In the third installment of the Summer Ride Tour, John Akerman stopped by the shop and scooped up the van for a road trip to Atlanta. The first stop was the Liner’s house (AKA Surf Dad and Surf Mom) where the crew stayed for the majority of the trip. They were absolutely amazing hosts! The boys surfed their brains out and one of the trip highlights was John signing Gabe’s Nautique G23! After a fun stay with the Liners, they packed up the van and had a demo day with Watersports Central and BuyWake.com on Lake Allatoona at the famous Blue Cat Lodge location. John spent the day coaching up everyone that came out. One of those riders was P5 team rider Jake Borton. Jake is one the best wakesurf enthusiasts we know and he reps P5 with a passion. The boys were stoked to get to hang out with him. Final stop on this road trip was with P5 team rider Leland Watkins to surf and have a bit of foil fun. Thank you to all the friends and families that have come out and made it possible to ride some waves thus far on the Summer Ride Tour!
Film+Edit: Kyle Tidey
Q&A with Parker Borneman About the Hyperlite x Varial Surf Technology Collaboration
Parker Borneman is one of the many talents behind Varial Surf Technology, and with the new Hyperlite x Varial wakesurf boards that hit the market recently we wanted to pick his brain with a few questions.
BW: How did the Hyperlite x Varial partnership come about? Did Hyperlite approach you with the idea, or did Varial already have the desire to cross over into the wakesurfing scene and Hyperlite was the brand you saw the most opportunity with?
PB: The relationship was created through a mutual vendor. After the introduction was made the partnership was fueled by the desire to create the ultimate wakesurf board. We were looking to find the best partner to discuss building wakesurfers, and Hyperlite was looking for the best materials and partner to build the top quality wakesurfers with – so it became a really organic connection.
BW: Since there is so much manual intervention with these wakesurf boards during production, how long does build process actually take per board from start to finish? How many hours are we talking?
PB: There is a lot of love that goes into each board – about 10 hours in all from start all the way through putting the box on the truck. About 8 different people touch the board before it leaves our factory.
BW: Taking stringers out of the equation is pretty revolutionary. How is this achieved without sacrificing the strength and rigidity of the board? How is it better than other “stringerless” technologies like FutureFlex (carbon fiber frame)?
Next-Level Wakesurfing – Wakesurf Shapers
As many of you have probably noticed by now, wakesurfing is hot and everyone is into it. You are, your main squeeze is, heck…even grandma might take a set if you ask her to come out next time!
With wakesurfing’s spike in popularity, a whole new segment has come to market to help you, the rider, create the best surf wave possible for your boat. Many newer boats feature specific systems for better surfing wakes. It’s crazy. But, what do you do if you aren’t in the market for a new boat with one of these systems? Fear not…we got you covered.
I know you already read our last ballast blog…and probably already have your wakeboarding ballast game on lock, but how is your ballast game as it relates to wakesurfing? Do you feel like your wave is still missing amplitude and you can’t figure out how to get that? Are you still having trouble cleaning up the face of your boat’s wave after exhausting adding or re-positioning additional ballast? Is there one more little tweak to get the most out of your wave for surfing, and you just can’t put your finger on it? It’s probably time to try a “Wakesurf Shaper” in conjunction with your aftermarket ballast configuration to unlock the perfect endless wave.
This type of product is newer to the scene and the market is growing very rapidly. To make things easier on you, we decided to partner up with two brands that stood out to us within this segment to ensure you’ve got an easy decision when turning your boat’s wake into a pumping swell!
Eight.3 Wakesurf Shaper w/ Boat Shims
The 2017 Eight.3 Wakesurf Shaper is offered in two different sizes; Standard and XLarge. You don’t pick your size depending on how big of wave you want, but by certain key measurements of your boat. Each size of Eight.3’s shaper is designed to help give an equal amount of wave, enhancing your boat’s goodness depending the size of the available flat surface area where the shaper is Velcro attached to your boat’s hull.
- 2017 Eight.3 Wakesurf Shaper – Standard: For boats with a minimum flat surface area length of 15.5″ and height of 11″ on the rear side gunnel
- 2017 Eight.3 Wakesurf Shaper – XLarge: For boats with a minimum flat surface area length of 19.5″ and height of 12.5″ on the rear side gunnel
Follow the installation instructions provided by Eight.3 on the handy-dandy jump drive. Once you let the Velcro adhesive strip bond to your boat’s port and starboard side gunnels you’ll be ready to hit the water.
MISSION Boat Gear DELTA Universal Wakesurf Shaper
The MISSION DELTA Universal features suction cups designed by Spider-Man himself.
Just kidding, but they really are heavy-duty. Same rule applies here, as long as you’ve got a flat surface on the rear gunnel of your boat that is smooth (no decals), game on! All you have to do to install the DELTA is get it in position and engage the two locking levers to secure the shaper to your boat. It’s that easy. Go ride.
- 2017 MISSION DELTA Universal: For boats with a minimum flat surface area length of 13″ and height of 5″ on the rear side gunnel
Both the Eight.3 and MISSION wakesurf shapers really do the trick and can turn regular fun into an absolute blast without breaking the bank. Just remember that you can use either product on both sides of the boat, depending on which side you wish to surf. And, know that these products are not designed to be used for speeds higher than about 14-15 MPH. For most boats, optimal surfing speed is somewhere between 11 and 12 MPH.
Whenever you’re ready, give the BuyWake.com Rider Staff a call at (800) 709-9253 to find out which one will best suit your needs. We’ll be looking forward to getting you dialed in. Once we get you set up, don’t blame us when your face hurts from smiling. Instead, take another set or take one of your friends who has never ridden before and spread the stoke! Always, always wear a life jacket.
The Eight.3 Wakesurf Shaper is HERE!
Things Are Shaping Up!
Okay, you and the crew just had an epic morning session and now the water bugs (tubers) are chopping the water up…time to take a break while the “Chop Monster” is in full effect or maybe pull out the surfers till things die down.
By this point, we all have most likely used ballast bags to help perfect our boat’s wake while we Wakeboard. You position your ballast bags, buddies, pets, significant other (be careful when asking here…haha) around the boat to get the most out of your wake. Ever wish you could do the same thing when you surfed?
For me, the biggest drawback of surfing was having to re-weight the boat…move things around…just to go 10-12mph. Only hoping that everyone surfed on the same side of the boat too. I’m Goofy Footed so I usually had to surf backside on the right wave. You pick and choose your battles to save on riding time. Well, Eight.3 came out with a product that is going to change the way you think about surfing.
For 2016, Eight.3 presents the Wakesurf Shaper and it’s killer. Check out the video.
First off, remember, only surf behind an inboard boat for your own safety. We want you riding as long as you can with all your arms/legs where they’re supposed to be because we love you guys.
Long story short, this boat add-on is going to make things so much easier. For the cost of a couple ballast bags, you can purchase the Wakesurf Shaper instead to help fine tune your surf wave while still weighting your boat down evenly. No more moving things around to one side of the boat or the other when you want to surf! You can even move the wedge forward on the Velcro Strips for a longer wake if you’re surfing the perfect “endless wave” or towards the back if you want a steeper wake for airs and skim tricks!
As long as you’ve followed the install directions correctly on the Wakesurf Shaper, it’s as easy as putting it into place when your crew slows things down for a Surf set or removing the wedge when you’re ready to get back after another Wakeboard set!
Click on the chart below to unlock your Eight.3 Wakesurf Shaper’s potential:
Pick one up before you get your boat in the water and see what the hype is all about. It stores easy and makes any day out on the water awesome. Trust BuyWake.com to get you and your buddies ready for this season – you won’t regret it.
Get Yours Today! – CLICK HERE
Wakesurf Shaper Package
Shaper and Shim
Eight.3 Wakesurf Shaper
Eight.3 Wakesurf Shaper
Eight.3 Wakesurf Shaper
Eight.3 Wakesurf Shaper
Byerly x Butch Customs Surfer Contest!
Enter to win this custom hand shaped surfer from Scott “Butch” Bouchard!
Legendary surf shaper and former pro surfer Butch custom built this board just for one of our fans! Butch has been shaping wakeboards and surfers for Hyperlite and Byerly Boards for a very long time. This is one of the best chances that you’ll ever get to own a true custom shaped surfer for all your wakesurf needs! Show us some sweet moves behind the boat surfing and Butch himself will pick the winner so act fast the contest is over at the end of the month! Get those videos submitted!
Checkout what goes into making a hand shaped board in this time-lapse video. Pretty slick right?!?
Share with your friends and dig through your Instagram account or submit a Vimeo or YouTube clip HERE: