2024 Paradigm Boats Damascus 296 Surf SL

Wakesurfing is one of the most popular sports in today’s boating scene. So how does Forward Drive compare with V-Drives for wakesurfing and towsports? V-Drive boats, with their towsports-specific hulls and tucked-away props, have long been a favorite of the wakesurfing crowd. Why? They produce large, clean wakes ideal for the sport. Towsport manufacturers also have the advantage of having been an integral part of the wakeboarding craze and are familiar with concepts like added ballast, speed control and wake-enhancing tabs that build wakes to their max potential. Perhaps not so obvious, but even more important — V-drives, with their propellers tucked far underneath the hull, are safe for a surfer plying the wake in close proximity to the transom. More popular, more mainstream sterndrives and outboards, with their propellers exposed behind the transom, presented a safety hazard that effectively kept them out of the running. Volvo Penta, of course, changed all that with the invention of the Forward Drive. By taking the wildly popular sterndrive and relocating its props to the front of the drive rather than the rear, Forward Drive solved the issue of propeller exposure. In the process, Forward Drive opened up the sport to a large number of mainstream boat builders, enabling them to give their audience a viable wakesurf alternative that, in many ways, was often a better choice for the average recreational boater. Forward Drive's Forward Facing propellers and trimmable drive provide better performance than a v-drive But how do the two propulsion systems actually compare, not just in terms of wake production but also all those hours you, your friends and family spend on the water? The most obvious difference has already been touched upon. A V-drive places the propeller at the end of a fixed driveshaft that exits well under the hull, its sole purpose to propel the boat forward or backward through the water. Steering is accomplished via a movable rudder, located directly behind the prop. With Forward Drive, Volvo