Family Boat to Board Boat

CB3 · Newbie Joined: 11 Sep 2003 Posts: 5 City: Utah

I have a 2000 model year Caravelle 209 (20' 9") open bow with an outdrive. Seats 10. 102" wide. It's a big boat and great for all the family things we do. 250 HP w/ a 14.5 diameter 4 blade 18 pitch prop @ 3600-5000' altitude (Utah). Tower. Beginner board, good rope and handle. No ballast other than passengers. The transom is undercut somewhat toward the front of the boat. IOW, the rear deck hangs out beyond the rear waterline. Newer models Caravelles have a straight vertical drop transom to help with planing.

We have been doing a lot of wakeboarding in the past three summers. This boat throws a wide wake and does not plane until about 19 MPH. Need to pull boarders at about 21 mph to keep from dropping off plane. Extra weight in the bow helps some. Hole shot is excellent--pops 'em up in a second.

Since the wake is so wide (12'-14' wide about 60' back, 16'-18' at about 75') we have shortened our tow rope from the tower to just under 60' to make W2W a little easier. 21 mph seems a little fast for the 20-somethings to learn tricks without some pretty hard falls. I have seen other wakeboard boats pulling at much slower speeds (16-18 mph?).

So, a few questions:

Will a bigger diameter prop with a lower pitch (16) get me to plane at a slower speed? I am not concerned about losing top end.

Is it good to learn tricks at <21 mph, then speed up? I've read here that 21 mph seems to be about the consensus speed for average riders.

Would adjustable trim tabs help this boat for wakeboarding?

Any other comments, like "get a real boat!"? This one has really been great for all we do--pulling tubes, skiers, banana, cruising Lake Powell, ferrying equipment to our houseboat, etc. I like the all-purpose features, and it's paid for. TIA CB3

MrBlean · Posted: Sep 12, 2003 4:50 am Post subject: Re: Family Boat to Board Boat

boehnkew · Outlaw Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 112 City: Kennewick, WA

It sounds to me like you have a very nice boat that gets the job done pretty well. The width of the wake is probably the only thing you can't change (realistically). The size/shape of the wake and how fast it planes will change depending on how much ballast and where it's located. It might be worth a lot of trial and error to see what happens when you add different ballast to different places.

You mentioned that extra weight in the bow helps a little, why not add more (assuming you can)? I have about 300 lbs of lead near the very tip of the bow of my '95 Maristar and it helps a lot. Although it is only enough to allow about 600-700 lbs of rear ballast before I notice that it needs more in the front (the boat begins to porpoise). Eventually I'd like to reduce the bow lead a little and add sacs to be able to adjust the total bow weight. But since I've noticed a better planing result from the extra bow weight, I'll likely leave some lead up front.

The trim tabs should help also, but you might be able to do what you need with just weight.

Good luck,

Jesse · Newbie Joined: 13 Sep 2003 Posts: 38 City: South Jordan

What Lake do you ride at? I also live in Utah, I mostly go Jordanelle and or Rock Port because they are close. I pull at 21mph to 22mph, anything slower I feel is to slow unless you are pulling a 10-13yr old that's just my opinion though. I have an 03' Malibu Waksetter so I haven't experienced any of the problems you mention. Good luck I hope you get it figured out.... Very Happy

CB3 · Newbie Joined: 11 Sep 2003 Posts: 5 City: Utah

Deer Creek & Jordanelle when we don't make the trip to Powell--about four times a summer, both Bullfrog and Wahweap. Take out scouts--newbies--young & old family members, but the 20-27 year old crowd gets in the most riding time, males and females. Some friends, too. I have probably pulled 30 different riders in the last two years. CB3