2022 G23 Supplemental Ballast

[bird_dog0347]

You can do the reboot, it's just turn it all off and power down fully. Then once it's all shut down, enter the code and hit start to boot it back up. I'm not sure if it's the same on the G23, but on my Paragon there's the battery kill switch right at the helm so I also turn off the batteries while the boat is shut down then turn them back on before booting it back up.

[kodiak]

When it happens to me I just have to shut the engine off and restart. It is odd that it only happens when surfing Regular, and its only hard to turn left. I have had this happen around 7-10 times in 150 hours.

[vision]

If you dump ballast without a reboot, does steering return to normal?

[Roscoef16]

Greetings all,
I had the issue in my 2021 (extra ballast plumbed), and see it occasionally in my 2022 with supplemental ballast. Both boats had/have the thruster and I never utilize auto-steer, or thruster during surf sessions. So, common threads, when added to what I'm seeing here all seem to have to do with the thruster, but not the mechanics (of it), rather the software associated. I worked with my dealer repeatedly in the '21 boat (and with Nautique). We tried everything...reboots, re-alignments (there is a device for the rudder/steering), etc. We even considered replacing the steering system. However, the problem was so random that I couldn't duplicate the conditions (although on the '21 there was a period of time where I saw it every session, which started around 75ish hours). Overall, and generally speaking, sometimes we would see it every other session, and sometimes not at all. In the non-thruster '21 boats, the issue never presented itself, so narrowing it down to thruster/software seems the logical conclusion.

In the '22, I've seen the problem again (specifically, surfing regular/port side and when turning left). Trying to save the newbe surfer at the back of the wave...forget about it. What I have found that seems to help a bit, is to turn away (right) and then slowly introduce the left turn. The steering seems to give way and allow the turn, but certainly not at full throw or anything close. Thus, to me, this is definitely software...and if you look at the rudder signal on the screen, you'll see that it sometimes registers far more deflection than is actual. We transition quite a bit as well, and I've noticed that when we do so, the problem is not as frequent. All in all, and in conclusion, I tend to agree with what most of you are saying: software, not hardware, and thruster boats specifically. I've tried dumping ballast, and a few other things, but once the issue is present, a full reset (batteries off as someone mentioned) definitely helps. I also try to let things cool down if I can, which also seems to help. As this is our 4th G, I love em too much to be too upset, and they surf so ****ed good, we just deal with it and move on...there is no perfect boat, but these are pretty close. Hope that helps...

Sorry, edit add...one last thing...someone mentioned thruster active only below 4mph, and while that is 100% true, we originally thought that using it (below 4) to help turn even tighter back to the surfer was the issue. It is not-or in what we could determine-it was not the use of it, rather the software when at full surf speed, and in left turns. We do not see the issue while turning right. Still can't figure why it's only on thruster boats, but I'm hopeful there is a software fix at some point.

[Bert12]

Thanks Rosco for the info. This pretty much describes my experience with this issue. I will be taking the boat in for service this week, but I have little hope they will figure it out. It is just so random that the dealer will have a difficult time replicating it. Initially this was a nuisance, but now it is quite concerning, as we had a smallish woman driver the other day, and she physically couldn't steer the boat. She had to basically shut it down before she ran it into the shallows. Again, a reset got rid of the problem.

I'll let everyone know if I get more info from the dealer.

[charlesml3]

Would you guys even buy a G23 without the supplemental ballast?

No, I would not. One of the biggest selling points for me on the 2022 G23 was the fact that I would not have to add any extra ballast. No shot bags, no fat sacs, etc. I've been doing that for years and I'm tired of it.

As it is, we're running belly and both rear tanks at 100%, Supplementals at 50% and that's all the weight the boat needs. Any more than that and the surf wake gets worse.

[N901]

No, I would not. One of the biggest selling points for me on the 2022 G23 was the fact that I would not have to add any extra ballast. No shot bags, no fat sacs, etc. I've been doing that for years and I'm tired of it.

As it is, we're running belly and both rear tanks at 100%, Supplementals at 50% and that's all the weight the boat needs. Any more than that and the surf wake gets worse.

Thanks for the info. I bailed on the boat that didnt have it. On to something else.

[Scooter G]

Wait, you have an on screen rudder display? That's ingenious, when did Nautique start that? I want one, lol.
Although you get pretty accompanied to it, it's always a fun surprise ripping up a wakeboard out of the water and you are headed hard left or hard right, whoops, thought I was centered.
Sorry, I digress.

[GMLIII]

charlesml3 if you don’t use lead on new hull how do you prevent boat from listing starboard side while underway? Does the new hull not require lead bags to counter prop rotation? Just curious

[charlesml3]

Nope. Doesn't seem to list to starboard One of the batteries is under the observer seat so perhaps that's doing the job.

[brianplatt]

When it happens to me I just have to shut the engine off and restart. It is odd that it only happens when surfing Regular, and its only hard to turn left. I have had this happen around 7-10 times in 150 hours.

We have a new 2022 G23 with the supplemental ballast. This actually happened tonight… not an ideal thing, although an engine shutdown seemed to reset the issue.

[Robirob22]

I have a 22 G23 with supplemental ballast and thruster. This has happened once to me. Powered everything down completely, started back up, and it was restored.

[charlesml3]

And now I'm seeing this same issue. It seems to only appear when surfing to port. As soon as the wake forms to surf the port side, it's almost impossible to turn to port. Turing to starboard seems fine. I'm not sure it's related to the supplemental ballast but I can't say for sure. I'm going to do some more testing today and see if I can narrow down the conditions.

[charlesml3]

OK I've done extensive testing on this and have it narrowed down. Here are the specifics:

- It ONLY affects the steering to Port while surfing to Port. Steering to Starboard is fine. If the boat is switched to surf to Starboard, everything is fine.


- It is not specific to the Supplemental ballast. I was able to reproduce the issue with Belly and Rear tanks at 100% and both Supplemental tanks at 0%.

- With less ballast, the problem is still there but to a much less extent. I tried Belly and both Rear tanks at 50%, Supplementals at 0% and although the boat would steer to Port, it wasn't as easy as steering to Starboard.

- If Surf Mode is set to OFF, the problem is not evident. Steering is fine both ways even if the boat is heavily ballasted.

It seems to me like the steering servo isn't powerful enough to move the rudder to Port when surfing to Port with the boat heavily ballasted. This is something that just started as I have a little over 100 hours on the boat and just had this problem yesterday.

Some other things I learned:

- When the problem manifests, don't keep jamming the wheel over to Port. This makes it worse. After a while of doing this, the entire power steering system will shut down and it'll be hard to steer either way. The only fix then is a reboot. Instead, sort of "nurse" the rudder to Port. Steer a hair to Starboard, then some to Port and repeat as needed. This will ease the rudder over to Port.

I'll be contacting my dealer tomorrow to get this resolved. I'll keep you posted here.

-Charles

[Bert12]

My dealer is currently waiting to hear back from Nautique. Hopefully there is a fix in the works. Our summer is almost over!