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

[YamaPissed]

@YamaPissed - and despite all of the opinions to include mine, you are still better off than the guy stuck on shore without a boat. Enjoy

Good point. I expect my bags in time for next weekend, I will let you know how it goes..... Been fighting shingles for about 3 weeks so hoping I can get enough relief next week to try it out.

 

[RightStuff]

One thing to point out... "surfing" does not equal "rope-less surfing".

Sad to make that distinction, but marketing is going to do what marketing does best. You can surf behind just about anything on the water.

 

[Blenderhead]

One thing to point out... "surfing" does not "rope-less surfing".

Sad to make that distinction, but marketing is going to do what marketing does best. You can surf behind just about anything on the water.

Good point.... rope-less is not achievable without all the extra stuff.... unless you want to be "pumping" the entire time like the guy in the 212x video.... what a crock

 

[YamaPissed]

One thing to point out... "surfing" does not "rope-less surfing".

Sad to make that distinction, but marketing is going to do what marketing does best. You can surf behind just about anything on the water.

Especially when Yamaha still says on their 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."
Yamaha customer service said their definition of a perfect wake and mine may differ... and then I said "so you believe a perfect wake is one where you can't actually surf?" And then he said, "well, I'm not going to argue with you on what a perfect wake is" and then I said "well, using the word 'perfect' sure is deceiving, isn't it?"

 

[jcyamaharider]

I have had my Yamaha for 7 years and we love the boat, I have made modifications to fit our needs. Yamaha is a great all around boat, but I don't feel like all of the modifications necessary to make a Yamaha surf worthy is worth the cost or effort and I refuse to give up storage or to have bags all over the place. As far as the weight capacity, I have never had that much weight on my boat, so I wouldn't know if it feels unsafe. I made my comment based on doubling the recommended weight capacity and that I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it.

As far as the cost of a new wake boat, there are plenty of options out there for a new surf ready boat with extra bags and trailer for in the mid 60s. Many people don't realize how much mark up there is on other boat brands that aren't a Yamaha and that you can easily get 25% off MSRP on another brand boat and have a 5 year warranty.

@jcyamaharider I have been shopping for a new boat for over a month now and, the boats I have been looking at have everything needed to surf including the pnp ballast bags included, sorry I don't need help shopping for a boat. If I do get a new boat I will gladly post ups pictures of it along with what I paid for it, and believe me it won't be 130K.

For now on I will keep my opinions to myself.

Wasn't trying to help you boat shop, just trying some friendly message board conversation. Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[scokill]

Good point.... rope-less is not achievable without all the extra stuff.... unless you want to be "pumping" the entire time like the guy in the 212x video.... what a crock

I saw a guy with wakesetter pumping an extra bag for 2 for a long time last night. However, his was wave was almost chest high on the rider! It was insane.

 

[MattFX4]

Wave behind my 242 limited S....lol I wished!

 

[haknslash]

We quit explaining such things to our wives a long time ago.

....or learned sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission

Been married for hell I don't know well over a decade and this has proven to work for me from motorcycles to boats. Obviously YMMV so tread lightly if your wife will throw you out

 

[buckbuck]

I can surf rope less behind my 212X all day long with half of my stock ballast as long as I have some water depth and some friends aboard. I think I will start a thread about that to stir things up.

 

[Blenderhead]

I can surf rope less behind my 212X all day long with half of my stock ballast as long as I have some water depth and some friends aboard. I think I will start a thread about that to stir things up.

It doesn't take much lately to stir things up lol

 

[scokill]

I can surf rope less behind my 212X all day long with half of my stock ballast as long as I have some water depth and some friends aboard. I think I will start a thread about that to stir things up.

There are different levels of "surfing". Ropeless is the lowest bar IMO. That is what we have with a lot of work. Nothing wrong..it is what it is.

 

[buckbuck]

That is what I am. A low bar surfer. I can just throw the rope in and ride behind the boat. No tricks for me...yet.

 

[Pisgah Pilot (2016 212X)]

This weekend for me brother! Lots of folks sitting on Port side seat...Gatlin Wake Wedge...hanging loose. Wouldn't trade my 2016 212x for any other boat. Period! Jets are super safe for the kids, platform is awesome of kids, tons of storage, most aggressive and one of the fastest boats on the lake. I love dropping the hammer on A jet ski!

 

[mraz72]

I have the 24' that I believe holds 1400 lbs of ballast, and from all my reading, I will need more weight to go rope-less, either bags for fat friends. I guess I view things differently than the OP. I enjoy "moding" and factory setups are usually easy to improve, whether it be a boat, a car, or some other vehicle.

I don't know of ANY new boat that you can get for 60k and have a "perfect" setup.

When a tool does many different things, it usually doesn't do anything of them awesomely. What I mean is if you buy something like a dirtbike/streetbike, it will do neither better than a dedicated bike for either on or off road, make sense?

because these boats are more like a swiss army knife, you need to tweak to improve the areas that are important to you.

I agree with you though, the marketing teams suck. I feel that way about most marketing (I've dealt with marketing teams before)

The Yamaha engineers probably cringe when they read PERFECT wake

 

[Cardsharp]

I have a 2012 212X and can surf ropeless. The wake will never rival my buddy's Mastercraft but he spent 3X more than I did. And we still have a blast surfing. Here's what I found:

1) Fill the stock ballast 100%

2) At least 350lbs on the swim deck, on the surf side to list the boat. More ballast elsewhere helps but you need to list the boat. I have steel shot bags in the clean out port locker and a 300lb tube sack on the deck. Sometimes I run a 450lb bag in the locker to lengthen the wake. I always have my human ballast move to the surf side. But I can go ropeless with only 450 pounds of extra eight on top of the 700 lbs of stock ballast. Total of 1150lbs.

3) Get a big surf style board. Forget skim boards. I use an inland surfer red rocket and a blue lake. Big, floaty, but still fast and fun. I'm 230lbs and can still go ropeless.

4) learn to pump the board to control your speed. You won't be able to go ropeless until you can control your speed. This is not the boat or wake's fault. Until I learned good basic surf technique I couldn't go ropeless. Now I can easily overtake the boat.

5) consider a wake wedge from gantlin products. It cuts down the jet turbulence and friction in the wake. I need less ballast now that I have the wedge.

I'm considering automating the center locker and replacing the stock and automating side select ballast. But it's optional. I can totally surf without it.

Extra ballast to list, skill, floaty board, wake wedge. That's the formula.

 

[bobbie]

@YamaPissed My 212x surfs just fine. Granted my 2014 costs about 9K less but with custom bags, a 450 bags on the back deck my wake and push stacks up to a wake boat.

 

[Pisgah Pilot (2016 212X)]

@YamaPissed My 212x surfs just fine. Granted my 2014 costs about 9K less but with custom bags, a 450 bags on the back deck my wake and push stacks up to a wake boat.

View attachment 62024

bobbie...how do you get the wave that long? Do you have any weight in the locker or up front?

 

[bobbie]

Custom wakemakers bags, 450 sumo sac on back deck. We now use 4 50 lb steel shot bags. Nothing in the ski locker or bow

 

[JimG]

@bobbie -- I've got the same boat as you, so am very interested in how you are doing this. I am a newbie to surfing -- I just bought a Hyperlite Landlock which I hear is a great board for surfing behind our boats -- but haven't had a chance to get on the water since it came in the mail. I also only have the stock ballast bags, but know I need to do lots more in this area. So, now for some specific questions if you don't mind:

1. Do the custom Wakemakers 1100 lb bags fit in the rear underseat compartments where the stock bags sit? I talked briefly with Wakemakers last year about replacing the stock bags with bigger bags, but I didn't think you could go from 375 lb to 1100 lb!
2. Where in the boat do you put the steel shot?
3. Is the sumo sack on the rear deck moved to the surf side, and is it on the swim-deck or upper level of the rear platform?

Thanks for you help!

 

[bobbie]

@JimG yes...the custom bags fit where the old ones were. They really fill the void but there is enough room. My dealer moved the battery towards the bow in that compartment and added a second battery. Talk to spencer at wakemakers and tell him give you the same bags as bobbie in portland that river city boats did the install. He should remember.

We put leadwake.com bags in the corners of the surf side but really you can play around with placement. We don't use any weight in ski locker or bow. We found it reduces push and height.

We put the sumo sac on the upper deck. We got a rock climbing sling (you can get them at rei or online) and made a couple of straps with buckles (also at rei) we put the attach the sling to the two straps and then hook the sling on the tow ring. We never have an issue with it moving. Below is how the deck looks.