For surfing you really cant start surfing untill you get close to the 1500-2000lb mark other wise you will just have to hold on to the rope, thats still fun though. Also you have to make sure that all of the people in the boat are also siting to the surf side otherwise they are taking away from your offset weight. This weekend we had 1300-1400 lbs plus like 10 passengers so we were over the 2000 lb mark plus the wedge. : ))