Ri 217 Surf Setup

[mrnate450r 6]

Hello, first time posting on here. I've been a Malibu owner, and looking to change direction. I've ridden a 2016 Ri217. Wave was better than my 23 LSV, but I don't know what setup was on the Ri. I am wanting to see what setups everyone is running to get the best wave. I want to avoid extra sacs on the seats. All hidden ballast would be ideal. I will be demoing soon to possibly place an order for a 2018. 

[CO Surfer 289]

You definitely won't need bags on the seats!  217 puts out a great wave.

[Korgae 11]

I litterly just picked up my 2017 RI217, went to the lake broke it in..hit fill.. messed with the center tab..jumped in the water and surfed.. the wave was amazing.. super long, tons of push, nice curl. Im sure we can get it even better with some tweaking but for out of the box.. wow! We had 3 adults and one child in the boat. We also came from a Malibu with SG. No looking back or regrets. Hope that helps.

[Woody 1]

I fill all the ballast (4950lbs) and put the center tab at 45 and put the surf tab at 70. My speed changes all the time since I surf the Delaware river and it tidal.

[InfinitySurf 302]

All the RI boats put out an awesome wave and have plenty of hidden ballast. You can always add lead too but likely wont need it.

[onlyinboards 3]

anyone else have any insider tips on how to set up?  I ride in a lake and was using all rear ballast only with 95% full ramfill on non-surf side and 11.2 with cats at -4 and 85 and 20 on tabs.  it was very tall but not very long.  

Looking for some other suggestions!  i will try all ballast full next time with center tab at 40 and surf tabs at 70 and 0.

[onlyinboards 3]

here is my boat by the way, same colors as Woody (I removed the surf sticker though)

[InfinitySurf 302]

Usually to get a longer wave....add bow ballast, or in lieu of that, you can add some center trim tab. Weight in bow is likely better tho, that is how I get my wave longer in my SV244. You can also speed up some to make it longer, but I like 11-11.2mph, so I add bow ballast and/or trim. It will knock down the size of wave a little...but if you have 100% full in rear, you should have plenty of counter to have a high enough wave either way.

[Korgae 11]

Since you are using -4 cat's I'm assuming your talking regular and not goofy? I ask because there is a lot of talk about which way cats is supposed to work ( from the other thread the RI's use + for goofy side and - for regular side)  this could be a killer thread but we should all help each other 1st by specifying what side we are talking about just to stop any confusion. If we all get on the same page with listing our setups I think we can create a good database.

Boat RI 217 with 409 - 1235 prop.

Lake : Deep water ( 150+)

For my goofy riders im using:

Center tab 50

70/0 for tabs

All PNP full (timers reset for longer fill times to make sure they are full)

85-90/100 for ram fill 

Cat's @ 0  ( but want to test more with the + setting )

Speed 11.2-11.6

Crew- 3-4

I love the above goofy wave its steep but super smooth and long. With that said, I actually want to mess with a little less rear weight as I think I am over using the center tab to flatten the boat out. I want to test 65/75 on the ram fill with 20-30 center tab, my guess is this might equal a longer wave but slightly less steep. 

 

I don't have many regular riders but will start to keep notes.

 

[wheels 151]

This cat thing is still confusing me. My 2017 ri237 is definitely better with positive cats for regular side. If you watch boardco's video on how to set up goofy side on the 237 they are using negative cats. Lak3sufr who has probably the most experience with the 237 is using positive cats for regular and negative for goofy. if I drive down the lake with no ballasts and add positive cats my boat leans to the left and negative cats makes it lean to the right. I would think you would want the boat to lean to the side you are surfing would you not?

[Darkside 248]

There is new software update that just came out.  The factory "presets" for pro surf are actually pretty good.   So just make sure it has current software, hit surf right/left and go!

[wheels 151]

12 hours ago, onlyinboards said:

anyone else have any insider tips on how to set up?  I ride in a lake and was using all rear ballast only with 95% full ramfill on non-surf side and 11.2 with cats at -4 and 85 and 20 on tabs.  it was very tall but not very long.  

Looking for some other suggestions!  i will try all ballast full next time with center tab at 40 and surf tabs at 70 and 0.

I have heard that ri217 likes lots of now weight unlike the other RI's so try both front full 

Edited July 11, 2017 by wheels

[carguy79ta 67]

the preset "prosurf left" works pretty good on the 257.

Edited July 11, 2017 by carguy79ta
spelling

[Korgae 11]

10 hours ago, wheels said:

This cat thing is still confusing me. My 2017 ri237 is definitely better with positive cats for regular side. If you watch boardco's video on how to set up goofy side on the 237 they are using negative cats. Lak3sufr who has probably the most experience with the 237 is using positive cats for regular and negative for goofy. if I drive down the lake with no ballasts and add positive cats my boat leans to the left and negative cats makes it lean to the right. I would think you would want the boat to lean to the side you are surfing would you not?

I thought in the 257 thread someone said it was + for goofy and - for regular.. I'm all mixed up now. Like I said in my post i have not tested with cats yet so I have no real world testing other then reading that thread which I guess I read it wrong.

[Korgae 11]

@BoardCo Can you please set us all straight once and for all..LOL 

[wheels 151]

9 minutes ago, Korgae said:

I thought in the 257 thread someone said it was + for goofy and - for regular.. I'm all mixed up now. Like I said in my post i have not tested with cats yet so I have no real world testing other then reading that thread which I guess I read it wrong.

Yeah the 257 guys are saying that , that's why I'm confused   Boardco actually said in a write up they now use negative cats for both sides

Edited July 11, 2017 by wheels

[BoardCo 110]

Ok - talking about CATS is a bit tricky as it is a variable that factors in with other variables that will change the ultimate outcome. What I mean by that is that CATS will have a different impact on +10 setting when your quicksurf is set to 60 than if your quicksurf is set to 70. In addition, CATS has a different impact if you are running at 11.5 mph vs. running at 10.6 mph.

Because of that it is hard to say "you want CATS at -10 on a Ri237 when surfing regular" as it is different on every boat.

Here is the gist of it - on a Ri series boat if you pull the CATS fin to the opposite side that you are surfing the wave will typically become more rounded and develop more of a smooth hump shape. If you set the CATS fin to the same side you are surfing on it will create a sharper lip at the top. Now those are generalizations but it typically holds true.

On the 2016 / 2017 Ri237 I typically run CATS at -5 to 10 for both port and starboard surfing as we want to round out the starboard side slightly and sharpen up the port side wave. My other settings are typically 10.8mph, Quicksurf at 65 and Stinger plate set to whatever makes the wave the best.

On the Ri217 and Ri257 I typically run the CATS at 0 though I will adjust based on the circumstances.

Hope that helps.

[Korgae 11]

@BoardCo  Thanks.. So cats is more complex then 1st thought. So in your wave tuning, where in your steps do you use cats?  do you dial in a wave with the ballast- plates,center tab and speed and then use cats at the last step? or do you work around cats?   Also without me climbing under the boat to test. Is postive turning the cat fin to the starboard or port side?

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

[257Tsunami 50]

^^^^^^^

Just when I thought I was getting things dialed in nicely, now I'm going to be tinkering all weekend again. My wife will be so happy lol. I think a lot of guys run 90/100 with the Ramfills. I feel like that is the reason that most guys only see a benefit from turning CATS to one side. With everything equal you probably get more adjustment with CATS. I'm going to try running full weight on both sides this weekend and see what I can come up with. @BoardCo, you guys are a wealth of knowledge between CC and your website. The info you provide has really helped teach me the Centurion ways. I for one greatly appreciate it.

[257Tsunami 50]

6 minutes ago, Korgae said:

@BoardCo  Thanks.. So cats is more complex then 1st thought. So in your wave tuning, where in your steps do you use cats?  do you dial in a wave with the ballast- plates,center tab and speed and then use cats at the last step? or do you work around cats?   Also without me climbing under the boat to test. Is postive turning the cat fin to the starboard or port side?

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

If you look at the gauge on your dash, it will show you the orientation for - and +.