X25 Surf Wave

[bjames]

The Woons,

Would you happen to have any pics of your ballast set up? I like to see how the larger sacs fint intothe storage compartments. Also we have the removable ski pylon and cockpit table that is all stored in the rear compartments. I assume I will have to remove these from the boat in order to fit larger sacs. Currently I have to P&P ballast bags (ones designed for the X25) that currently dont interfere with the table/strainer etc.

Also I was told that the 2012 P&P ballast timers can not be changed by the user, so it looks like I would end up using separate pumps.

[TheWoons]

Originally Posted by bjames

The Woons,

Would you happen to have any pics of your ballast set up? I like to see how the larger sacs fint intothe storage compartments. Also we have the removable ski pylon and cockpit table that is all stored in the rear compartments. I assume I will have to remove these from the boat in order to fit larger sacs. Currently I have to P&P ballast bags (ones designed for the X25) that currently dont interfere with the table/strainer etc.

Also I was told that the 2012 P&P ballast timers can not be changed by the user, so it looks like I would end up using separate pumps.

I actually don't have any pics of the ballast but I will take some. Someone in this thread posted the 750lbs sac (which fills to 950lbs) shown under the port side seat filled up. I have that same bag there and that same bag in the back locker filled up. And in-between those two bags there's some space and I have 200lbs of lead pop bags placed there. I have a 200lbs bag I put on top of the 750lbs sac in the port locker that I fill as much as it'll fill. And then I have 200-300lbs in pop bags in the Starboard side bow under the front seat. Stock Port and KGB tanks filled (625lbs) and that's the setup. That's about 2675lbs in ballast. We also have two 155lbs bricks on board but we almost never use them now. With an average of 4 people on board that's another ~575lbs and over 3000lbs total ballast. The 5 blade prop made a big big difference on the 25, especially getting on plane and getting up to speed.

It should also be noted that our boat doesn't list that much even with all this weight. On average it's about 10-10.5deg.

[St1cky]

Howdy folks. New memeber and X25 owner here (first boat ever actually). Thought I'd share my surf wake setup if it helps anyone else with similar fat sacks (2x 500lb sacks).

-People on board during pictures below: myself, wife, 12yr, 3yr (<500lbs)
-Factory ballast fill: port full, center full
-Trim tab: 40%
-Speed: 10.8 (but it usually settles in around 10.4-10.6 @ 2600rpm '6.0L Ilmor')
-No surf tabs installed
-500lb sack under port bench seat
-500lb sack under port console/slightly forward under port bow seat, nice pocket there that fits a sack very nicely while not letting it move around.

note: Originally I would put one of my 500lb bags in the port coffin but I always had a washy lip on the wave. My swim platform seemed to be digging into the wave and the bow would raise more than desired. I also did not like using the trim tab at first because while it lowered the bow and lengthened the wave it also shortened the height and push of the wave. My above setup is how I like it now, better distribution of the weight, not too much list to the port side, but weighting down entire boat with smaller port list (lean) seems to be the ticket for me. I plan on moving a 500lb sack back to the port coffin when I pick up a 750 sack to take its place under the port bench seat. That will give me factory ballast, 500lb port coffin, 750 port bench, & 500 port bow.

Here is the result:

[Nick911]

I'll agree with Ryan the more weight the better. Everytime we add weight it gets better and better.

I'll post pics later of my setup as well. Surf able with less weight? Yes, but funner with 2K plus...

[501s]

Good answers guys. I'm 35 now and I agree the wrecks hurt a lot more, but the fun of blasting big airs can't be matched by surfing IMO. Maybe I'm not ready to give up my youth yet but I'm still learning new tricks and having fun doing so. Surfing a a great time but it doesn't quite do it for me like wakeboarding does.

[TheWoons]

St1cky- Nice setup. I would add a bit more weight and speed the boat up. 10.4-10.6 on the gauges is probably more like 9.5mph actual on a GPS. That's pretty slow to surf. Speeding it up will make the wake more solid along with cleaning it up and giving it more push as well.

501s- I agree about big air on a wake board but as you learn more tricks and get really good at surfing I think it can replace the fun of wake boarding. There are some really hard technical tricks that would feel pretty damn good to land on a surf board Surfing isn't for everyone and either is wake boarding. As long as people are out on the water having fun doing one or the other I'm happy

[St1cky]

Woon, Yeah I've played around with the speed up to 12 and I can honestly say I didn't consider the fact that these guages aren't perfect, but I normally look at the wave first anyways as the speed comes up and stay at the speed where the wave looks best on that given day and loadout , variable weight depending on people, coolers, etc.. just the extra weight that changes everything day to day. One day 11.6 on gauge the wave looked really good, while last sunday when the above pictures were taken, 10.8 seemed to be the ticket.
I'll admit that I'm really enjoying playing around with the weight distribution though. Learning what weight and where its placed to get the desired result depending on who is on the boat and where they're sitting. One of the biggest things I've learned this summer is weight distribution! When I had both sacs and as many people as I could get on the port side towards the rear, yes the wave was big, but very washy and short! I've learned weight distribution and bow weight, are very very important. I find myself now moving people to the bow more than I do the rear when we surf.

501s - I'm with ya on that one. I turn 34 next week and I'm all about the wakeboarding. Yeah the hard crashes suck but learning stuff on the wakeboard sure is fun when you feel that you have more to lose if you screw up. Knowing that if I face plant at 20mph vs 10 adds that extra adrenaline and thrill that I seek.

[TheWoons]

St1cky did you buy your 25 at Texas MC? Your icon looks like a boat they had.

I wake board at 23-24mph, hit the wake much faster than that, and crashes just aren't worth it anymore

[St1cky]

Yep we bought it just the way it sat from tx mc since it was mid July. We considered waiting to custom order but this boat just happened to be exactly the way I would have ordered. Love the blue and the bigger engine.

[Nick911]

Originally Posted by St1cky

Yep we bought it just the way it sat from tx mc since it was mid July. We considered waiting to custom order but this boat just happened to be exactly the way I would have ordered. Love the blue and the bigger engine.

Post some pics in the X25's Only thread.