Ballast question in a 1998 Sport/Air Nautique? Help!!

[5bison]

I bought a 1998 Sport/Air Last fall. I was able to use the boat three or four times Before I had to winterize and put into storage, so I did get a feeling for the wake and what the boat was capable of last year.. The guy I bought the boat from had installed a ballast system in the boat and did a very nice job. He had installed an 1100# fat sack in the trunk and a 600# fat sack in the ski locker… My question is, before I spend too much time fooling with the weight this summer is there anything I should be adding to this setup to make it the best it can be? One thing that I am wondering is should I have some weight in the bow? I noticed that at slow speeds with the kids (around 18 mph) it was hard to maintain speed, unless I had someone sit up front in the bow. If I do add weight to the bow what will it do to the wake when I am riding at 22, 23 mph? Will it be better or worse? I also have skiers in my family, so if I add some lead in the bow will that be bad for the ski wake? Thanks for the help.

[NCH2oSki]

I used to keep 75lbs of weight in the bow of my 99' sport, I think it helped with the slalom wake.

[s_kelley2000]

Nice looking boat! I am much more familiar with the V-drive version but these hulls definitely like some weight in the bow. At 22/23 mph the weight in the bow will gave the wake a little more ramp and it seems to make it more solid but it will take a way a little bit of the straight up pop. It will also help it to hold speeds better. With kids at 18 mph you are probably better off letting some ballast out of that rear bag instead of adding more weight to the front for them. It's tough to keep the wake clean at 18 mph with a lot of weight in the boat. I am not much of a skier anymore but 200 lbs of lead in the front probably won't kill the slalom wake too much. weight in the nose is better than weight in the back when it comes to slalom.

[5bison]

Thanks for the help guys! Do you have any thoughts on the best potions/ location for the weight? It seams like led is hard to find and work with… Are there any other good options? s_kelley2000 How do you weight your boat? I know that our boats are a little different, but they do have the same hull right? Any tips would help… Our summers here are short enough, so I want to hit the ground running! IF summer ever comes.

[s_kelley2000]

Yes they are the same hulls but the engine being in the back changes things quite a bit. The big block probably weighs about 200 lbs more than the GT-40 as well. I have 750s in each rear locker that I usually fill to about 400-500 for wakeboarding. I have a full 600 lb sac in the belly ski locker and then I fill up the 650 integrated bow sack that goes under the front seats. That integrated bow sac doesn't fill all the way but I would guess I get about 450 lbs into that. If you don't mind losing the under bow storage then I think the integrated sac is a great way to go. It made a huge difference in the wake and just as importantly the boat holds speed and handles better with it. They are a little pricey but they show up on ebay from time to time.

If you are looking for lead I have heard people have good luck getting some at tire stores. Window weights from old houses work well too if you can find a line on those.

[5bison]

How did you plumb in the sac in the bow? Did you jump it off the sac in the ski locker? Or does it have its own pump? I am wondering if I need to find a way to get more weight in the back of the boat. Maybe 1100# is not enough… Or maybe it would be better to not fill the ski locker because of the weight of the center mounted engine. I bet your boat thoroughs a great wake with all that weight!

[s_kelley2000]

My boat does not have factory ballast so I will be plumbing everything in eventually but as of right now I am still throwing tsunami's over the side. When I do plumb them in I plan to have the belly sac overflow into the integrated bow sac and fill and empty both of those with one imepeller pump. You should be able to piggy back off your ski locker sac easily. I think your best bet is to put a T on the ski locker vent line so that you can make 2 fill lines to go to the port and starboard side of the integrated bow sac. That is what others have done to help it fill/empty more evenly and that is the method I plan to use. I love the wake that my boat throws!

I think you will be quite happy with your wake with some added bow weight via water or lead. for experienced riders I would fill the rear, belly and bow. For less experienced riders at slower speeds like 18 mph I would let a lot of that ballast out so that you can have a clean wake at a speed they are comfortable with.

[ally505]

The 93-97 Sport shares the same hull as the Super Sport/Super air up to 2006. The 98 Sport/Air is a different hull. None the less, I am pretty sure adding ballast will be much the same as the 93-97 Sport. I have around 180kg (400lbs) of lead tucked around the stern of the boat, on top of and beside the fuel cell, on the floor under the seats etc. Add to that I have two side sacs either side of the engine and we fill the ski locker to give a nice boarding wake (these boats don't need a huge amount of ballast). I have never added weight up in the bow, nor would I as, in my mind, it wouldn't do anything for the wake. Have fun experimenting.

[Miljack]

I had a Pro Air hull, very similar, but with a step in the middle to provide "downforce" in the rear, and lift in the bow. I had a very similar ballast setup to yours, just remember the ski locker goes all the way up front to almost the front bow cushion. I had a custom sack built and I think it was about 80" long! That said, with all of my ballast full, the driver really had to pay attention to dipping the bow on rollers. If somebody was sitting up front, the driver really needed to know what they were doing...
Best wake board wake we had was with a boat full of people (six) and really beefy guy up in the bow (250+) and the wake was really good, great ramp, lip at the top, and solid, no give when hit..
I don't think you'll need much more weight in your boat, especially with kids, most likely will need to get them behind the boat with only a little up front to "ramp" the wake a bit more...18 mph will be hard to keep clean with any weight behind these boats, we could run a little slower in our boat empty and clean it up for the kids...

[s_kelley2000]

The 93-97 Sport shares the same hull as the Super Sport/Super air up to 2006. The 98 Sport/Air is a different hull. None the less, I am pretty sure adding ballast will be much the same as the 93-97 Sport.

You are right that the 98-2002 Sport got a redesigned deck and a small change to the chines that did not affect the wake but essentially the hull is the same as the 93-97 Sport and 95-06 210. In 98 they got rid of the slant back and added the trunk.

[5bison]

Thanks for all of your help everybody. I think that i am going to try to find a good place in the bow to stash some extra weight! Now If we could just start our lake season! It is stll snowing here in N.D. !!!