Wakeboading boat question...?

Question

Can you tell the difference in the wake of a V-Drive vs a Direct Drive boat? Was the direct drive made more for skiing and the v drive made more for wakeboarding?

Answer 1

V-drive is the boat of choice of most wakeboarders.  Due to the weight of the motor being in the back of the boat.  We also place additional ballast weight on either side of the motor in the back and typically a center ballast to sink the boat even further in the water to alter the height and shape of the wake.  A Direct Drive also works.  All direct drives were created for the sole purpose of producing less wake for a skier.  Not only the placement of the engine, but the hull shape also contributes to the wake height and shape.  If you ski, you want no wake, if you wakeboard you want a monster wake.  Properly weighted (2000 - 2500 lbs) direct drives can throw some of the sickest wake out there.  My V-Drive doesn't need any weight to produce a wake big enough for most riders, but tack on an extra 1000lbs +, and it can be intimidating for most.  

Also, if you weight just one side of the boat by filling one rear ballast tank, and have all of the passengers sit on that side of the boat, a 10 mph slow turn to that side of the boat will produce a surf-able wave a little bigger than waist high.

Answer 2

OK! Now, V-Drive boats or Direct ones do not change anything for the wake behind the boat, BUT, when its a V-Drive it means that the motor is at the back and that puts more weight on the back of the boat so its not good for Slaloming. To slalom you need a direct drive boat because the motor is in the middle and the weight is all distributed perfectly. For wakeboarding you can use both of them, it doesn't matter. The direct drive boats have more power than v-drive ones.