Hein & Kim's 2019 Fi25 upgrades, enhancements and mods

[Hein 63]

We brought home our 2019 Fi25 last week and had our first session the day after.  I consider myself lucky to score a session on a new toy the day after I get it. It doesn't always work out that way. One result of that quickness to rally kept me from having the opportunity to mount the rear view mirror which came with the boat. That proved to be a challenge as we tried adjust the surf settings without really being able to see the wave change.

I am not a fan of mirrors clamped on the windshield anyway and wanted to try a rear view camera instead. That is the upgrade that this first post is about.

We purchased a rear view camera and display on Amazon a few days before picking up the boat from NWBS in Oregon City.

https://amzn.to/2DEgZTg

I spent some time figuring out how and where to mount the display above the OEM dash in good view of the driver without blocking the view in front of the boat.  Scratched my head a bit, took some patterns, did some CAD work and machined some parts shown below next to the display for the camera.

Figured out where to place the camera on the back of the boat. Wire was run along the right side under the seats.

Then continued to fit the CNC'd mounts to the dash. Happy these were a perfect fit right off the bat. This step usually requires some iteration of CAD tweaks and CNCing of more parts until the fit is right. A bit of skill and luck this time around.

Used some 3M VHB to attach the mounts to the back of the display. This camera is designed with some straps that normally wrap around a rear view mirror. I trimmed those off and removed the pads that rest against the mirror surface. That is were my brackets attach to the back with the VHB.

Then I mounted the camera on the dash. I will add some VHB between the mounts and dash to hold it in place. This was just a test fit to verify the position.

Here is the view from the driver seat. Back of barn and CNC machine are shown in the image. We will have to see if this is angled right when on the water but think it looks pretty good.

Note that the display is actually upside down. The camera is designed to be mounted above a license plate on the underside of the cover that normally is above them.  Having the display upside down actually improved the wire routing which I still need to clean up a bit. So this all worked out for the better.  This camera also has a built in front view cam which can 'see' through' the windshield but we won't be using that feature. It can record and do a host of other things which may be fun to try. We can actually record our sessions on a thumb drive so that might be cool. It's 1080P so resolution will be pretty good. Will post some videos when we get a chance to test it out.

All the best, Hein

Edited April 30, 2019 by Hein

[Hein 63]

Next project on deck.  Actually below in this case...

Bilge alarm system featuring a float switch mounted to a self-made ABS plate with threaded inserts that will be bonded to the inside of the hull with 3M 5200 adhesive. If the water level comes up to actuate the switch then a 90 decibel alarm  will sound.  Also shown is a small fuse for the system.  I have a friend who almost sank his boat when a hose came loose and they didn't notice it until the engine was almost underwater.  This might help to avoid such a scenario.  All the best, Hein

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by Hein

[bomoseen avy 45]

Hein, you are a beast! Well done, sir! Can't wait to see what's in store next...

[rhino89523 34]

I can't wit for your review of the Camera. I thought about doing that on my boat. I have a camera I installed on my Motorhome and have cameras factory installed on my truck and wife's car. I have glare issues...not sure if it is just my eyes getting old or what. Screens mess with me a bit so I am curious how you will like the mirror/camera in the sunlight.

Your installs are top notch.

[Hein 63]

Glare could be an issue and thank you for bringing that up. I angled the monitor down slightly and decided to order a screen protector with anti glare to try if needed.  It's for an Ipad but figure I can cut it to fit.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071JPDP5R

All the best, Hein

[h20king 794]

Camera looks good. Can I ask why you chose a second monitor instead of plugging into the back of the screen? Still have not decided which way I'm going on our 25

[Hein 63]

I wasn't aware that we could display  the rear view cam on the dash screen.  Still, I think a separate monitor will be best because we want the whole dash screen to be available for making adjustments to the wave setup. I did put the anti-glare film on the rear view monitor which I think will help in the sun. I discovered that I could pan up and down on the screen so that will help if I didn't get the camera pointed quite right. Excited to try it out but haven't had a chance to get out on the water again.   I did also purchase a  microSD card so we can record our rides. That is also and added bonus we have with the dedicated monitor. All the best, Hein

Edited May 5, 2019 by Hein

[h20king 794]

Let me know how it works out.  For sure you can plug into the back of the screen though. The screen has two camera inputs on the back side. It is a split screen so the camera would show up on one side when on and all the adjustments on the other side.  Down side is you can't use navigation when the camera is on . 

[Hein 63]

Water temperature is finally getting comfortable so glad to be out again today.  Rear view camera worked well and was easy to see and use. Anti-glare film I applied did help. Photo below doesn't really do it justice. Driver's view is much better. This was late afternoon heading east.

I think we had better luck with the wave today.  We were light on crew with only 3 on board.  I moved the 400lbs of lead from underneath the bags in the rear lockers to under the rear most seats. 200lbs on each side. All bags were full except for the starboard rear which was at about 60% iirc.  Tabs were 0 and 60 with stinger at 40 and cats at 30.  We ran into some funky current whirlpool/eddies which totally ruined the wave when I was riding. Here is a video of Sean riding.

I'll have more footage to share tomorrow...

All the best, Hein

Edited May 9, 2019 by Hein

[InfinitySurf 302]

Looks like a decent wave, just looks like the lip is not as clean as it could be. I assume you tried the CATS at center setting too? My understanding is that on the new boats, its not really needed. I have seen wave lip "dirty" like that when boat is listed slightly to wrong side (not surf side), or not enough weight...but you said non surf side was at 60% full.

I have not been on FI enough to know actual settings so I may not be very helpful here, but I can say for sure that the FI23 and FI21 I have ridden behind (90% sure on both of those they were weighted evenly, maybe slight bias to surf side) but both had sizable and excellent wave shape and the lip was clean with a nicely shapped "barrel" at the end giving you push far back. I know on my SV244 with the InfinityWave surf tabs I recently installed, having everything full and then draining off Ramfill on non-surf side to 80% defines the surf wave lip slightly compared to level tho even level its great....lip only gets dirty when I drain off surf side which I did by mistake the 2nd time out with those tabs and it confused me for a few mins till I figured out I had drained off the wrong Ramfill side (course my hull is different than yours, just a comment). The FI does not like bow weight like mine does but that is probably something you already know.

Have you posted all the details with bags you ordered with boat? @H20 KING could steer you in the correct direction on what to fill and settings to use. Don't remember tab settings, but think I remember him posting something like all ballast full except only like 30% in bow.

BTW, great mod on the camera, your CNC work is impressive! Must be very cool to have that ability at your fingertips. I have been planning to add a camera at back of my boat and wire it to my screen (I have 2 video inputs also and with long enough RCA video cable, should be an easy mod to accomplish) and would give me a 2nd way to watch surfer when driving. My screen is located down and to right of steering wheel, so its not something you see as easy as having it on the dash like you did and I have not made it a priority yet since I have a couple other mods I need to finish first (replacing my bunks/carpet and installing Gatorbak bunk covers is my last bigger project for this year), then just finish up my polish and wax on boat....most everything else I wanted to get done I have already finished. Wish I could find someone local who had the equip for me to suspend the boat off trailer so I could wetsand, compound and polish my hull since my bunk carpet has scratched the hell out of my black hull even tho I never powerload (one main reason I am switching to the composite Gatorbak bunk covers), but dealer cant let me use his due to liability insurance. Hopefully I can figure out a way to get it done this Fall.

Beautiful boat!

[Hein 63]

Thank you for the insights, Infinity. And for the compliment regarding the CNC. Having the machine is great but it's actually the engineer coming up with the design and doing the programming (yours truly) that makes good parts with it.

Believe we have all the ballast options on this boat including transom bag across the back. We had tabs set to 0 and 60 with stinger at 40. Cats was at 30.  We will try again with cats set to 0.  We did have a cleaner wave when we just started out but then started changing the settings and lost it while we were riding.

Edited May 9, 2019 by Hein

[Hein 63]

Here's another video with a pretty Gorge afternoon sky.

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by Hein

[Hein 63]

We got the wave looking really solid today. More crew (5) so 3 sitting on the surf side,  bow bag at 40%, starboard pnp at 60% every thing else full. Then 0,50,85 for tabs and stinger, cats at 5.  Videos coming shortly.  We captured ourselves on one of the Gorge web cams. Great day!   All the best, Hein

[Hein 63]

 

[Hein 63]

One more photo of the rear view camera in use. I'm not sure the image wouldn't be better without the glare film but it's a keeper none-the-less.  Driver is totally able to monitor the rider while still looking ahead. You can also see that we don't use cruise control due to the constantly varying magnitude and direction of the current in the Columbia river.  GPS based speed control will absolutely not work for us. We ride by the using the tachometer. A smidge over 3600 rpm seems perfect for us. GPS speedometer can be as much as 3mph off depending on whether we are going upstream/downstream or at some angle across the flow. We were seeing 2-3 mph while floating at idle.

If anyone else wants to try one then I would be honored to machine some of the brackets I used to install it.  They are mounted with 3M VHB tape so should be removable with no damage the dash itself. 

Below are a couple photos of the bilge alarm install.  The float switch is on the ground side of the alarm so just needed one wire going back. The alarm is secured under the dash with VHB and power wire goes forward from there to the positive post where the breakers are.  I made an inline fuse holder with two flag style crimp terminals and stuck a 3A ATC fuse in.  I ran the switch wire to the rear from the dash via the space behind the panel next to the driver (where throttle is located) until it emerged under the seats in back. Then just ran it along the back of the under seat storage towards the rear and then down into the bilge near the V-drive. Other lead from switch is grounded to the engine. I used the same wire routing for the rear view camera cable.

Below. Fuse holder behind dash.

Next couple photos. Buzzer is up under here:

I like to keep the bilge ventilated with a box fan when the boat is in storage so moisture can dry out. I open up a seat back in front and also the fuel tank sender hatch. Flow-thru air comes out in those locations.  The 18x18 furnace filter on top of the fan keeps dust from being blown in. Fan runs 24/7.

All the best, Hein

Edited May 11, 2019 by Hein

[Packrat 13]

Just recently rode an Fi25 in a wakesurf comp in Arizona. What a great wave. For the comp the boat settings were Stinger Plate at 85  on the trim, Quicksurf setting 85, 11.4 was the speed and boat was 100% full all bags. No Cat was used but they said you could add 8 for regular and -8 for goofy and drain 5% on the counter/opposite ram  fill side as an option. 

[Hein 63]

Thank you for sharing the settings. Will give those a try next time we ride.

Kim just released our board rack supports to our Ebay store.  This was a CAD project completed by a paid summer intern we had working for us last summer.  Locally made right here in Oregon. 

They are designed to be mounted to common unistrut which is convenient because then they can be adjusted up and down as needed to accommodate thickness of board and the length of the fins.

All the best, Hein

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Board-Racks/143259723364

 

Edited May 20, 2019 by Hein

[Hein 63]

Great having a Bluetooth interface for the audio system but phone would run out of power after a few hours on the water. Updated the phone holder to one with a wireless charger.  I cut the post off the back of the holder, sanded it smooth and used VHB tape to attach it to the dash panel. Mounted the 12V to 5V converter inside the dash with some more VHB. Connected wires to positive post and negative buss bar in front of dash located behind starboard front seat back. With a 5A fuse to protect the circuit. Works great.  All the best, Hein

New phone holder mounted. Here is the one I used:  https://amzn.to/2McGEJo

VHB tape to secure it to the dash panel. Holes are for factory supplied holder which I removed.

Below. Drok power supply mounted behind dash with more VHB tape.  This 12v to 5v converter: https://amzn.to/2VLuDdq

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by Hein

[Getssum 10]

If anyone is interested in adding one of these mirrors, they are part of Amazon's prime day sale, and are currently marked down to just over 100$.

[BHamm 5]

Wow.this is pretty cool. My wife wants a mirror for out boat too, but this would be better i think.

Do you think there will be problems with water and the camera?  I am wondering if it might work for me to mount one higher up on the tower maybe.

Thanks for sharing.

Edited October 27, 2019 by BHamm