255X Wake

[Khalid]

So, this is the 2nd season on my 255XE. Last season I put over 100 hours on it and it did great (I posted couple of the issues that needed to be addressed off season in a previous post)

This season, I purchased 800 lb fatsac made for Yamaha to set on the back seat / platform. Needless to say, since the back seats are now higher than the previous models, the fatsac wouldn’t fit (they’d slip off with movement). So, I purchased 2 workout steps from Amazon and stacked them on top of one other on the back platform (10” total) and placed the 800 lb fatsac on it. That worked very well to secure the sac.

I continued to fiddle around with the play factory ballast. I found that in addition to 800 lbs sac, I need 100% of port side and 55% middle and 0 on starboard to work the best.

Now, one thing that surprised me is that in order to get a true to 10-11 MPH actual speed, I’ll have to set target speed to 13.5-14 MPH. However, the boat still shows actual speed at 10 MPH (even when set to higher speeds). It seems like the actual speed is not correct.

after all this, I’m able to generate a very surfable wake that Is high with deeper pocket than before. I think there’s still roomfor adjustments to make the pocket even bigger by partially filling the starboard ballast.

p.s rope isn’t an indication with the wale performance but the rider’s novelty

 

[Wicked92]

the speed control has been many of our complaints. I use my phone with a gps speed app opened that does to the tenth. The factory dash is close but either rounds up or rounds down. I use the +/- controls on the no wake/cruise to dial in my speed. It all depends on how hard you have the boat loaded. Seems that Yammy built the control algorithm not considering extra ballast, as it seems like the boat doesnt look at gps speed very much to hit what u set in the connext.

I find that i set it at 2 or 3 mph above my wanted surf speed and trim myself to hold it, as if i was to wait for the connext to get me to it id be waiting alllll day. Def one of the major things i HATE about the surf/connext integration. Id take a ridesteady over this anyday of the week.

Gantlin make a 255x series specific 850lb bag, its hugs those seats perfect! I got one of the very 1st last year when they came out. Ive found success with an additional 150-250 up front in the bow also. Help lengthen the wave and the boat doesnt have to struggle as much to get up to speed.

 

[Khalid]

Thanks! Great pointer about the front weight to lengthen the wake. I’ll give that a try

Do you put any water on the starboard?

I thought the speedometer is supposed to use GPS speed instead of engine RPM to read speed. But, it doesn’t seem to do that at low speeds. Mine reads 10 mph although It’s for sure not going that fast. And it never changes

what gps app do you use?

 

[Wicked92]

Boatspeedo on Android.

It is gps, but it's update rate seems to suck, and the full mph vs tenths is what hurts it. Wake surfing tenths matter...u can set the connext via tenths but it outputs full numbers which makes no sense.

I run my boat 100-100-50 usually since I have the 850 lb plus weight up front. It's all about displacement! Real wake boats with inboards are easily another 2000lbs weighted than us.

 

[Khalid]

Thanks!!! I will try your setup

I’ll need to test my speed with gps. It seems to be by a lot more off than 0.5 MPH. The weird thing is that I set my target speed to 13.5 and it never approaches that. It stays between 10-11 mph. And when I set my speed to 11, it still reads the same speed (10-11 MPH)

 

[Williamsone46]

Here's my surf wave. I do 100% rear ballast port and starboard, 25% front. And I use one of the 200 lb Fat Sac from Yamaha's 19' ballast kit on the side of the rider. I set the speed to around 11-12 and actual is around 10. I can drop the rope every time no problem!

 

[Williamsone46]

@Khalid the more weight you put on the swim deck the more your going to have to ballast the front.

I've found the best wave is around 10-11, so you're good on speed.

 

[Khalid]

Thx. That’s definitely a very different set up than mine

I will give it a try this weekend and report back.

 

[SCWakesurfer]

New 255XE owner here. Took the boat out for the first time and am predictably having trouble dialing in the wave. Had 8 people on the boat (no added ballast bags). Went 100 % fill on the back tanks and 75% on the middle. By moving people to the back of the boat on the side of the rider, I could get a surfable wake for kids on both sides. With my brother out back, it was much more difficult to get a well formed wave and keep him on with no rope. He's a good surfer and can wakesurf with no problem, but was only able to stay on the wave for 10 -15 seconds and was working hard to do so. One comment is that I was able to get a much better wave on the starboard side with my 11 year old daughter riding. I'm guessing this has to do with the fact that we had more weight in the boat and more weight on the starboard side with the driver (me) on that side. Do others find their setup has to be different on port as compared to starboard due to the weight of driver? I'm fine putting a ballast bag on the back, but it's disappointing that this is necessary. Any recommendations for weight of the bag or best fit for the 255XE?.. I saw someone mentioned Gantlin. Also, I have the same issues that others have mentioned with speed variation and the yamaha system.. I'm surfing in tidal rivers with lots of current, so I'm not even sure a GPS app would suffice (over water speed would vary from GPS speed due to current with or against). Last thing, how do people like the yamaha wakebooster systems? Are deploy and stow the only options? I didn't know if you could tweak with the deployment at all. Are there any after market products that can easily compliment the wakeboosters that don't require major surgery on the boat? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm hoping some of you veterans can help me out.. can't wait to get this thing dialed.

 

[Williamsone46]

New 255XE owner here. Took the boat out for the first time and am predictably having trouble dialing in the wave. Had 8 people on the boat (no added ballast bags). Went 100 % fill on the back tanks and 75% on the middle. By moving people to the back of the boat on the side of the rider, I could get a surfable wake for kids on both sides. With my brother out back, it was much more difficult to get a well formed wave and keep him on with no rope. He's a good surfer and can wakesurf with no problem, but was only able to stay on the wave for 10 -15 seconds and was working hard to do so. One comment is that I was able to get a much better wave on the starboard side with my 11 year old daughter riding. I'm guessing this has to do with the fact that we had more weight in the boat and more weight on the starboard side with the driver (me) on that side. Do others find their setup has to be different on port as compared to starboard due to the weight of driver? I'm fine putting a ballast bag on the back, but it's disappointing that this is necessary. Any recommendations for weight of the bag or best fit for the 255XE?.. I saw someone mentioned Gantlin. Also, I have the same issues that others have mentioned with speed variation and the yamaha system.. I'm surfing in tidal rivers with lots of current, so I'm not even sure a GPS app would suffice (over water speed would vary from GPS speed due to current with or against). Last thing, how do people like the yamaha wakebooster systems? Are deploy and stow the only options? I didn't know if you could tweak with the deployment at all. Are there any after market products that can easily compliment the wakeboosters that don't require major surgery on the boat? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm hoping some of you veterans can help me out.. can't wait to get this thing dialed.

I would try and dial down the middle bag to 20-25% depending on rider. Less for larger riders and more for smaller...etc. Also, what speed are you running? I would try and get the actual to around 10.5 mph. Also, there an option to over fill the ballast. Once full, go into the ballast setting and hit the up arrow and it'll engage the pump for 15-30 sec. You can do this until water comes out of the overflow. I would do that on the side of the rider.

You'll have some variation on actual speed vs target speed. You can dial it in with the plus / minus buttons on the joy stick pad.

 

[Khalid]

I find this setup to work well:
1) all ballast at 100%
2) 800 lbs ballast on seat above batty compartment
3) weight in the bow - about 400 lbs
4) the needed speed for the wake to form is 10-11 (9 is too slow - wake isn’t forming) or 12-13 wake is too shallow. If you set the target speed at 11, the boat struggles to reach it and the wake never forms. So, I set the target speed at 12 or 13 to speed up the takeoff. Once the speed reaches the target speed of 10-11, I reduce the target to 11

 

[Williamsone46]

I find this setup to work well:
1) all ballast at 100%
2) 800 lbs ballast on seat above batty compartment
3) weight in the bow - about 400 lbs
4) the needed speed for the wake to form is 10-11 (9 is too slow - wake isn’t forming) or 12-13 wake is too shallow. If you set the target speed at 11, the boat struggles to reach it and the wake never forms. So, I set the target speed at 12 or 13 to speed up the takeoff. Once the speed reaches the target speed of 10-11, I reduce the target to 11

This sounds like a lot of weight and setup time. Do you have a picture of the wave this produces?

 

[Khalid]

This sounds like a lot of weight and setup time. Do you have a picture of the wave this produces?

Yup. Yamaha’s (or any other jetboat) aren’t known to be great surfboats - for many reasons many have discussed.
Photos attached are the for the best wake I was able to have.

good luck

 

[SCWakesurfer]

I would try and dial down the middle bag to 20-25% depending on rider. Less for larger riders and more for smaller...etc. Also, what speed are you running? I would try and get the actual to around 10.5 mph. Also, there an option to over fill the ballast. Once full, go into the ballast setting and hit the up arrow and it'll engage the pump for 15-30 sec. You can do this until water comes out of the overflow. I would do that on the side of the rider.

You'll have some variation on actual speed vs target speed. You can dial it in with the plus / minus buttons on the joy stick pad.

I was trying lots of different speeds... I would usually set the speed to 13 until the wake form and then would dial it down until the best wake formed. It seemed very random and 11.5 with one rider did not equal 11.5 with other riders. The best I got was at 11.2 with my daughter, but the actual speedometer was reading 10. As I mentioned, I need to get a gps speed app, but this won't calculate in the added (or subtracted) speed of the tidal current.

 

[Williamsone46]

Yup. Yamaha’s (or any other jetboat) aren’t known to be great surfboats - for many reasons many have discussed.
Photos attached are the for the best wake I was able to have.

good luck

I understand, Yamaha's are not known for being great surfboats because they're not surf boats. They're runabouts that you can surf behind, a great all around boat.

I've spent a considerable amount of time surfing behind all of Yamaha's X-Series boats over the years, and it it seems from your picture that your wave is vary comparable to mine. But you have at least 1200-1400lbs more weight and a considerable amount more of a setup time. More weight doesn't equal a bigger wave.

 

[Williamsone46]

I was trying lots of different speeds... I would usually set the speed to 13 until the wake form and then would dial it down until the best wake formed. It seemed very random and 11.5 with one rider did not equal 11.5 with other riders. The best I got was at 11.2 with my daughter, but the actual speedometer was reading 10. As I mentioned, I need to get a gps speed app, but this won't calculate in the added (or subtracted) speed of the tidal current.

I know that your target speed doesn't always align with your actual speed, but I'm unsure how currents affect this.

 

[SCWakesurfer]

I was referring to speed measured with a gps app. In this case, the gps might read 10 mph when you are actually pushing the boat at 12 mph into a 2 mph current. I’m guessing speed over the top of the water is what matters most. I didn’t mean to digress… we all know the holding speed issues with the Yamaha wakesurfing system

 

[Williamsone46]

I was referring to speed measured with a gps app. In this case, the gps might read 10 mph when you are actually pushing the boat at 12 mph into a 2 mph current. I’m guessing speed over the top of the water is what matters most. I didn’t mean to digress… we all know the holding speed issues with the Yamaha wakesurfing system

How does a current either going with or against the boats displacement affect a surf wave?

 

[SCWakesurfer]

I haven’t had the boat out enough times to really figure it out yet… but I definitely had to adjust the speed depending on whether I was into or with the current. Are there any other coastal wakesurfers who have experience in tidal rivers?

 

[SCWakesurfer]

Is there a low profile ballast bag that fits in the wet storage area (Under the rear facing seats) of the yamaha wake series boats?