Learning- weekend preference----
R8 surf w 7 adults
Left and right full, middle half full
10.8
2 degree, down to -1 for taller wave
Aggressive male rider
Wave Customization 2023 R8 Surf
- Speedracer
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- Joined: Wed May 22, 2024 9:12 am
- Location: KS
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Re: Wave Customization 2023 R8 Surf
Any chance you were able to get the starboard side cleaned up? We’ve been struggling with the same issue… one side (starboard) is crispy clean yet the other side (port) is quite messy. Oddly, it’s better when going down stream than it is upstream. Makes no difference with the starboard side. It’s great either direction.2023BlackR8SURF wrote: Sun Aug 13, 2023 10:07 am Had a great day on the water yesterday. Have the port side wake dialed in based on the feedback here. 11.6 speed, ballast port side full, center full, starboard 1/2, trim 3. I'm struggling to get the starboard to clean up with the same settings flipped. Any suggestions? Maybe my R8 is gonna be a port wake surf boat?
Re: Wave Customization 2023 R8 Surf
Been trying different waves the past couple weeks. I used to go full ballasts, +3, 11.3 mph which creates a large steep wave, not ideal for beginners.
For a milder wave but still long and with good push I will reduce ballast on the surfer side to 55-60%.
I agree with other posters here.. the lack of any guidance from Cobalt on surf wave settings is an oversight.
For a milder wave but still long and with good push I will reduce ballast on the surfer side to 55-60%.
I agree with other posters here.. the lack of any guidance from Cobalt on surf wave settings is an oversight.
Minneapolis, MN
2004 Glastron GX 195 (sold)
2019 Chaparral 21H20 OB (sold)
2023 Cobalt R8 Surf 430
2004 Glastron GX 195 (sold)
2019 Chaparral 21H20 OB (sold)
2023 Cobalt R8 Surf 430
Re: Wave Customization 2023 R8 Surf
Appreciate the inputs on the surf wave.
We have been going full ballast, -2 TPS, 11.1 on the port side and the wave seems decent but I am not really sure what perfect is yet.
I did fight with and I think “solve” two issues with the boat this weekend for surfing:
1) The water sports mode speed didn’t pickup GPS signal for a while
2) The speed control would “hunt” a lot, the boat would accelerate to 12.5, then down to 10, then up, then down
To fix this I upgraded the garmins to the latest software and then set the GPS speed source to the garmin vs. the built in. The signal strength of the garmins was 1000% while the built in showed 40%. I then added positive value to the GPS Speed Filter, going from the default value of 1 to 3. This ends up smoothing out the speed signal and reducing the immediacy of the response. I am not sure which of these changes improved it but I do know the software upgrade has made the screens far snappier to respond to. The boat is much less anxious now when surfing.
We have been going full ballast, -2 TPS, 11.1 on the port side and the wave seems decent but I am not really sure what perfect is yet.
I did fight with and I think “solve” two issues with the boat this weekend for surfing:
1) The water sports mode speed didn’t pickup GPS signal for a while
2) The speed control would “hunt” a lot, the boat would accelerate to 12.5, then down to 10, then up, then down
To fix this I upgraded the garmins to the latest software and then set the GPS speed source to the garmin vs. the built in. The signal strength of the garmins was 1000% while the built in showed 40%. I then added positive value to the GPS Speed Filter, going from the default value of 1 to 3. This ends up smoothing out the speed signal and reducing the immediacy of the response. I am not sure which of these changes improved it but I do know the software upgrade has made the screens far snappier to respond to. The boat is much less anxious now when surfing.
Re: Wave Customization 2023 R8 Surf
When you say “turn off trim assist”, what does that mean? Does that mean simply setting the trim with the thumbswitch?MNStCroix wrote: Mon Aug 14, 2023 8:00 pm I’ve been tweaking the surf setting on my R8S all summer and found the best wave is full ballasts, 11.3 mph, and +3 trim angle. You do need to turn off the Trim Assist. Effective for both right and left sides.
Re: Wave Customization 2023 R8 Surf
When turned on the trim assist feature will override whatever trim level you select for surfing on the thumb trim switch. So ideally it should to be turned off for surfing. On your Volvo throttle base there is a button labeled Trim Assist on the bottom. It will beep when you turn it on and off. A green light on the button will indicate if it’s turned on. The screen also shows a temporary banner when turned off and on.
For a milder wave with good push and a large pocket play around with the ballast tank levels. This summer I found that reducing the ballast tank on the side being surfed to around 55-60%ish, then full center/front ballast and full opposite side ballast is a crowd favorite. Can also go a little faster to elongate the wave ie bigger pocket- 11.4/11.5 mph at +3 trim. The number of passengers and where they are sitting can also have some effect.
For a milder wave with good push and a large pocket play around with the ballast tank levels. This summer I found that reducing the ballast tank on the side being surfed to around 55-60%ish, then full center/front ballast and full opposite side ballast is a crowd favorite. Can also go a little faster to elongate the wave ie bigger pocket- 11.4/11.5 mph at +3 trim. The number of passengers and where they are sitting can also have some effect.
Minneapolis, MN
2004 Glastron GX 195 (sold)
2019 Chaparral 21H20 OB (sold)
2023 Cobalt R8 Surf 430
2004 Glastron GX 195 (sold)
2019 Chaparral 21H20 OB (sold)
2023 Cobalt R8 Surf 430
Re: Wave Customization 2023 R8 Surf
Thank you, super helpful. Will try the ballast settings you suggest,
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