Surfing a 2017 ar240

[J-RAD]

Thanks everyone for your responses! So we went out yesterday just to test things out and my buddy got up. Not the best wave by any means, but he got up and eventually went ropeless for a minute, then wiped out. I'm definitely looking forward to having a whole week on the water to figure it out and enjoy. Couple of questions...
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Nice work, keep at it and you'll get it more dialed in and you/your rider will find that sweet spot.

1. Has anyone had issues with the engine on the high side(when listed) not starting? I had this happen to both sides, starboard engine when listed to port and port when listed to starboard. I haven't ever had an engine not start until yesterday when listing the boat.

I frequently experience this when surfing. It's always on the low side which is the port side for us. I believe it was @swatski in another thread that brought up the theory of the water box becoming laden with excess water from dropping lower below the waterline, therefore taking a few extra cranks to get started. Others have suggested heat soak. I'm not sure it's been definitively answered, but it's normal.

Can you define "wouldn't get up"? . . . .if you mean wouldn't get up on plane. . . .dont expect it to while surfing. Frankly, without a wedge to knock down the jet wash you want the pumps as low in the water as possible, and the nose as hogh as possible so the jets are pointing under the wave.

Agreed, you won't really get on plane while surfing. The boat will plow thru the water just under plane.

3. What were your RPMs for 9-10mph? I am only at 1075 altitude but am running similar ballast weight and am usuall around 5600RPM for 9-10mph. Someone who surfs at hight alt should chime in here.

I'm at 4500', I can't recall exactly what my RPM's are at, I've paid more attention to the speed since installing the Ridesteady. Prior to having the Wake Wedge, I seem to recall running the high side 6k+ and 5500-5800 on the surf side.

 

[Kolban]

@J-RAD
I must be smoking something, I could swear it was the high side but I must be wrong.

Yeah, I don't expect to get up to plane but it just has a hard time getting past 9 mph without tweaking the weight while in motion. Not sure how fast it would go after she gets up past nine because I have ridesteady At 10.5 to 11.

You are about the same elevation as me. What ballast set up do you have, similar to mine? Do you have high-altitude impellers? I need to add more weight to the back, but don't see how I can and still get up to speed.

 

[swatski]

@J-RAD
I must be smoking something, I could swear it was the high side but I must be wrong.

Yeah, I don't expect to get up to plane but it just has a hard time getting past 9 mph without tweaking the weight while in motion. Not sure how fast it would go after she gets up past nine because I have ridesteady At 10.5 to 11.

You are about the same elevation as me. What ballast set up do you have, similar to mine? Do you have high-altitude impellers? I need to add more weight to the back, but don't see how I can and still get up to speed.

What @J-RAD said - it is always the low side that has trouble re-starting.

I no longer let the boat sit when ballasted/listed with the engines OFF for more than a minute or two, if I have to.

On occasion, I need to use my trim tabs and pop up on plane with one engine while restarting the engine that's listed down, that seems to help but I don't like doing it.

Other things that seem to help:
Have the throttles in neutral position when turning the engines off.
After a hard run let it idle ("high idle") for a minute or two before turning the engines off, check the pissers for excessive temps and wait until the water coming out is not scorching hot.
Run the blower (to remove some heat).

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[0627Devildog]

What @J-RAD

Other things that seem to help:
Have the throttles in neutral position when turning the engines off.
After a hard run let it idle ("high idle") for a minute or two before turning the engines off, check the pissers for excessive temps and wait until the water coming out is not scorching hot.
Run the blower (to remove some heat).

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Or if you dont have trim tabs (like me), one other thing that has worked is running on one engine and moving forward fast enough so that, when you turn hard towards the lower engine that side of the boat lifts higher out of the water. When it gets higher (thus reducing the pressure on the exhaust, which we believe may be the cause) start the lower motor. I have used this many times with pretty consistent success.

 

[swatski]

1. Hmmm, maybe I'm crazy and not remembering correctly but I'm pretty sure it was the high side. Maybe not though...

2. Sorry, I meant the throttles were pinned and it wouldn't go past 9mph. That puts the rpms at just over 6000 I believe, maybe even 6400 or so. Can't say for sure on that (I was more focused on the surfer), but even when we were up to the 10-11mph still 6000+.

Sorry I missed this part of the thread!
I would think you would most definitely benefit from "ribbon delete", followed by high altitude impeller repitch, maybe use the 6CW (Yamaha OEM) impellers.
@Williamsone46 is a great source of super useful info!
https://jetboaters.net/threads/impeller-carnage.17389/page-2#post-302733

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[debbie199us]

Sorry if this has been posted before, I have read and read the message boards and see different things. Can you wake surf (as a very new learning beginner) with no ballast and no wake booster at all - just holding the rope and of course the surf board? Will it work with a 2013 242 Limited S? Thank you!

 

[J-RAD]

Sorry if this has been posted before, I have read and read the message boards and see different things. Can you wake surf (as a very new learning beginner) with no ballast and no wake booster at all - just holding the rope and of course the surf board? Will it work with a 2013 242 Limited S? Thank you!

No worries @debbie199us, you can surf while holding the rope behind you 242 Limited S. Where it has no factory ballast wakesurfing ropeless would be a challenge. I'm pretty certain that the WakeBooster will not fit pre 2015 24ft models either. With enough bodies in the back surf side corner or if the rider is light enough you may be able to pull it off.

I posted this video recently in another thread of how I was able to go ropeless with minimal ballast on a Slingshot Coaster. Some of the tricks in the video may help you.

I sell all kinds of watersports equipment including wakesurf boards. If you're interested in the best board to help you get started let me know. I'll give you some tips and a good discount.

Transom Watersports | Wakeboard | Wakesurf | Vest | SUP

Best gear behind any boat for wakeboarding, wakesurfing, wakefoil, wakesurffoil and SUP. Life is better behind a boat with Transom Watersports.

www.transomwatersports.com

 

[debbie199us]

No worries @debbie199us, you can surf while holding the rope behind you 242 Limited S. Where it has no factory ballast wakesurfing ropeless would be a challenge. I'm pretty certain that the WakeBooster will not fit pre 2015 24ft models either. With enough bodies in the back surf side corner or if the rider is light enough you may be able to pull it off.

I posted this video recently in another thread of how I was able to go ropeless with minimal ballast on a Slingshot Coaster. Some of the tricks in the video may help you.

I sell all kinds of watersports equipment including wakesurf boards. If you're interested in the best board to help you get started let me know. I'll give you some tips and a good discount.

Transom Watersports | Wakeboard | Wakesurf | Vest | SUP

Best gear behind any boat for wakeboarding, wakesurfing, wakefoil, wakesurffoil and SUP. Life is better behind a boat with Transom Watersports.

www.transomwatersports.com

No worries @debbie199us, you can surf while holding the rope behind you 242 Limited S. Where it has no factory ballast wakesurfing ropeless would be a challenge. I'm pretty certain that the WakeBooster will not fit pre 2015 24ft models either. With enough bodies in the back surf side corner or if the rider is light enough you may be able to pull it off.

I posted this video recently in another thread of how I was able to go ropeless with minimal ballast on a Slingshot Coaster. Some of the tricks in the video may help you.

I sell all kinds of watersports equipment including wakesurf boards. If you're interested in the best board to help you get started let me know. I'll give you some tips and a good discount.

Transom Watersports | Wakeboard | Wakesurf | Vest | SUP

Best gear behind any boat for wakeboarding, wakesurfing, wakefoil, wakesurffoil and SUP. Life is better behind a boat with Transom Watersports.

www.transomwatersports.com

Thank you very much for your response. I will definitely check out your website.

 

[J-RAD]

Thank you very much for your response. I will definitely check out your website.

You're welcome! Pricing on my website does not apply to fellow jetboaters, I can always give better pricing thru private sales. Just message me if you have questions or want a quote.

Happy boating!

 

[Avanderzand]

No worries @debbie199us, you can surf while holding the rope behind you 242 Limited S. Where it has no factory ballast wakesurfing ropeless would be a challenge. I'm pretty certain that the WakeBooster will not fit pre 2015 24ft models either. With enough bodies in the back surf side corner or if the rider is light enough you may be able to pull it off.

Hi, I'm new. We just got a 2012 AR 240, yet to take it out. We are slowly trying to learn more about the boat. We don't have ballast bags. When you say 'minimal ballast' are you saying none at all??? Could I potentially wakesurf with a rope behind our boat? Thanks for your help.

 

[biffdotorg]

You can ride a wake surfboard behind any boat with a rope. It's still fun, but not what most consider "surfing" All you can do is give it a shot and your desire to do more will come with experience.

So yes, you can get up on a surfboard behind your boat with a rope. You will find out quickly how it changes once you add ballast and something to smooth out that wave. Many of the threads on here will show the stages of how the best surf waves evolved by adding these things.

 

[J-RAD]

Hi, I'm new. We just got a 2012 AR 240, yet to take it out. We are slowly trying to learn more about the boat. We don't have ballast bags. When you say 'minimal ballast' are you saying none at all??? Could I potentially wakesurf with a rope behind our boat? Thanks for your help.

Hi @Avanderzand, congratulations on your new boat. In the video above in the thread the only ballast I was using was a single 500lb ballast bag under the the rear seat on the surf side. This is similar to what's stock under the rear seat on a 242x or 212x. That would be the very minimum amount of ballast you would need to be able to surf. However, even that was challenging to achieve going ropeless. It required other tricks by the driver to maximize the waves potential and some price on the board. The extra tricks were 1) driving in a circle to lean the boat more and accentuate the wave more 2) offset the engines RPM's to minimize the jetwash on the surf side 3) maintain a consistent speed (were had the Ridesteady speed control system helping with that). Here's the list from the video of what was done.

Understand that this was a minimal comparable to stock setup to purposefully demonstrate the ability of the Slingshot board. It is not what I would call the best minimal setup. These boats are capable of much more but, it can be an investment.

If I were to prioritize setting up your boat in terms of what to buy first this would me my list:

1. A board
   • I recommend the Slingshot Coaster. It is going to be the board that will maximize your chance of success on a smaller Yamaha wave. It's not like it's a compromise either, it's just a great board period.
   • I just brought in a few more 2019 model Coasters at clearance price. Let me know if you're interested and I'll send you a discount code.
   • SLINGSHOT | 2019 COASTER | 19239 | WAKESURF BOARD
2. Ballast
   • These Yamaha's are light weight boats. Increasing the wave size is essential to being able to surf successfully.
   • If I were to buy a single ballast bag to start with I would recommend the custom transom ballast bag from Gantlin Products. It will be far superior to having the bag under the rear seat. It situates the right amount of weight on the swim deck, right where it's most effective. You may need to move bodies to the bow if this is the only bag you're running, or decrease the amount you fill it if you're having trouble getting up to speed.
   • Additional ballast will help also. The second place I would add is in the ski locker. It helps weigh the nose down which helps plane the boat with the added weight in the swim deck and will lengthen the surf pocket.
   • https://wakewedge.surf/shop?olsPage=products/19-ft-fatsac-custom-transom-ballast-bag
3. Gantlin Wake Wedge
   • The best most effective wakesurfing device for a Yamaha in my opinion.
   • Wake Wedge for Yamaha Jet Boats
4. Ridesteady GPS speed control
   • Being able to set and maintain an accurate speed is a huge benefit
   • Ridesteady is flawless at maintaining accurate speed for all watersports activities.
   • Perfect Pass is a competing system but lacks the benefit of full time engine synchronization. Which is awesome!
5. More ballast
   • Extra ballast in the ski locker and under the rear seat(s) with maximize your potential to manipulate the wave.

Let me know if you have other questions. I'm happy to answer.

Here's a video with all of the above options at work on the same Coaster board.