until I get some sacks thrown in? Thanks!

Are you looking for the best surf wake?

[da.bell]

On my boat, we have TAPS at 4, speed is 20 mph, no ballast weight (except for 6-9 people), and the rider is at 65 feet back for wakeboarding. This causes a wake of about two feet in my situation. You will find that there is a lot of different things that will make the wake bigger and smaller. TAPS and the Convex Hull are two variables; boat weight and people are other variables; and conditions of the water are another.

Good luck and welcome to the site. Post pictures of your boat when you can. As you have been around this site for awhile, you can see that we live off pictures.

[dogbert]

Welcome to the site and the Tige family. da.bell makes some good points. I use TAPS as a wake shaping device that helps either lower or raise the bow. The Convex hull, which is designed to work with TAPS, gets moved by the TAPS plate in and out of the water like a big rocker.

Wake size will change with speed (as with any boat). With TAPS, you have a lot more control over what that wake looks like.

As for the ideal speed, that's probably left up to the rider and what they are comfortable with. Less experienced wakeboard riders will generally opt for slower speeds. As they progress, they tend to want to go faster for two reasons: more speed helps you get more pop off the wake and it's easier to get a really nicely shaped wake at speeds above 19 Mph (at least on my boat). Advanced riders tend to ride at 20+ Mph and Pros all seem to ride around 24 Mph. Wake size requirements will also increase with rider experience, so the more advanced the rider, the bigger the wake they will need for their advanced tricks.

Surfing is a whole other story. While ballast really helps with surfing, you can create quite a nice wake without any ballast, but you'll need a few friends in the boat. Check my gallery and you'll see my son surfing behind a 22Ve with no ballast. The people in the boat will give you an indication of the required weight distribution. The wake generated by that setup was pretty nice.

Good luck and remember to ask lots of questions. There are plenty of folks on this board who will be more than happy to share their experiences and opinions.

[porky1]

Thanks for the info. While wakeboarding I have been charging at about 22 MPH but am coming up short of clearing the wake. Frustrating. This, however, is probably not a boat problem rather a rider problem. I'll just play with the shape a bit and hopefully find that sweet spot that works for me. I'll make sure and get some photos posted soon. Thanks again for the help!

[G-MONEY]

Thanks for the info. While wakeboarding I have been charging at about 22 MPH but am coming up short of clearing the wake. Frustrating. This, however, is probably not a boat problem rather a rider problem. I'll just play with the shape a bit and hopefully find that sweet spot that works for me. I'll make sure and get some photos posted soon. Thanks again for the help!

How far back are you riding?? If you are coming up short try shorting your rope. I ride at 23mph, 70', taps on 8 no ballast most of the time.

[Timmy!]

Shorten your rope until you are clearing the wake and then once you are good at clearing at that length, you can lengthen it again and get good there. Maybe start at 55'- 60' and then go up from there as you progress.

[porky1]

Do you think there's much difference between wake size from the V-drive to the I-Drive?

[ragboy]

Thanks for the info. While wakeboarding I have been charging at about 22 MPH but am coming up short of clearing the wake. Frustrating. This, however, is probably not a boat problem rather a rider problem. I'll just play with the shape a bit and hopefully find that sweet spot that works for me. I'll make sure and get some photos posted soon. Thanks again for the help!

Shorten your rope, go down to like 60ft, or even less. Clear the wake at that length, and slowly lengthen. Practice Jump in and Jump out of wake (1 wake) and really get your pop going. I know with my kids they will charge at the wake real hard, and plow through, and not get enough air. So I make them practice popping with jump in, jump out drills.

Watch this, it will help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH0spAGQesw

[dogbert]

Do you think there's much difference between wake size from the V-drive to the I-Drive?

Not really, we rode behind a 2003 I/R with the Tige team and it had an awesome wake. I learned a lot from these guys about driving my boat.

I'm glad one of the others mentioned rope length. Wake shape does matter on jumps. Depending on the rope length, I adjust the TAPS to the point where it's just below where the wake would begin to wash out at the point the rider crosses the wake. That gives you the best ramp with a little lip for extra pop.

My son, who's 12, goes wake-to-wake t/s and h/s, including 180s with grabs. He's currently riding at 70' and 21 Mph. You can adjust both your speed and rope length. If you do slow it down, shorten your rope.

As for getting more air, make sure you're doing a progressive cut. Most failed wake-to-wake attempts are because the rider cuts towards the boat at the last minute. This causes two problems: lost momentum and an unloaded line. At this point, you're kinda like a wounded quail flying through the air You want to gradually load up the line by cutting harder and harder away from the boat.

Have someone take a video of you while your jumping. It might present some clues.

[G-MONEY]

Shorten your rope, go down to like 60ft, or even less. Clear the wake at that length, and slowly lengthen. Practice Jump in and Jump out of wake (1 wake) and really get your pop going. I know with my kids they will charge at the wake real hard, and plow through, and not get enough air. So I make them practice popping with jump in, jump out drills.

Watch this, it will help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH0spAGQesw

Nice video they make it look so effortless Maybe if I wasn't 260# I could do it effortless also

[dogbert]

Yeah, wakeboarding seems to bring new meaning to the phrase "...the harder they come, the harder they fall."

[kana12]

i have a 2002 tige 22 I and i am riding at 70 feet at 21 or 22 when the water is good. when the water has a little chop you can still ride realy well at 65 feet at 19 ... i found out that balancing the weight is a big part in making your wake grow and to clean it up. i always try to put at least one person in the bow and four in the rear of the boat..

[Timmy!]

Watch this, it will help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH0spAGQesw

That won't help, it will just make you mad that you can't ride on water that looks like that! Butta!

[da.bell]

How it the blazzin he77 did they find that butta????