2ndtimearound

I run  a 1433 on my 2013 V226.  No way it would hit 40 mph (IRC- around 34 mph or so max, unloaded)  but it does extremely well loaded down 4k + people for surfing.  Runs about 2800 rpm in that mode 11.2 mph. 

So I received the new cover.  Anybody know how the pole support strapping system is supposed to work?  No instructions in the box and I don't know what all these straps are supposed to hook to.  Anybody?

Thanks for the replies.  I take care of the covers similar to InfinitySurf but not to that extreme.  I clean it and spray waterproofing on it.   My boat sits out on a boat lift in the sun/wind/downpours as we aren't allowed to have boat lift covers.   I tent the cover and it does a pretty good job of not pooling up as long as I make sure it's tented properly.  I cheat and throw an old fat sac seat filled with air in the front instead of messing with the pole up there.  That works really well. 

So for insurance sake I was able to find a brand new/unused factory cover yesterday for $280 complete with poles.  I figured it's cheap insurance in case something happens to my current cover while the boat is sitting on the lake.   My buddy ordered a "custom cover" and it took weeks and when he received the cover it didn't fit right and he had to send it back.   Unfortunately this happened during a bunch of storms so he was not a happy camper.   

If my current cover lasts 4-5 years more I'll have a replacement that should last another 5-7.  

I'm curious how long the factory boat cover lasts.  My boat sits out about 5 months, 2 of those months are very wet via rain and 3 pretty good sunny months.   The canvas boat cover on my previous boat lasted 19 years before it dissolved.   It should have been replaced about 5 years sooner but I kept patching and gluing it back together. 

The V226 cover doesn't seem as thick or durable and is much bigger and different material than the last one so I'm wondering roughly how many years on average these things last.

On 8/12/2017 at 2:35 PM, Jrobb said:

I know you found your issue but just an fyi for anyone with surging issues on an old boat i had years ago i went through everything you could think of including pumping out the entire fuel tank. It ended up as a hairline crack in the porcline coating on one of the spark plugs that caused my issue and was hard to find.

I had the same thing happen on my Malibu.  It would run but start popping and missing at around 2000 rpm.  Chased everything and finally found the insulator cracks on 2 different Autolite plugs.  Found out later it was a known issue for them to split or crack after a few seasons. 

On 8/17/2017 at 8:34 PM, Nolance said:

I've been experimenting with the swell on my 16' 226 and I have to say that with a small crew it works pretty well.  I can easily surf 15ft with a ton of push...the only i don't like is that the lip is a little washed out.  Nice to have options...

I've got a couple of them I can borrow.  I tried one for an afternoon and we found the same thing.  It takes the lip off and makes it hard to get air.   I found that it does give a little wider play area and worked well for skimming.   For surf style I like the boat heavily weighted/listed.   I'll have to try it for Goofy riders.  We typically don't have any goofies on board but we're messing around on both sides of the wake so it would be a quick change over if we can get enough wave to make it worth doing.  More testing...

Stop gap fix...duct tape.

Thanks for all the visuals.  Decisions...decisions.  

Thanks for the visual Nick.  That's very helpful. 

Yeah.  Just tried it in my truck and it works really well.  I like that you can adjust the volume on both the low and high end and control the ramp up by the speed settings. 

Right.  I have room for one layer of 45lb plates but there is a lot of wasted space with the indents of the plates and the space between them.  They are round so the fat sac kinda fills in the gaps and indents but it would be nice to have a better solution with a little added weight. 

Does anyone know the dimensions of the 50lb lead wake bags or the POP bags?  I'm using some 45lb plates under the fat sacs but would like to have something a little more elegant that I can stuff into smaller areas.  I'm assuming both the pop and LW bags are about 2-2.5" thick. 

Awesome.  I'm going to try this over the weekend. 

That's a good idea. I've never tried it but that would be very useful for me.  I'm always having to mess with the volume.  My truck has speed based volume control and it works well enough although I wish it had a little more volume range.  

Ok...so I'm 5'10" and 160lbs.  My son is a little lighter but same height.  We both like the nubstep 4'6".   It's more surf style but it does let you spin around like a skimmer.  I like how it handles.  We ride it without the nubster fins so we can spin it easier.  It has great drive running all 4 for surf style.  Might be something to check out. 

Listed 226 is the way to go so- fill surf side only and add a bunch of people for weight.  You are going to want more weight. 

Even with the added weight I run its even better when we have a stuffed boatload of peeps and we get the monster wave going.   

I don't have first hand experience with the S226 mine is the V226.   But in order to get a great wave on the same hull,  I run 1100lbs in the port side locker, 600lbs under the port pass seat and 100lb+ in bow along with the center and port hard tanks full.  Run about 10-15% trim for port surfing.   So I'm guessing your QF is 500lbs, PNP is 550, and center is ~350?    I'm thinking adding  another 5-600lbs port side will help that wave.   Next QF starboard <20%, PNP SB =empty, center take full, trim 10-15. 

Fine tune with QS or not.  You should see a much nicer surf wave. 

 What sized Voodoo do you have?  They have a 61" Voodoo that I would think would be plenty behind a properly weighted V226.   If you have the 4'5" or 4'10" Voodoo that is probably too small to start.   If you want a cheap good beginner board you can try the $249 61" Liquid Force Slaysh Wakesurf Board at Wakemakers to get into a bigger size.     

I have the 25 Gallon gas caddy but since I have a super steep hill to go down to get to the dock I use the 5 gallon safety cans for a quick fill.  I like that they empty quick and you control the flow via the handle.  Easy to fill, quick to empty and never a spilled drop. 

When I need a lot of gas I end up hauling 5 or 6 regular 5G plastic cans and use the shaker hose.  

I've still got the suckgate. Maybe I'll try to run it farther forward. I had it about 10" from the back. Due to the 2nd step curve on the hull I can only put it on the bottom edge. That may explain why it was much better heavily listed with the suck gate.

It's been a summer-long ordeal for me... that's still going on It's a long long story, in a nutshell... I bought a 1579 from JT at Nettle, but the RPM's were way too high... something like 4600-4800 at surf speeds. While I was trying the 1579, I sent him my 1939 to shave some of the diameter off. So, now that prop is somewhere around 13.375" in diameter. It seems to work well, but I get some vibration right through 4000 RPM's. It goes away once we get up to speed, and settles in around 3600-3800 with full ballast at 11.6mph. I can live with this, but I was hoping to get the RPM's down a hair... so I sent the 1579 back to JT to add some pitch... now it's at 13.5" x 15.5" but the RPM's didn't seem to go down that much... so, I'm going to send it back once again to add even more pitch. We shall see... For the record, JT has been amazing to work with! I wish the Fineline warranty department had the same level of customer service.

Sounds like you are getting close to my stock prop, the Acme 537...13.5x16 I now run the 1433 and it's about 2800 rpm at 11.4mph.

I think I'm the only one that likes the little stock 250lb or whatever it is filled full for counter weight. Basically same setup though, all stock ballast full. 1000lbs surf side locker, 600lbs under surf passenger, 100lbs in bow (sometimes more with peeps). Occasional suck gate for something different (loses lip and pushes white water toward non surf side (listed at the same time. suckgate is just OK weighted even on my 13 v226).

Interesting the different experiences with the suck gate. We tried on out on our 226 last week. We weighted the boat evenly and tried the gate. It was OK but didn't create the huge wave just a cleaner larger face to play on. We decided to list it as normal and use the suck gate which was actually pretty good as it moves the wash over toward the opposite side and gives a nice big play area with good size. Both my son and I decided we could take it or leave it as it took away the lip to pop off on the top of the wake. Our friends have one on their 24' Wakesetter and it made the goofy side look great. Regular was OK, fun easy to ride but not huge. For them it works great as they have to switch sides a lot.

Depending on the tear I've used super glue on a vinyl cuts. It' probably been 5 years now and they are still holding and still look good. I had light vinyl so you could see the cut line but it's held together. I butt welded the vinyl as it was like a sharp knife cut. If your's is jagged it may not help.

Do you still have the 857 that you can mock up and measure?