MFaso

I had a different experience. I have not had a single issue with my s238. I'm a new surfer and I'm riding a 4'8 doomswell neo. I have the WakeMakers upgrade and lead and my wave is really nice. I'm easily dropping the rope 5 seconds after getting up and riding until I screw around too much or try a 360. When a rider falls we have been just backing up and getting them the rope again. Much easier than a big U turn. Again though, I haven't had an issue yet. I have zero complaints. In the beginning I was bummed because I thought the boat had no push but the whole time it was my surfing ability. Took me 7 trips out to dial the wave in AND learn to drop the rope. To me, looking at other boats, the s238 is the best bang for the buck. Like X said, I think he was part of a bad batch, unfortunately. That doesn't make it ok by any means. Just some pooh luck. I ordered back in November and my boat was deliver in February. 2017.

I can't compare to other boats other than what I see on my lake, which is two Mastercrafts. The wave is super small compared to mine. Just last night I was watching them surf by and there was maybe 5ft of room to surf compared to my 15ft or so. I have a 17 s238 and I love it. Took some time to get it dialed in right and some of that time was me learning to surf as well but every time I get off that boat after surfing, I start looking at when I can get back. I don't know much about MB boats. They don't seem popular at all here on the east coast. Surf boats in general aren't really known. Most have no clue what I'm talking about when I explain it.

Awesome to hear. I feel the same! I wasn't able to drop the rope for a bit and was blaming the boat. I see it was definitely me as I can mess the settings up now and shrill surf without the rope. My wife and I are very happy with the boat and anyone who comes out is blown away with everything.

1. Boat Model: 2017 S238 with WakeMakers ballast upgrade 2. Regular or Goofy: Regular 3. Bow Ballast Percent: 0 4. Center Bow Tank Ballast Percent: 0 5. QF Port Percent: 100 6. QF Starboard Percent: 100 7. PnP Port Weight: 100 8. PnP Starboard Weight: 40 9. Other Ballast Weight (ie. Lead): 500 total with 400 in port locker back and 100 in starboard back locker 10. Number of Crew and positioning: 2 adults and 2 little kids. Friend driving and wife taking pictures. Kids are up front. 11. QuickSurf Port Setting: 0 12. QuickSurf Starboard Setting: 55 13. Stinger Tab Setting: 60-70

The bow seems smaller than my s238. They changed where the cup holders are a bit which seems to have less "seat". BUT, it's a surfboat, everyone belongs in the BACK corner anyway! I've been putting my kids up front which is probably 100lbs total. Not seeing a wave difference when they move...

The 17 S238 video by the same guy said the same thing...lol To be honest, I can ride totally level but I run a little list and it's no big deal. It's worth the wave difference although by end of season, I'd like to see if I can transfer just because it seems like a cool thing to try. I doubt i'll care for it much after I do it for a day.

I have a 17. My underwater lights are a different switch. I'm not sure if that change from 16-17. I would think they should NOT be the same switch and something was wired wrong on yours. Probably an easy tweak. lots of guys have 16s here and I'm sure the switches are the same on all models. Wait and see. @Cwazy1? Thoughts?

haha, yea man. I was thinking I should drop like 20lbs because my weight was holding me back. Now, I'm eating Pizza again and surfing just fine! LOL I do the same with my back foot when I get far back. The water hitting you creates drag so stay out of that and you pop back up and recover. I took an ocean board out Thursday night.(It was a 6'1) I was hanging 5 while the curl hit the back of the board, It was awesome! I was out this morning and I'm heading back at 8:30am tomorrow morning. The lake here is REALLY busy on weekends. You can't surf after 11am Saturdays and sundays. There's no quiet spot...

I have found once I "got it" I am seeing myself get better every time out. Last night my "sweet spot" officially extended to the entire wave. From the curl right up to the boat and I am able to recover from FAR back most of the time. It's weird how it works but the sweet spot where you "think" the push is, gets larger and larger as you ride and the board you thought wasn't for you is probably the best for you.

I am always under the bimini. It's open EVERY time we are out. On the flip side, the s238 is a beast and with 4 adults and 4 kids we don't even use the front much...lol I'm sure your local marina can make an extension out of sunbrella fabric for you. I know mine can but I'm not sure I want to pay for it. Wondering if anyone here has done anything and has some pictures...

Good to hear man!

I haven't experienced the "switches" over the screen but I love the screen. You'll also get the new tower as well as some other options that went to "standard" instead of an "option" in the 2017s. Also, the resale value on a newer boat is worth the 10k alone. Lastly, my best times surfing so far have been with only a driver and no one else in the boat. I bought a sumo for the seat for that exact reason but I don't use it. I have the wakemakers upgrade and 500lbs of lead. Nothing on the seats or floors...

I just bought a 2017 for this season. There are a bunch of people here who have 16s and 17s. I'm super happy with mine. I was a new surfer and it took me a bit to pick it up. I'd say stock ballast is surfable but it did take a bit of weight to make a real nice wave. Does the boat have upgraded ballast or is it stock? What year is it? Good luck!

Yes, I'm seeing the supreme line is the same for settings but it takes more weight to sink the s238 so it requires more ballast upgrades. I'm surfing with no one in the boat except the driver and having a blast though.

If the issues you are having are all legit the dealer should be on that QUICK. I can't complain. I have no issues. I love the boat. Wait, I have 1 issue. Damn reverse on the inboard KILLs me....haha I'm getting better but heavy wind plus the starboard pull and I'm having my wife run all over as I try to get us out of the slip. Nerve racking! lol So far I haven't hit anything but it's got to happen sooner or later because the boat is a beast! Not sure if you said it already but did you get the engine upgrade? If so, you should have a 409. Just checking. Not sure if that effects the wave. Also, I've only surfed 11.1-11.5. Never had to leave that range yet. I don't mess with what works!

Yes, I get a curl too. I find once it is smooth looking and that curl is at the end, I know if has push. So far that is the case. I haven't had a "no push" wave since I got it figured out. I can almost see when it won't have push based on my settings, then I fix it and jump in and I'm good to go. I think the ri257 is awesome but as I said before in another post, I'd just rather pay my house off right now. Paying the house off within the next 5 years means a lot to me. I don't need all the fancy features of the 257 and the price tag is just crazy high. One more thing. You said "Touch screen on starboard quick fill is very unresponsive. Have to tap hard. Most of touch screen needs multiple hard taps to activate". I had this same issue but then I realized it was me. You don't PRESS on the exact spot where the little arrow or red X is. Press between the number and the arrow. That's the button, not the arrow or when on, the red X. I think the WHOLE spot should be the "button" but it's not. Not sure why they did it that way but it was annoying until I realized how it worked. Now it works every time with a light tap.

I have my wave way cleaner than that. Was that the stock wave Five? I've been playing with the settings a lot and I'd say the setup on that wave is off a bit.

Yep.. My neo doesn't fit either. I use the Bimini for it. Not looking to buy more racks right now. As for the shooting to the boat... That's good. It happened to me a lot after I got it. Still happens sometimes but not as often. You have to shift your weight back then forward again quick. You can't shift back and wait until you drop back to where you want. That's not how it works. You'll always get a little more drift back and recovering as a newbie from too far back is probably the hardest thing I'm seeing so far. I have recovered maybe 4-5 times now and failed at recovering the other 50 times...lol As soon as you but the brakes on, switch back to your normal front foot, or make a carve up high up on the wave to drop back a little.

Oh, it's for your surf wave. It cleans it up a bit. Have you played with your surf wave yet?

I've played with it a bit. the boat trims itself out but I leave it about 50 when not surfing just because I feel like the wake looks better. I'm assuming the rooster tail means I'm creating some drag that is burning MORE gas so I don't let it do that.

Hi, Under the seat is a level to unlock it so it spins and another to adjust it forward and back. There is no raise and lower lever. (height) The bolster sits you up higher. I use that most of the time..

XJ - I was probably the newest here until you came. After seeing your video and how similar I looked when I started I went back and pulled my video of April when I felt EXACTLY like you. I questioned if I bought the right boat.(Funny, I even got bored trying to catch the wave and just started carving. SAME as you) I can clearly see my front foot was a little too far back and I can also see I'm riding my heels more than my toes. My heel is actually closer to my heel edge, making it even harder on myself. I gave my buddy the same tip and it was night and day. MOVE your front foot closer to the edge of the board. I don't mean towards the nose, I mean towards the edge. This is me the night I finally got it.(7 trips out or so and help from the guys here along with my dealer's help) I know how you feel. I'm your port side brother. Same $hit but port side.

You don't need the suckgate with this boat, especially with the upgrades you have done with the ballast. Looks like you are on your back foot and pointing the board away from the wave rather than riding your toe edge. I find that leaning on your heels turns out of the wave. Get low with your arms out over the wave like superman and you will feel it push you.

haha...same with my dealer other than no bow bag. It comes down to his weight(less weight needs less push) and riding skill level. I gave my dealer the keys and got a video of him surfing my boat stock when I was at work. He is here on the forums somewhere but it's busy season and he works his tush off at that marina. Anyway, I didn't get anything out of listing much and I prefer not to. you'll get it. You would think by now there would be a much easier way to dial the wave in without all the trouble but nope. It's a science that really pisses you off.

Nice wave for sure man! I didn't mention that I do have midship bags, which I'm going to assume keeps by boat down a bit. I can see fine when driving with no bow weight. If that midship weight was in the back as well, I'm sure the nose would wheelie too. For me, being totally new, it was....prove what works and keep it until I know I can surf. Then play with it after that. I'm in the "after that" mode now. It's hard to learn when you play with the settings every single time out. I learned it was me, not the wave...lol It takes some time to see that. I now feel like I can "feel" the push or no push. I'm having my buddy change settings when I'm in the water, trying to surf, then doing that again with different settings and seeing the change within minutes. In trying to show some others I can say that foot placement is HUGE. Move your front foot up until you feel like it's going to nose dive and then center your weight, and you are in the right spot.