Wakemakers Surf Assist install

[shawndoggy]

44 minutes ago, jcon44 said:

I spoke to Ryan at GSA just now and he did mention that some folks have to grind out a section of the hull bump out to get the hinges tucked up higher. It's only exposed about an 8th inch on my hull right now but that could be enough to cause the spray. I can reposition the actuator mount on the tab to pull it up a bit as well which may help too. The wake looked similar from before the tabs were on from what I saw the other day, granted that was with no ballast at all.

Also most folks are mounting the actuators closer to the hinge than I didn't but I couldn't get the angle to work that close, the instructions are not boat specific so we were going off the angles mentioned. Like Nate said we'll play around with it as is and see what it looks like before remounting anything.

 

Could you just grind off a little of the hinge mounting tab?  That's what I had to do on my MB, to clear the drain plug bung:

 

 

But in retrospect what I should have done is added a plate to allow mounting the hinge a little higher on the lip of the bung, like this:

 

Just posting to give some ideas about how to skin your platform bump issue.

[jcon44]

Here is what I am thinking for the controller mount. The plan is to mount it under the dash below the row of switches. I bought a half yard of vinyl so I can make changes if I don't like this set up. At least this will get me going for now. Any thoughts on wiring for power, it sounds like the suggestion is to tap into the perko switch? Thx,

 

[Ndawg12]

Wood??!! Joe, you know that's not TMC approved!!  That's gonna rot away 36 years from now!!

[jcon44]

1 hour ago, Ndawg12 said:

Wood??!! Joe, you know that's not TMC approved!!  That's gonna rot away 36 years from now!!

luckily I'll be dead by then it's got stain spilled on it so that should help extent the life too.

[kerpluxal]

On 5/3/2016 at 10:07 AM, Ndawg12 said:

Good info Shawn and from the looks of your pic Joe's hinge is a little lower than that.  So the next test is to get back behind the boat and see if the trailing edge of the tab is dragging too.  I suspect it will especially when loaded.  As Joe noted (and another flaw in the installation instructions imo) that hinge is up as high as possible. If we have to remount then we'll have to grind out a section to fit around the bump-out for the swim platform mount.  

I will try to get pics today of the unit installed by gosurfassist. There is also a youtube (at work and it is blocked) video for the install.

Dealer texted me pics... but I have to get them to photobucket... which means tomorrow.. sorry for delays...

My wave controller is mounted on my right next to the throttle control... would get a pic of that too but you will probably be in water and using it by that time.

[jcon44]

I mounted my controller like this for now. I was able to wire everything up and test out the tabs for a minute this weekend. Everything seems to work fine other than an LED out on the controller, but I haven't tested them out in the water yet.

Also cleaned up the wiring in the engine compartment. We drilled out a 1 inch hole to pull the actuator cables through and I used a rubber plug of the same diameter with a hole in it for the wire to close everything up. Probably not needed but it keeps everything where it should be.

[kerpluxal]

did you get out on water yet? share a Pic of your new wake?

[jcon44]

On 5/20/2016 at 5:02 PM, kerpluxal said:

did you get out on water yet? share a Pic of your new wake?

Not yet, barely have my boat wet this season. hopefully this weekend.

[kerpluxal]

3 hours ago, jcon44 said:

Not yet, barely have my boat wet this season. hopefully this weekend.

Looking forward to see your outcome... Luckily here it is riding all year round (-flood or drought days)... Unfortunately I had a mishap in February and boat should be back to me this weekend..

[twitchee2]

Well done! This might be a stupid question but I cannot seem to find the answer...Are those just wood-type screws directly into the fiberglass or are they through holes with nuts?

[jcon44]

17 hours ago, twitchee2 said:

Well done! This might be a stupid question but I cannot seem to find the answer...Are those just wood-type screws directly into the fiberglass or are they through holes with nuts?

Just wood screws.

21 hours ago, kerpluxal said:

Looking forward to see your outcome... Luckily here it is riding all year round (-flood or drought days)... Unfortunately I had a mishap in February and boat should be back to me this weekend..

Its been decent weather but have been busy with other stuff lately, luckily I got no plans for the long weekend. I'm learning that even when I got no plans doesn't mean the old lady doesn't have plans for me...............

[racer808]

1 hour ago, jcon44 said:

Just wood screws.

Its been decent weather but have been busy with other stuff lately, luckily I got no plans for the long weekend. I'm learning that even when I got no plans doesn't mean the old lady doesn't have plans for me...............

I don't think mine are thru hull either, but when I was at my MB dealer he was showing me a boat with GSA that was ripped off the hull from not having thru hull nuts & bolts.  I may have to upgrade mine this winter

[shawndoggy]

I'd rather have the gsa tab rip off the boat than have the tab take a piece of the transom with it.

[kerpluxal]

6 hours ago, racer808 said:

I don't think mine are thru hull either, but when I was at my MB dealer he was showing me a boat with GSA that was ripped off the hull from not having thru hull nuts & bolts.  I may have to upgrade mine this winter

Not sure what caused that, except maybe an underwater strike.... even the gofast boats with their trim tabs are not thru hole bolted, and I am sure that the pressure those experience at 50+mph in rough conditions are far greater than 12 mph...

[jcon44]

16 hours ago, kerpluxal said:

Not sure what caused that, except maybe an underwater strike.... even the gofast boats with their trim tabs are not thru hole bolted, and I am sure that the pressure those experience at 50+mph in rough conditions are far greater than 12 mph...

This, I don't even know how that could happen, its not like they stick out that far from the bottom and retract automatically at more that 15 mph. I'm pretty sure I used 200 screws to attach everything so I doubt its getting ripped off.

[Sunsetter Dave]

Can someone give me a testimonial on how good the surfing wake is on this product. Other than the manufacturer. I'm pleased with my piggyback ballast system. Is it a better wave?

[Ndawg12]

The 20 minutes piggy back upgrade took more like 3 hours but we got it done.  Here's Joe shredding his new wave!!

 

 

[jcon44]

On 5/27/2016 at 10:34 AM, Sunsetter Dave said:

Can someone give me a testimonial on how good the surfing wake is on this product. Other than the manufacturer. I'm pleased with my piggyback ballast system. Is it a better wave?

This is a tough question. For me its hands down better but I will explain. I ride goofy and the majority of my friends etc don't, so switching sides with a listed wave just got to be too much time and planning. Now it takes 3 seconds and as far as I can tell the wave is as good if not better than anything I had listed. The ease of driving the boat even with the tabs deployed is a nice bonus as well. I really haven't dialed in the wave yet either. I think with more bow weight it will get even better.  The video Nate posted above was the first ride test ride, set up was: all the factor full plus 900's in the rear about 3/4 full and about 300 of lead throughout the boat. Just the driver(Nate) and his kids who combined maybe weight 100lbs.

Edited June 6, 2016 by jcon44

[kerpluxal]

On 5/27/2016 at 9:34 AM, Sunsetter Dave said:

Can someone give me a testimonial on how good the surfing wake is on this product. Other than the manufacturer. I'm pleased with my piggyback ballast system. Is it a better wave?

I honestly love mine... you can scroll up in thread and see my wave... Now I can enjoy both sides of surfing and perform transfers at a push of button... in an instant you can change the wave shape and size without changing ballast ( I usually adjust with wedge first then the wave shaper.)

I have been waiting to compare it with the surgate. I want to order a new boat... and contemplating not getting surfgate and having gosurfassist installed instead... Testing my 2010 LSV to a new LSV will be the only way I could make a decision (new one should be better on hull. wedge design by default)...

[shawndoggy]

50 minutes ago, kerpluxal said:

I have been waiting to compare it with the surgate. I want to order a new boat... and contemplating not getting surfgate and having gosurfassist installed instead... Testing my 2010 LSV to a new LSV will be the only way I could make a decision (new one should be better on hull. wedge design by default)...

Just FYI when you register for your warranty they make you sign a warranty disclaimer that says addition of any hull mods violates the warranty.  I don't know how enforceable it is, but it'll be out there.

[kerpluxal]

Just now, shawndoggy said:

Just FYI when you register for your warranty they make you sign a warranty disclaimer that says addition of any hull mods violates the warranty.  I don't know how enforceable it is, but it'll be out there.

You brought up another valid point... Dealer brought up resale value.... I am sure it is strictly enforced

[jcon44]

Here are some pictures from a few weeks ago, second time really surfing since the install. Same set up however a few more people so maybe another 200 lbs total. Still no extra bow weight which I think would make the wave even better. The starboard side is better as you can tell, but the port did clean up more than in the pic. Not sure what was going on there, it was a really windy day and fairly busy so far from ideal, but still awesome to be able to switch back and forth so easily. I rode twice which rarely happened in the past.

 

[jcon44]

Quick update, finally fixed the issue I was having with my controller when I received a new control panel wiring harness from Wakemakers. Wakemakers has been great about sending me parts to trouble shoot the issue. Because of the new kid I haven't had much time on the water but I did play around a bit on the lift and can now get the launch mode to work like it should. I also took the time to make a new mounting panel as well. Dont mind the wires hanging down, I have since cleaned those up. Now all I need is some time to get out and surf.

 

[TimbrSS]

I just got my kit, with the newer flaps. Hope to get time to install in the next week or 2.

 

I'll  make my own install thread. For ballast I'll start with dong sack on port side (filled enough to make boat level), 1100 and 370s under starboard seats. seats. 750 in walkway and 500# of lead to tune.

Edited June 30, 2016 by TimbrSS

[jcon44]

On 6/30/2016 at 9:07 AM, TimbrSS said:

I just got my kit, with the newer flaps. Hope to get time to install in the next week or 2.

 

 

I'll  make my own install thread. For ballast I'll start with dong sack on port side (filled enough to make boat level), 1100 and 370s under starboard seats. seats. 750 in walkway and 500# of lead to tune.

You will love them. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions. The instructions are vague to say the least.