Preparing your MasterCraft for wakesurfing is amazingly easy with the Gen 2 Surf System. Of course, we’re going to tell you to just jump in your Gen 2 equipped boat, head out on the lake, push a few buttons, and enjoy the best wakesurfing experience ever. Right?
Well, that’s true. It really is that easy.
MasterCraft has designed an NMMA award-winning surf system that will help you and your family have the most amount of fun with the least amount of hassle. You don’t have to be a pro, but you’ll certainly feel like one. Let’s show you how to use Gen 2 with the MasterCraft X26.
Selecting a Surf Profile
OK, let’s jump ahead to one of those beautiful summer afternoons on the lake. The sun is hot, the wind is light, and your crew is stoked to share an exciting day on the water together. You’re slowing backing away from the shoreline with a tank full of gas and racks full of surfboards. Your family and friends are chatting and laughing together. Everyone is all smiles. You’re smiling as well because you know that you’re about to show everyone onboard an amazing day of wakesurfing fun. As you approach mid-lake and move into deeper water, you slide your boat into neutral and click on the touchscreen just to the right of the steering wheel. You then navigate to “Profile Manager” and tap the “Profile” tab. This brings up a list of Gen 2 factory presets for you to choose from. “Who’s going first?”, you ask as you spin around with a huge grin on your face. One of your more experienced riders calls out then stands up and begins to put on a vest and attach the surf rope. You know that this guy likes an aggressive wave and prefers to surf on the left side of the boat. So all you have to do now is choose the appropriate setting from the profile menu. You tap the “Surf Left Steep” setting and then tap “Activate”. Of course, you know that there is also a “Max Push” setting, which is even more aggressive, but you want to let him get used to the Steep setting before you blow his mind with Max Push.
For reference, kids and light-weight beginners should start on the “Kids” setting. For those who’ve wakesurfed before, but want something easy, start with the “Surf Mellow” setting. “Surf Steep” is for more advanced riders, and “Max Push” suits the bigger rider quite nicely.
Your Gen 2 equipped MasterCraft is now filling your onboard ballast tanks and is automatically adjusting your wake shaping devices (tabs) at the back of your boat. You can see the status of each step right there on your touchscreen display. The active surf profile, the ballast, and tab adjustment percentages are all on the same screen for you to monitor. If you also have the MasterCraft FastFill Ballast System, you’ll be able to completely fill your ballast tanks in under 4 minutes flat. Yes, that’s quite impressive on its own. Just wait till you see the wave you’re about to unleash!
In just a few short minutes, you guys are ready to roll. The Gen 2 Surf System has quickly filled your ballast tanks, adjusted your wake shaping devices, and set your cruise control speed to the appropriate setting. Now, all you have to do is drive your boat in a straight line and stay clear of the shoreline. Easy like Sunday morning.
OK, now that your MasterCraft is ready and your rider is in the water, you’ll ease into gear and slowly take up the slack in the surf rope until it gently snaps tight. Your surfer positions their feet on the surfboard and nods with a confident, “yup!” You give a little power and allow your rider to get to their feet before pushing the throttle lever all the way forward. Your Gen 2 cruise control is now engaged and your MasterCraft will only go as fast as the preset surf profile calls for. Depending on the profile you’ve selected, this will be somewhere around 10.5 to 11.5 mph.
As you will find out, each rider will no doubt request that you adjust the boat speed to their exact liking. Smaller riders may want a little slower speed, while larger riders may want you to bump it up a notch or two. As you make adjustments for each rider, you may save the setting as a personalized surf profile for them. Feel free to name it whatever you’d like. “Uncle Jed on the Shred”—yup. “Radness with the Dadness”—save it. “Super Gnarly with Little Charlie”—we dare ya.
With just a few clicks, and regardless of your driving experience, you have just served up one of the most impressive surf waves in the industry. Your family and friends are having the time of their lives. Everyone is snapping photos, sharing videos, and they’re already making plans for the next trip on YOUR MasterCraft!
Have you custom-ordered your “Hero of the Summertime” t-shirt yet? Ha!
Forming the Wave
As you now know, it’s easy to form the most epic wakesurfing wave with the simple combination of ballast, boat speed, and tab adjustment. Those are the three main elements. The MasterCraft Gen 2 Surf System has made all of this an automatic calculation with just the click of a button. Taking into account your rider’s weight, experience level, and left to right surfing preference. Again, all you have to do is relax, drive the boat, and share the stoke.
When you’re pulling a child or brand-new rider, try selecting the “Kids” setting. This will deliver a smaller, more mellow wave that will help the new rider to gain confidence before moving up in wave steepness. As you move up to the “Surf Left Mellow” or “Surf Right Mellow” settings, you’ll notice more steepness in your wave while still being quite attainable.
Did we mention that you can quickly move from setting to setting in just a few seconds? Since the ballast amount doesn’t change throughout the range, the only adjustments are boat speed and tab adjustment. Switching between riders is effortless and shameless. The younger rider doesn’t need to feel bashful about riding right after someone who is more experienced and feel like they’re making everyone else wait for them. The boat will be ready before the rider even hits the water.
Building Your Confidence
Now that we’ve moved through the first three factory presets in the Gen 2 Surf System, let’s circle back to that first rider on the Steep setting. Save this one for that buddy of yours who’s always bragging about the wave on his own boat. You know the one. Start him out with one of the Steep settings and wait for him to get comfortable with it. The music is pumping and everyone is cheering him on as he works the wave from top to bottom. He’s totally showing off, right? Ha!
Of course, you’ve secretly queued-up just the right music to switch over to Max Push with. Something a little bassy with a slow build to a dubstep bass-drop that will thunder to the very core of his being. You can’t wait to see the look on his face as you tap the Max Push profile and click “activate”. Seconds later your MasterCraft speeds up just a little, and the wave jumps up even taller! The pocket on the wave gets even longer as your boat finds its groove.
The look on your buddy’s face is priceless. His wide-eyed expression moves from looking down at his board in total disbelief to panning left and right. There is so much more room to play on this wave, and he can’t even believe it! The grin on his face says it all. Your MasterCraft Gen 2 Surf System is absolutely amazing and he knows it. He fades back on the wave just a little, then instinctively pumps his board forward into the pocket and aggressively pops off the lip.
Now whether you end this story with him landing the trick or not, one thing is for sure—everybody had an amazing day on the water with you. New riders got their start, experienced riders had a little humble pie, and you have become the hero of the day!
Remember a couple of days ago when you first got your new MasterCraft and you weren’t quite sure if you’d be able to handle it well? Remember the butterflies in your stomach the first time you lowered her off the lift or backed her into the water? You weren’t sure that you’d be able to operate your Gen 2 Surf System, but you absolutely nailed it. Look at you—you’re less than a week in and you’re already a pro!
We don’t want you to ever lose the excitement of driving your MasterCraft. We do, however, want you to become confident in your ability to take people out for the day and have an amazing time wakesurfing and hanging out together. This is a big part of why we love the MasterCraft Gen 2 Surf System, and we think you will too.
