Honest review of the Wake Booster

[dadofral]

sounds awesome man. let us know how it goes!

You bet I will!

 

[Jameson Clark]

Thanks a bunch for the review! I have never surfed before but do wakeboard and ski. Hoping to try surfing this year of these kits ever become readily available!

 

[buckbuck]

@dadofral Yes the red is the 21 and the blue is the 24.

 

[buckbuck]

@rkim808
The scupper cover is nothing but a piece of aluminum that is double face taped to prevent water being directly forced up the scupper valve. See page three here https://jetboaters.net/threads/testing-the-new-wake-booster.21415/

 

[buckbuck]

@SCP1 Just talked to @Brian eilrich . He said that would be great. We will value your insight and perspective. We will let you know when.

 

[mmuecke]

This is my personal review of the Yamaha Wake Booster mounted on a 2017 212X owned by @Brian eilrich . He, his two boys and I took a trip to the closest river not closed due to flooding in May 2019. The Rock River in Rockford IL was our test grounds. It was near flood stage with a swift current and we surfed in waters 8-10 feet deep.

I have no affiliation with Yamaha and do not even know anyone employed by them.

Wake Booster comes in two flavors. 21 foot boat and 24 foot boat. The two are very different. Here is an outline of both.
View attachment 93555

The following are some of the days test conditions;
2017 Yamaha 212X fitted with the Wake Booster and also equipped with after market @Ridesteady .
Nozzles were aligned to the Surf Point configuration.
Stock ballast was completely filled giving us about 1200 lbs. This turned out to provide the best wave. No other ballast was used.
Brian and his two boys gave a combined weight of 400 lbs.
The Booster is easy to install and remove while on the water.
Even at no wake speed the Booster has an effect on the water behind the boat. It is a bulldozer blade under water. You will have to remove it when not surfing.
Water temperature was 55 degrees. Air was 65. Wind was insignificant in the test.
I would NOT describe myself as an accomplished surfer. No stunts, no tricks. I am content to just go ropeless behind the boat when I surf. Please note that due to the water temperature I had a incentive to not let go of the rope even with a drysuit. I forgot my booties and my feet were cold.
I surfed with the Slingshot Surf Board provided with the kit.
Video was shot by 13 year old who hand held an Autel Evo drone.

From my experience, viewing the shape of the wave without a surfer does not guarantee that it will be good to ride. Prior to getting in the water with my 200 lbs. aboard we did a test run. We looked at each other and said WOW! But I withheld judgement until I was being pushed by it. Note that I also came to the river with previous disappointment in Yamaha. They promoted the Surf Point config like it was the solution to jetboat surfing. In my opinion it turned out to be little more than hype. We tried a number of ballast configurations and ended up with all three full. We also tried many differing speeds. Thanks to @Ridesteady this was easily achieved. However I wish we could have gone a tad slower going upstream. Ridesteady minimum is 8 mph and I feel the wave could have been better with more push had we had the option.
The booster completely flooded the jet area of the boat on the port side. This would explain why Yamaha includes a cover for the scupper valve. I suppose they discovered that water was being forced up the scupper when set up for starboard (goofy) surfing. The stream of water converged with the jet stream approximately 8 inches behind the nozzle.
Very interestingly to me was the boat ran level with no list. I know the ballast was even with no bias but the boys in the port corner did not influence the list. Even when Brian abandoned the helm and joined them the boat did not list. It seems to me the Booster is pushing the boat up on the corner. We are going to need well fed friends and family to overcome this and push this down in the water more. I think we will experience an even better wave with more weight.

The results of this testing led me to believe Yamaha spent some time developing this. It is not Surf Point hype. It had significant influence on the shape of the wake. Particularly in smoothness and steepness. They have produce a credible wake enhancer and those of you with newer boat should consider it if the goal is surfing.
Thanks for reading this.

Does anyone know if this works on the scarab 215 HO thanks!

 

[dadofral]

Does anyone know if this works on the scarab 215 HO thanks!

I am certain a Yamaha built product only works on Yamaha boats, and only years 2016 and newer.....sorry, you're outta luck on this one.

 

[MidnightRider]

Does anyone know if this works on the scarab 215 HO thanks!

Wake Booster is a Yamaha product for Yamahas boats. Scarab has their own similar product called SurfStream I think they introduced in 2017. Check out the discussion of it in this thread.
https://jetboaters.net/threads/2017-surf-stream-wake-enhancement.12314/#post-269699

 

[scokill]

I am certain a Yamaha built product only works on Yamaha boats, and only years 2016 and newer.....sorry, you're outta luck on this one.

I'm thinking of building one this year. Looks fairly simple...I'll have to get bored over the summer though.

 

[dadofral]

I'm thinking of building one this year. Looks fairly simple...I'll have to get bored over the summer though.

I'm gonna try the same thing, take it to my fab shop and get some guys on it with me...we will figure something out.

 

[buckbuck]

Anyone living in Northern IL or Southern Wisconsin is invited to join us on Sunday to do some testing of the Booster and Wake Wedge on Sunday 2 June. Please PM me.

 

[scokill]

I'm gonna try the same thing, take it to my fab shop and get some guys on it with me...we will figure something out.

Wish I had a template. The mounting plate and fabrication look like a piece of cake. The deflector length, width, height, and angle is what you need to get right. I can probably get close with pictures.

 

[SCP1]

Just saying someone should make one for a 19’.

 

[ACRDSPORT14]

I'm sure this is better, but I could wakesurf behind a sx190 w/ no ballast, or anything extra, just some people on the one side.

 

[Dixie Highway]

Anyone living in Northern IL or Southern Wisconsin is invited to join us on Sunday to do some testing of the Booster and Wake Wedge on Sunday 2 June. Please PM me.

Where are you guys going? Lake Geneva?

 

[buckbuck]

We are going to launch at approximately 12:15 from Williams Bay (Lake Geneva). Are you thinking of joining us?

 

[mmuecke]

I am certain a Yamaha built product only works on Yamaha boats, and only years 2016 and newer.....sorry, you're outta luck on this one.

Yeah... great boat but the jet wash just destroys the wake. Thanks

Wake Booster is a Yamaha product for Yamahas boats. Scarab has their own similar product called SurfStream I think they introduced in 2017. Check out the discussion of it in this thread.
https://jetboaters.net/threads/2017-surf-stream-wake-enhancement.12314/#post-269699

Awesome thanks!

 

[mmuecke]

I am certain a Yamaha built product only works on Yamaha boats, and only years 2016 and newer.....sorry, you're outta luck on this one.

Yeah... great boat but the jet wash just destroys the wake. Thanks!

 

[Dixie Highway]

We are going to launch at approximately 12:15 from Williams Bay (Lake Geneva). Are you thinking of joining us?

Thought about it, ended up on the high seas at Kosh instead. There was some serious chop today!

 

[dadofral]

Wish I had a template. The mounting plate and fabrication look like a piece of cake. The deflector length, width, height, and angle is what you need to get right. I can probably get close with pictures.

I agree. Just make a couple cardboard templates. Trial and error will get us where we need to be.