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There are several long threads here on PN about how to setup a SAN 230 for surfing and I’m going to attempt consolidating all of the solid information into a single thread and update it with what we know now. This is not meant to be an instruction manual on exactly how to setup the 230 for everybody. That would be impossible. There are lots of surf wakes that are very good, yet very different.
Things I’m not going to cover in this thread:
Port side surfing:
More ballast! To really get the 230 to shine as a surf-boat, you’re going to have to add more ballast. There’s just no way around that. This is not a simple topic. There are a lot of ways to add ballast and all of them have their advantages and disadvantages:
There are some disadvantages to this system. With the 740s full, they will eat up the entire locker space on both sides. No more storage trays. You might be able to store some ropes in there with them but certainly no jackets. Also, you’re ditching the 400 pound bags that came with the boat.
In order to fill the 740s, the pumps must be manually cycled. Remember, the stock Pro Ballast were 400s. The pumps will stop more-or-less with the 740s about 5/8 full. You’ll have to restart the pumps to fill them completely.
There’s another benefit to shot bags that a lot of people overlook: Leverage. You can shove a shot bag way up in the very front of the bow. Much further than a ballast bag. It’s not at all unreasonable for a single 50 pound shot bag way up in the front to have exactly the same effect as a 200 pound ballast bag sitting in the walk-through. It’s all about leverage.
The downside of shot bags is you’re carrying that weight all the time, even when you’re not surfing. This can potentially put your boat over the limit for the trailer or lift.
So after a bunch of wrangling over this, I finally elected to go with shot bags over ballast bags. I just didn’t want to rip out my new Pro Ballast bags and I didn’t want to give up my entire storage lockers in the back. I like having lots of storage. To start, I ordered a total of 10 shot bags, 50 pounds each. They arrived within a week. After consulting with some local wakesurfers and 230 owners, here’s what I did:
On the Port side, I put 5 shot bags under the Pro Ballast bag. This meant I had to cut the existing zip ties that hold the Pro Ballast bag in place, move it out of the way, lay in the shot bags and then zip tie the Pro Ballast bag back on top.
Also on the Port side, I added 1 shot bag under the side seat as far back as I could get it.
On the Starboard side, I put 4 shot bags under the Pro Ballast bag, same process as the other side.
Net I added 300 pounds to the Port side, 200 to the Starboard. This made a PROFOUND difference to the wake on the Port side. So much so that I’m considering this issue closed and I’m not planning to add any more shot bags. After a bunch of experimentation this weekend, we came up with these settings:
Port side surfing:
There are no magic settings that will be great for everyone. If you have a 2016 or 2017, the best thing you can do is get a Pebble watch, get it going, and use it to tune the wake while you’re surfing. You can adjust the NSS and Speed on the fly. I seemed to gravitate more towards the NSS at 4 while others seemed to prefer 2 or 1. Here’s a photo and a video. The wake was so long that I was back at the end of the rope and still had push. Finally Bob took if off the tower and put it on the Port cleat so I could go even further back. It was so weird being able to surf that far back from the boat. I’ve never been able to do that before.
Unless I find a very compelling reason to do so, I’m planning to stay right here with this setup. I don’t want the boat to be a one-trick-pony and only surf. It needs to be user friendly without a bunch of ballast bags sitting on the seats and floor. I want to have storage space available for towels, sweatshirts, the cooler, etc. I know it can produce an even bigger and longer wake with more ballast. I just don't want to make the compromises necessary to do that. Most of us are beginner/intermediate wakesurfers so this is just fine.
Short video: https://vimeo.com/215536832
Things I’m not going to cover in this thread:
- Wakeboarding : I don’t board much anymore and the setup for that is very different. I’d encourage someone who’s boarding behind a 230 to create a separate thread on that.
- Early 230s without NSS : I simply don’t have any experience with one. Those boats surf by listing it over hard on one side or adding a suck-gate. There are just too many variables there to cover it here.
- Custom or homemade NSS devices: There are too many variables for me to cover these.
- Wildly “slammed” setups. : I’ve seen setups with 740s in each locker, a 1000 in the floor, a 750 in the bow and lead bags all through the boat. That’s a corner-case and again, there are just too many variables.
Port side surfing:
- Port ballast – Full
- Belly ballast – Full
- Starboard ballast – ¾
- NSS – 2 (really this is personal preference)
- Hydrogate – 1 or 2. Just enough to clean up the lip.
- Speed – 10.4 to 10.8. Faster if there are a lot of people on the boat.
- Port ballast – Full
- Belly ballast – Full
- Starboard ballast – Full
- NSS – 2 (personal preference)
- Hydrogate – 0
- Speed – 10.4 to 10.8. Faster if there are a lot of people on the boat.
More ballast! To really get the 230 to shine as a surf-boat, you’re going to have to add more ballast. There’s just no way around that. This is not a simple topic. There are a lot of ways to add ballast and all of them have their advantages and disadvantages:
- Ballast bags : One of the simplest ways to add ballast bags to a 230 is to get the 230 kit from Wakemakers. It comes with two 740 pound bags and all the fittings you need. With this setup, you’re replacing the 400 pound Pro Ballast bags with these. Installation is simple and it piggy-backs right into your existing pump system. Ballast bags don’t add any significant amount of weight to the boat when they’re empty.
There are some disadvantages to this system. With the 740s full, they will eat up the entire locker space on both sides. No more storage trays. You might be able to store some ropes in there with them but certainly no jackets. Also, you’re ditching the 400 pound bags that came with the boat.
In order to fill the 740s, the pumps must be manually cycled. Remember, the stock Pro Ballast were 400s. The pumps will stop more-or-less with the 740s about 5/8 full. You’ll have to restart the pumps to fill them completely.
- Lead “shot bags” : I’m going to call them shot bags for the rest of this thread and technically, few of them come with lead. Mostly they’re steel shot but that isn’t important. You can get them in 50 pound bags from http://wakeballast.com/wake-ballast-bags/ and http://www.leadwake.com/
There’s another benefit to shot bags that a lot of people overlook: Leverage. You can shove a shot bag way up in the very front of the bow. Much further than a ballast bag. It’s not at all unreasonable for a single 50 pound shot bag way up in the front to have exactly the same effect as a 200 pound ballast bag sitting in the walk-through. It’s all about leverage.
The downside of shot bags is you’re carrying that weight all the time, even when you’re not surfing. This can potentially put your boat over the limit for the trailer or lift.
So after a bunch of wrangling over this, I finally elected to go with shot bags over ballast bags. I just didn’t want to rip out my new Pro Ballast bags and I didn’t want to give up my entire storage lockers in the back. I like having lots of storage. To start, I ordered a total of 10 shot bags, 50 pounds each. They arrived within a week. After consulting with some local wakesurfers and 230 owners, here’s what I did:
On the Port side, I put 5 shot bags under the Pro Ballast bag. This meant I had to cut the existing zip ties that hold the Pro Ballast bag in place, move it out of the way, lay in the shot bags and then zip tie the Pro Ballast bag back on top.
Also on the Port side, I added 1 shot bag under the side seat as far back as I could get it.
On the Starboard side, I put 4 shot bags under the Pro Ballast bag, same process as the other side.
Net I added 300 pounds to the Port side, 200 to the Starboard. This made a PROFOUND difference to the wake on the Port side. So much so that I’m considering this issue closed and I’m not planning to add any more shot bags. After a bunch of experimentation this weekend, we came up with these settings:
Port side surfing:
- Port ballast – Full
- Belly ballast – Full
- Starboard ballast – 7/8
- NSS – 2 (really this is personal preference)
- Hydrogate – 1 or 2. Just enough to clean up the lip.
- Speed – 10.6 to 11. Faster if there are a lot of people on the boat.
- Port ballast – Full
- Belly ballast – Full
- Starboard ballast – Full
- NSS – 2 (personal preference)
- Hydrogate – 0
- Speed – 10.6 to 11. Faster if there are a lot of people on the boat.
There are no magic settings that will be great for everyone. If you have a 2016 or 2017, the best thing you can do is get a Pebble watch, get it going, and use it to tune the wake while you’re surfing. You can adjust the NSS and Speed on the fly. I seemed to gravitate more towards the NSS at 4 while others seemed to prefer 2 or 1. Here’s a photo and a video. The wake was so long that I was back at the end of the rope and still had push. Finally Bob took if off the tower and put it on the Port cleat so I could go even further back. It was so weird being able to surf that far back from the boat. I’ve never been able to do that before.
Unless I find a very compelling reason to do so, I’m planning to stay right here with this setup. I don’t want the boat to be a one-trick-pony and only surf. It needs to be user friendly without a bunch of ballast bags sitting on the seats and floor. I want to have storage space available for towels, sweatshirts, the cooler, etc. I know it can produce an even bigger and longer wake with more ballast. I just don't want to make the compromises necessary to do that. Most of us are beginner/intermediate wakesurfers so this is just fine.
Short video: https://vimeo.com/215536832
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