2017 S238 rear ballast upgrade.

[DMM 0]

Hello, I’m looking for some advice. 

Got the 2017 238 with factory ballast. We both surf goofy fairly well with all ballast full and total of 300lbs leadwake spread 100 under each rear bag against the rear wall and 100 starboard midship, trim 50%.

I am 190lbs, my wife is 140. It is usually just the two of us. I know that I need more weight for even better wake but I don’t think that I want to keep more lead on the boat all the time, especially that the boat gets on the forklift in dry storage when not in use.

I don’t like the wakemakers bag buster upgrade because I don’t want to lose the storage space from under the seats. I already lost half of the starboard with the hot air vent ...

I measured the rear lockers: 50x20x20. This is exactly the 750 lbs Fly High bags but I also read that people put in the 1100s (50x24x24) and don’t fill them completely. Is this true? The extra 4 inches in width would put a lot of weight of the water on the panel divider and the extra 4 inches in height would push the lid up.

How about the panel dividers? Look at my pictures. I already have some reinforcements. Are they enough?

What do people recommend: the 7500s or the 1100s? Do I need more panel divider savers? Where to put it?

Thank you. 

DMM. 

[DjOM21 59]

I ran sumo 1000's and I busted out a divider. The fix is to get a #10 or #12 1 1/4" screws and replace the wimpy screws that come from the factory in the brackets. After that no more problems. Remember to use sealant on the screws as you are essentially screwing int the edge of the hardtanks.

Sumo 1000 and #800 pound of lead worked well all season and this was good with two people on the boat. I still liked to run 400# on the seat though when short on crew. 6 People and the wake was great.

I found storage more than adequate with this set up. I like you was not interested in mid ship water bags. Add more lead and let the forklift operator worry about it.

[InfinitySurf 302]

The forklift can handle it without a problem, they are rated for much more weight...easily 10k lbs. If you trailered a lot them you would want to be more careful, but dry storage should be no issue adding lead and it will make a difference for sure and take up less room. Personally, I would do both....bigger bags and add lead

[Race City Marine 60]

I had 1000's in there, but it pushed in the divider, which I could have fixed but didn't have the time to fool with it, so I went back to the 750's. I have sacs under the seats as well, so decided I really didn't need the extra weight of the 1000's. The boat would struggle all loaded up. Oh yea, and I had lead. Anyway, I do have the 1000's for sale!

[MFaso 56]

I have 500lbs in leads in my rear lockers. 200 in the rear and 100 midship really isn't enough. The s238 likes weight in the rear. Move that midship 100 to the surf side.

I have a 17 s238 and the wakemakers upgrade. I was worried about the space because I have a wife and 2 kids. It didn't hurt us at all this summer. My wife didn't even complain. I don't use the bow PNP at all so I use all that space instead. It's actually easier because I usually have people on the side seats. I surfed many times this summer with ONLY a driver. I logged 40 trips and I'd say 60% were only a driver or, my wife driving and my kids running around the boat while I surfed.(They are under 90lbs total)

When I just had a driver or my wife and kids, I also filled a 450 sumo and put it on the surf side floor. I went without it and everything was still fine but I got addicted to using it so it was just part of my setup. Although everyone does it, I'm not a fan of the oversized 1100s in the rear lockers. I didn't want to worry about breaking anything, especially next to the engine. I also like the midship bags better because they keep the nose down so the driver can see.

If you get the wakemakers and another 200 in lead, you will be set. I was very happy with my wave. It was consistently awesome! Message me if you have any questions. I've had boats for my whole life and never had a better summer than this past one. Not being able to get out on the lake is eating me inside. I'm putting my boat in as soon as they let me.(April, I hope)

Congrats on the boat!

[rrd525 40]

My wife and I are around the same weights as you, As well as our 2 teenage boys. It is generally the 4 of us on the boat.
We have a 2016 and run Sumo 850's in the locker and 150 lbs of lead under each bag.
We fill hard tanks 100%, Rear bags 100%,  Center hard tank 100% and 25% in the bow typically.
Trim is 20 to 50%. Surf tab 75 - 100%. We also bleed a little from the opposite hard tank to clean up the wave.
 

[DMM 0]

Thank you everyone who answered. These are all great tips and I hope that they are useful to many other happy S238 owners. 

I found that the quality of the boat is outstanding, the V hull cuts chop great. We got the PCM Crusader and it pulls all the weight like a champ. 

The only problem that I have is all the warnings and stickers. I understand that this is a California boat but they really went overboard with the stickers. There are stickers that refer to things that this boat doesn’t even have...  I am still working on removing all except for the capacity one. When friends came for a ride we had a blast reading them. Still laughing at the “still looking for the sticker with the warning that something is going to give you cancer” and “we need another sticker to warn you not to read all the other stickers while driving due to risks of crashes”. But I guess this is a good problem to have. It’s a work of love to make that whole wall look neat.

We had the choice of getting a Supreme, an MB 52, Axis A24, used Malibu and used Mastercraft. To make it short we tried all these boats and we are still glad that we made this choice and the dealer was a great part of this decision. 

[NW Boat Sports 232]

^They used to come with a lot less stickers...and NO capacity plate. When Correct Craft bought them, many more stickers covering their rear. Don't know if it's true but someone once told me each sticker represents a lawsuit. I know the bow capacity sticker is from he X-45 lawsuit in CA where the driver ran over 2 females after he chili dipped the bow.

Edited November 28, 2017 by NW Boat Sports

[DMM 0]

Update: 

On cyber Monday I bought the 1000lbs Sumo bags with the appropriate adaptors to fit the barbed quick release connectors. Since the sumo bags are 2 inches bigger in each direction compared to the locker’s sizes there will be more pressure on the panels so I also bought two sets of panel divider reinforcement kits. Better to be safe than sorry.

By my calculations the total theoretical ballast weight that I have now is 3900 lbs: 2 sumo bags each 1000, quick fill 750, bow tank 350, bow PNP 500, lead 300. I will see how it rides with this before getting more lead. Plus a cooler with drinks and friends. No, I never take alcohol on the lake because surfing is too much fun as it is to jeopardize it in any way.

The wave was good with 3000lbs all full at 11.1 mph. It has to be great with 3900.

I am accumulating older bags: three 155 lbs bricks, a 400lbs one, a center locker 580 lbs and now two 550 lbs...

I never liked the hassle of using a pump for these bags as it took too long and there was always a spill or two. On my previous boat it seemed easy to to put the 400lbs in the walkway and just walk on it but one time I overfilled it and it was wet so I slipped on it and my foot got stuck for a few seconds against the wall. It is the same wall where this boat has the stickers....  Now that’s a good idea for another sticker!! Other time I was keeping it on the floor in the back on the starboard side and it rolled on my wife’s foot. I had a hard time rolling it back to get the drain hole up to use the pump to deflate. It stopped being fun at that time...

But I guess I could use one just to see how the wave changes. It’s probably the time to be careful and not overload to avoid rollers over the free board. Plus there is probably one point where more weight is not better just harder on the engine and on the gas consumption  

The boating season here is May through first week of November. Counting the days. 

[h20king 794]

Quick fill is 500lbs per side and bow tank is 500lbs

[xj1514 13]

On 11/27/2017 at 0:29 PM, DMM said:

Thank you everyone who answered. These are all great tips and I hope that they are useful to many other happy S238 owners. 

I found that the quality of the boat is outstanding, the V hull cuts chop great. We got the PCM Crusader and it pulls all the weight like a champ. 

The only problem that I have is all the warnings and stickers. I understand that this is a California boat but they really went overboard with the stickers. There are stickers that refer to things that this boat doesn’t even have...  I am still working on removing all except for the capacity one. When friends came for a ride we had a blast reading them. Still laughing at the “still looking for the sticker with the warning that something is going to give you cancer” and “we need another sticker to warn you not to read all the other stickers while driving due to risks of crashes”. But I guess this is a good problem to have. It’s a work of love to make that whole wall look neat.

We had the choice of getting a Supreme, an MB 52, Axis A24, used Malibu and used Mastercraft. To make it short we tried all these boats and we are still glad that we made this choice and the dealer was a great part of this decision. 

For stickers use blow dryer, plastic scraper and 3m adhesive remover. Some of the stickers on mine were duplicates. Weird. 

[Aquaholic1 3]

Have any pics of how you did your panel reinforcement? I’m looking to do mine tomorrow as I also just got the sumo 1000’s