New 2011 242 Limited Owner - Questions?

Alright boys, just pulled her out of storage, and am gearing up for this season to start on some modifications, but I have quite a few questions.

2011 242 Limited, non S. I really want to add a wakeboard tower and new bimini. I am leaning towards the Reborn Launch with a black top:


Question - has anyone installed on a 242 ? I have no problem with the install, but some questions about the mooring or cockpit covers to use. Obviously I won't be able to reuse my existing Yamaha boat cover, since it wont accommodate for the wakeboard tower. And I can't use a 242 Limited S tower, as the factory towers arms are further apart than 12" front to back. So my best option would be to pick up a new set of cockpit and bow covers, and use them for the summer, then tarp the boat for the winter?

Next, I'll be replacing all the speakers and radio in boat. The 242 Limiteds have 6 speakers - how is that ran to the factory radio and internal amp? From my understanding, it's a 4 channel amplifier, and the rear 2 channels are bridged to 8 ohms? Wouldnt it make more sense to pick up a 6 channel amplifier and run new wires for the rear 2 speakers? Or add 2 more front speakers, and bridge them to get 8 channels total at 8 ohms each?

Have new IPD graphics for the side, and blacktip blue and white seadek mats for the entire interior. New swim platform seats. New boat buckles. Thinking about picking up two ribbon deletes and 2 Mission Sentry Fenders, and I think I need a new bilge pump as well.

The cleanout ports look pretty good. They go in and out easily. Do you still have to replace the scupper valve on these models? Any other "must do's" for a new 242 owner? Thanks to everyone before I pull the trigger tomorrow!

Anyone?

@kaczman I will say that my Yamaha mooring cover is shot from the Florida sun (I'm in Ohio)> I recently purchased the Classic Accessories boat cover made for wake towers and absolutely love it! What a freakin bargain for the price! Wraps around my wake tower like a glove. Water beads up. Completely dry after our hard spring rains, etc. etc. This is a big gamble and I'm glad I took it. Would recommend for anyone.

I'll try to snap some pics before I drop it off at the marina.

adamncincy said:

@kaczman I will say that my Yamaha mooring cover is shot from the Florida sun (I'm in Ohio)> I recently purchased the Classic Accessories boat cover made for wake towers and absolutely love it! What a freakin bargain for the price! Wraps around my wake tower like a glove. Water beads up. Completely dry after our hard spring rains, etc. etc. This is a big gamble and I'm glad I took it. Would recommend for anyone.

I'll try to snap some pics before I drop it off at the marina.

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Sweet! which model did you get, and send those pictures when you can. Thank you again!

@kaczman I got the 20-22' one and it fits perfectly. It also has straps that connect to the trailer and they advertise it can be kept on when trailering but I wouldn't for long trips. Keep in mind, mine is a 21' and the 20-22 works great. Will send this by EOD.

@kaczman apologies for the delay. Ignore the mess and ignore me not putting it on as it should. I spent yesterday evening using a buffer with a cutting compound before I apply a ceramic coating. This gives you a good idea. Also, believe it or not, Home Depot had the best price.

adamncincy said:

@kaczman apologies for the delay. Ignore the mess and ignore me not putting it on as it should. I spent yesterday evening using a buffer with a cutting compound before I apply a ceramic coating. This gives you a good idea. Also, believe it or not, Home Depot had the best price.

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That looks great, thank you for the pictures. I think that will work. How much did you pay?

This cover also comes with a pole for rain runoff. I just left it off because we're getting ready to drop it off at the marina.

Yeah, it's got a sweet charoal grey/dark olive cover. Really like it. After VERY hard rains (which we get in the Ohio Valley), the boat was bone-dry. This one is $310, I believe? 20-22'

I mean, even if it fails after a few years, I've still only paid a fraction of the Yamaha $700+ price.

One last thing ... the straps you see hanging off, those are strong nylon buckles. They wrap around your trailer so that you can keep it covered while trailering. This is not common. We plan on taking a summer Torch Lake trip in upper Michigan in Aug., it's nice knowing we have that option. Believe me, it gets very tight too!

So here's my list of updated items so far. Still some ways out, still some unanswered questions.

I wetsanded and polished the boat, but ultimately was unhappy with all the scratches and chipped gel coat after like 6-10 hours of correction.

So I decided to get some Yacht blue gel coat, and go over every scratch and damaged/missing area to make the boat look like new before I threw the IPD graphics on it. A small thing, but thats the way I am. The first set of pictures are pre-gel coat, the second set of pictures are post gel coat, drysanded, wetsanded, and polished.

We installed the Reborn Launch tower. Took about 5 hours with two of us, not bad. Matte black looks great. Holds up better than OEM. I have a black bimini top that integrates coming this thursday. And I have blue lightning blacktip mats going in soon enough.

The last set of pictures are the IPD graphics installed, which look great. I love the colors and how it changes the boat with the wakeboard tower. Last set is another interior detail.

I'm quickly learning not too many of us modify these boats, so some of these questions still arent answered, but here they are:

Does ANYONE have any idea how the hell to get a 242 Limited / S new bow cover? I purchased a new cockpit cover, which fits and looks great, but the bow cover has seen better days. Ive checked ebay and google for weeks, but have yet to find a place to buy it.

The cleanout ports look pretty good. They go in and out easily. Do you still have to replace the scupper valve on these models? Any other "must do's" for a new 242 owner? Are the ribbon deletes worth it? For the price, it sure seems like it.

I'm still at a loss for what to do with the radio. I know the 242 Limiteds have 6 speakers - how is that ran to the factory radio and internal amp? From my understanding, it's a 4 channel amplifier, and the rear 2 channels are bridged to 8 ohms? Wouldnt it make more sense to pick up a 6 channel amplifier and run new wires for the rear 2 speakers? Or add 2 more front speakers, and bridge them to get 8 channels total at 8 ohms each? Trying to decide between which radio / amp and adding speakers is still boggling to me.

Pictures:

Looks nice, I do like the Blue, but I ended up with the black.
I chickened out on wet / P1000 dry sanding my new (2011 242 Limited S) boat. It looks better but still needs more work.
We are actually going to spend the next 2 weeks on a couple of lakes in California, so it will be nice to enjoy the boat vs cleaning it
How do you pull those rear seats and cushions? Do they unbolt from the inside like the seats on the Engine Cover?

Nightmare said:

Looks nice, I do like the Blue, but I ended up with the black.
I chickened out on wet / P1000 dry sanding my new (2011 242 Limited S) boat. It looks better but still needs more work.
We are actually going to spend the next 2 weeks on a couple of lakes in California, so it will be nice to enjoy the boat vs cleaning it
How do you pull those rear seats and cushions? Do they unbolt from the inside like the seats on the Engine Cover?

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That is correct

Holy crap, @kaczman - this looks fantastic! Great job! I love that graphic too and that's the one I've been looking at. My boat is the black and white color combo and I think the black/white/grey/baby blue would look great. Do you mind me asking what you paid for the wake tower? I have one now, but just have been looking at other options.

I have the '10 AR210 and the radio was factory with factory speakers that were garbage. Speakers were factory harnessed into factory deck, no amp. I replaced with a SonyMEX-M72BT (comes with remote too) head unit with 4 Kicker 6.5", 2 JBL 8' marine clubs, 2 skar bullet tweeters, 1 - 10" Clarion sub, 1 Rockville 1600 watt - 4 channel amp. The built-in amp on Sony head unit puts out a lot of power as well. Currently, my setup gets too loud and our riders complain lol ... So I'm happy!

All LED RGB wires are connected through all speakers and controlled by the Kickers LED remote, bypassed through a separate switch I installed, so they're all in sync including JBL's on the tower.

adamncincy said:

Holy crap, @kaczman - this looks fantastic! Great job! I love that graphic too and that's the one I've been looking at. My boat is the black and white color combo and I think the black/white/grey/baby blue would look great. Do you mind me asking what you paid for the wake tower? I have one now, but just have been looking at other options.

I have the '10 AR210 and the radio was factory with factory speakers that were garbage. Speakers were factory harnessed into factory deck, no amp. I replaced with a SonyMEX-M72BT (comes with remote too) head unit with 4 Kicker 6.5", 2 JBL 8' marine clubs, 2 skar bullet tweeters, 1 - 10" Clarion sub, 1 Rockville 1600 watt - 4 channel amp. The built-in amp on Sony head unit puts out a lot of power as well. Currently, my setup gets too loud and our riders complain lol ... So I'm happy!

All LED RGB wires are connected through all speakers and controlled by the Kickers LED remote, bypassed through a separate switch I installed, so they're all in sync including JBL's on the tower.

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I agree, this pattern looks very modern. I still need to find some 242 stickers for it. Thanks for the insight on the radio - I will be going along the same road. Can I see your sub placement location?

Honestly, I didn't replace the Aquatic AV head unit until it died last year. As it literally is just a receiver, and all the sound quality came from the amp on out to the speakers. Although, the cool new features, we appreciate the new head unit now.

So if you are doing things in stages, spend your money on amp, subs, speakers first, then replace that head unit and remote as they die. it served the purpose for us really well. I even replaced the swimdeck remote once with a new-old-stock remote I found online.

Put the Bimini on the Reborn Launch Pro3 Tower. Seems to look nice and work fine.

Got a new 8 channel amp, 6x speakers, subwoofers, and Fusion radio. Anyone know where to find the wiring diagram for this Aquatic AV radio OR the 2011 242 Limited so I can pull 4 of the speaker channels from it to connect to my amp? I'll run 2 new channels for the swim deck speakers and 2 new channels for the subs, which I dont know where to place as of yet.

Should be on the top of the radio when you pull it out for stereo wiring. I went Fusion as well, speakers, and amps on mine. Went ahead and ran all new wiring to speakers just to be safe for my situation.

Tjw961 said:

Should be on the top of the radio when you pull it out for stereo wiring. I went Fusion as well, speakers, and amps on mine. Went ahead and ran all new wiring to speakers just to be safe for my situation.

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Did you use an adapter for the fusion radio or just cut the plug off and hardwire it?

I ran new fuse panel to helm and new wiring to speakers so didn't use existing power or speaker wire at all. Have already added several other things that needed additional power so was a win for me. All wiring I used tinned copper.