2016 S238 - Super disappointed with it.........

[Brandon161 26]

Hello,

 

So I just purchased a 2016 S238. I will start with the good first......... The boat is really beautiful, the interior is great and it is just a solidly built build. Also, I don't know why people mean woman about the wakeboard wake, because it is definitely legit and big. My last boat was an Axis and this is every bit as good if not better.

 

Here's my problem, I specifically went away from Axis because I wanted a great surfing boat. The wave on the boat is just plain awful. My Axis was a 2011 A22 with the bolt on surf gate and it smokes my new Supreme.

 

The boat does have the upgraded rear plug and play bags as well as the piggy back bags that go under the rear side seats. It also has the plug and play front bag. My whole reason for wanting the S238 was so I could weight the boat evenly and not have to list it. The more I read on the forum, the more it appears I have to list the boat hard.

 

Yesterday, I literally couldn't surf behind the boat for most of the day. I had to hold the rope the whole time because there was not push. At the end of the day I finally got a wave on the goofy foot side that allowed me to let go of the rope, but I have to ride pretty close to the swim platform the whole time and really had to work to stay in the pocket.

 

My weight set up was...... Both Quick Fill tanks full, starboard right plug and play full, port side plug and play probably 80% and center under the floor bag full. I tried to have the quick surf tab down all the way that didn't help much. So finally did it to where it was about 3 to 5 clicks down and that made it so we could surf, but the wave was completely washed out right behind the board and rider.

 

I see that a lot of people just add a sh*$ ton of weight have have bags all over the boat, I have no interest in doing that. Is that what it really takes to have a good wave? I wanted even weight, so we could work on transfers or is that just not even going to be possible?

 

Also, my speedometer was way off, does anyone know if there is anything I can do to calibrate it or is that gonna be a dealer thing? The stereo has a nasty buzz / whine when the boat is running, does anyone else have that?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated because at this point I have no interest in keeping the boat unless I can make it way better.

 

Thank you,

Brandon

[Brandon161 26]

Also, real quick....... is it just me or is the engine exhaust pretty damn loud on these boat. When I was surfing it just seemed super loud compared to other boats I have been on. The boat came with the Icon 8s on the tower. I was very unimpressed with them. The music had to be up really loud to even hear it surfing. Does anyone know if the REV 10s will fit on the tower or will I have to go with Rev 8s. The Icons just don't do it for me at all.

[Cdifranco 463]

Give it a few hours. H20king will set you up as he is the sites resident Supreme guru (that's a thing right?).

 

This is from a different thread.

 

 

Your Regular side shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Our Goofy is much harder to get good push and be consistent with Factory Ballast.

Using Quick Surf for Regular Side
Rear Quick Fill tanks 100%
Rear Port PNP Bag 100%
Rear Starboard PNP bag 60% (or start at 100% and bleed off the bag or quickfill tank)
Center tank 100%
Bow PNP 0%.
Center Wake plate 30-40%
Surf tab 4 to 6 clicks
Speed 11.2 to 11.6
Fuel tank full
Extra Bodies on the back bench.

More weight in the boat definitely makes it better and more consistent. We will be adding bigger rear bags for next season.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Cdifranco

[Avalentines238 16]

https://youtu.be/XQvGJXpTAjg

 

This video was taken yesterday. By far the best wave I have gotten behind the boat. I set this wave up completely different than I usually do. Usually (if I don't have a bunch of people in the boat with me) I run the boat listed. Listed is the only way I have found I can get enough push to ride without the rope. Yesterday I had 14 people in the boat. I was told a little while back that this boat is designed to run fully loaded (ballast wise) and using the surf tabs. I am now a believer in that saying. Only down fall to that is the factory ballast is not enough. If you can get enough weight in the boat, the boat REALLY comes alive. If I had to guess I would say I had 5000 lbs in the boat between ballast and 14 people, and trust me when I say the WAVE WAS AMAZING!!!! I was riding aprox. 30 feet back on the wave, at points, on a skim style board and didn't have a problem at all staying in it. It is frustrating trying to get a great wave like that without a ton of weight but it is still rideable with out. I Love our supreme!!!

[Brandon161 26]

So the odds of me ever having that many people in the boat would be unlikely but that is good to know. With that many people, did you have ballast, if so, how did you have it set up and what did you do with your surf plate?

[Cwazy1 89]

I recently went out for a demo on both a '16 238 and a '16 226. The first thing I want to say is that the stock wave is pure garbage. If I went out there without an extra sack to simulate the upgraded ballast that everyone is running, I wouldn't have even gotten in the water to try the wave.

 

What I will say is that a bit more weight in the supreme really makes a difference. The 238 I rode behind had stock ballast + 400 in lead, 120 in each corner and then 160 biased towards the surfing side. This is nearly the same setup as your upgraded bags and I'll say that even with this, I was not impressed. What it really needs is another 600-800.

 

Same with the 226, tested it first stock with the 550 in rears, the wave didn't even curl. I was super disappointed. I then filled up an 800 sack to about 600#, threw it on top of surf corner seat and boom, just like that the wave was same in height and length as a sacked out axis/malibu, but had significantly better shape/hardness.

 

I think the key is that a malibu company boat will have a better wave out of the box, but if you put in the effort and add the weight, the supreme will be better.

[Brandon161 26]

I am reading that a lot of people add bags on the seat and that is fine. But I have no interest in doing that. I like all my seating and like things to be stored away. So basically I am going to need a bunch of lead weight from the sounds of it? It's just a tuff pill to swallow that the boat is, "Surf Series" and needs that much more weight? I really think the boat is great otherwise, but it was literally built to surf and it you can't right out of the gate without adding a bunch of weight?

 

I am not trying to sound whinny or anything, but am I crazy to expect a, "Surf" boat to actually be able to surf? LOL

[Cwazy1 89]

I had the 800 bag on the seat just because I wasn't going to bring lead or upgrade sacks on a demo, but yeah you'll have to run lead.

 

IMO the axis would have been a better option if you wanted to click a button and swap sides while maintaining a level boat. If you wanted the same on a fine line product, you'd have to get a ri238... which in that case you wouldn't be in this section of the forums

[Cdifranco 463]

I am reading that a lot of people add bags on the seat and that is fine. But I have no interest in doing that. I like all my seating and like things to be stored away. So basically I am going to need a bunch of lead weight from the sounds of it? It's just a tuff pill to swallow that the boat is, "Surf Series" and needs that much more weight? I really think the boat is great otherwise, but it was literally built to surf and it you can't right out of the gate without adding a bunch of weight?

 

I am not trying to sound whinny or anything, but am I crazy to expect a, "Surf" boat to actually be able to surf? LOL

 

Youre not whining. I agree these boats shouldn't need 1 more pound besides for what they roll off the factory floor with.

[Nate2215 25]

I understand your pain,

It was really hard for me to buy bags to put on my seats for my S21, I was in the same position as you. Finally I caved and bought a 600 for my rear seat and a 150 for my bow (the S21 has no bow ballast)

The way I see it, on days that I need the seat space I leave the 600 tucked away because I have enough people weight in my boat (and it's funny they give me gas money on top of making my surf wave amazing!...shh don't tell them that)

And on days I need it I have enough extra room in the boat because of the lack of people.

[DarksideR 1,679]

Listen up Fineline! Your key demographic is speaking volumes here to the lack of actual wave some of your boats will produce!

 

In my opinion, they need to do two things.

1: have the upgraded bags as an option. ( bigger locker bags ((1100's fit pretty nice)) and under seat bags ). AND

2: make the damn quickfill tanks twice the size, or more! They should be 1000lbs/side minimum!

 

Sorry you bought a surf boat that doesn't have enough weight from the factory. In my experience, 2015 was the first year Fineline made a boat capable of great waves straight out the door. That was the now discontinued SV's and the FS's. Now the RI's do too. But that's it.

[Brandon161 26]

Well I guess I will just keep adding weight and see what happens. Does anyone have the stereo noise I mentioned? Anyone know if I am capable of calibrating the speedo myself?

[viking 491]

Your audio interference sounds like a ground issue. FWIW there really isn't a manufacturer out there that puts out a great sounding system straight from factory without some tweaking. Most are tuned poorly or not at all and in many cases wired incorrectly.

[Wylie_Tunes 146]

 

 

The stereo has a nasty buzz / whine when the boat is running, does anyone else have that?

This can certainly be tracked down, isolated and most likely, resolved. Its not always a quick and easy process, usually time consuming. All all of the audio components OEM installed? If something was installed post production, thats where I would start first.

 

 

 

is it just me or is the engine exhaust pretty damn loud on these boat. When I was surfing it just seemed super loud compared to other boats I have been on. The boat came with the Icon 8s on the tower. I was very unimpressed with them. The music had to be up really loud to even hear it surfing.

Competing with engine, water and wind noise, is certainly one of the challenges of the audio system. An 8" traditional coax is enough to get the job done. However, amp power, tuning, music source, speaker alignment, etc, can all effect the ability to hear a speaker. Simply making a speaker change, may not resolve. If your main focus is surfing, I would consider a 2nd pair of Icon-8 rather than switching to the Rev-8.

[Nolance 18]

The "Surf Series" on the boat should read "Surf Capable"

[Race City Marine 60]

This can certainly be tracked down, isolated and most likely, resolved. Its not always a quick and easy process, usually time consuming. All all of the audio components OEM installed? If something was installed post production, thats where I would start first.

 

Competing with engine, water and wind noise, is certainly one of the challenges of the audio system. An 8" traditional coax is enough to get the job done. However, amp power, tuning, music source, speaker alignment, etc, can all effect the ability to hear a speaker. Simply making a speaker change, may not resolve. If your main focus is surfing, I would consider a 2nd pair of Icon-8 rather than switching to the Rev-8.

 

Yea, never heard an issue with the stock audio system, ask your dealer, as that's not common. I always thought the boats were fairly quiet and smooth. Most of the noise is from water spray and I'm not sure how that is resolved if you want to do water sports.

 

Problem is that these boats are already over USCG capacity with stock ballast and no people. I think capacity is ~2300lbs and ballast starts at 2700lbs. They can only add so much before the lawyers get all over them. Spend 150K on a mastercraft with Gen 2...and then you'll see what disappointment really looks like. I couldn't even stay up behind its wave when we had one out. G23 is the only boat that has a reasonably good wave out of the box that I have found.

 

Now, find a way to stash 750lbs extra in the supreme and figure out the proper surf settings and you'll have a great wave with rear end push like a federal prison. The deep V will cause the boat to be deeper, ride smoother and surf better than about anything else, but it will take extra weight because there is so much more hull surface area, therefore it doesn't sink down as easily as a flat bottomed boat.

[rrd525 40]

I thought the capacity ratings are set taking into account the Stock Factory Ballast on boats sold.

Therefore if you exceed the 2700lbs ballast via additional ballast, extra batteries, ice chests, anchors, ropes, people, dogs, etc that is deducted from the capacity plate?

[rrd525 40]

Revise the 2700lbs above with 1350lbs Hard tanks.

[Brandon161 26]

"rear end push like a federal prison," Now that's funny!!!

 

Well I will take the boat out this weekend and try more weight and see what happens. With the stereo it already has (4) Icon 8s. They are fine, I just really liked the Rev 10s I had, so I was curious if anyone had already tried to fit them on the tower.

 

I guess I should mention I used to install stereos in cars and boats for a living, so I know a fair amount about them. I was just wondering if anyone had experienced the ground noise and if they had found a quick fix before I tear into the system.

 

Has anyone had issues with the speedometer reading a lot slower than the boat is actually going?

 

I appreciate everyone's responses. They have been helpful

[stoked 1,039]

PM H20king before you head out for his surf setup if you can't find it in the forums, he'll get you set up right. He's been off the site for a couple of days, but he may see a PM

Edited September 13, 2016 by stoked