Up-and-coming sport making a splash on Neely Henry and Logan Martin lakes
Story and Photos by Graham Hadley
Want to catch the perfect wave, but don’t have time to go to a beach with decent breaks?
Look no farther than the Coosa River.
For the past few years, surfing enthusiasts have been taking to the water behind specially designed ski boats that allow them to literally surf on the lakes.
Gadsden City High School student Jackson Sparks says different boards ride differently.
This is not the old tow-behind surfing from the 1970s and 80s – there is no towing involved.
The boats are built so they throw enormous wakes, similar to the waves you see at the ocean. Some boats achieve this through filling special tanks in the hull with water. Others have large, heavy water bags put in the back.
This causes the boat to “plough” through the water instead of riding up on plane and making those wave-like wakes.
Unlike regular tow-behind water sports like skiing or wake boarding, once a surfer gets up out of the water and starts carving the wake – usually only feet from the back of the boat, they drop the rope and are moving along solely by riding the wave, just like in the ocean.
The boards look something like a cross between a wake board and a scaled-down traditional surf board and are light and easy to handle.
Because of the shape of the board and the dynamics of riding the wake, it is much easier to get up and going on a wake surfer than on skis or wake boards, said David Partridge, one of the owners of Ski World in Gadsden.
He was also quick to point out that wake surfing is much easier on the body that some of the other tow-behind water sports largely because the boat is going so slow, maybe 9 mph, ploughing through the water to generate the wave.
“We get people out here of all ages, teens all the way up to older people. It is really easy to do and a lot of fun,” he said. “Wake surfing is an all-age thing.”
You start out in the water a couple of yards behind the tow boat with a short but otherwise traditional ski rope, laying back in the water with the board sideways and your feet braced on the pad. As the boat starts, you literally pop out of the water and immediately try to find the sweet spot on the wake.
As the boat speeds up, the wake becomes much more wave like. The rider starts letting the momentum riding down the face of the wake carry them along, just like a traditional wave at the beach. Once they hit that spot, they drop the rope and are surfing the perfect wave. And unlike the beach, where the waves eventually peter out – you can ride a boat-generated wave as long as you can stay up.
Ski World
co-owner
David Partridge talks to boat driver Austin Young about how the boat rides to create the wavelike wake.
You don’t ever have to have surfed a real wave to take up wake surfing – it has an easy learning curve, Partridge said. The big trick to getting up on the board and staying on the board – there are no bindings like with skis or wakeboards – is not to drag your rear-end in the water.
Dragging in the water like that is a “hard no” said Austin Young, who was driving the boat for the wake surfing demonstration, with Jackson Sparks showing off his skills on two different boards, one designed more for speed and the other with mobility in mind (like regular surfboards, the number of fins and length have a lot to do with that).
Young’s boat used the internal ballast system, pumping in water from the lake to make the boat heavy enough to generate a wave. He was also quick to show off his Star Trek looking gauges at the helm, which gave him every piece of information he needed to run the boat and give his rider a great wave to surf.
Wipeout: All good rides must come to an end.
Partridge, whose shop sells ski supplies but not boats, said watercraft like that can easily top $200,000, though less expensive options are available that use the heavy external ballast bags you lay down in the aft boat cabin instead of internal systems.
Partridge, Young and Sparks agreed that while wake surfing is easy and a great water sport for all ages, safety is still paramount. You need a proper boat rigged with the right gear, safety ski vests, enough people to drive and spot, and to follow not only lake boating laws, but to show common courtesy to other boaters and property owners – especially since the surf boats are throwing wakes with heights measured in feet.
A global pandemic, the ensuing shutdowns and the resulting economic struggles set up 2020 to be bad from stem to stern.
And yet, it was a banner year in some respects, particularly with a reawakening to the great outdoors and all things nautical. Boating caught a big wave of popularity.
“Boat-buying is through the roof,” Katie Grell, sales manager at Buck’s Island in Southside said. Demand has been so great that it is outpacing the ability of manufacturers to keep up. “…
It has been like this for a solid year.”
The same goes for personal watercraft, and even the trailers on which to haul them, said Chris Dobbins, general sales
manager of Speed Zone Motorsports in Gadsden.
“Last year, we were sold out for the summer before
Memorial Day even hit,” Dobbins said.
Fishing fun
The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), based in Chicago, Ill., notes this marked increase in boating in its January report, “U.S. Boat Sales Reached 13-year High in 2020, Recreational Boating Boom to Continue through 2021,” (posted on Business Wire, businesswire.com). The NMMA, “representing North American recreational boat, engine and accessory manufacturers, reports that retail unit sales of new powerboats in the U.S. increased last year by an estimated 12 percent over 2019. More than 310,000 new powerboats were sold in 2020, The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), based in Chicago, Ill., notes this marked increase in boating in its January report, “U.S. Boat Sales Reached 13-year High in 2020, Recreational Boating Boom to Continue through 2021,” (posted on Business Wire, businesswire.com). The NMMA, “representing North American
recreational boat, engine and accessory manufacturers, reports that retail unit sales of new powerboats in the U.S. increased last year by an estimated 12 percent over 2019. More than 310,000 new
powerboats were sold in 2020, levels the recreational boating industry has not seen since before the Great Recession in 2008.”
John-Michael Donahue, NMMA’s vice president of North American public affairs, told LakeLife 24/7 that figures so far in 2021 indicate the trend is continuing.
“Boat sales are expected to remain at historic levels in 2021 as manufacturers continue to fill a backlog of orders from 2020,” the NMMA report states.
Mark Hildebrant, a family owner of Woods Surfside Marina in Cropwell, said,“The lakes were crowded last year. And they are going to be as crowded or more this year.”
The pandemic shutdown in March and April of 2020 sent
uncertainty through the industry, Donahue said. But people quickly recognized that boating was a safe way to escape isolation and to enjoy family time.
Grell, too, thought 2020 was certain to be a bad sales year. “Boy, did I get it wrong. … We’ve never had a year so good!”
At the three-day Alabama Boat Show and Expo at Barber Motorsports in Leeds in March 2021, Hildebrant got a glimpse of what this year holds for boat dealers: He took 13 units to the show and sold 22. “It was crazy.”
Pontoons and Tritoons
Eddie Rush of Poor House Branch Marina in Lincoln said customers are particularly interested in pontoons and tritoons. And they want lots and lots of horsepower.
According to the NMMA report, purchases of pontoons and freshwater
Manitou tritoon
fishing boats constituted about 50 percent of new powerboat sales in 2020.
The sales are estimated to have been up 12 percent in 2020. The industry’s pre-pandemic expectations were only for a 2-percent increase.
Way back when, pontoons were just for cruising. But now, Rush said, they are built to be powerful and multipurpose.
While some people may have, in the past, had a pontoon for cruising and a separate boat for skiing or tubing, pontoons and tritoons with large engines now combine the purposes, said John Coffman, manager and mechanic with
University Marine at Pine Harbor in Pell City.
Jeff Morris, operations manager of Rodney’s Marine in Cropwell, said the versatility of tritoons is driving sales. Tritoons, he explained, can now accommodate a wide range of horsepower. “They’re not your grandpa’s pontoon anymore.” They seat 10-14 people and pull
towables, wakeboards and skiers. The innovations in toon design, motor technology, electronics, navigation system and lights add to the popularity of pontoons and tritoons. Many models also have transformable seating arrangements, such as a lounging area that folds to make a table.
The vessels are available in entry-level models to high-end products with myriad features,
Morris said. “We carefully listen and evaluate the customer needs to recommend a tritoon that is right for their style of boating.”
Avalon with LED lights
Coffman said pontoons and tritoons, in general, require less maintenance and are cheaper to operate than runabouts.
They are stable and give a relaxing ride, even in a wake, Rush said. “They don’t porpoise on the waves. They don’t dead-rise at takeoff (like a ski boat). It just goes straight. When you hit waves, they don’t bounce you all over the place.”
When it comes to horsepower on a pontoon or tritoon, more is better, it seems.
Ten years ago, pontoons commonly had 150hp engines. Now, they tend to have 200hp or more, said Coffman.
“We are seeing pontoons with 425hp,”
Hildebrant said.
First-Time Buyers
Coffman and Hildebrant said another
surprising trend in 2020 was the number of individuals who became first-time boat owners and lake fans.
“The uptick in sales of first-time boat owners is a big trend,” Hildebrant said.
Coffman said he saw “more people who aren’t lake people becoming lake people.”
Ryan Tyler, vice president of Skier’s Marine in Westover estimated that the number of people new to boating who came to his business was probably the largest in 10 years.
Grell said interest rates and finance terms currently available also are attracting more young buyers.
Donahue said tips on buying and enjoying boats and being safe on the water can be found
at discoverboating.com.
Wake Boats
Wake boats are getting quite a bit of attention now.
“(Wake boats) really hit the market hard in 2013,” Tyler said.
According to the NMMA report, “Sales of wake boats – popular for wakesurfing, skiing and wakeboarding and attractive to new and active boaters – are estimated to be up 20 percent to 13,000 units in 2020.”
Bennett Rambo, general manager of Rambo Marine in Westover, described wake surfing as “a low-impact sport.” He said surfing is done at slower speeds and with less intensity than other watersports.
Because the surfer rides the wake close behind the boat, the prop must be safely positioned completely away from the surfer. Rambo also said the vessels have a combination of features – such as ballast, cruise control and surf gate – to create wake.
It is all automated, Tyler said. He added that the boats are intuitive to use and drive like a sports car. He calls them “all-around, family fun boat(s).”
To create wake, the boats “have to have a lot of power and torque,” Tyler continued. Nonetheless, the wake size can be tailored to the surfer’s weight and skill level. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all wave.”
Rambo said the wide variety of wake boats fit most any skill level.
The boats range in length from 20 to 26 feet, with engines from 373 to 522hp, Tyler said.
Personal watercraft
Personal watercraft are hot commodities right now, too.
In fact, their shortage during last summer fueled a surprise buying spree in December 2020 and January 2021 when the units were
available again, Dobbins said.
SeaDoo personal watercraft
Plus, more individuals are purchasing multiple units than in the past, Dobbins said. Recently, a customer from Florida bought four.
“They are going fast,” Dobbins said.
The NMMA’s report states that “sales of personal watercraft … are estimated to be up 8 percent to 11,000 units in 2020.”
Dobbins has seen more out-of-state buyers during this time. In one day, he assisted customers from Florida and Illinois, who came to get what they were having trouble finding in their own area.
Manufacturers, he continued, are producing personal watercraft at various prices to give financial choices. “That definitely helps.”
Lenders have also established special promotions for buyers purchasing multiple units, he said.
Dobbins’ advice for those planning to enjoy the water this summer is to get the necessary equipment early.
Incidentally, the NMMA report states that buying personal watercraft may be the first step toward becoming a boat owner.
“Personal watercraft are often considered a gateway to boat ownership.”
Young boaters
In recent years, high schools and colleges have begun offering fishing as a sports option, said Grell.
This has gained traction of late, with many more high schools creating teams, she said.
As a result, the demand for new and used fishing boats has risen, as parents seek to purchase a vessel for their student.
Grell said one of her customers began fishing in high school two years ago and now is on Auburn University’s fishing team.
Father-and-son duos are buying boats as well, she said.
