Surfing behind 255XD

[anmut]

Howdy friends. Has anyone had any issues with their boat engine slipping while trying to wake surf?

I have a 2024 255XD (I have wake surfed off this boat last year), I took my boat out the other day 10 people on board and sat where I needed them to based, on rider. I filled my ballasts 50/100/100 surf side starboard for goofy footed rider, had a few runs and everything was good. Medium Acceleration, Wake Surf deployed, 10.4 mph (even though I was trying to get to 11, but didn't happen) Anyways, I reversed it for the next rider, 100/100/50 surf side port for regular footed rider, and when I started to accelerate, that starboard engine slipped, or just revved at a higher RPM. I know this sounds weird. So I stopped and reconfigured, to try again, even restarted the batteries, engines, etc, make sure everything was good. Checked jet ports, etc, everything looked good.
But still, starboard engine slipped.
I called it as to not destroy my engine- so I emptied the ballasts and just floated for a bit with everyone- about an hour later tested the boat under normal operations and everything was fine, boat got up to speed well, and everything works as expected. But I was disapointed to bring out so many folks just to have a quick stop to surfing.


Taking the boat into the shop (still under warranty) but still curious.
Anyways, any one ever experience this?

If you can get your boat up out of the water, stick your phone in the intake grates and snap some pictures of your impellers.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Defiantly cavitating from all of the weight. Like anmut said take some pictures of your tunnel / impellers. You may have some sealant missing. Lucky 13 pump cones help, different impellers help for pulling weight out of the water also.

 

[jacoviii]

I have had the same issues on ouy 22' 255xd. I ordered the twin impellers and had little to no cavitation. Also I have manual switches to control the surfegates. When the Conext screen doesn't know the gate is down 11+ mph is EZ.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Howdy friends. Has anyone had any issues with their boat engine slipping while trying to wake surf?

I have a 2024 255XD (I have wake surfed off this boat last year), I took my boat out the other day 10 people on board and sat where I needed them to based, on rider. I filled my ballasts 50/100/100 surf side starboard for goofy footed rider, had a few runs and everything was good. Medium Acceleration, Wake Surf deployed, 10.4 mph (even though I was trying to get to 11, but didn't happen) Anyways, I reversed it for the next rider, 100/100/50 surf side port for regular footed rider, and when I started to accelerate, that starboard engine slipped, or just revved at a higher RPM. I know this sounds weird. So I stopped and reconfigured, to try again, even restarted the batteries, engines, etc, make sure everything was good. Checked jet ports, etc, everything looked good.
But still, starboard engine slipped.
I called it as to not destroy my engine- so I emptied the ballasts and just floated for a bit with everyone- about an hour later tested the boat under normal operations and everything was fine, boat got up to speed well, and everything works as expected. But I was disapointed to bring out so many folks just to have a quick stop to surfing.


Taking the boat into the shop (still under warranty) but still curious.
Anyways, any one ever experience this?

Is the first time you’ve experienced this issue with 10 people on board and using the same configuration ?

My first thought was that you might have picked up something in the starboard intake. My second thought was perhaps take bit of the port list out of the boat and try it.

I sent a screen shot of your post to my friend who owns the same boat as you and this was his reply.

“Definitely had it happen a few times when the boat was new. Did a battery disconnect reset and haven’t had any problems with it since, Also, we don’t add any ballast opposite the surf side. Makes a longer wave, and not as tall “

 

[miggsrangel]

Is the first time you’ve experienced this issue with 10 people on board and using the same configuration ?

My first thought was that you might have picked up something in the starboard intake. My second thought was perhaps take bit of the port list out of the boat and try it.

I sent a screen shot of your post to my friend who owns the same boat as you and this was his reply.

“Definitely had it happen a few times when the boat was new. Did a battery disconnect reset and haven’t had any problems with it since, Also, we don’t add any ballast opposite the surf side. Makes a longer wave, and not as tall “

Thanks a lot for your response.
Definitely the first time it has happened, purchased boat last year, and haven't experienced this issue. I made sure to distribute weight on the boat to get the best wake. I'll have to do a battery disconnect, and see if that resolves the issue. I will also try your friends configuration about 0 ballast opposite surf side.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[miggsrangel]

If you can get your boat up out of the water, stick your phone in the intake grates and snap some pictures of your impellers.

Sounds good, I shall do that. Standby for photos.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Also, as @jacoviii and @anmut have done you might consider getting the twin screw impellers. If you’re not familiar with these here’s a couple of threads. Basically there’s an inducer impeller in front of the main impeller that keeps it loaded to alleviate cavitation.

D

Thread 'Who has experience with twin screw impellers?'

May 16, 2022

Just ordered a twin setup for my sx190 from impros and wanted to see if anyone had any experience running one of these? I primarily want to pull tubers and cruise with adults.

• Dirtymunoz
• Replies: 101
• Forum: General Discussion

Post in thread 'Leading Edge Twin Impellers: Review Thread'

May 7, 2025

The clean out tray and plugs;
It makes sense there would be pressure / more pressure with an inducer impeller ahead of the main impeller.
Do you have the tray sealed around the perimeter?
I realize the water was or may have been above the mechanical access hatch?
Do you have the hatch riser?
Are the clean out plug seals in good shape? I see your boat is a 2020 model, have you replaced the seals yet? Do you put any wax on the seals?
It sounds as if the drain line could have been clogged, and yes the water will still drain out of the clean out tub if the lower drain is below water, maybe...

• anmut

• 

 

[jacoviii]

But I bought off the shelf. 12/20 set and a set of 12/18. Both had good results. I'm about to put the 12/20s back on for testing.

12/20 p# is 20-8079 or

SKU# YV-TP-12/20​

12/18 p# is 20-8081 or
SKU# YV-TP-12/18

 

[TommyMcK]

I don’t know if anything is published regarding max gross weight factoring in the ballast tanks when they are filled, but it strikes me that 10 people plus whatever weight was in the tanks (and you didn’t say if you had any additional ballast) is a ton of weight to be pulling. I’d have to go back to my operating manual, but I’d expect that max gross weight would include the water in the tanks, and you are likely over weight. I’m not saying that was the direct cause of what you observed, but you might want to check on if 10 + water in the tanks is really a good thing to be doing.

 

[Wicked92]

10 people on the boat you def will need less weight than many of us run.

I run about 2700lbs total with no more than 3-4 people on boat.


100-100-35 in tanks, 850 fat sac, 300-350 in bow. Play with people in boat, generally surf side gets best results.