2017 212X...... Surfing? Nope.

[YamaPissed]

Yeah, I'm YamaPissed.

Had I researched the good information on this forum prior to my purchase I probably wouldn't be where I'm at but instead I listened to Yamaha's marketing.

From Yamaha's website: "The triple ballast system adds up to 1,100 pounds (131 gallons) of weight to create the perfect wake for riding or surfing behind the 212X"

I've been a Yamaha customer for 20 years. I've always had good luck with their dirt bikes, street bikes, and waverunners. I purchased a brand new AR 190 last year and, after one season, realized it was under powered. It overheated every time we put two small kids on a tube. Based on all the literature and boat test reviews I read, I figured the 2017 212x was my answer.

$58,000.00 later.
I decided to stay with Yamaha due to no props to worry about for my kids and the ability to wake surf. However, after dropping this amount of cash, there is no conceivable way one can surf ropeless behind this boat with a young family (4 kids two adults) and stock ballast.

I don't believe, after spending this amount of coin, that a boat owner should have to buy another 1,000lbs of ballast and put bags on seats or the swim platform, and buy a wedge (no offense intended wedge makers) when Yamaha bills this as an out of the box surfable boat. I feel deceived by Yamaha's advertising.

In addition, after I had the bimini up for 5 hours, it started separating from the frame.
In addition, the engines got extremely hot tubing with 2 small kids doing 4,000-6,000 rpms.
In addition, the locker ballast pump leaks a huge amount of water when filling the bag.

I expect more for $58k... and I don't believe we, as brand new 212x owners, should have to spend another $1200-$1500 on ballast and wedges just to accomplish what Yamaha advertises the boat is supposed to already do.

I am wishing I would have just bit the bullet and got the VLX, but I took what Yamaha said as truth and wound up extremely disappointed.

 

[YamaPissed]

And one last thing... when I spoke to Yamaha they said, "Nothing in the warranty says that you are able to surf behind this boat."

 

[Bill D]

Hey there @YamaPissed. I can understand your frustrations and I wish you had found us before you felt as though you have made a mistake. The good news is, you have a sweet ride and it doesn't take too much to turn it into the surfing machine you're dreaming of. It sounds like you already know what you need to do to get a sweet wave. It sucks to spend another $1k, but it's an easy way to get all the positives of the Yammy and an awesome surf boat. A wedge will make a huge difference and one big bag with the factory ballast should get you a darn good wave.

The bimini should be a simple warranty item. Even if Yamaha doesn't step up right away, some of the guys on here have had Apex Canvas ship them new ones under warranty.
My engines get pretty warm after running, but unless you get the overheat warning, I wouldn't sweat it.
The locker pump may just be a loose connection. Otherwise, that sounds like a winter warranty item as well. In the meantime, throw the plug in there and count it as free ballast.

I know it sucks to have to deal with these things, but you really aren't that far from having the boat you were looking for.

 

[Blenderhead]

I feel your pain, but after my $58k purchase I wasn't going to NOT wakesurf behind my new boat. Plus I knew that I wanted a boat that was multifunctional for my first boat. Within the next 2 years a VLX will definitely be sitting in my slip in place of my 212x.

 

[Bill D]

I was always a fan of the Malibu's until I saw an absolute knockout of an X26 on the lake the other weekend.

 

[robert843]

As mentioned wish you would have found us sooner. Most the guys on here that are really looking for a wake boat have moved to or plan to move to a true wake boat. Your boat is an awesome all around boat with a little balast but as you mentioned for anyone who is looking to really use it as a surfing platform first and a pleasure boat second it is def not your best option out there. I'm pretty open about when someone comes one here asking about surfing these I always tell them if surf ability is priority one they need to get a dedicated boat. As @Bill D mentioned you do have a great boat that can be made to be an ok ropeless platform but you also have a vessel that as a pleasure craft is a little more versatile then a dedicated wake boat which is the trade off. I do hate the fact that you were mislead and now you are left with very tough choice that wouldn't make any of us happy do you mod your boat up to work for you or probably lose some money to upgrade to a wake boat.

 

[YamaPissed]

Hey there @YamaPissed. I can understand your frustrations and I wish you had found us before you felt as though you have made a mistake. The good news is, you have a sweet ride and it doesn't take too much to turn it into the surfing machine you're dreaming of. It sounds like you already know what you need to do to get a sweet wave. It sucks to spend another $1k, but it's an easy way to get all the positives of the Yammy and an awesome surf boat. A wedge will make a huge difference and one big bag with the factory ballast should get you a darn good wave.

The bimini should be a simple warranty item. Even if Yamaha doesn't step up right away, some of the guys on here have had Apex Canvas ship them new ones under warranty.
My engines get pretty warm after running, but unless you get the overheat warning, I wouldn't sweat it.
The locker pump may just be a loose connection. Otherwise, that sounds like a winter warranty item as well. In the meantime, throw the plug in there and count it as free ballast.

I know it sucks to have to deal with these things, but you really aren't that far from having the boat you were looking for.

Thank you for the positive spin. It definitely soothes the burn a bit.

 

[scokill]

Yeah, I'm YamaPissed.

Had I researched the good information on this forum prior to my purchase I probably wouldn't be where I'm at but instead I listened to Yamaha's marketing.

From Yamaha's website: "The triple ballast system adds up to 1,100 pounds (131 gallons) of weight to create the perfect wake for riding or surfing behind the 212X"

I've been a Yamaha customer for 20 years. I've always had good luck with their dirt bikes, street bikes, and waverunners. I purchased a brand new AR 190 last year and, after one season, realized it was under powered. It overheated every time we put two small kids on a tube. Based on all the literature and boat test reviews I read, I figured the 2017 212x was my answer.

$58,000.00 later.
I decided to stay with Yamaha due to no props to worry about for my kids and the ability to wake surf. However, after dropping this amount of cash, there is no conceivable way one can surf ropeless behind this boat with a young family (4 kids two adults) and stock ballast.

I don't believe, after spending this amount of coin, that a boat owner should have to buy another 1,000lbs of ballast and put bags on seats or the swim platform, and buy a wedge (no offense intended wedge makers) when Yamaha bills this as an out of the box surfable boat. I feel deceived by Yamaha's advertising.

In addition, after I had the bimini up for 5 hours, it started separating from the frame.
In addition, the engines got extremely hot tubing with 2 small kids doing 4,000-6,000 rpms.
In addition, the locker ballast pump leaks a huge amount of water when filling the bag.

I expect more for $58k... and I don't believe we, as brand new 212x owners, should have to spend another $1200-$1500 on ballast and wedges just to accomplish what Yamaha advertises the boat is supposed to already do.

I am wishing I would have just bit the bullet and got the VLX, but I took what Yamaha said as truth and wound up extremely disappointed.

Thank you for the positive spin. It definitely soothes the burn a bit.

I see purpose built boats with extra bags...not the newer ones granted, but some of the older ones. No matter what is said or marketed, none of these boats are a surf boat. You can surf behind them of course, and you can make a respectable wave...you can even take it to the next level and incorporate extra ballast, pumps, automated systems, etc., but they are still not surf boats.

I'm more interested in the engines getting hot. Did you get an overheat alarm? Did the engines shut down? Pulling tubes would have nothing to do with the engines overheating.

 

[YamaPissed]

I see purpose built boats with extra bags...not the newer ones granted, but some of the older ones. No matter what is said or marketed, none of these boats are a surf boat. You can surf behind them of course, and you can make a respectable wave...you can even take it to the next level and incorporate extra ballast, pumps, automated systems, etc., but they are still not surf boats.

I'm more interested in the engines getting hot. Did you get an overheat alarm? Did the engines shut down? Pulling tubes would have nothing to do with the engines overheating.

After tubing for 30 minutes, I smelled hot metal. Similar to standing next to my Harley after riding on a 100 degree day. I put the engines in idle. Scalding hot water was coming out of the cooling ports. I let it idle a bit to cool down. I checked the cleanout ports and those were clear.

I always got overheat warnings on my ar190 and only happened during tubing.

 

[octavio3311]

@YamaPissed - you have a pretty sweet boat. Enjoy it brother.
The Yamaha's are not a surf boat, regardless of what Yamaha says. And I've always said - if they're gonna play in this field, then build a proper wakeboat.
I completely agree - I am not laying bags in my interior, on my seats or on my swim deck - that simply takes away from the roominess of the boat. And that's 1 of the main reasons I bought the boat. the That said - with extra people ballast, my 15yo twins can go ropeless. I can't - I need the rope. But so what - it's still lots of fun.
I watched a Nautique G23 this Sunday surfing with a rope. That dude spent $140k+ on his boat - maybe it was novice surfers, maybe crappy boards - but it sure didn't seem to ruin their outing. They were having a ball.
They looked a little puzzled when I, (my daughter) surfed past them.
I too wanted a wakeboat at one time. But after spending some time in my buddies completely unreliable MC x25 - nah!! His boat is plagued with electronic gremlins - when the fancy dash doesn't work - nothing works.
My next boat will be a Cobalt.

 

[scokill]

After tubing for 30 minutes, I smelled hot metal. Similar to standing next to my Harley after riding on a 100 degree day. I put the engines in idle. Scalding hot water was coming out of the cooling ports. I let it idle a bit to cool down. I checked the cleanout ports and those were clear.

I always got overheat warnings on my ar190 and only happened during tubing.

Scalding water and above is normal operating temperature....the thermostat makes sure of that. If you aren't getting an overheat alarm or going in to limp mode then the boat isn't overheating. If your previous boat was overheating pulling a tube there was something wrong that needed to be fixed.

 

[octavio3311]

Scalding water and above is normal operating temperature....the thermostat makes sure of that. If you aren't getting an overheat alarm or going in to limp mode then the boat isn't overheating. If your previous boat was overheating pulling a tube there was something wrong that needed to be fixed.

Completely agree.
I had a 12' AR190 prior to my 212x. That was a great little boat. We tubed and wakeboarded always. She never overheated.

 

[Jgorm]

If surfing is your primary goal, you bought the wrong boat. Yamaha boats are bad ass, but you'll never get a wave that compares to a wake boat when they are both using stock ballast.

 

[Bill D]

That's true. If they both have stock ballast, it's not even close. But, if you put similar weight in both it starts to even out. They're different animals... A surf boat with 1,100 lbs of stock tanks would be laughed out of the showroom.

 

[octavio3311]

Very true.
Wakeboats are hauling some serious f'n weight these days.
I just read about an all new Centurion sporting 4800 lbs of ballast.

 

[YamaPissed]

So the majority of the surfing posts I've seen, the boat appears over sticker weight by about 800 lbs? How far is reasonably safe to push it?

 

[Bill D]

I think @jcyamaharider has had over 3,500 lbs of ballast on his boat. Mine is happy around 2,300 lbs.

 

[jcyamaharider]

@YamaPissed You need to check out @Blenderhead posts in the watersports section.

 

[Wakersurfer2017]

Yeah, I'm YamaPissed.

Had I researched the good information on this forum prior to my purchase I probably wouldn't be where I'm at but instead I listened to Yamaha's marketing.

From Yamaha's website: "The triple ballast system adds up to 1,100 pounds (131 gallons) of weight to create the perfect wake for riding or surfing behind the 212X"

I've been a Yamaha customer for 20 years. I've always had good luck with their dirt bikes, street bikes, and waverunners. I purchased a brand new AR 190 last year and, after one season, realized it was under powered. It overheated every time we put two small kids on a tube. Based on all the literature and boat test reviews I read, I figured the 2017 212x was my answer.

$58,000.00 later.
I decided to stay with Yamaha due to no props to worry about for my kids and the ability to wake surf. However, after dropping this amount of cash, there is no conceivable way one can surf ropeless behind this boat with a young family (4 kids two adults) and stock ballast.

I don't believe, after spending this amount of coin, that a boat owner should have to buy another 1,000lbs of ballast and put bags on seats or the swim platform, and buy a wedge (no offense intended wedge makers) when Yamaha bills this as an out of the box surfable boat. I feel deceived by Yamaha's advertising.

In addition, after I had the bimini up for 5 hours, it started separating from the frame.
In addition, the engines got extremely hot tubing with 2 small kids doing 4,000-6,000 rpms.
In addition, the locker ballast pump leaks a huge amount of water when filling the bag.

I expect more for $58k... and I don't believe we, as brand new 212x owners, should have to spend another $1200-$1500 on ballast and wedges just to accomplish what Yamaha advertises the boat is supposed to already do.

I am wishing I would have just bit the bullet and got the VLX, but I took what Yamaha said as truth and wound up extremely disappointed.

This sucks to read. My 242x works great. I'm looking to add a wedge but only because we want a longer wave. Everyone gets up behind my boat and my kids can even do 2 up surfing.

 

[J-RAD]

I have a 2016 AR240 with comparable to stock ballast and no wake wedge. I'm curious how you're setting up the ballast for your ride? My wave is far from wake boat class as its set up currently, but I did manage to go ropeless.

The key to surfing behind these boats is to get them to list on the surf side as much as possible while performing a gradual turn to the surf side. Only fill the locker and surf side ballast and sit your fat friends and chubby kids on the surf side... You'll be surprised the wake you can get. Add the Yamaha Wake Wedge and it'll be a petty classy wave.

I do agree that advertising these boats as an out of the box surf boat is misleading and I can sympathise with your situation.