Cleaning up 02' SAN 210 wake

[RyanShimabukuro1]

I just took over ownership of a 02' SAN 210 from a friend, and have had issues with cleaning up the wake when it's fully loaded down and at riding speed. At first, I thought it was the fresh air exhaust pipe that was causing the lip of the wake on both sides to be washy but there was no change when I removed it. So I put it back on. FYI, one side of the lip seems more washy and extends farther back on the lip.

I run 550lb bags on each side of the engine, a 500lb bag under the floor in the walkway and either use 400lbs of pop bags right in the nose of the bow or a 540lb bag across the bow. And riding speed doesn't affect it at all, whether it's between 23.5mph - 26.5mph.

I've been a wakeboat owner for long time, so I know how to balance wakes. But I've never encountered this problem before. I think I've tried everything to balance the boat when we're riding (pop bag on the opposite side of the battery, shifting people around, etc.) but I just haven't been able to get it 100% clean.

Any ideas to remedy the problem would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

[NautiqueJeff]

That's 2,140 pounds on top of stock, plus people. That is a ton of weight for that boat. I am surprised that boat can even plane off with all that weight. My guess is that you just have too much weight in the boat, causing the hull to sit lower in the water than it is designed to. If you use less weight, is the wake clean then?

[RyanShimabukuro1]

The stock tanks were replaced with 550lb bags in the back, so it's only 2000-2400lbs total. Usually, we have anywhere from 4-6 people in the boat and the boat planes out just fine. The only time the wake cleans up is when it's completely empty, or the ballast is less than half full. But when that happens, the wake is pretty small and not punchy. The thing is that on other 210's around the same year, I've never experienced that problem even though they used more ballast.

[core-rider]

It could be how you have the weight distributed... I run 2500# total, 750s on either side of the engine and a 1000# triangle in the bow. I have noticed my boat being a bit more side-to-side sensitive than before with stock ballast and piggyback sacs, but the wake cleans up nicely when riding at 23-25. I used to run the belly ballast tank as well (320#) but liked the wake shape better without it.

I would say try moving some of the weight from the bow back in and see if it cleans up. Maybe keep the 540 bag in the bow with say 100-150# of the pop bags, move the rest of the pop bags to the rear with the sacs and see what it does. You may have to play with how much is moved, but it sounds like a bow/aft distribution issue rather than side-to-side. You want about a 40/60 (bow/aft) distribution.

[Oletela]

I run my 05' with bow triangle full, belly locker, 800 in the cabin floor and 750s on each side of the motor and anywhere from 2-5 people. Speed is set at 23.2 rope at 70-75. It can be sensitive but something as simple as moving the cooler around usually cleans it up for me.

[RyanShimabukuro1]

Thanks NautiqueJeff, core-rider & Oletela for your advice & feedback.

I've actually tried using the 540lb bag with some additional pop bags in the bow and moved the rest of them back in the cockpit. But that additional 200lbs in the bow seemed to make the wake smaller as it pushed the bow down too much. So when we just used the 540 bag in the bow and put all the pop bags in the cockpit, the size and shape was much better, but it didn't fix the washiness on the lip. And it's not like the wake is rolling over because the boat speed is too slow, it's just a strip of washy on the very lip. And like I said, one side is longer and more than the other.

I've also tried to shift weight side to side, whether it's the pop bags, cooler, a person, etc but again, nothing seems to clean it up. Our riding speeds vary from 23.5mph at 70ft rope to 26.5mph at 90ft, but that doesn't affect it at all.

I really thought it was affected by the FAE pipe dragging in the water, but that wasn't the case.

It hasn't affected people's riding, but more of just an annoyance to see as I drive the boat.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[lffish133]

I still think weight up in the bow is the problem. I rode behind this boat for at least 10 years and the wake was always really clean. We did experiment with trying to weight the bow and the results were really bad. You should put the biggest bags you can fit in the ski locker and on each side of the engine and go with that. I can't remember for sure now, but I think that would be a 500 in the locker and 700s on each side of the engine. Even if that is not as much weight as you want, it should still be plenty. That boat as more punch than any other boat that has been made. even without ballast the wake will buck you. The boat is also really sensitive to side to side weight so people have to move around on each rider change to get the wake clean, or you need pop bags. Finally 26.5mph seems way too fast to ride behind that boat, the wakes are already quite narrow and at that speed the wake has changed shape quite a bit. I can't imagine needing to go much faster than 23-24mph.

[gdhall]

I still think weight up in the bow is the problem. I rode behind this boat for at least 10 years and the wake was always really clean. We did experiment with trying to weight the bow and the results were really bad. You should put the biggest bags you can fit in the ski locker and on each side of the engine and go with that. I can't remember for sure now, but I think that would be a 500 in the locker and 700s on each side of the engine. Even if that is not as much weight as you want, it should still be plenty. That boat as more punch than any other boat that has been made. even without ballast the wake will buck you. The boat is also really sensitive to side to side weight so people have to move around on each rider change to get the wake clean, or you need pop bags. Finally 26.5mph seems way too fast to ride behind that boat, the wakes are already quite narrow and at that speed the wake has changed shape quite a bit. I can't imagine needing to go much faster than 23-24mph.

I second that. That wake should be hard as a rock at 21.5-22. You've got too much weight up front. If its hard to get on plane once you move it back you need to re-prop. I did and mine pops on plane even when it's slammed. I have an 03 with the 330 in it.

[RyanShimabukuro1]

lffish133 & gdhall, thanks for the feedback!

Currently, my boat has no problem getting on plane when it's fully loaded down, and being in Utah, we have to use an altitude prop anyways. And I agree, the SAN 210 has enough punch as is. I'm not looking to make the wake bigger as I'm happy with the size with my current ballast set up. I'm just looking to clean up the small, washy lip when the boat is loaded down.

And just so that I'm understanding you both correctly, you feel that having the 500lb sac in the belly is enough forward weight without having any in the bow? Or are you saying to just reduce the amount of weight in the bow that I'm currently using?

As for the 26.5mph speed, I use a 90ft rope, and I like that setup. It's not a RH thing or anything like that, it's just the set up that feels the best to me and I'm most consistent at. I've tried riding at slower speeds and shorter rope lengths but I ride a lot worse that way.

Thanks again for the input. I will try shifting weight from the bow towards the back.

[josemolino]

I think it is going to be difficult to find a boat that can maintain a clean wake at 90ft at 26.5mph. It is too sensitive to wind, steering, weight, waves....
In fact , since the G´s introduction the trend is going slower and shorter....

[gdhall]

Holy cow yea I missed the 90ft part. I personally am terrified to ride faster than 23. But the most I could run in my boat last year was 1400 in the rear, fully factory belly(250 I think) and a "v shape@ under the seats up front. I never ride with anything more than. Most of the time when learning spins I'll ride with barely any weight at 18-19 mph so when I catch an edge it doesn't knock my out for the weekend of riding. If you can ride at 26 mph you are at a way different level than me. Keep up the good work. If you figure it out let us know. You might hafta go with a wider boat eventually

[RyanShimabukuro1]

Thanks gdhall! This is my 3rd boat, and my previous boat was a 05' Supra 22ssv (loved that boat), and it was wider. Narrow or wider boats doesn't really matter to me, since I try not to land on the wake even though it is softer. But I prefer to land in the flats so I don't run the risk of casing the wake which IMO is much harder of a landing than in the flats.

Will definitely update you guys after I get a chance to play around with it again, but that won't be for another couple of months, at least.

[Guntersville230]

Ryan, I assume you are the same guy that contributes all the the video to the "Wakeboarding Hall of Fame" FB page. I think its AWESOME and I enjoy watching all the old clips from when I first started wakeboarding. Keep up the good work!!!

[RyanShimabukuro1]

Thank you Guntersville230! Yes I am, and I'm glad that you're enjoying all the videos. Thanks for supporting the WHOF!

[RyanShimabukuro1]

I think it is going to be difficult to find a boat that can maintain a clean wake at 90ft at 26.5mph. It is too sensitive to wind, steering, weight, waves....
In fact , since the G´s introduction the trend is going slower and shorter....

Hello Jose, actually, I had no problems with my Supra riding at that length and speed. And I really haven't had an issue with any of the boats I've ridden on with my riding setup. This is the first time I've seen the wake get washy for some reason, even though it hasn't affected the shape and feel of the wake. Again, it's just more of a visual annoyance to me.