XJ's Official S238 thread...pictures

[xj1514 13]

1 hour ago, Cwazy1 said:

That'll depend on your definition of 'work'. She'll be able to ride it as long as she is well versed enough to get up on a larger board. Some smaller folk, namely smaller women, have a harder time getting enough heel pressure to pop a larger board up when starting. 

It likely won't be quite as fun for your wife since the board will feel like riding a log. The biggest burden of a smaller person riding an over sized board is the foot position and stance. She just won't have the strength and weight to whip a large board around. On the flip side she'll probably be able to ride 30-35 feet behind the boat way far in the wash because it'll have so much push for her. It'll also mean she can basically just chill on the board effortlessly and not worry about falling out the wave.

If I were you, I'd do two things. 

1. Get a board that will support your weight. This is really important to being less frustrated and progressing as a rider. Your old Ronix Koal might have been 5'6, but its a much thinner board and also tapers its nose up front making the nose of the board less buoyant and easier to pearl the board with too much front foot pressure. The el jefe is nearly 2.5" thick in the middle and has a rail line that goes way up front to a full volume funboard shape. This makes the overall volume huge and has that ability to take on lots of nose pressure for hanging 5. Its just shaped better for max push. I'd ride this as a twin. 

2a. Take your current board that was damaged and repair it yourself using solarez (http://amzn.to/2tNZKZ1). Its a UV cure epoxy. Handy to have in any case for future dings. Sand clean the crack or dent thats on your current board, Slap some solarez on it, let it cure, and then sand it back to the original shape of the board. Then have your wife ride it until she progresses out of it. 

Another option to #2, we'll call it 2b, would be to get a 'average size' board. Something around 4-8. That would be a better size for your wife and other people sub-200 pound. 

You sir are a great wealth of information. I really appreciate it and will do as you suggested on all accounts. I was using my wife's clear finger nail polish to keep us afloat so to speak. Makes me feel better I can repair it. Will be ordering asap. I never thought about the thickness of the board, but yes, the Ronix Koal is thin. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what a different board will do. 

[xj1514 13]

Are any of these boards comparable?

https://www.wakemakers.com/wakesurf-boards

Im guessing a 300 dollar board isn't going to cut it, but I've spent so dang much money already. Just checkin...

 

Wakemakers is local for me. I ran their board finder and it looks like there are quite a few large boards that are 300 dollars. Can anyone suggest one on that site in that range? Just trying to save money. 

Edited June 26, 2017 by xj1514

[Cwazy1 89]

https://www.wakemakers.com/hyperlite-landlock-wakesurf-board.html

This would be a good option if you're working on a budget. Its longer and has more nose buoyancy, but isn't going to be as big on volume as the Doomswell. 

[Cwazy1 89]

But honestly, if you wanted to stay in that budget, go with an odysea's new wakesurf line!

http://www.evo.com/wakesurf-boards/catch-surf-odysea-skipper-quad-fin-board.aspx

in the 5'6. Its gonna be SUPER buoyant and have really good fin configurations you can play with. 

Edited June 26, 2017 by Cwazy1

[xj1514 13]

2 minutes ago, Cwazy1 said:

https://www.wakemakers.com/hyperlite-landlock-wakesurf-board.html

This would be a good option if you're working on a budget. Its longer and has more nose buoyancy, but isn't going to be as big on volume as the Doomswell. 

That was one I looked at as well as this one,

https://www.wakemakers.com/liquid-force-rocket-wakesurf-board.html

I hate to sacrifice ride ability since I'm having so much trouble, pay now pay later type of dilemma. 

Between the boat, ropes, life jackets, wakeboards, ballast and lead, I'm getting deep here. I sure hope once I catch a wave it's as satisfying as it looks. 

[xj1514 13]

6 minutes ago, Cwazy1 said:

But honestly, if you wanted to stay in that budget, go with an odysea's new wakesurf line!

http://www.evo.com/wakesurf-boards/catch-surf-odysea-skipper-quad-fin-board.aspx

in the 5'6. Its gonna be SUPER buoyant and have really good fin configurations you can play with. 

Have you ridden them? Are they for ocean surfing?

[InfinitySurf 302]

You really want a buoyant board to start with like Cwazy1 said cause its gonna keep you up and is made for your weight. Spending less money at this point is smart, cause you are gonna grow out of it by end of summer and down road you will want a more custom board that is not so long cause at that point you will have it mastered (shorter/thinner is easier to maneuver but you have to know how to pump and carve or you lose the wave a lot quicker) at that point, you wont have any issue riding a shorter board....to start tho, get a thick board with the buoyancy...at length you need. Will be a much shorter learning curve.

[Cwazy1 89]

1 minute ago, xj1514 said:

Have you ridden them? Are they for ocean surfing?

I've ridden Odysea foamies in the ocean before and generally speaking know how they feel. Its going to be less performance oriented than any thin stick like the ones from wakemakers. This is just because of the overall shape along with the soft edge. Odysea has always had these shorter boards, but they were always sold with ocean specific fins. They just changed the fin setup and now are selling them as wake options. 

I'd skip the ronix and hyperlites from wakemakers. They're just not going to float you well enough. If you have the funds, go with a doomswell. If you're more on a budget, go with the odysea 5'6. 

Keep in mind that as Infinity has said, you will progress out of it and if you're continuously wanting to improve, a custom will be the way to go. That being said, wakesurf boards do great on the second hand market. You'll hardly lose much money on boards selling on CL. 

[xj1514 13]

Odysea ordered. 5'6". Lets see how next weekend goes. 

[Cwazy1 89]

15 minutes ago, xj1514 said:

Odysea ordered. 5'6". Lets see how next weekend goes. 

Keep us posted! take some pics and video if you can.

[InfinitySurf 302]

XJ....just to put it out there. Since I learned on skim style (super agile) and then got my Doomswell Neo (Much more stabile and with 4 fins tracks like crazy....I ended up taking out the 2 back smaller fins after a few runs). But the first 3-4 times up, it felt so different I could not do much with it, but could immediately tell how much better it was supporting me and when I leaned forward it took OFF (don't crash into back of boat, lol). Just saying that so you are not surprised when its totally different. Will take a couple trips to get used to but guarantee once you get the feel for it that its gonna make a huge difference. You will probably feel like you are on the brakes a good bit at first cause you will want to be closer to boat where the push is the strongest, but as you get used to it, you will be able to drop back more and it wont feel like that anymore. Try different foot placements with it. With my 4' 8"....I have back foot almost all the way back and front foot a little less than 3/4 way up. The more you bend your knees and stay low as a beginner, the easier it will be to keep centered and shift your weight as needed. As you get better, your stance will change and you can "get taller" on the board.

[Cwazy1 89]

Agree with infinity, only run it as a twin fin setup. A quad setup is going to feel way too locked in for what you're use to. 

[xj1514 13]

I definitely like the feeling of being able to thrash and move my board around, but I want to be able to surf ropeless more. This new board I'm hoping will allow me to actually surf and then start narrowing in on my wake, as I think it is still sub par. The most push comes from real close to the back of the boat and I'd really like to be much farther back. A few inches of the deck isn't cutting it. 

I'll for sure use the advice on the fins. 

[MFaso 56]

XJ,

I was super bummed too. My dealer also surfed the boat with no problem, showing me it works.(That was stock) My dealer is also 160 or so compared to me at 215 or so... You are my clone man!

This was all within the past 2 months. I'm THAT new, just like you. My buddy who hasn't been out as many times as me is just starting to drop the rope as well but needs another time or two out to really get it. The board I'm riding most is the 4'10 NEO. Once I got it, I tried the other board I have (phase 5 X) and it also worked fine. Dropped the rope right away. I've ridden 3 boards and I'm dropping the rope no matter what at this point.

Upload your video to YouTube and post a link here. That's the easiest way to post here. I upload right from my cell phone then just post the link...Very simple. I HAVE video from my first day trying to surf and video from my first day dropping the rope consistently and I can see the difference.

[xj1514 13]

1 hour ago, MFaso said:

XJ,

I was super bummed too. My dealer also surfed the boat with no problem, showing me it works.(That was stock) My dealer is also 160 or so compared to me at 215 or so... You are my clone man!

This was all within the past 2 months. I'm THAT new, just like you. My buddy who hasn't been out as many times as me is just starting to drop the rope as well but needs another time or two out to really get it. The board I'm riding most is the 4'10 NEO. Once I got it, I tried the other board I have (phase 5 X) and it also worked fine. Dropped the rope right away. I've ridden 3 boards and I'm dropping the rope no matter what at this point.

Upload your video to YouTube and post a link here. That's the easiest way to post here. I upload right from my cell phone then just post the link...Very simple. I HAVE video from my first day trying to surf and video from my first day dropping the rope consistently and I can see the difference.

I have a few videos, but they are just me thrashing around after a long day of patiently trying to find the pocket. I got bored of just sitting there holding the rope, so I'm not sure if they will help, but I'll see if I can post them up. 

 

+1 for heavy surfers. lol. 

[MFaso 56]

Definitely post it so if anything people can see your wave. Cwazy helped me a lot by me showing him videos. These guys know their $hit.

[xj1514 13]

Got my new board. Guess I missed the part that said it's foam, lol. Details details. Either way, at least now I won't beat the boat or boat up, should be real durable. My Ronix is still leaking water out and I'm still waiting for Amazon to ship the resin to get her sealed up right. 

Fingers crossed, I will be surfing this weekend ropeless. 

 

How do we set the boat to surf farther back? More weight in front?

[InfinitySurf 302]

There is always a balance...but yes, bow weight should extend your wave pocket. You gotta play with it some to find the "Sweet spot", too much bow weight will make your wave smaller and you can lose push, too much rear weight can make you wave big, but very short pocket. Personally....I am roughly 20-25% bow. I use a little as 500 and as much as 900lbs in bow depending on conditions, but I also have a lot of rear weight with Ramfill and PnP = 3900lbs. Good luck man. Remember...different board that likely is a lot more buoyant, so will take a little getting used to. May not happen the first couple times up. Took me a few trips to really get used to my Doomswell after riding skim for a good while.

[xj1514 13]

8 minutes ago, InfinitySurf said:

There is always a balance...but yes, bow weight should extend your wave pocket. You gotta play with it some to find the "Sweet spot", too much bow weight will make your wave smaller and you can lose push, too much rear weight can make you wave big, but very short pocket. Personally....I am roughly 20-25% bow. I use a little as 500 and as much as 900lbs in bow depending on conditions, but I also have a lot of rear weight with Ramfill and PnP = 3900lbs. Good luck man. Remember...different board that likely is a lot more buoyant, so will take a little getting used to. May not happen the first couple times up. Took me a few trips to really get used to my Doomswell after riding skim for a good while.

Good info on pocket size and shape. I feel like I've got a lot of weight but can't get it sorted out straight. 1100lb fly highs, 600 lb of "lead",plus factory hard tanks and front pnp. Pretty excited about the new board, have no idea what's going to happen. 

Anyone know why I can't edit a post? It's on a timer or something? The edit option goes away, just trying to correct spelling etc, this darn iPhone has the absolute worst predictive text. 

[Cwazy1 89]

3 hours ago, xj1514 said:

Got my new board. Guess I missed the part that said it's foam, lol. Details details. Either way, at least now I won't beat the boat or boat up, should be real durable. My Ronix is still leaking water out and I'm still waiting for Amazon to ship the resin to get her sealed up right. 

Fingers crossed, I will be surfing this weekend ropeless. 

 

How do we set the boat to surf farther back? More weight in front?

You definitely want the board's foam core to be dry before you seal it up. I'd leave it in the sun for a day so it can properly air out. It'll also help if you go through with a fine pick or a small screwdriver and pick out any of the cracked resin to open up the foam. Its easier to fix a bigger hole than a smaller hole so don't be shy to pick at it. Lastly, you can take a blow dryer and dry the area further if there's still any more residual moisture. 

I would not run any bow or center ballast on the 238. It just doesn't perform with it. The idea that adding bow ballast increases length is true. But you lose wave height. And for someone bigger, you need need need the height. 

Edits are on a timer, goes away after a bit.