Do you add extra ballast to surf your G23?

[thejean]

Looking to add the 1100's to my 2017 G23. Is any extra bow weight required for surfing with these full? If so, I'm guessing lead is the best option for bow weight?

[thejean]

Also curious why you guys don't just use a regular Y on the fill line and a normal valve on the branch to the bags? That way you either run totally stock or fill both the factory tanks and bags at the same time. Would feel more plug and play rather than having to go in the lockers and switch the Y valve every time you fill and drain. Also, I can't see any scenario where you would want the bags full but not the stock tanks. In which case you could easily just put a valve on the fill line to the factory tank as well, no?

[GMLIII]

Looking to add the 1100's to my 2017 G23. Is any extra bow weight required for surfing with these full? If so, I'm guessing lead is the best option for bow weight?

I have three 50 lbs of lead in portside rear locker, three 50 lbs of lead in starboard rear locker and 250 lbs of lead under the portside observer seat to offset engine torque. Total lead weight 550 lbs. No extra ballast bags, they become a pain to deal with stick with lead bags much easier

[Skipdawg316]

Similar set up with lead here in our 2017 G23 which has worked really well. 500 Lbs of lead distributed as follows:

- 100 Lbs Starboard (where tower connects to boat, under seat)
- 200 Lbs Port (where tower connects the boat, under seat)
- 200 Lbs Bow (100 Lbs under each bow seat, Port and Starboard)

Having messed with bags both plumbed and not for years, love the simplicity of lead (actually steel in sealed/tough canvas bags).

Perhaps bigger bags make a big difference, but the set up above has been a big improvement over stock ballast.







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[euro2012]

Had a 2017 G that we ran with 500lbs of lead. Beautiful surf waves. Decided to slam it one day with 1800 lbs in the back (900 per side) and a 900 up front. The wave was awful. Seriously awful. I think the nss plates get less effective the more you sink the boat and there are diminishing returns. Maybe if you slammed it and listed at the same time? But that kind of defeats the point if you ask me.

[Tallredrider]

For the record, I never did put additional ballast, my surfing is limited by my lack of skill and practice to ever need a wave like that.

thejean there is no reason you could not just use a regular 3 way Y on it with a shutoff valve to the bags. Using a 3 way shutoff allows you to just splice into the hose once, which may be an advantage in terms of install time and potential failure points. The Y would be an advantage if you always used the extra ballast. I do wonder if despite using check valves on the vent line, you might suck air through the supplemental bag while trying to empty the stock sack. I have lost faith in check valves of late, I am pretty sure at least one of the ones on my stock ballast is not working.

[Wayward]

Looking to add the 1100's to my 2017 G23. Is any extra bow weight required for surfing with these full? If so, I'm guessing lead is the best option for bow weight?

I think you'll find that to be a waste of time. With a 16+ hull, you'd need 2000lbs in the bow, if you fill two 1100s in the back. You are much better off just adding some weight to the middle of the boat. The 16+ hull does not like heavily biased rear weight, like the 13-15 hull.

[thejean]

I have three 50 lbs of lead in portside rear locker, three 50 lbs of lead in starboard rear locker and 250 lbs of lead under the portside observer seat to offset engine torque. Total lead weight 550 lbs. No extra ballast bags, they become a pain to deal with stick with lead bags much easier

The only issue is that my marina gets very shallow late summer and prop is nearly in the mud so bags are more ideal from that perspective.

I could put lead weight up front though and bags in back so that when bags are empty the back will even be higher. At least the draft on the G23 is only 25", unlike the 230
I was considering, which is 30".

[nohlan_4]

For the newer hull style I wouldn't go more than 500#'s total in the rear and offset that with at least 400# of lead. The new hulls don't take the weight as well as the older hulls. You get the same wave with less weight.

[thejean]

So let's say I go with 500# of lead instead of bags in my 2017 G23 - where would you guys recommend I place the weight?

[GMLIII]

So let's say I go with 500# of lead instead of bags in my 2017 G23 - where would you guys recommend I place the weight?

. You will get different opinions on this but here are the locations of my bags as noted above.

"I have three 50 lbs of lead in portside rear locker, three 50 lbs of lead in starboard rear locker and 250 lbs of lead under the portside observer seat to offset engine torque. Total lead weight 550 lbs. No extra ballast bags, they become a pain to deal with stick with lead bags much easier"

[BigEasy]

I have #550 lead total.

#200 up front as far as I can get it
#200 directly under sub in dry storage
#50 under port observers seat
#100 under starboard rear seat.


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[FullmetalHeart]

This is my girl surfing behind our 2017 G23.... honestly I don't get how there is such a large variation of weight setups... I get some people prefer steeper waves or a longer mellow wave but we're getting close to the 30 hour mark and honestly I still don't have a good feel for the boat.

Coming from a 16 Mojo with 1100 rears and a 750 in the floor. It had a long but medium height wave. The G is steeper for sure on 100% ballast 0 NSS 5 NCRS @ 11.2-11.6... but there is this awkward valley coming off of the corner of the boat that I tried to mark in the picture, at first I thought it was the swim platform, but the cavitation of water starts on the port side of the hull around the tower. The Mojo had a smooth transition from lake surface to the face of the wave, the G has almost a half pipe that comes a couple feet off of the corner. Most people that have never surfed a G but can surf come off of the wave and nose right into a wipe out....

Bought a 400lb sac for the nose and it actually helped reduce the halfpipe and get closer to a smooth transition. I can almost eliminate it by stopping port and starboard tanks at 50% running 100% up front. It reduces the SIZE of the wave, but overall I feel its a cleaner transition. Yes I have messed with NSS, NCRS and adjusted speed. No settings make a difference in the valley coming off the back. Only less weight in the rear or more weight in the front reduce this "half pipe"

Does anyone else feel notice this? I haven't had a chance to get on the board with my go pro in my hands, its obvious from the surfers perspective, a bit harder to see from inside the boat.

[GMLIII]

I clocked 145 hours on my G at SML this summer and didn’t experience what you described . Not trying to be arrogant or anything, I just think you need to spend more time figuring out your surf wave and what works and does not work. 30 hours behind one of these boats is hardly any time. My lead bag set up is listed above which has worked for me.

[FullmetalHeart]

I clocked 145 hours on my G at SML this summer and didn’t experience what you described . Not trying to be arrogant or anything, I just think you need to spend more time figuring out your surf wave and what works and does not work. 30 hours behind one of these boats is hardly any time. My lead bag set up is listed above which has worked for me.

No offense taken!

I have two other friends who are active on this forum who are surfing a 16 g23 and 17 g23 on SML as well... I have seen videos of people on their wave and it has the same valley coming off of the back. Its just odd to see people add MORE weight to the rear on these boats when I'm the only one who thinks less is better lol. Our buddy has his 17 Mojo tied up on our dock, I'll see if I can get a good shot behind both boats while on the wave so its a bit more clear on what I'm talking about.