Which ballast sacs?

[skiking]

I am in the winter process of putting in a auto ballast system for my 1999 Super Sport. I have read every ballast install on this forum and appreciate all the great posts as they have solved a lot of the riddles for my upcoming installation.

I am getting ready to order the sacs for my boat and wanted to get some opinions on which sizes to go with and how many? At this time, I am looking at the Fly High V-Drive sacs and possibly the 750# for my center ski locker. Integrated bow sac?

I really want to get the best sacs for the best wakes for boarding and surfing. I know every boat is different and having the most weight isn't always the best. Some boats like 1500# while others like 2700# to get the optimal wake size and shape.

Suggestions? I have three Jabsco Ballast Puppies for fill/empty.

[bchesley]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

I have the flyhigh 400lb vdrive sacks in the back and a gravity games 1000lb bag in my locker. No bow bag since the locker bag goes all the way to the front. It is 19x19x88.

[WakeSlayer]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

I have 750's in the back, and a 400lb tube sac in the belly. I keep a 400lb'er for the seat for surfing, and have a bunch of lead to move around for the rest. I just have the back ones plumbed, the belly stays full all year.

[skiking]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

bchesley: How do you like the 400# bags? Do you feel like they are plenty? Also, any advantages to using the 400# nautique wedge sacs? I am assuming our lockers are the same....so it WILL hold the Gravity Games bag? I heard the connections were weird on the GG sacs.

WakeSlayer: How do you like the 750# sacs? Do they fit well or do you think they are overkill for our rear compartments? I saw your pic of the two black sacs in the rear of your boat and am assuming those are your 750# sacs.

[seth]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

I have the 750's, a custom 27Wx12Hx78L locker sac, the integrated bow sac, and 160lbs of lead to throw around. There were 3 of us out yesterday and I filled all sacs until they were pouring out the overflows. The boat got on plane fine, and the wake was very good. I would go with the 750's just to have the option of the extra weight, especially if you are surfing. You are going to want all that weight in one side.

[WakeSlayer]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

^^ what Seth said.
No reason to leave yourself wanting more. You can always let some out if you want. But you cannot add to 400's if you need to.

[bchesley]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

I actually would like to use the 750's but I have to figure out a creative way to keep my batteries in the back but free up some space in the compartments to make them fit. I would go with the 750's for the option to go bigger but the 400s will satisfy all my riders.

[WakeSlayer]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

I split the two batteries up, and set them on the ledge ahead of the area where the sacs will sit. There is room up there for them. And plenty for the bags.

[skiking]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

wakeslayer: I just was looking in my boat and was looking at just that thought about the batteries. There is definetely space on the ledges. Also, noticed that the Gravity Games bags are around 575 each which would give me an in between option.

bchesley: I assume our ski locker has similar dimensions. How does your GG bag fit in the locker...plenty of room? Does it go far enough forward that you don't need an integrated bow sac?

Thanks

[bchesley]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

The GG bag fills the entire ski locker from front to rear and top to bottom. I found mine on ebay as a factory blem for $75. I highly recommend looking there for your bags.

I have a buddy that moved his batteries there. He is not using the carpeted divider boards that go behind the rear seat anymore and I am not real keen on that. If I can keep my dividers and put the batteries there I will do it.

[skiking]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

I was told by Fly High that the Gravity Games bags were designed for Supra/Moomba and have cemented in 3/4 inch flow-rite attachements. Was your sac like this? How did you replace it with the 1 inch?

[bchesley]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

Mine has the regular screw in fitting bungs cemented in. I am not sure why but it does. It was a factory blem so maybe that was the blem?

[skiking]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

I have been told by Fly High to not use 3/4 inch vent line since I am filling with 1 inch. They say you run a risk of overloading the system and a hose or bag blowing. Anybody run into any issues using 3/4 inch vents?

Also, anybody miss having hard tanks with gauges? Seems like it would be nice to know the level the tanks are at in the cockpit on the fly. We sometimes have novices that don't want the wake loaded all the way down. I read somewhere you could get custom hard tanks built to any size. May be more trouble than it is worth. Opinions?

[seth]

RE: Which ballast sacs?

I have 1 inch fill lines and 3/4 inch vent lines and have not had any problems. I would never want hard tanks because they take up the same amount of space whether they are empty or full and you lose all that storage. It only takes a second to look in the compartments to see how full the sacs are.