R5 WSS vs Surf

[dustinm]

I know 3 people who have fell on props during boating activities 2 are maimed and 1 is not with us anymore. I dont know if its worth the risk.

[tfarmer]

There is absolutely ZERO chance and I repeat ZERO chance I would try any water activity that would put someone potentially within 6 feet or so behind a standard prop boat, Cobalt or otherwise. I’ve only been surfing behind our R6 Surf for the last couple of months and I myself have come close to the nose of my board hitting the back of the boat several times until I learned how to control my speed.

Think of this scenario. You have a traditional Cobalt (non forward drive) and install one of those suction cup wave shapers on the side to produce a wake big enough to surf. Since the boat is not a surf version you will have to manually control the speed. A surfer gets up and gets too close to the back of the boat and at the same time the driver suddenly slows down a bit and then the surfer falls forward. I don’t have to paint the rest of the picture for you. So PLEASE don’t attempt anything like this on a non forward drive boat or dedicated surf boat. RISK > REWARD

[mdadgar]

^^ this

[drtbar]

You are correct. The WSS is Water Sport Series. All you can do behind it is ski, wakeboard and pull tubers. The Surf version adds ability to Wakesurf due to the tank ballasts and surf tabs. Forward drive also on Surf version.

Thanks for the quick reply. Can you get a Surf version without forward drive? I live on a lake with a channel to Lake Michigan that the forward drive would not be a good idea, but I think I like the idea of surfing.

Hey drtbar...I'll chime in with my take...I bought a new R3 last fall...and we love wakeboarding and tubing. My eldest wants to give wakesurfing a try so I starting looking at options. One of which, legal or not, is to surf behind our boat. Yes, there is risk involved, etc. etc. etc. as there is with swimming around the docks by our houseboat with the risk of electrocution. To each their own...

However, when I inquired with my dealer, he sent me on a mission to look at Wakefoils. It's basically just like surfing and using the energy produced from the wake behind the boat, but with a foil wing under the surf board and a longer rope which you can lose once you get up and going. The foil wing allows the user to glide above waves, etc. but still have a surfing action. Do a google search for Liquid Force Wakefoil 2.0 and you'll get the idea. Also tons of YouTube videos out there showing how and in action. This will probably be the route that I go for next summer.

Thanks for this info! I agree with you, life comes with risks and appears some on this forum know A LOT of really really unlucky people.