Surf setup 2015 242LS

[COtoFLsurf]

My setup is getting close, so sharing the stoke with you guys freezing up north.

Been dialing-in the 242LS for last couple months and pleased with how things are shaping up. My groundrules on this stuff are: 1) keep it simple and reasonable, and 2) must work on both goofy and regular sides. Here is where we stand so far:

- Perfect Pass w/ gage mounted in the custom console sold on this website
- 800# sack under back seat (surf side)
- 500# lead on back platform (stacked on surf side)
- 400# sack on floor in front of engine hatch (centered, do not use this if we have other passengers)
- simple rubber mudflap to cleanup prop wash (60" x 14" peice of horse stall mat ...)

Relatively modest 1700# of ballast, easy to switch side-to-side (we are a mixed-marriage, so this is critical to domestic content). All-in-all, pretty solid wave, especially given our shallow water in FL Keys (pic is in 7' of water at 10 mph).

Ride on !!!

 

[Scuba_ref]

Tell us more about the mud flap! I have tried a boat fender attached sideways between the eye hook and the ladder to deflect some of the jet wash. I would love to see pictures of your mud flap install. Your wave look great!

 

[swatski]

Yes, a pic of the flap?! Looks great!

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[Bill D]

That wave looks great @COtoFLsurf! So, when you say 800# under the rear seat, do you have one under each side that you just fill/empty to switch reg to goofy? Did you plumb pumps and lines, or just toss the pump over the side? (I'm still in the toss the pump over the side category. Lol)

 

[Mainah]

Yes more photos of everything in the setup please. What did you use for lead?

 

[COtoFLsurf]

The flap is pretty simple. Here are some pics and explanation:

- Flap is 3/4" rubber horse stall mat, cut to 14"x60" with tapered edges. 4'x6' mat is around $60 at Murdochs or local feed/equestrian store, and easy to cut with a box-cutter.
- Flap is attached to 1"x1"x1/8" aluminum square tubing using #10 screws and lock-nuts. Instead of washers, I used 3/4" aluminum angle as backing for the nuts. (pic shows screws sticking out, but are now filed flush with nuts)
- Boat mount is a 6" length 2"x2"x1/8" aluminum square tubing. Hacked a slot in the top so it could slip over the tie-down eye. Attached cutting board material to top of aluminum with double-sided tape to prevent scratching boat ($2 at Family Dollar).
- Carefully measured distance to inside edge of tie-down eye, and drilled hole at that distance in the 2" square tubing.
- Welded 1-1/4"x1-1/4"x1/16" aluminum square tubing to the 2" square tubing ($46 at local welding shop)
- Slipped 2" square tubing over tie-down eye, secured with 5/16" bolt. A 5/16" hitch pin would work well if you want to easily remove the whole assembly.
- Installed flap by inserting 1" tube into one of the 1-1/4" tubes, then fed it back into the second 1-1/4" tube. Centered the flap on the mounts and drilled 1/4" holes thru the tubes on both sides. Secure with 1/4" hitch pin.

Fits nicely in the ski locker, so we use it when wakeboarding/surfing then remove it when done riding.

I also attached a couple pictures of a wood prototype that worked awesome and would be a very easy DIY project. Attach horse stall mat to 2x4, attach 2" spacers on top of the 2x4 near location of the tie-down eyes, then u-bolt around the tie-down eyes thru the 2x4. Tightening u-bolts pulls 2" spacers against the boat, so rock-solid installation. Note: Install this with the mat facing front of the boat to prevent bending the wood screws.

 

[COtoFLsurf]

@Bill D , 800# sack under each back seat, but only fill the one on surf side. I do not yet have this plumbed in, but plan to do so shortly. For now, I throw a pump over the side for initial fill, but then to switch sides just pump from one sack to the other sack.

@Mainah, check out www.leadwake.com, very high-quality stuff. Kinda funny, he ships using the flat-rate USPS boxes, so leave some milk and cookies for your postman.

 

[swatski]

@Glen -- there you go. No need for velcro!
Wow, @COtoFLsurf, I am super impressed.

Don't know how this compares to the Wake Wedge, the WW is way more refined and permits ladder access etc.

The flap or tail I have been drawing and trying to design would velcro into the spaces under the swim platform. But this is better.

@COtoFLsurf did you consider making it with hard surface and actuator-adjustments? Just wondering.

Super cool. I had seen so many pics of such a set up in wake boats, but this is really clever -- I did not think a rubber flap would do, thought you needed hard surface -- I'll be darned.

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[Scuba_ref]

@COtoFLsurf design looks like it allows for ladder use as well.

 

[swatski]

@COtoFLsurf design looks like it allows for ladder use as well.

Duh. Yes. Thank you.

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[COtoFLsurf]

@swatski , just stealing shamelessly from what others did in the v-drive world, sometimes it helped and sometimes it didn't, depending on swim platform shape, fresh-air-exhaust, etc. WW is for sure way more refined, this is just a DIY hack, but my #1 priority was that it works on both sides. (FWIW, it does not affect ladder access.) I toyed with hard surfaces and actuators, but pretty quickly violated the "KISS" principle. The 3/4" rubber mat is actually pretty heavy and stiff, so does a decent job. You can find 1/2" rubber mat really cheap ($25 at True Value), but does not work well unless you double it up.

 

[Mainah]

So the lead is just to save room on the platform where it is 11.5 times as dense as water? What do you do with all that lead weight when not surfing? Basically curious why not another water ballast bag on the swim platform/seats like others have done.

 

[Addicted]

That is a fantastic looking wake....nice work! I like that you went with the KISS approach AND so does your bank account. The Wake Wedge is a great product (I have one and don't regret it) but it is expensive. Especially if your surfing both side of the boat.

I'm with Mainah though, why not another bag on the platform (I put a 750lb on the bottom). If your only surfing, then I see it as a great option because it takes up less space, but with water you can make it dissapear when switching to other activities. I am sure you have a good reason, just curious what it is.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

love it! thanks for putting the effort in and doing a great write-up.

 

[Mainah]

Sorry the geek in me forgot to say how much I like the DIY work and write up. Very nicely done! I am one of those that has to fully understand something including the principles behind it or why someone did it a certain way. I love learning and adapting.

 

[Pinhacker71]

That is awesome. I was wanting to try surfing this summer. The 2x4 with the stall mat is a great way to see if me and my family likes it. I already have 1800 lbs in ballast bags. Can't wait to try this out.

 

[Bill D]

Beware @Pinhacker71 try it and you'll end up buying ballast bags, surfboards, and all the extra goodies.

 

[COtoFLsurf]

@Mainah, regarding lead, hmmm ... I suppose there are several small benefits that added up for me:

1) Full tranparency, this is what I had on my Centurion, so creature of habit already in the "lead" frame of mind.
2) It is really clean, all my sacks are hidden, then some black bags on the back platform (except for sack on floor when we do not have passengers). Ballast tethered off the back just didn't do it for me.
3) They are fast and easy to move side-to-side when we switch goofy to regular.
4) Passengers can still sit on the transom seats (both at rest, and while boarding if you allow that on your boat)
5) My wife loves the upper body workout, moving the lead is kinda the pre-set warmup, and gets your guns pumped-up for photo shoots. ;-)

Huge added benefit for wakeboarding; balance the water in the under-seat ballast, then put the lead up front, and you have 1300# distributed just like the X-boats, and get a very nice wakeboard wake without filling MORE sacks.

When we are done boarding, we empty the under-seat ballast and put lead in those storage areas, 250# on each side. So, effectively we have always have two linebackers riding on our boat. Scratch that ... we always have four supermodels riding on our boat.

 

[swatski]

@Mainah, regarding lead, hmmm ... I suppose there are several small benefits that added up for me:

1) Full tranparency, this is what I had on my Centurion, so creature of habit already in the "lead" frame of mind.
2) It is really clean, all my sacks are hidden, then some black bags on the back platform (except for sack on floor when we do not have passengers). Ballast tethered off the back just didn't do it for me.
3) They are fast and easy to move side-to-side when we switch goofy to regular.
4) Passengers can still sit on the transom seats (both at rest, and while boarding if you allow that on your boat)
5) My wife loves the upper body workout, moving the lead is kinda the pre-set warmup, and gets your guns pumped-up for photo shoots. ;-)

Huge added benefit for wakeboarding; balance the water in the under-seat ballast, then put the lead up front, and you have 1300# distributed just like the X-boats, and get a very nice wakeboard wake without filling MORE sacks.

When we are done boarding, we empty the under-seat ballast and put lead in those storage areas, 250# on each side. So, effectively we have always have two linebackers riding on our boat. Scratch that ... we always have four supermodels riding on our boat.

Did you consider placing those lead bags inside the "wet storage" compartments in the stern? Those compartments are pretty deep and go far back along the gunnels.

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[swatski]

And one more question, sorry! Did you consider weighing the rim/bottom edge of the flap down with small weights, or another bar/square pipe, or would that be counter-productive?
I still am just in awe this setup works even at wakeboarding speeds!

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