This Boat Needs Banning...

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Descant

Yes, there have been some boats we didn't like--but banning is not "Live Free or Die" at least until something negative is demonstrated.

THE POSITIVE...I like that the helm is well forward, so the operator is the first to encounter any poor seamanship.

The builder goes on to claim:

1) Top speed should be 18-22 knots, with a surfing speed of 9-14 knots and a run time of 4-5 hours.

2) This concept will create a head-height wake that will barrel like an ocean wave allowing the surfer to ride inside it, which should be pretty spectacular!

"Spectacular" isn't the word for it...

[iw8surf]

Not in my backyard!

[FlyingScot]

The good news is that this thing flies in the face of every other electric vehicle design. Batteries are heavy and expensive, so EV manufacturers work hard to reduce resistance (displacement) compared to combustion engine vehicles. Otherwise, the batteries get into this vicious cycle of more weight leading to more cost, and then more weight and cost again as the batteries need to move themselves as well as the rest of the car/boat.

Now these guys want to maximize displacement? Not happening without a dramatic not-yet-on-the-horizon battery advance

[BroadHopper]

Google the mining process for those rare earth ingredients going into the batteries. Polluted mining processes and child labor. Plus the carbon footprint to build them! Ever thought of how they are going to dispose of the batteries????

Environment aside, I was reading about an electric supercar that runs circles around any gas vehicles made. Batteries need to be recharge after 2 hours of hard use. Took 12 hours to recharge!

[winterh]

It is not in my nature to ban things or tell others what to do but these wake boats are causing erosion issues. We have a case of rights in conflict. There are things I would like to do to my shoreline at my expense that would help stop the erosion but I cannot. Maybe instead of banning wake boats we could allow more flexibility for homeowners who want to add some rocks or natural erosion barriers to their shoreline.

[LIforrelaxin]

So If you look at this boat, and the website, this is not something your weekend warrior is going to be buying. It would appear to be aimed at the commercial market.

It is boasting a 35' hull length, and at 10'6" beam.... Not something most people are going to want to deal with....

Will one show up on the lake, if it takes off? Probably, as a commercial venture I could certainly see it.

Wakeboaters are getting the message, I have several buy me. This year there was a much more noticeable effort to stay out away from shore....

This lake is big enough for everyone.....

Its funny no one used to complain about the wake from the Mount, when she had the enterprise diesels.... and traveled at a higher rate of speed.... those where very surfer able waves...

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

Its funny no one used to complain about the wake from the Mount, when she had the enterprise diesels.... and traveled at a higher rate of speed.... those where very surfer able waves...

That is because the Mount would go by once or twice a day. These wakeboats set up in one spot and spend hours blasting their stereos and making big wakes in that area.

Is it possible to enjoy wakeboarding without a blasting stereo?

How about a waterproof bluetooth headset so only the wakeboarder has to hear the "music"?