rexsteiner
Active Member
Also. Sorry for the bad news but if your gelcoat is cracking or has spiders, your fiberglass is flexing and is damaged. That's from lack of reinforcement. The more it cracks the weaker your fiberglass gets.
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Sea doo Challenger 230 Wake edition with wake tower
- Thread starter 230WakeOwnerDallas
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I will take some pics tomorrow and post them. Earmark Car Audio did the install and did a very nice job. The Amp's are mounted in the back of the glovebox area. I have one battery in front of the stock battery and two mounted on the other side.
Chris
sefitzgerald78
New Member
I have a similar set up in my 2008 230.
Here is what I have.
1. Head Unit-Alpine CDA-9886m
2. Equilizer-Audio Control EQS
3. Amplifiers-Boston Gt2300 1400 watts to the Tower
Zappco 350 watt to interior
Clarion DPX 1000 to Subs
4. Tower Speakers-Wetsounds White 485's
5. Interior-Stock Clarion 6.5's
6. Subs- Boston G-5 12"
7. 2 dual purpose marine Deka batteries.
The system sounds amazing. The problem I am having is at a high volume if I go over 35-40 Mph there is a loud alarm that goes off. If I slow down, or turn the volume down it goes away. Is this because of the alternators? If so how do I fix it?
I have noticed a lot of movemement in my tower as well. I retightened all of the bolts and it helped, but did not solve my problem. The season is almost over, I will deal with it this fall.
Here is what I have.
1. Head Unit-Alpine CDA-9886m
2. Equilizer-Audio Control EQS
3. Amplifiers-Boston Gt2300 1400 watts to the Tower
Zappco 350 watt to interior
Clarion DPX 1000 to Subs
4. Tower Speakers-Wetsounds White 485's
5. Interior-Stock Clarion 6.5's
6. Subs- Boston G-5 12"
7. 2 dual purpose marine Deka batteries.
The system sounds amazing. The problem I am having is at a high volume if I go over 35-40 Mph there is a loud alarm that goes off. If I slow down, or turn the volume down it goes away. Is this because of the alternators? If so how do I fix it?
I have noticed a lot of movemement in my tower as well. I retightened all of the bolts and it helped, but did not solve my problem. The season is almost over, I will deal with it this fall.
First of all I apoligize for not posting the pics yet, but I promise sometime in the next few weeks I will.
As for the Alarm you are hearing at cruising speed with the volume high I have no idea and would not claim to, however my first guess would be that you are stressing the alternator on the boat. The alternator is rated at 380W which is pretty small when think about driving the electronics of the boat ( especially those big amps and dual batteries looking for a charge ).
I did not want to mess with the primary power plant, that is why I had 3 Costco deep cycles installed and they drive only the stereo amplifier. There is an independent charger for these batteries that can only be used when an A/C power source is around. The starter battery is wired exactly as it was from the factory. Everything shares a common ground. In fact due to the head unit triggering the amplifiers I'm pretty sure while my boat is not in use very little energy is being depleted from any of the batteries.
hope this helps a little.
Chris
As for the Alarm you are hearing at cruising speed with the volume high I have no idea and would not claim to, however my first guess would be that you are stressing the alternator on the boat. The alternator is rated at 380W which is pretty small when think about driving the electronics of the boat ( especially those big amps and dual batteries looking for a charge ).
I did not want to mess with the primary power plant, that is why I had 3 Costco deep cycles installed and they drive only the stereo amplifier. There is an independent charger for these batteries that can only be used when an A/C power source is around. The starter battery is wired exactly as it was from the factory. Everything shares a common ground. In fact due to the head unit triggering the amplifiers I'm pretty sure while my boat is not in use very little energy is being depleted from any of the batteries.
hope this helps a little.
Chris
sefitzgerald78
New Member
I will have to consider adding a couple more batteries. I have not looked to far into the problem yet, but is there a way to upgrade the alternator, or have it rebuilt to push more power. I am taking the boat home tonight to get ready for the long weekend at New Melones, I will take pictures and post them tonight.
sefitzgerald78
New Member
PhongRacing
New Member
nice pics, any pics of where you mounted the battery? need to add a second battery but don't know where to mount it.
thanks
thanks
sefitzgerald78
New Member
I will take a few more pics later in the week, I just put it back in storage. I mounted the 2nd battery on the right side of the ice chest. The spot is perfect size, and leaves me just enough room for my ES-5000 jump box for backup just in case I have a few to many and forget to switch from both batteries one or the other.
FloorStreet
New Member
I need to get a video up of how our tower shakes...
Its noticeable sometimes but only when there's alot of chop and its windy. I mean it does shake in normal conditions too, but it might not catch your attention as bad as when its windy.
Also, if I grab the tower when the boat is docked, I can easily shake it back and forth a few inches.
Found one of the upper bolts was completely unscrewed on the right side of the tower...seems like they do get loose so keep an eye on those.
--
I noticed the 2010 wake series featured a black, more minimalist, lighter tower.
And now it seems the 2011 wake series have a reversed tower.
Is there indeed a safety issue? What I'm wondering is how these foldable towers are more stable than the non-foldable, sturdier-looking, one's we've got. Is it because the old ones are heavier?
Whatever, I think I like the classic look of the old aluminium tower anyway, and I'm willing to pay a little shake for it. But if there is a safety issue, I'd like seadoo to let me know about it.
Its noticeable sometimes but only when there's alot of chop and its windy. I mean it does shake in normal conditions too, but it might not catch your attention as bad as when its windy.
Also, if I grab the tower when the boat is docked, I can easily shake it back and forth a few inches.
Found one of the upper bolts was completely unscrewed on the right side of the tower...seems like they do get loose so keep an eye on those.
--
I noticed the 2010 wake series featured a black, more minimalist, lighter tower.
And now it seems the 2011 wake series have a reversed tower.
Is there indeed a safety issue? What I'm wondering is how these foldable towers are more stable than the non-foldable, sturdier-looking, one's we've got. Is it because the old ones are heavier?
Whatever, I think I like the classic look of the old aluminium tower anyway, and I'm willing to pay a little shake for it. But if there is a safety issue, I'd like seadoo to let me know about it.
Free Ride Tower
Anyone heard about this tower, very close design of the 2011 seadoo towers, may pull the trigger on this soon
http://www.h2osportswarehouse.com/product-p/bt-frkit3.htm
Anyone heard about this tower, very close design of the 2011 seadoo towers, may pull the trigger on this soon
http://www.h2osportswarehouse.com/product-p/bt-frkit3.htm
230WakeOwnerDallas
New Member
The problem I found was that the bolts that are causing the shake are the ones that you cant' get to. When I would take it in to the dealer to tightend the "hard to reach" bolts, the tower had hardly any shake at all. I like the classic look as well on my 230 wake. but I also like the reverse tower they've taken from the Malibus. If you keep the bolts tight you shouldn't have any problems. Just be prepared to tighten them every few trips to the lake.
Shakes
I just bought a used 08 230 and my tower shakes like crazy. I am in Dallas also and after going through this forum I still don't see the solution. Should I bother taking it to whittle boats or try tightening myself. I can see the black rubber "washers" are not set correctly. Is this something Sea Doo will still warranty?
I just bought a used 08 230 and my tower shakes like crazy. I am in Dallas also and after going through this forum I still don't see the solution. Should I bother taking it to whittle boats or try tightening myself. I can see the black rubber "washers" are not set correctly. Is this something Sea Doo will still warranty?
230WakeOwnerDallas
New Member
Tower Shake on the 230 Wake
You just bought a 2008 230 Wake? If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for yours?? (send me a PM if you can). I'm selling mine and wondering what price to list it at. Also, does yours have all of the extra features (power windshield, onboard heater, etc.)? Did it come with any upgrades? and how many hours on the engines or did you even check? :bigear:
As for the tower situation, :banghead: I've taken mine to Whittle on multiple occasions and it helps big time. There are the obvious bolts around the tower that you can tighten yourself and this is a MUST. If you haven't done that already, go ahead and buy the proper tools and tighten all the bolts at the base of the tower (this may actually solve your problem). I keep this wrench on my boat at all times now.
When I took it in, I requested they re-tighten all of the "hard to reach" bolts using lock-tite. I don't think they used lock-tite :bs: however, when I got the boat back it had little to no shake at all. As for these "hard to reach" bolts, I'm not sure how to get to them since I've never tried but I'm sure you could do this yourself with some research and the proper tools if you want to save yourself some money and a trip to the dealer.
After a few trips to the lake or some days of choppy water :driving: you'll notice the tower will start to shake more and more as the bolts become loose again. I simply pull the wrench out of the glove box and re-tighten the bolts I can see and the problem is solved.
The rubber washers aren't set perfectly on my boat either. As they would tighten the bolts the rubber would become more worn and out of position. I'm under the impression these are mainly to prevent spiderwebs and cracking in the fiberglass around the tower bases (i.e. not important what position they are in as long as they are in between the metal and fiberglass). I could be wrong on this but that's what I've always assumed.
As for the warranty, I never went down that road but my guess would be no, this is not covered. That said, I've taken my boat in to Jerry Whittle for multiple things (even things that shouldn't be covered under warranty), and they always cover it and my bill is always around $100. They repaired ripped leather on my bolster seat, the spring in glove box, middle sliding door was damaged somehow and the plastic that holds the hydrolic arm that raises the middle windsheild was broken, windsheild would not roll up on one occasion, Ballast pump went out one time and could not drain one of the ballast bags, plastic decorative piece on the interior broke (your friends are your boats worst enemy :reddevil
... I think that's about it.
All of this stuff was covered under warranty. If you talk to Dale over at Jerry Whittle he will usually tell you what you need to know. He's the service manager and has been there for years. He's very good at his job and has always taken pretty good care of me even when I blew up on him one time and got pretty mad because one of his guys left my battery switch on after a repair. :cuss:
We got to the lake and both batteries were dead and my optima would not re-charge. Luckily it was covered under warranty so I got a brand new Optima battery but still, what a pain in the @$$. All of my friends that drove out to the lake and sat there while I argued with Dale - :boxing_smiley: haha.. man that was a bad trip to the lake. We ended up sitting in my boat drinking beers and listening to music in the parking lot of the marina with the boat still on the trailer :cheers:
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.
You just bought a 2008 230 Wake? If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for yours?? (send me a PM if you can). I'm selling mine and wondering what price to list it at. Also, does yours have all of the extra features (power windshield, onboard heater, etc.)? Did it come with any upgrades? and how many hours on the engines or did you even check? :bigear:
As for the tower situation, :banghead: I've taken mine to Whittle on multiple occasions and it helps big time. There are the obvious bolts around the tower that you can tighten yourself and this is a MUST. If you haven't done that already, go ahead and buy the proper tools and tighten all the bolts at the base of the tower (this may actually solve your problem). I keep this wrench on my boat at all times now.
When I took it in, I requested they re-tighten all of the "hard to reach" bolts using lock-tite. I don't think they used lock-tite :bs: however, when I got the boat back it had little to no shake at all. As for these "hard to reach" bolts, I'm not sure how to get to them since I've never tried but I'm sure you could do this yourself with some research and the proper tools if you want to save yourself some money and a trip to the dealer.
After a few trips to the lake or some days of choppy water :driving: you'll notice the tower will start to shake more and more as the bolts become loose again. I simply pull the wrench out of the glove box and re-tighten the bolts I can see and the problem is solved.
The rubber washers aren't set perfectly on my boat either. As they would tighten the bolts the rubber would become more worn and out of position. I'm under the impression these are mainly to prevent spiderwebs and cracking in the fiberglass around the tower bases (i.e. not important what position they are in as long as they are in between the metal and fiberglass). I could be wrong on this but that's what I've always assumed.
As for the warranty, I never went down that road but my guess would be no, this is not covered. That said, I've taken my boat in to Jerry Whittle for multiple things (even things that shouldn't be covered under warranty), and they always cover it and my bill is always around $100. They repaired ripped leather on my bolster seat, the spring in glove box, middle sliding door was damaged somehow and the plastic that holds the hydrolic arm that raises the middle windsheild was broken, windsheild would not roll up on one occasion, Ballast pump went out one time and could not drain one of the ballast bags, plastic decorative piece on the interior broke (your friends are your boats worst enemy :reddevil
... I think that's about it.All of this stuff was covered under warranty. If you talk to Dale over at Jerry Whittle he will usually tell you what you need to know. He's the service manager and has been there for years. He's very good at his job and has always taken pretty good care of me even when I blew up on him one time and got pretty mad because one of his guys left my battery switch on after a repair. :cuss:
We got to the lake and both batteries were dead and my optima would not re-charge. Luckily it was covered under warranty so I got a brand new Optima battery but still, what a pain in the @$$. All of my friends that drove out to the lake and sat there while I argued with Dale - :boxing_smiley: haha.. man that was a bad trip to the lake. We ended up sitting in my boat drinking beers and listening to music in the parking lot of the marina with the boat still on the trailer :cheers:
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.
Hey,
Thanks a lot for the reply, I do not have the wake edition, but I do have the oem tower. I did a lot of research before buying my boat and might be of some help. My boat is in great condition with 35 hours on it, freshwater use only and I paid 25k. I feel like I got a good deal. I think your boat should be sold between 35 and 40 depending on upgrades. Now this is important, they have changed the fuel effeciency, as well as lowering the price on the new models. Maybe making urgency of your sale a consideration. I live and keep my boat at lake texoma. Thanks for your hilarious story and the contact at the dealership. Feel free to pm me and we can exchange info. I'll also keep my ears open for any buyers.
Thanks again,
Sean
Thanks a lot for the reply, I do not have the wake edition, but I do have the oem tower. I did a lot of research before buying my boat and might be of some help. My boat is in great condition with 35 hours on it, freshwater use only and I paid 25k. I feel like I got a good deal. I think your boat should be sold between 35 and 40 depending on upgrades. Now this is important, they have changed the fuel effeciency, as well as lowering the price on the new models. Maybe making urgency of your sale a consideration. I live and keep my boat at lake texoma. Thanks for your hilarious story and the contact at the dealership. Feel free to pm me and we can exchange info. I'll also keep my ears open for any buyers.
Thanks again,
Sean
I have a 2009 Wake 23 with 510 hp and have the same tower issue. It seems to be a bad design. Tightening the bolts helps and you may try a denser material for the compression pads used to protect the gel-coat. The ones on mine, which i think were original were softer and the new ones seem to help. It still moves but not as much. I also may remove the speakers if I am trailering it for any long hauls to reduce the weight on it. FYI I bought my 2009 last summer for 34K, it had about 20 hours on it.
i soooo kno wat u mean about ppl telling you everytime they got on point somthing out like yaaa thanks i knoooo...wheres ur boat
duanwei513
New Member
review on 230 WAKE
besides the tower problem, could you give us some review on the boat plz? i was considering buying one, but apparently sea doo boats arent that popular here in Australia. btw we have to pay around 97k for a brand new sea doo 230 wake which is about 98k USD, that is bloody expensive!!!
besides the tower problem, could you give us some review on the boat plz? i was considering buying one, but apparently sea doo boats arent that popular here in Australia. btw we have to pay around 97k for a brand new sea doo 230 wake which is about 98k USD, that is bloody expensive!!!
230WakeOwnerDallas
New Member
wow.
Jesus, I can't imagine paying that much for this boat. at 40K I think it's a good deal and a great boat. At 50K I could see that being an okay deal and would probably still be happy overall. I've been on several wakeboard boats / inboard / outboard, ski boats, runabouts, etc. and my boat is usually superior in many ways. Functionality, space (very large interior and HUGE open bow). Extremely powerful and fast and it handles like no other. Jet boats are very fun to drive. You can turn the wheel back and fourth all the way even at top speed and it's like you're gliding on the water or skiing down a mountain. People who first get on the boat compare it to being on a roller coaster. Like every single boat in the world there are going to be down sides. I think Sea Doo does an okay job of getting feedback and trying improve on designs (case in point - the new tower on 2011 models). The tower on my boat is a no longer an issue. I don't see much shake unless I'm hitting some huge waves. The deadrise on this boat (angle at the front) is way sharper than most wakeboard boats. So it definitely helps to slice through choppy waters on windy days or busy lake days. When you get out there on the flat bottom wakeboard boats it's damn miserable trying to make it over to party cove through choppy waters. Have fun going 9 mph the whole way there loser (winning - duh). My complaints are very minor and not a big deal. I don't approve of the ski pole because it bends easily and is difficult to slide up and down. again, this is not an issue because we're not lame enough to water ski. there's another tie on for tubes and of course the wakeboard tower for boarders. The glove box situation is HORRID. whoever is responsible for designing this is a complete moron. There is a spring that holds the box open. Naturally, people try to shut glove box like a normal person closes a glove box. Well for this boat you have to push the spring forward in order to bend it and close the glove. When people shut it naturally it bends the spring in the opposite direction and ends up breaking the spring. There is hardly any space in the glove box. even with 2 friends on the boat there's hardly enough room to keep our wallets, phones, and keys. The last negative thing I can say is that it does cost more in gas than a typical direct drive wakeboard boat (the price you pay for 2 supercharged engines). But let's be honest, if you can afford this boat then I don't think a few extra bucks at the pump are going to be that big of a factor, at least not for me (besides, that's what friends are for :cheers
I would reccommend youtube for a complete overview of the boat. just search for 230 wake and there are a couple to choose from. All in all, very happy with the purchase - let me know if you have any specific questions.
-Matt
ps - have you checked into shipping? there's no way it costs over 50k to ship one of these to austrailia? buy from a trusted buyer here and set up the shipping. save youself several thousand of dollars.
Jesus, I can't imagine paying that much for this boat. at 40K I think it's a good deal and a great boat. At 50K I could see that being an okay deal and would probably still be happy overall. I've been on several wakeboard boats / inboard / outboard, ski boats, runabouts, etc. and my boat is usually superior in many ways. Functionality, space (very large interior and HUGE open bow). Extremely powerful and fast and it handles like no other. Jet boats are very fun to drive. You can turn the wheel back and fourth all the way even at top speed and it's like you're gliding on the water or skiing down a mountain. People who first get on the boat compare it to being on a roller coaster. Like every single boat in the world there are going to be down sides. I think Sea Doo does an okay job of getting feedback and trying improve on designs (case in point - the new tower on 2011 models). The tower on my boat is a no longer an issue. I don't see much shake unless I'm hitting some huge waves. The deadrise on this boat (angle at the front) is way sharper than most wakeboard boats. So it definitely helps to slice through choppy waters on windy days or busy lake days. When you get out there on the flat bottom wakeboard boats it's damn miserable trying to make it over to party cove through choppy waters. Have fun going 9 mph the whole way there loser (winning - duh). My complaints are very minor and not a big deal. I don't approve of the ski pole because it bends easily and is difficult to slide up and down. again, this is not an issue because we're not lame enough to water ski. there's another tie on for tubes and of course the wakeboard tower for boarders. The glove box situation is HORRID. whoever is responsible for designing this is a complete moron. There is a spring that holds the box open. Naturally, people try to shut glove box like a normal person closes a glove box. Well for this boat you have to push the spring forward in order to bend it and close the glove. When people shut it naturally it bends the spring in the opposite direction and ends up breaking the spring. There is hardly any space in the glove box. even with 2 friends on the boat there's hardly enough room to keep our wallets, phones, and keys. The last negative thing I can say is that it does cost more in gas than a typical direct drive wakeboard boat (the price you pay for 2 supercharged engines). But let's be honest, if you can afford this boat then I don't think a few extra bucks at the pump are going to be that big of a factor, at least not for me (besides, that's what friends are for :cheers
I would reccommend youtube for a complete overview of the boat. just search for 230 wake and there are a couple to choose from. All in all, very happy with the purchase - let me know if you have any specific questions.
-Matt
ps - have you checked into shipping? there's no way it costs over 50k to ship one of these to austrailia? buy from a trusted buyer here and set up the shipping. save youself several thousand of dollars.
duanwei513
New Member
230 wake
yeah, mate, 97k drive away price here, i was pretty surprised that ppl pay 40k in US. most wake boats here such as supra, tige, chaparral are around 100k mark. but i guess ppl here make a lot more money than US, i am a mining engineering student, after my graduation next year, my starting salary will be around 120k AUD, but after tax i will be lucky if i get 85k.
i will definitely look into buying one overseas and ship it to Aus. Great review btw, very detailed. much appreciated!
yeah, mate, 97k drive away price here, i was pretty surprised that ppl pay 40k in US. most wake boats here such as supra, tige, chaparral are around 100k mark. but i guess ppl here make a lot more money than US, i am a mining engineering student, after my graduation next year, my starting salary will be around 120k AUD, but after tax i will be lucky if i get 85k.
i will definitely look into buying one overseas and ship it to Aus. Great review btw, very detailed. much appreciated!
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