Just bought a 2007 Launch 21V with factory ballast. Upgrades needed to wakesurf?

I'm a new Supra owner. Just bought an '07 Launch 21V with factory ballast (400lb bags or each side in the back and a 600lb bag in the front center). My family (me, the wife and 2 kids) are hoping that we can learn to wakesurf behind this boat. I know I probably need to increase the amount of ballast, but after reading some of the posts on this forum it seems like folks are putting like 2500lbs or more of ballast in their 21Vs to wakesurf. Given that I'm new to the wakeboard boating scene I was wondering are there any risks or concerns with putting this much ballast in the boat when the boat is only rated for 1750lbs?

Pic of my new boat is attached.

Beautiful boat and welcome to the board!

The reason that water ballast doesn't count against your "rating" is because water ballast is neutral. If you fill a bag and throw it into the water, it doesn't sink.

I believe that you will struggle to surf with your factory setup. Others with 21Vs may chime in on their setups and what works but I think every boat and every surfer has different preferences. I'd start by getting the biggest sack that you can that will fit inside your rear hatch. It's probably a 750 but it might be able to almost fit the 1100. The more the better. Fill up that sack and then try and surf. If the wave seems too steep, add weight to the front. It can help to have an experienced surfer to help you dial it in.... if you've never surfed before you're in for many hours of wondering if the problem is the wake or your ability level. It's mostly your ability level once you get some weight in that corner.) Bringing out additional human ballast can help you "tune" the wave and makes it much easier to move 150-250lbs around at a time and see how it effects the wake shape.

For speed? Start slow. Keep slowly increasing speed until your whitewash goes away and the wave has a "face" and a "lip." Once this forms you're at the perfect speed for a beginner.

Good luck!

Nice boat! Where do you boat at? That gas station looks familiar to me somehow...

Great looking boat! We have an '05 Launch 21V. Here's our setup:

- 750lb in the surf side locker
- 400lb factory ballast in non-surf side locker (we generally don't fill this bag for surfing)
- 800lb on the rear surf side corner seat
- 800lb in the center locker
- 800lb on top of the seats in the bow (we just purchased this bag and will be using it for the first time this weekend)

Even without the new 800lb bag, we have a very surfable wave. We just wanted to lengthen it a bit. Once you've weighted the boat, you'll also want to play with your wake plate to clean up the wave. Enjoy!

Great looking boat and welcome too the Supra family. I bought my 2006 Supra 21v last year. The previous owner had already upgraded the rear bags to 750s and the center bag to a 1250. I also bought another 400b bag to place on the surf side seats. I would fill the surf side rear bag full, non surf side about 50% and center bag full, 400lb bag full sitting on the surf side seats and have everyone sit on the surf side. As for speed it was usually around 10.5 mph. It created a surf able wave, but do to the swim platform having a huge lip on it there was a lot of white wash. Not only that, but I hated having to ask people to move just to get a decent wave. Again the wave was not the best but surf able. I just recently added the GoSurfAssist tabs to the boat and also a new Supra surf swim platform. The outcome is a night and day difference. No more slamming one side of the boat. If there is just a couple people in the boat I just fill the two rear 750s full and center full and hit the surf left button and done. I will say that the GoSurfAssist system and new platform isn't cheap, but it will produce the best wave you will ever see on a 21v.

Here is a picture of the wave before the GoSurfAssist and new swim platform install. Notice all the white wash. This was about average of what the wave looked like depending on water depth weight placement.http://i.imgur.com/dJ0nNO4.jpg

And here is a picture of the wave with the new upgrades. This picture is with both rear 750s full and center 1250 full. Two adults in the boat and we are running around 10.5 mph.http://i.imgur.com/K8geV4H.jpg

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Originally Posted by wotan2525

Beautiful boat and welcome to the board!

The reason that water ballast doesn't count against your "rating" is because water ballast is neutral. If you fill a bag and throw it into the water, it doesn't sink.

I believe that you will struggle to surf with your factory setup. Others with 21Vs may chime in on their setups and what works but I think every boat and every surfer has different preferences. I'd start by getting the biggest sack that you can that will fit inside your rear hatch. It's probably a 750 but it might be able to almost fit the 1100. The more the better. Fill up that sack and then try and surf. If the wave seems too steep, add weight to the front. It can help to have an experienced surfer to help you dial it in.... if you've never surfed before you're in for many hours of wondering if the problem is the wake or your ability level. It's mostly your ability level once you get some weight in that corner.) Bringing out additional human ballast can help you "tune" the wave and makes it much easier to move 150-250lbs around at a time and see how it effects the wake shape.

For speed? Start slow. Keep slowly increasing speed until your whitewash goes away and the wave has a "face" and a "lip." Once this forms you're at the perfect speed for a beginner.

Good luck!

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great advice right here. the more weight the better....if you're going to upgrade ballast bags you may as well buy the biggest you can so you don't have to do it again down the road.

Im in North Alabama, but I bought the boat from a guy in Johnsburg, IL (pic is at a gas station just after picking it up). He had the boat priced really nicely so it was worth the drive.

Nice looking boat, I could say I'm in a similar situation with my 21V and based on most replies you already know that the more weight you add the better. We dove right in and picked up the 100's from wakemakers and never looked back. As wroth most toys, the more you spend, the better the experience, so I would also suggest the surf swim deck as mentioned above. Either way you choose, remember to have fun!

Rakkasanscout187 .....that is an awesome wake with the surf tabs. Do you have any idea how far they stick out beyond the back edge of the wakeplate? Reason I ask is because I store my boat in my garage and it just barely fits. After removing the swim platform and folding the trailer tongue I only have about 3 or 4 inches of clearance. Also, for the new surf/swim platform.....does that utilize the existing brackets for the original swim platform or does it require installation of new brackets?

Thanks everyone for the all the great advice. I will definitely be ordering a couple new 750 lb bags for the rear lockers and I will also probably look into a bigger bag for the front. Sounds like I have a lot of work ahead of me in learning to dial-in the wake (not to mention I still need to learn to surf).

Congrats nice boat I have an 06 21v and the sumo 900 bag that is a perfect fit for the rear lockers. I just made a trial ghetto gate yesterday and I had a better wave than I have ever had listing but looking at rakkasanscouts photos that for sure the best way to go if you can afford to. You will love your boat have fun

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cbm4ua

Im in North Alabama, but I bought the boat from a guy in Johnsburg, IL (pic is at a gas station just after picking it up). He had the boat priced really nicely so it was worth the drive.

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I have filled up at that very gas station a few times which is funny that you did the same. A good deal is always worth the drive I say.

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Originally Posted by spydermonkey

Congrats nice boat I have an 06 21v and the sumo 900 bag that is a perfect fit for the rear lockers. I just made a trial ghetto gate yesterday and I had a better wave than I have ever had listing but looking at rakkasanscouts photos that for sure the best way to go if you can afford to. You will love your boat have fun

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Do you have any pics of your ghetto gate? I'm thinking of making one also.

The OP asked about risks of adding this much weight to the boat. I'm a rookie too and don't have a ton of experience surfing our new to us '08 21v but I can share a few tips other experienced surfers have given me or mistakes we've made that we've learned from. When picking up a fallen surfer, don't get in a hurry. Surfing happens close to the boat at slow speeds, so your fallen comrade is never too far away and should be close enough to the boat to be out of harms way. Take your boat out of gear and let your surf wake pass you. DO NOT immediately turn to the surf side as you risk swamping your boat. This happened to my boat while I was surfing. An inexperienced driver (who I thought knew what he was doing) throttled up and turned surf side to come pick me up. He broad-sided his own surf wave. I was in the water and couldn't see everything, but I was told it was a 3' wall of water that came over the port side. Had we had thousands of pounds of ballast, this could have been disastrous. I guess my point is, make sure you understand the proper way to operate a heavily loaded listed boat before you put 2000 pounds of ballast into her!