The enormous, clean swells a Malibu boat can produce are just about effortless when you know what you’re doing, and Malibu Pro Wakesurfer Stacia Bank certainly does. After eight years as a pro wakesurfer and over twenty different boats, Stacia has it all sorted out. Here’s how to set up your Malibu for wakesurfing.
Keep in mind, Malibu’s Integrated Surf Platform was developed with simplicity as the key. To be clear, you can always just hit “surf left” or “surf right” preset from the Malibu Command Center and you will generate a clean, powerful wave on any boat in the line, but when you want to get more specific and start controlling the wave’s steepness and length, these pro tips will help.
Step 1: Hit Surf Left or Surf Right
The presets are a perfect way to set your boat up with the touch of a button or just hit Surf Left or Surf Right and you’re ready to go.
Step 2: Ride the wave
You are now ready to surf. If you want to take it a step further, here are some tips to customize the wave for an advanced rider:
• Create your own speed preset. Presets will have a factory recommended speed or you can adjust and create your own preset speed between 10.5-11.5 miles per hour. Stacia typically stays at 11 or 11.1 in her M235.
• Set the Power Wedge III positioning how you like it in your own preset. Begin approximately in the middle for a starting point. For a steeper wave, adjust your you Power Wedge 3 into higher settings or to make the wave longer adjust your Power Wedge 3 to the lower settings.
General Rules
• You can also adjust your wave height and length by adjusting speed and ballast. For a steeper wave, slow the boat down and for a longer wave simply adjust your speed a little higher.
• Never over load the front or back drastically more one way or the other, that includes where you have your cargo and crew members.
• Power Wedge III can counteract just about any front-to-back weight imbalance.
• Your boat should always be evenly weighted from side to side.
It’s important to remember that every Malibu is optimized for peak wakesurf performance with its standard ballast. Under no circumstances should you swap the standard bags for heavier bags. Overweighting your boat creates dangerous bow rise, exceeds Coast Guard capacity and will not improve the quality of your surf wave. It is also important to keep in mind the water way you are on. Surf waves are generally developed best in depths of 15 feet or more. If you are in shallower water no worries just slow the boat down a little bit more. Anything less than 10 feet of water is going to make the wave loose push. Also remember to be a responsible boater and stay at least 150 feet away from docks and other boats while surfing.