Finally, got enough ballast so I couldn't plane (w/o tabs)

[swatski]

Finally got to water test my new integrated ballast - three 800lbs Sumo bags - plus auxiliary two 550 over the rear seat and swim deck. The ski locker and strbd side Sumos fill to capacity or close, the port rear is a bit compromised because of the the batteries (I move those into a custom box but they share the same compartment)

So, I was not quite at 3,500lbs (of nominal ballast weight), but pretty close (with two adults, full gas tank, etc.).
The integrated ballast fills/drains crazy fast (I think), under 6min. The extra deck/seat bags take 4-5min to fill/drain from an auxiliary port/intake but I need to set those up. The big bags are fully integrated and on dashboard switches.

I could plane until the last 550 bag was filled. And then I could not, it was like hitting a wall - both engines revving to the rev limiter and just cavitating there at 7,800-,7900RPM. To plane, I needed to lower my trim tabs, and then it takes not time and the boat planes (almost) effortlessly.

Conclusions:

1. If you think your twin does not cavitate, it is because you are not carrying enough surf ballast.
2. The limiting factor are the pumps (impellers slipping). I have ribbon/snorkel delete as the only engine mod; that gives some extra power but power is not limiting. With up to about 2,000-2,400lbs the boat pops up on plane quickly.
3. If you want to pull with a lot of ballast and don't have L13 cones - get the L13s. I did not test without L13 (run them in both pumps with all 3 spacers) but I have done enough testing (to know not to even bother). Those L13 things are a must for very heavy pulling.
   
4. Trim tabs (Lectrotab, a separate write up) - are outstanding. As soon as I start lowering those down the boat (fully loaded with 3,500 lbs of ballast and all) just pops up on plane. It is a beautiful thing.

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[KXCam22]

Congrats on the system. Any pics of you surfing or the wave? Cam.

ps. How long is the L13 cone. I may make some.

 

[swatski]

Congrats on the system. Any pics of you surfing or the wave? Cam.

ps. How long is the L13 cone. I may make some.

The wave is promising to be spectacular. I could not take any clips this time as I had my hands too full. Will do for sure, and will post.
I will take detailed cone measurements and send the pics along. The CNC aluminum pieces, those are works of art, extremely well made.
I did not have the "surf flap" mounted either. I was just trying to get a rough idea if the system is developing in the right direction. I think it is!

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[swatski]

There was a jet skier trailing me for a while, he finally approached after one of my stops and we had a nice chat. He marveled about my boat throwing a "monster wave" and absolutely could not believe it is a jet boat...

I must say that with just the integrated ballast (2,400lbs) full and going about 20mph the wake boarding wave, with just a little bit of tweaking, is going to be just amazing.

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[KXCam22]

One thing to keep in mind is wake ettiquette. It is easy to swamp canoes and small fishing boats with your monster wave. I never thought about it until i did a circle and ran into a 5' monster wave i had created. Took some water over the bow on that one. Cam.

 

[renrab]

@swatski Nice work man, setup looks awesome, hope you don't mind me picking your brain when I get going on mine

 

[haknslash]

Can't wait to see pics or vids of this thing!!

How much did the trim tab setup cost? What do you think about something like the GoSurfAssist working on our boats? I like the way they mount the actuator as opposed to vertically and at first gush it seems like those might fit on our boats but I'm not sure if we have the clearance. I also like the turnbuckle and extra "flap" they use for additional wake shaping (surf or skim style wave and anything in between). They are too pricey for me to take the risk unless I hear from others who think it could work. My concern is the stepped hull shape we have our boats and also having the physical room for these big tabs.

 

[swatski]

Congrats on the system. Any pics of you surfing or the wave? Cam.

Here are some pics/clips from the past weekend.
Still a ways to go - where I would like to be with the wake size and shape. As of now with all my ~3,200 lbs of ballast, I still need more. I'm kind of thinking maybe a really tall 1,000 lbs bag for the port side of the swim deck? IDK. Any advice?

I have pretty much decided to focus on the regular side surfing, at least for now. I'm tweaking the tab design but it is not ready and not a part of my testing schedule this weekend.

The good news is, my integrated ballast fills/drains fast. My 3 main bags (800lbs each) fill/drain in about 6 minutes with the engines idling which I think is not bad. Our friends who surf behind their Super Nautique seemed surprised by the speed. It is really not that surprising though - given I have zero valves in the system and everything (but the pumps) is 1" ID with 4 independent thru hull intakes/drains.

My auxiliary port works well, too, but it is a bit clumsy and I do want to have everything hidden and automated. That aux port placement idea (I copied from @jcyamaharider) has been a huge hit, our friends could not believe it is NOT factory. Very clever design, JC.

My "surf flap" has been useful for testing but I will be looking at the purchase of the Wake Wedge from the boys, @jcyamaharider and @ar240owner, once I'm close. Did not want to rush. Who knows, they maybe working on some updates, wouldn't want to miss out.

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[jcyamaharider]

@swatski Looks like everyone was having a blast and that is the main goal!!

We are hardly keeping up right now so nothing new on the table. " If it ain't broke....... "

With 3200 lbs of ballast you should have more then enough. Ballast placement is key and what you think might work and what actually does work are 2 different things. The Wake Wedge does change things for the better as well, it will give you a little longer pocket so you can pile more weight to the rear. Remember that the key to surfing these boats is the list.

So what it looks like ballast placement is 800 under starboard seat, 800 under port seat, 800 in the ski locker, and then 2 400 bags stacked?

I would move one of those 400 bags to the swim deck ( which it looks like you did in one photo ) but move it over to the surf side farther. Only fill the 800 under the starboard side about half, and put everyone to the port side that you could.

I wish I could claim the idea for the port being there but I actually stole it from @OperationROL . He had it on his other boat ( I think in a different spot though ).

 

[scokill]

We use 2,100 max if there are 4 people or less on the boat and 1,600 if more than 4 people. 800 on back seat surf side, and 800 on swim deck surf side. Sometimes we will put out 2,100 for bigger people regardless, but we had an almost waist high wave on my daughter this weekend and there were times she was surfing 20' back from the boat. We had a boat full of people and were running at about 8K RPMs 10.7 MPH. I guess the newer boats need more ballast???? Seems like you wouldn't need that much, but the wedge makes a huge difference.

 

[Mainah]

That is awesome. Can't wait until I have the time and budget to do something similar in which case I will be reaching out for some tips. Love the battery box and overall plumbing of the system.

 

[VONCE]

You guys are really taking this jet boat surfing to a whole new level. Good work!

 

[swatski]

We use 2,100 max if there are 4 people or less on the boat and 1,600 if more than 4 people. 800 on back seat surf side, and 800 on swim deck surf side. Sometimes we will put out 2,100 for bigger people regardless, but we had an almost waist high wave on my daughter this weekend and there were times she was surfing 20' back from the boat. We had a boat full of people and were running at about 8K RPMs 10.7 MPH. I guess the newer boats need more ballast???? Seems like you wouldn't need that much, but the wedge makes a huge difference.

I think the new "keeled" hulls are compromised from the surfing perspective. No doubt about it in my mind.

Especially towards the stern - the 230 hulls are way more flat - resembling true wake boats in many ways.

Same with the 212s, actually, the pre-2017s - like @bobbie's -are probably optimally built for surfing (among all Yamaha hulls). But even the new 212s are not as aggressively keeled as the 2015+ 240/242s. Something to consider for sure.

The 190 hull maybe the sweetest but those guys don't like putting all the performance mods in - like a good reflash and the L13 etc, so they can't ballast it up much.

I am committed to making it all work in the new 240 hull, there is just too many good things about it, but it's been quite a project!

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[swatski]

@swatski Looks like everyone was having a blast and that is the main goal!!

We are hardly keeping up right now so nothing new on the table. " If it ain't broke....... "

With 3200 lbs of ballast you should have more then enough. Ballast placement is key and what you think might work and what actually does work are 2 different things. The Wake Wedge does change things for the better as well, it will give you a little longer pocket so you can pile more weight to the rear. Remember that the key to surfing these boats is the list.

So what it looks like ballast placement is 800 under starboard seat, 800 under port seat, 800 in the ski locker, and then 2 400 bags stacked?

I would move one of those 400 bags to the swim deck ( which it looks like you did in one photo ) but move it over to the surf side farther. Only fill the 800 under the starboard side about half, and put everyone to the port side that you could.

I wish I could claim the idea for the port being there but I actually stole it from @OperationROL . He had it on his other boat ( I think in a different spot though ).

Thanks for the pointers, @jcyamaharider.
That is what I wanted to hear!

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[scokill]

I think the new "keeled" hulls are compromised from the surfing perspective. No doubt about it in my mind.

Especially towards the stern - the 230 hulls are way more flat - resembling true wake boats in many ways.

Same with the 212s, actually, the pre-2017s - like @bobbie's -are probably optimally built for surfing (among all Yamaha hulls). But even the new 212s are not as aggressively keeled as the 2015+ 240/242s. Something to consider for sure.

The 190 hull maybe the sweetest but those guys don't like putting all the performance mods in - like a good reflash and the L13 etc, so they can't ballast it up much.

I am committed to making it all work in the new 240 hull, there is just too many good things about it, but it's been quite a project!

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There are a lot of reasons I like my 2008....I guess this is one of them....not to mention being paid for I would try and get the list that jcyamaharider is talking about and see if that makes a difference. Our stern rub rail on the surfside is under water.