Pulling Power?!

[PDGray]

Hi All!

I am running a 98 GTX and use it regularly to pull 1 or 2 kneeboards with no problem.

A friend brought a wakeboard down to the lake last summer and I found that trying to get him out of the water (deep water start) was a bit of a strain on the engine.

Question is, am I doing any damage to the engine when I know it is straining to get him out of the water?

Is it just a case that the worst that can happen is that it stalls?

Thanks guys!

-Phil

 

[seadoosnipe]

Drag.....

The wake board creates a lot of drag on the engine, keeping you from reaching plane as quickly as you need to.

If the extra drag on the engine doesn't last for very long, then you'll probably be fine.

The problem this can create if the drag becomes to extreme is cooling. Although the engine ramps up the RPM, without the forward movement into the nozzle, the water pressure for cooling could be nominal, which could cause premature overheating.

Slalom sking can do this too. The best thing to do in this case is try to start from the beach or shallow water, where you can take in a ring or two of your rope, then have the boat go WOT. By the time the two wraps of rope tighten up on the skier/boarder, he/she should be able to just step up on the waters surface. Lest, that's how I do it anyway. No strain on my engine.:cheers:

 

[sporsterjoel]

I would think you would have enough power. You should check your wear ring. First time i noticed my wear ring was worn was when me and my brother where wake boarding.

 

[PDGray]

Thanks for the responses guys! Very helpful.

Just to clarify that when I am pulling a wakeboarder out of the water it is probably 5-10 seconds of 'engine strain'. That wouldn't be enough to affect the engine cooling would it?

Wear ring is fine, as I had this checked last year when I ingested up rope