2004 SANTE 210 Ballast Upgrade

[Luebowski]

Ever since I bought this boat last spring I knew the ballast needed some upgrades. I decided to go with a WakeMakers reversible system for the rear compartments. I plan to leave the stock tank in the belly for now and use lead/people in the bow - we generally have 8-9 adults/kids on board. Also jumped on a sale to get the Acme 1578 prop.

My stock tanks are out so I am close to doing this install but here is where I need some advice. Where should I mount the reversible pumps (2)? I have done extensive searching but I mainly find pics of other year boats so I'm hoping someone has pics of an install done on an 04 210. From what I have read it is better if the pumps are laying down but it looks like they would work mounted vertically as well. Any advice is appreciated! -Jason

[brit_hunsicker]

I’ve got an 01’ 210 and just ordered 3 pumps. My plan is to mount them under the vent in the drivers side rear compartment. Will have plenty of picture over the next month or so on my restoration thread.


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[wakejunky]

I have a total of 5 reversible pumps. Two mounted in the engine compartment under the exhaust riser on the port side on the inside of the engine panels, I did have to put a heat shield on one of them because the exhaust was melting the pump housing. These two fill the tanks. Basically replacing the impellor pumps. One more is mounted in the port storage compartment on the backside of the back seat, and this one fills the bow sac. Then I have two others above the exhaust muffler under the engine hatch, that fill the over the tank sacs. All pumps are accessible to replace the impellors because they will fail at some point and having access while on the water was key. I built a control box, it's a 4" x 4" black plastic design box, it houses all the relays in order to wire the pumps for forward and reverse. Then I mounted the switches under the throttle on the panel, all labeled, Port, Starboard, Bow.

[DW SD]

My impeller pump is mounted on the aluminum frame in front of the Engine. It has been trouble free thus far. But I have a spare impeller ready and another pump at home.

I also have 15 x 50 lead wake bags. They are stowed mostly out of sight on the port side. Either front of locker next to the seat or under the port couch and wrap around.
About five or six move on the floor in front of the couch side to side depending upon if we ride regular foot or goofy.
I’ve added piggy back bags in top of the rear hard tanks, maybe 375 each and have 375 in the ski locker.

With 3 guys, ballasts full and 1578 prop, the boat takes noticeably long to plane.
I think I’m maxed out.
I’m guessing there is 600 (hard tanks) + 1100 soft ballast bags + 750 steel shot bags + 100 lbs anchor and gear in the nose - total of ~ 2500ish.
Ski step is about 6” submerged.
Also note a lot of my weight is forward of the couch but I don’t have much in the nose.
The surf wave is really solid with a mission delta suck gate.
And it doesn’t take too long to fill. Maybe 10 minutes. Which is about the time it takes to get to our riding spots.


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[Luebowski]

Thanks for the input so far, this gives me some good ideas where to start.

With 3 guys, ballasts full and 1578 prop, the boat takes noticeably long to plane.

DW: This is the first time I have heard someone mention trouble planing with the 1578 prop. I will be running a little less weight than you but often have 5 adults plus kids on my boat. I will have 650 bags in the rear + 150 lbs of lead + 250 in the belly + 300 fat sac in the bow for a total of 2K lbs. I have a suck gate I found on ebay that worked good last summer but we never had enough ballast to drop the rope when surfing.

[DW SD]

I think my issue with planing might be 1 weight of course and 2 rear bias. I’d bet moving more of it forward would help. It does plane fine but just takes a bit longer than empty. Maybe an extra 5 seconds. Note I’m also at sea level. If I board with that much weight I tend to porpoise a bit. That makes me think the rear bias exists. But we pretty much optimized for surfing. So I haven’t worked on that issue at all. And the wave when full is massive for boarding. It makes me fearful for the health of my knees.

[DW SD]

One more note. We drop the rope for surfing easily. Even with a 240lb guy on a board for 150 to 200 pounders. This might be skill but also the wave itself.

[ArmourNautique]

Please share lots of good pics


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[DW SD]

Here are some videos of my surf wave. Wake Surf:
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0sGPCdxkJJkU1

[funkster]

Here is where I mounted mine. WM kits make ballast installs pretty simple.

Let me know if I can answer any questions. I did 3 pumps, 2 intakes (drilling holes in your boat is fun) full wiring and switches.



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[Luebowski]

Here is where I mounted mine. WM kits make ballast installs pretty simple.
Let me know if I can answer any questions. I did 3 pumps, 2 intakes (drilling holes in your boat is fun) full wiring and switches.
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Thanks for the pics funkster, Im thinking I will try to mount something behind the back bench like you have done.

Here are some videos of my surf wave. Wake Surf:
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0sGPCdxkJJkU1

That wave looks good DW, We are new to surfing but plan to pick it up pretty fast. If I can get a wave close to that we will be happy.

[wakejunky]

How do you change impellors? Or putting the pump upside down lead to less impellor failure?

[funkster]

Thanks for the pics funkster, Im thinking I will try to mount something behind the back bench like you have done.



That wave looks good DW, We are new to surfing but plan to pick it up pretty fast. If I can get a wave close to that we will be happy.

IMO, behind the bench is a great location. Easy to get to and out of the way of pretty much everything. If I were to do it again, I would offset the pumps instead of running them all in a straight line. This would make it easier to install thick hose. Don't forget to add check valves!

If surfing is high on your list, don't forget a surf device. This is a key component for obtaining a good wave. I'm running 920's on each side of the engine, a 580 in the belly and 370 in the bow. I can't fit a sac under the bow (98' SS) so I tapped into my belly pump and made a semi auto external bow filler with an open/close valve. Depending on how many people we have on the boat, sometimes I don't even fill the bow sac.

I'm looking to upgrade my prop. I'm very interest in how the prop performs. Please keep us updated.


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[Luebowski]

I'm looking to upgrade my prop. I'm very interest in how the prop performs. Please keep us updated.
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I hope to get the install done over my Xmas shutdown so pics to follow. As soon as I can a lake test in (probably in Mar/Apr) I will let you know how the prop performs.

[DW SD]

Funkster - I can offer my view of the 1578. It is a great update for someone who doesn't care about top speed and is focused on low speed or mid speed board sports and needs low end grunt to get a heavily ballasted boat moving. (surf / wake skate / wake board).
I came from the stock prop. Once I had piggy back bags, stock hard tanks and belly bag, and 4 or 5 in the boat, it took a L O N G time to come up on plane for wake boarding.

I don't even know my new top speed. I've occasionally hit 30 with the tanks drained. Usually, I'd cruise around 20 mph. But I don't launch far from riding spots.

Good luck!

Doug