N8 Froelich

Thanks for the feedback guys. Sorry for the slow response, I've not been getting email notifications. That's kinda what I was hoping the consensus would be (some clunk is normal) since I've experienced it in the past on our last boat just maybe to a lesser degree. The electric brakes are interesting but I'm not sure they have an electric conversion for disc's which is what our trailer has. For now I'm going to live with it. We are currently pulling the boat with our Yukon so it was interesting to hear you say you notice it too with your Tahoe. We're shopping for a 1 ton now so I can image you feel less with a vehicle that size.

At the risk of sounding like a skeptic if that thing works as good as they say it does, is waterproof, and you can really throw it in a backpack all for $500 I'd be shocked and impressed. I think the pre-order money is actually funding the "future production" but hey more power too them.

You said "get to" and my brain read "get out". No ours is easy when you go through the flip up center seat but if you have ramfill, based on the pics I've seen there is a whole lot more going on down there. Sorry if that was confusing/didn't help.

Yeah, the v-drive dipstick was super tight. I'd bet if you were on the lake with the trans warm it wouldn't be so bad. Our is just a rubber stopper, no threads or anything so IMO it would be hard to break. But our's is a 2011, can't guarantee that your's is unbreakable.

Re: the oil change. These engines are difficult to get the last 1/2 quart or so out. Especially if the engine/oil is not warm. Having been a mechanic, it doesn't take much leftover oil in the pan to make the new oil look dirty... but having just read your previous post about the dealer who knows? You said 15-30? The manual for our 6.0 recommends 15w-40 when operating above 50 degrees outside temp. We got our boat (new to us but used) last fall and I remember the feeling of not really knowing where/how/what everything is. And that's after owning and maintaining an I/O for 15 years. These vessels are a whole different ball game. Take an hour and read the powertrain manual closely. There is a ton of info in there. Six valves? That's crazy! Ours has two, one for the ballast intake and one for the fresh water intake. I'm sure there are some guru's here who know more about this.

The oil drain hose on ours has a metal c-ring thingy that clips near the fuel filter. The drawback to leaving it in the bilge is that it could get pinched in the rudder linkage or something. Not likely but that'd be an epic leak. I always find random little items in the bilge too.

I just ordered some from: https://boatletteringtoyou.com/ they should be here today in the mail. They are not the puffy but they do have metallic and lots of font options with a handy editor that shows you what it'll look like. Little less $ than the puffy, I think about $35 that's after I added the metallic and an outline color. Hopefully Ranger Rick here in Colorado won't object to it.

I'm almost done installing an x-link (http://www.wakemakers.com/x-link-cross-fill-ballast-package.html) from Wakemakers.com on our Enzo. I'm sure ours won't be nearly as fast as those 2 rules but I'm looking forward to much faster transfer times compared to the sprinkler valve fill that were working with now. Your setup looks really good. I'm in CO too, darn rain has been brutal for the last two weeks. Every time I pull the cover back to work on the boat it starts raining!

I believe so, it moves to the full out position based on the location of the pin that move back and forth and limits the overall travel.

I imagine similar questions have been posed but it's always nice to get the first hand advice. It seems like there are some audio guru's here. We have an Enzo with the Gladiator tower. I believe it has the factory 6.5 enclosures. (pic attached) The speakers are Pioneer. Boat is in storage right now. Only 3 of 4 speakers were working last fall when we put the boat away for storage. I think it has the factory amps, kickers maybe? On a different post last summer someone had the same amps and the feedback was good. Just can't remember the model numbers now. We only owned the boat for about 45 days last year before storing it. We don't blast the tunes a lot to be honest. I turn it up, she turns it down . My primary goal is to be able to hear the music while surfing. I think the other thing we need is the the equalizer that isolates the tower. Turning the music down with the pro-vision is...let's just say sometimes there is no substitute for a good ole' fashioned volume dial. My thought was to just replace the speaks and keep the cans. I'd like to spend less than $800 for the speakers. Wetsounds seems to have a good rep on this forum but their prices are steep. What would be some other options. Is this the right/wrong approach? Thanks guys.

Got the Mistress out of the nice dry secure indoor storage Saturday and now it's raining and cold on Sunday but at least it's here at the house and I can start getting ready for a good season. Ordered the X-Link ballast transfer system, gonna give that a try. Also ordered some ballast tubing so I can cross vent the bags.

Small update to this thread. Got the boat out of storage and got it home, super pumped. Started getting it ready for the summer. replaced the seawater impeller and some other stuff. Started poking around the stereo a little. I've got two kicker amps, the bigger one is a 700.2 and the other doesn't really have any obvious markings as far as the model goes. The pods on the tower are skylon and it has the MB quart head unit. Anyways, I'm still debating on the tower speakers, leaning towards keeping the existing pods because the mounts and wiring is really clean. I can see the project mushrooming in time and money if I replace the pods. Looking at the equipment reminds me how little I know about stereo's but I enjoy learning and the DIY projects.

Wetsounds Syn 6 Amp, $700, says it's "new" https://fortcollins.craigslist.org/bpo/4923512906.html

In the same spirit as the tightness, I had our starboard quickfill valve fail and I noticed that on the side that failed the alignment of the boot/valve/tank is not perfect. I assume it was this way from the factory. It's not much but I think it's enough to put the valve in a tiny bit of a bind when tightened. Not sure how to cure that, it's too bad the Drainmaster isn't an aluminum or stainless machined housing, I'm sure that'd cost a fortune though. Just sharing for those that may have problems. Things to look for rather than replacing them over and over.

That's good feedback, appreciate it.

I like that, so simple. I'm sure for some stereo nuts it's not enough but I really like keeping it simple. Thanks!

Thanks guys great info and feedback. A lot to consider, I'm so stoked for this season, just want to get on the lake.

Just looked at the KMS67 and that looks interesting, especially if I did an eq that lowered cabin volume. It's 6.75" though. I'd have to see if that would work with the cans I have or get new ones. Interesting that the kicker site doesn't really mention the enclosure, looked at the manual and it did't say much either. It does have the sizes in the specs so when I get the boat in a couple weeks out of storage I'll take a look. $379.95 is attractive. I think I understand the "scream" factor with the loudspeaker. Things that make you go hmmmm. http://www.kicker.com/41KMS674C

Thanks guys for the feedback. I'll let you know how it goes and check out some of the other suggestions. Probably bad forum form to ask another question but oh well. If I wanted to have zone control for tower vs. cabin speakers and master volume but don't need or necessarily want a bunch of other equalizer functions what's the best way and or best component for that. How hard are those to install. ( I used to be a mechanic but don't speak "audio language" very well) Thanks,

Awesome, I'll take a look at that.

I used to be a GM master tech but there are a lot of components on boats I'm not familiar with and I've been out of the business for some time. Can you "rent a tool" and get a scanner from a auto parts store? - If you had a scanner you could watch the TPS sensor and see if it's sending bad signals. You may also be able to give it a tap test, see if anything changes when you tap on it. Same goes for the ECM. We used to tap on those pretty aggressively and they'd sometimes act up. - Because it happens after re-starting I wonder if it's stuck in "cold loop" not sure how that is managed by the computer. But my theory is that a bad temp sensor, or Oxogen sensor could tell the IAC to idle high because it thinks the engine is cold. "Cold Loop" runs the engine at specified parameters rather than based on feedback from the sensors until everything is warmed up. I believe there is a temp sender for the gauge and one for the ECM. Again if you had a scanner you could see what the temp sender is telling the ECM. - This is all total speculation, I believe that the ECM gets the RPM feedback from the cam position sensor (hall sensor) in the distributor. No idea why it would come and go but if the ECM doesn't know the engine RPM it might default the IAC to a certain position. Here again, this would be something you could see using a scanner. - Again, if you only had a scanner. If you had the engine running and it wants to be at 650 but it's at 850 the IAC should be at 0% (trying to limit air). So if you saw 0% on the scan tool one of two things is happening. Either a. the IAC is stuck open/not responding or b. it's closed and there is a vacuum leak. In situation a. it could also be the wiring between the ECM or the IAC, take a look at your harness and make sure the connector is clean and dry. - Sometimes it's the simplest things, maybe clean the throttle blade and bore, those things can really gum up. Make sure the throttle shaft doesn't have an play or hang up as the engine warms up? - Hmmm just googled the Rinda thing, aint that a PITA? - IMO it's going to be total guesswork until you can see what the ECM sees. Hopefully I didn't just make things worse. I fixed cars for 10 years and used the service manual everyday. You might be able to find a trouble shooting chart for "high idle". Best of luck, nothing worse than stalling out while coasting into stationary objects.

We purchased our 240+ last fall, it has the quick fill hard tanks, center tank, an enzo sac port, and I bought another enzo sack for dark side at the end of the season (my wife rides goofy). I'm still working out the kinks but one thing I noticed was that anything over about what I guess to be half full in the center tank made the wave worse. We usually ran zero trim. Had problems with the quick fill gates so that was always kinda a mystery whether they were open or closed but I got the new gate installed right before we stored the boat for the winter. The enzo sac packs our locker 100% and goes about 3-4 feet up the boat under the side cushion. We had light crew most days, always ran the enzo sac full. We would run ballast full in port or both qf tanks. It was funny, sometimes it would be dialed and have lots of push, then with the same set up it there were times where is was flatter and longer and kind of hard to ride. Definitely a lot of trial and error for me. We only have two short boards, a skim and a surf. I'm looking forward to getting something bigger to see how much easier that will make it to have a chill surf session where you can just hang out on the wave.

I'd love to know if you guys have an opinion on how well this concept will work, maybe someones "been there, done that"? Is it worth the trouble? On one hand once the ballast is full all the extra plumbing is irrelevant and the X-link does it's job, but on the other hand we like to drain everything now and then to run around and then go back to surfing at the end of the day so we have to fill more than once on most outings. Still pretty new to the CC, not sure how much background to provide? We've got a 240+, currently we've got an Enzo Sac Port and I just ordered one for the Starboard because my wife rides over there and seems like a lot of my friends do too. I'd also like to do some heelside riding someday. While I'm not as obsessed as some folks (I mean that in a nice way) when it comes to fill/drain times it would be nice to speed up the process a little. So I think I'm going to install an X-link to transfer from side to side. I like this system BC I don't have to tear into the existing stock system, no additional thru hull etc., and I can mount that switch in a indiscriminate location. As I considered this I just couldn't get it out of my mind that it seems like a waste to have a second pump (the X-link) that won't be doing any filling from the lake. So I dreamed up the idea to add a few check valves, a ball valve, and a tee into the main inlet. Anyway I did a schematic that shows how I think it would work. Looks complicated at first but most of the lines are the stock system. The first image is with the mods to have the x-link draw lake water for quicker filling. This would only come into play when starting with either Enzo Sac empty. Once one of the enzo sacs is full I'd just be using it to transfer as designed. To describe how I believe it will work: When you get on the lake you open the ball valve (manually) that allows lake water to get to the x-link. This is T'd off the main ballast inlet. Regardless of which direction your running the x-link the check valves should prevent the water from flowing in a loop. Meanwhile the stock pump is also filling. I think in order for this to work I'll also need to install check valves in both Enzo Sac Vents so that when filling the Port for example it doesn't just suck air from the Starboard. Here's the link to the X-link setup: http://www.wakemakers.com/x-link-cross-fill-ballast-package.html Below would be the system without the additional hardware and just the X-link just to compare. Thoughts? Is there a better way? BTW my wife thinks I'm nuts for spending this much time thinking about this stuff. I told her at least I'm not at the strip club, although it might be cheaper. HAHA.

What about float gauges on the quick fill or midship hard tanks? Since these are fixed and not visible. I don't have a lot of confidence in the timers and as you make changes it becomes harder to gauge, no pun intended, where you're at. Whereas the bags, you just take a quick peak and you know right where your at. Although float gauges are pretty wacky on the water if the fuel gauge is any indication. Put foam or dekadence on the floors of the lockers instead of carpet that will drain and dry. I know everyone goes back and forth about the cabin flooring, but carpet in the lockers is not ideal, I spend 2 days trying to get the boat dry after every outing. A good ol' fashioned stereo volume dial in addition to touch screen controls. Hinges on the cushions The pocket or folding wind dam like the Super Air Nautique, I'm always digging that thing out then putting it back in the back.

My personal experience with the Drainmasters has not been good. Also it is recommended that the Drainmaster version is removed and cleaned each year which is a lot of extra work IMO. Having just replaced one of mine the only thing I can see being an issue converting to these would be the hight of the motor assembly, it looks a little bigger. I'd be excited to see a new and hopefully better design.