Adding Ballast to 242 E Series

[jcyamaharider]

Center locker a 800 bag will fit, the sides will be 400-800 pound bags. I think @swatski has all 800 pound bags. As for filling you will probably be using the same size pumps as the stock 242X boat but will be pulling from 3 different ports to speed up the filling process. I know I will be adding in 2 more intakes to my boat this year and and extra pump for the swim deck bag.

 

[spatty99]

Using a center trim tab to push the bow down makes a shorter (height) but longer wave.

 

[Liftr]

I studied this exact question before I decided to buy the 242X-E.
I really like the less flashy/loud styling of the Limited S, but wanted a plug and play surf setup when I pull off the lot.
It looked to me like you will have to relocate the freshwater shower tank. Move the fuel fill line and evaporation canister.
Drill at least 3 holes thru-hull and do all the plumbing and wiring yourself.
I figured at least $5,000 to do that, and buy the board racks and paraphernalia to make an “X” boat.
I wish you luck, and look forward to reading about your modification process.

 

[swatski]

I studied this exact question before I decided to buy the 242X-E.
I really like the less flashy/loud styling of the Limited S, but wanted a plug and play surf setup when I pull off the lot.
It looked to me like you will have to relocate the freshwater shower tank. Move the fuel fill line and evaporation canister.
Drill at least 3 holes thru-hull and do all the plumbing and wiring yourself.
I figured at least $5,000 to do that, and buy the board racks and paraphernalia to make an “X” boat.
I wish you luck, and look forward to reading about your modification process.

I think you are right on. If only the Xs really were made surf ready by mother yamaha...

Meanwhile to really get the best wave (capable of pushing a large adult ropeless) you still basically need the Gatlin Wake Wedge and their "custom swim deck bag"...

I think the current consensus is that a large center locker bag (one pump/line) and the swim deck bag plus the wedge give you a truly surfable wave behind a 240/242. It can be improved upon but those three things are kind of the golden triad, at least for now.
Those three things can be mounted in any 240/242 model without too much effort, and will actually generate a (way) better wave than a stock 242X is capable of throwing...

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[Liftr]

I have my fingers crossed, but am half expecting to buy a transom bag when I can’t get my big butt surfing!

 

[ChrisLLM]

I studied this exact question before I decided to buy the 242X-E.
I really like the less flashy/loud styling of the Limited S, but wanted a plug and play surf setup when I pull off the lot.
It looked to me like you will have to relocate the freshwater shower tank. Move the fuel fill line and evaporation canister.
Drill at least 3 holes thru-hull and do all the plumbing and wiring yourself.
I figured at least $5,000 to do that, and buy the board racks and paraphernalia to make an “X” boat.
I wish you luck, and look forward to reading about your modification process.

So, that's what I've decided to do with my build. I love the looks of the Limited SE and really don't need the Speakers, Stereo etc. So, I'm gonna spend the $7k delta in price on the custom ballast setup and racks etc to "X-ify" my boat. I'll keep everyone here posted on my buildout as we create it. We're gonna start the work pretty soon with my marina.

My hope is to get 2000 lbs of built in ballast with the setup as described. Then, I'm going to add an additional 500 lbs of wake lead bags that I'll put in the storage areas behind the swim platform seat backs. So, total 2500 pounds of ballast. Plus, I'll have the new Wake Booster and I'm order a the JBP Thrust Vector Wake Version. If I need to I'll add the Wake Wedge too, but I'm gonna start with this plan and see how it goes.

 

[ChrisLLM]

Using a center trim tab to push the bow down makes a shorter (height) but longer wave.

Where would I find one of these that will fit my boat?

 

[spatty99]

It would be a custom install. There are several posts going over the process. I think Lectrotab and Bennett are a couple tab manufacturers. Keep in mind the tabs might be great for riding in chop, but will not be used much (or at all) for watersports, when you actually want the back end squatting as much as possible... I have a dedicated wake boat with 2k in ballast at the rear and even then only use 20% tab if there are no passengers forward in the boat.

 

[MattFX4]

So, that's what I've decided to do with my build. I love the looks of the Limited SE and really don't need the Speakers, Stereo etc. So, I'm gonna spend the $7k delta in price on the custom ballast setup and racks etc to "X-ify" my boat. I'll keep everyone here posted on my buildout as we create it. We're gonna start the work pretty soon with my marina.

My hope is to get 2000 lbs of built in ballast with the setup as described. Then, I'm going to add an additional 500 lbs of wake lead bags that I'll put in the storage areas behind the swim platform seat backs. So, total 2500 pounds of ballast. Plus, I'll have the new Wake Booster and I'm order a the JBP Thrust Vector Wake Version. If I need to I'll add the Wake Wedge too, but I'm gonna start with this plan and see how it goes.

'

sounds like a great plan. Can't wait to see what your set up yields. The lead in the storage compartments on swim deck seems like a great idea. You get the weight back there without a large bag in the way.

 

[MattFX4]

We are missing something with this wake surf business and our jet boats. I don’t know what it is but we are missing something out.

With the jets and the power available on tap in these boats it should be possible to generate monster wave.

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I think it's weight. The jet boats are already at a disadvantage because they are lighter than inboard wake boats. Most of the wake boats come with upward of 3500lbs of stock ballast now days, and most add more aftermarket. So if those guys are running that much ballast on top of a heavier boat to get the waves they do, then you would think the Yamaha's would need much heavier ballast to displace more water. Get the boat down further in the water, and use a wedge or some device to clean the jet wash and it should produce a good wave one would think. Will someone here load up their 242 with 4,000lbs of ballast and see if it makes a difference??

 

[swatski]

I think it's weight. The jet boats are already at a disadvantage because they are lighter than inboard wake boats. Most of the wake boats come with upward of 3500lbs of stock ballast now days, and most add more aftermarket. So if those guys are running that much ballast on top of a heavier boat to get the waves they do, then you would think the Yamaha's would need much heavier ballast to displace more water. Get the boat down further in the water, and use a wedge or some device to clean the jet wash and it should produce a good wave one would think. Will someone here load up their 242 with 4,000lbs of ballast and see if it makes a difference??

I like the way you think! However, I feel it is the short hull that is limiting, at least more so than the ballast weight. Yamaha JB hulls are generally shorter by almost 2ft if compared to "real" 24fters due to the integrated swim deck that's included in LOA.

I'm thinking if the hull surface at the stern could be elongated, kind of like the famous wale-tail in Tige, that would make a huge-er difference than simply adding weight.

I do not know anyone running much more than about 2,500lbs of ballast. I have come close to that in my tests and it gets tricky: even with the L13s, ECU reflash and well-sealed pumps it is hard to pop up on plane, with the swim deck is submerged the boat just plows through the water with the bow up... I actually needed to lower the trim tabs, momentarily, to get up on "plane" (or "semi-plane") and up to surfing speeds (once the boat is up and out of the hole the tabs can be retracted).
Interestingly, all that ballast did not help the wave as much as one would think it could. I think there may be a point of diminishing returns as far as the total ballast (lbs).

On the other hand, the distribution of ballast matters tremendously. I can run with way less than 2,500lbs and get a better wave - with the new custom swim deck bag.

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[John Mcpartland]

I like the way you think! However, I feel it is the short hull that is limiting, at least more so than the ballast weight. Yamaha JB hulls are generally shorter by almost 2ft if compared to "real" 24fters due to the integrated swim deck that's included in LOA.

I'm thinking if the hull surface at the stern could be elongated, kind of like the famous wale-tail in Tige, that would make a huge-er difference than simply adding weight.

I do not know anyone running much more than about 2,500lbs of ballast. I have come close to that in my tests and it gets tricky: even with the L13s, ECU reflash and well-sealed pumps it is hard to pop up on plane, with the swim deck is submerged the boat just plows through the water with the bow up... I actually needed to lower the trim tabs, momentarily, to get up on "plane" (or "semi-plane") and up to surfing speeds (once the boat is up and out of the hole the tabs can be retracted).
Interestingly, all that ballast did not help the wave as much as one would think it could. I think there may be a point of diminishing returns as far as the total ballast (lbs).

On the other hand, the distribution of ballast matters tremendously. I can run with way less than 2,500lbs and get a better wave - with the new custom swim deck bag.

--

I agree on the to much ballast. When we bought the boat 2 years ago we were thinking more ballast is better! We had a 1180lb, 2-750lb, and a 400lb filled completely and there was no way we were going to get on plain. If I remember correctly I don't think we could only get to 7.5-8 mph.

 

[MattFX4]

I agree on the to much ballast. When we bought the boat 2 years ago we were thinking more ballast is better! We had a 1180lb, 2-750lb, and a 400lb filled completely and there was no way we were going to get on plain. If I remember correctly I don't think we could only get to 7.5-8 mph.

Makes sense. I was over estimated the power of the boats. For some reason I thought the could handle more. Maybe the 26’ boat will help with the short hull issue @swatski

 

[Shookie]

I really wanna jump in and make my 242 E surf ready.... I can't get past losing the ski locker storage, storage for the platform bag, etc. I already feel like I don't have enough space once my family and a few friends are on it. What am I missing?

 

[swatski]

Makes sense. I was over estimated the power of the boats. For some reason I thought the could handle more. Maybe the 26’ boat will help with the short hull issue @swatski

That remains to be seen, I'm curious how much of the that additional 2ft will be in the water, vs a longer swim deck and flared out bow. March'19, right?

Getting up with as much ballast as @John Mcpartland has had is definitely possible, but it takes some finagling, like deploying trim tabs, maybe moving the crew forward etc., also the L13s help a lot.
I think a Yamaha will out pull most any wake boat of similar hull size (so a 21-22fter), the pumps can deliver maximum power operating at no speed unlike props.

Looking forward to @COtoFLsurf reporting back on his MainahBooster testing!

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[swatski]

What am I missing?

A 26ft Centurion? lol.

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[John Mcpartland]

That remains to be seen, I'm curious how much of the that additional 2ft will be in the water, vs a longer swim deck and flared out bow. March'19, right?

Getting up with as much ballast as @John Mcpartland has had is definitely possible, but it takes some finagling, like deploying trim tabs, maybe moving the crew forward etc., also the L13s help a lot.
I think a Yamaha will out pull most any wake boat of similar hull size (so a 21-22fter), the pumps can deliver maximum power operating at no speed unlike props.

Looking forward to @COtoFLsurf reporting back on his MainahBooster testing!

--

I don't have trim tabs or L13. Thinking of L13's this year

 

[MattFX4]

That remains to be seen, I'm curious how much of the that additional 2ft will be in the water, vs a longer swim deck and flared out bow. March'19, right?



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We shall see. That's the rumor. I will believe it when I see it.

 

[ChrisLLM]

Ok guys update on what we're doing with our 2019 242 Limited SE. First, we got our WakeBooster kit and that thing seems to really perform as advertised. Second, we played around with ballast locations, but only had 1200lbs of bags available so that's what we used. We put a 400lb bag on the swim platform and an 800lb bag on the floor. That's it.

We were able to get my 200lb son surfing ropeless with just that setup. Wakebooster + 1200 LBs Ballast + Yamaha/Sling Shot Wake Board.

We're gonna hold off on the custom install and see how we do with just the custom transom bag. Will post again after we test that.

 

[SandfleaDDH]

So happy to hear this. Took a new-to-me 2018 242 SE out today for the first time and the ballast pump I had couldn't reach the 750lb sack in the ski locker. So we had nothing there. Slapped on the wakebooster kit, and a 300lb sack on each swim step, and gave her hell. Bow was pointing up pretty high. Wasn't able to go ropeless for more than maybe 8-9 seconds at a time, but still made a fun wave to play on. Fashioned an extension just now to fill the locker, and headed back in the morning.