Post 3: Boat Design and New Technology

Boat Design and New Technology

Hello, and welcome back to my third post of my Wakeboarding 101 series. Last time, I went over the basic design and features of a wakeboard, as well as how they are manufactured. Today, I will talk about the other essential piece of equipment you need before you hit the water: a boat. Just as wakeboarding has evolved, so has the technology on the other side of the rope. Today, there are companies, such as Malibu and Moomba, who design boats specifically for wakeboarding and other watersports. There are also many new features that either come standard, or may be added on to watercraft to improve wake height, wake size, and tow point height. These aren’t absolutely essential items for wakeboarding, but they definitely can improve the quality of the ride. That’s why I would like to discuss the improvements in boat design and new technology available for wakeboarding.

Wakeboard Boat Design 

Before the popularity of watersports, the primary use of a recreational boat was fishing. Boats were typically small and light and had low-horsepower outboard engines. As wakeboarding and other watersports became popular, boat manufacturers responded to the demand for bigger, more powerful boats. This led to the creation of the modern-day speedboat. These boats are generally stern driven, meaning the engine is inboard in the back of the boat and the propeller extends out of the back and into the water. Average speedboats range in length from 16 to 20 feet and have engines from 90 to 200 horsepower (hp). A typical speedboat is shown below in Figure 1. 

Figure 1: My family's speedboat

Speedboats are still popular today, but companies are now producing boats specifically designed for wakeboarding. Wakeboard boats are typically 18 to 28 feet long and have engines from 250 to 400 hp. These boats have inboard engines and the engine is placed either in the back of the boat or in the center. The advantage of a true inboard engine is that the propeller is placed underneath the boat, which means people can enter and exit the boat without having to worry about getting hit by it. Wakeboard boats are also very stable while moving and can easily maintain the rider’s desired speed. A typical wakeboard boat is shown below in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Moomba wakeboard boat (Photo Credit: Moomba Boat Guide)

Wakeboard boats are heavier than speedboats, which means they sit lower in the water and displace a bigger wake. It is this monster wake that is cherished by many experienced wakeboarders and allows them to jump higher and perform bigger tricks. Wakeboard boats can also hold more people than an average speedboat, so you can have more friends and family watch you nail that backflip you’ve been bragging about.

New Boat Technology

Wakeboard boats are different than speedboats in more ways than just the size of the boat and horsepower of the engine. Wakeboard boats have features that help them generate that perfect wake and make them ideal for watersports. Many components that I am about to talk about now come standard on an average wakeboarding boat. However, there are some modifications you can make yourself.

The first feature I would like to discuss is ballast tanks. Almost all wakeboard boats have onboard ballast tanks that fill with lake water at the flip of a switch. This adds more weight to the boat and creates a bigger wake for the rider. Most ballast systems in boats come pre-installed from the factory. However, you can buy separate, portable ballast tanks to add even more weight or to add ballast to a boat that is not already equipped with tanks. For example, my dad and I talked this past summer about buying portable tanks for our boat to add more weight to the stern.

Another improvement in technology is a higher tow point. In most speedboats, the tow point is anchored in the stern and is only a foot or two off the water’s surface. This means the rider’s end of the rope is higher so it pulls the rider back down to the water when he/she tries to jump. A wakeboard boat is different in the fact that almost all have a rack that goes over the midsection of the boat. These racks can be used to hang wakeboards and speakers, but also have a tow point at the top. This means the tow point is now six to seven feet off the water and pulls the rider up into the air during jumps. There are also kits available that use a series of metal tubing to add a higher tow point to speedboats. My dad and I came up with a homemade version this summer and I used it to varying degrees of success. It is shown below in Figure 3. It did help pull me into the air, but it was also a little bit of a headache when just riding normally. Our boat is tippy in choppy water and the tower would almost yank the rope out of my hands when the boat swayed back and forth.

Figure 3: Our homemade tower for a higher tow point

Positional wedges and plates are also very common among wakeboard boats. Different boat companies have their own designs, but the basic idea is to have adjustable plates that scoop the water to create the perfect wake. For example, Malibu uses an extendable sheet attached to the bottom of the boat to create downforce and push the back of the boat lower into the water ("Power Wedge II"). Nautique developed a gate that will open and close to restrict water flow and create more resistance, causing the back end to drop into the water and create a bigger wake ("Nautique Surf System: Bringing the Beach to You"). My boat doesn’t have any of these fancy technologies. However, my dad added a “whale tail” to the lower unit, just above the propeller. A whale tail is a horizontal fin that helps the boat plane across the water and makes the wake a little taller.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about wakeboard boats and the new technology that is available for boating. As the sport continues to grow, I’m sure we will see further advances in the equipment available to us. I should also mention again that it is certainly not necessary to have a wakeboard boat tricked out with every feature I talked about, especially if you’re a beginner. For example, I learned to ride behind my family’s tiny fishing boat with a 35 hp motor. With that said, having the proper setup is very beneficial as you learn to do wake jumps and tricks. That’s all I have for this time. I hope you have enjoyed reading these posts, and the next time you see someone wakeboarding behind one of these massive wakeboard boats, you will know everything that goes into keeping them out of the water.    

References

Moomba Boat Guide. Moomba Mojo. Digital Image. Wakeboardingmag.com. Moomba 
          Boat Company, 2015. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
"Nautique Surf System: Bringing the Beach to You." Nautique.com. Nautique 
          Boat Company, 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
"Power Wedge II." Malibuboats.com. Malibu Boats, 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.