I got 1000 lbs of lead from Wakeballast for my 257. Awesome service. Set it up the way Darkside did his. put 500 lbs under each rear seat with 100 of that tucked under the front part of each locker bag. I have the Bow sack. filled everything up and overfilled to make sure. wave was freaking Awesome. A monster. Many thanks to my wife who tirelessly drives while I surf..
boat with gas 7800 lbs (per Bawshogg)7200 lbs ballast. 4 crew plus coolers and other gear...16000 lbs. Wow. wave was unbelievable. also the platform was about 7 to 8 inches under water...with no one on it and me peering over the sun deck.
I am convinced that the RI 257 with 7200 lbs ballast puts out the most massive wave out there bar none. this setup works goofy and reg. so I will start trying to learn transfers.
recap..
All ballast including bow sack...FULL
500 lbs lead under each rear seat
Center tab 45
Quicksurf 85 and 0
CATS. 0
11.2mph
this works for goofy and regular.
Unreal.
yeah I will get pics this weekend.
A couple more fun variations for you.
1. Drain 10% from non surf side, set surf tab to 60, stinger to 45, speed 10.9, YUUUUUGGGGGGEEEEE barrels!
2. Lean it like a cholo! 100/70, surf tab 90, stinger 100, cats 45. Super flat wave, Malibu style, except firm....
I would guess that the automatic mechanism within the bilge pump is stuck in the on position and is faulty. It is often a float that moves up and down with the water level. As the water goes up, the float follows eventually triggering the pump to turn on when it reaches a high enough level. If you have an Atwood pump, you will find the float when you remove the bilge pump from the strainer basket.
I did one 7 years ago. Not an A plate. There are some pictures half way through that may be helpful. Others will chime in for specifics on the A plate. Pretty sure Troy has one, try searching his posts for "A plate" I think I've seen the email for the guy that makes them.
I like my Bennett size. I went bigger with extra length rams, but not sure how big the benefit was in performance over standard size. Awesome in chop. Mostly surf regular but tab really cleans up the wave...
...An Ri257 on the trailer!. My goodness that is an amazingly large boat!. I'm 5'10" and never felt smaller.
I do think my '04 Supreme V220 would fit INSIDE of the Ri257!!!
They are so much bigger than they look in pictures. The cool thing is they are super nimble on the water (for a 26' boat), much better than expected.
It makes my 3500 mega cab look small...