2015 SAN 230 piggyback ballast upgrade

[Xcz504d]

So my 2014 230, I finally got my 630 lb bags installed (16x16x50) a few weeks ago, fit perfect, no issues with the tray, and I kept my original plumbing.

With 3 people in the boat, running NSS 2 and speed at 11.8mph:

1) Wave is waist high from the bottom turn to the top

2) The wave will come over the back deck if you stop to fast


What I did, was order a quick connect for the bag with a 90 degree elbow, it is a 1"1/8 off the elbow, so I had to spend some time heating up the 1" hose from wakemakers with a hair dryer, and a lot of elbow grease... They actually sent me a youtube video explaining it, instead of just sending me the hose I ordered from their site, but i made it work, and there is a short tube running from center bag to the engine divider.

Then I had another 1" 90 degree elbow where the original plumbing connects.

I can take pictures if you are interested.

Starboard side had a nasty curl about 15 feet back at 11.3mph, a little bit of starboard lean and more speed cleaned it up a lot.

[Guntersville230]

Water weighs 62.42 lbs per cubic foot so if you were able to fill yours all the way, it would weigh about 675 lbs. Only thing is, that compartment is only 16" wide so yours really is probably more like 635 lbs. Since I sacrificed the trays, I get almost 800 on each side.

Going with generous calculation (675 not 635)....that will still give me a total weight addition of 550lbs (vs. stock 400's)...so bigger is always better but I'm ok and happy with this medium change. Heck yes 800 on each side would be killer, but just wasn't what I was looking for...but I think that is the important thing to note in the whole thread here is that everyone has different ideas and plans on what the final "GOAL" would be and I think we have laid out several options for others thinking about making the change!!!!

[markj]

Honestly, I dont know...I forgot what the volume water calculation is but if I remember correctly I was shooting for about 700lbs

Water weighs 62.42 lbs per cubic foot so if you were able to fill yours all the way, it would weigh about 675 lbs. Only thing is, that compartment is only 16" wide so yours really is probably more like 635 lbs. Since I sacrificed the trays, I get almost 800 on each side.

[Guntersville230]

675 lbs?? ish???

Honestly, I dont know...I forgot what the volume water calculation is but if I remember correctly I was shooting for about 700lbs

[markj]

My reason to avoid this set-up is that the extra hose/fittings on top would add extra inches on top where I wanted only the bag to butt up to the top storage tray and no hoses/fittings be in contact with it. BUT if i was leaving trays out this would definitely be a better option

If the diagram of your bags is accurate, you won't have a problem with that. Your two top vents are all the way forward and back. A 90 wouldnt hit anything because its not under the lids. With a longer hose, it'll just go to or you can make it lay on the outside, not on the top of your sacks.

[Neverenough]

675 lbs?? ish???

[Guntersville230]

My reason to avoid this set-up is that the extra hose/fittings on top would add extra inches on top where I wanted only the bag to butt up to the top storage tray and no hoses/fittings be in contact with it. BUT if i was leaving trays out this would definitely be a better option

[markj]

^^^Yep. Mine is similar to that except I don't have the tee (only one vent hole in my custom sacks) and my hose is a little bit longer. I need to figure out how to post pics...

[cedarcreek216]

Similar to this.


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[Guntersville230]

I went the opposite way with my vent hose. I put a 90 degree connector on the tank as well as the sack and then used a longer, more flexible hose. The hose came from wakemakers. It's the same hose they use on Malibus. It's easy to work with and very kink resistant too. Mine is around six feet long, just sits in a U shape and goes up and down as it fills/empties.

Yeah, I was a little bit at a loss as to the "best" way to do it...but thats another good way to handle it. If this isn't working I may switch it over to your method.

[markj]

I went the opposite way with my vent hose. I put a 90 degree connector on the tank as well as the sack and then used a longer, more flexible hose. The hose came from wakemakers. It's the same hose they use on Malibus. It's easy to work with and very kink resistant too. Mine is around six feet long, just sits in a U shape and goes up and down as it fills/empties.

[Guntersville230]

Large bag added...the vent hose did have to be shortened significantly so it would not kink when bag is full, HOWEVER, once drained the hose is unable to go down and puts a significant amount of pressure (in my opinion) on the plastic fitting where it goes into the hard tank which i feel in the long run would crack/break this fitting. So the "temp" fix was to attach ties to the hose and to use the back seat screw to mount and hold the hose up so its not overly stressing the hard tank fitting. I do plan to finish this with a better holder the zip ties. I have purchased some thin rope cordage that I plan to finish the project with so it will be flexible and strong (cordage supports about 200lbs so that should be PLENTY to hold and not wear out) . Let me hear if anyone has thoughts/questions/ideas. Also note how much better the bag fill the front and back of the storage areas....I just fill the bag until the trays start to rise then i stop them.

[Guntersville230]

Stock bags...notice the extra space in front, behind and above the back of the bags

[Guntersville230]

Custom bag made

[Guntersville230]

What size bags did you end up with and how much did they end up being?

The total for BOTH bags was $399...that didnt include fittings but those are only a few bucks each...gonna try and do a step by step photo line up of install so IF other 230 owners want to do the change over they wont have to ask as many questions as I already have in this thread haha!

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