2015 SAN 230 piggyback ballast upgrade

[Guntersville230]

I plan on doing the upgrade in the upcoming weeks so I'l try and post some pics....I'm thinking supports on the bag side and just making sure there are no sharp edges and everything should work out ok. Also, ordered some additional pins to help the divider from coming out of lower rail, then adding the bags and quick release wakemakers hook ups.....should be a fun project.

[Davew0815]

If you put the dividers above the Nautique bar, then you could avoid taking the bar off. But, you wouldn't get bracing on the lower part which is the area under the most pressure. I think if I was to do it again I'l probably start with additional pins to make sure the divider is well secured in the lower track and doesn't lift out. If you do that and you don't attempt to keep the trays (which puts pressure on the bag from the top) when you may not need the wake maker dividers.

[markj]

Nice post, Dave. Very helpful.

[Guntersville230]

This is a great 230 thread! Thanks for all the input from everyone!

Sent from my SM-G935V using PLANETNAUTIQUE mobile app

[scottmele2]

Davew0815- Great input. I've been putting a lot of thought into it so it's great to hear from someone using that configuration.

Questions - If you spaced the Wakemaker supports differently could you pull the dividers without removing the factory support? Do you have any pictures?

[Davew0815]

I went through all this ballast upgrade stuff last year, so will add a few comments. I have a 2014 230.

First, I agree that you can upgrade to 750s (20x20x50) in the back and still keep the trays, but it puts a lot of pressure on the dividers and on the locker lids. When you open the locker with the bag full, the tray pops up a little and moves around so it can sometimes be a pain to re-close the locker. My dividers blew out including bending the aluminum bracing that was mentioned. The trays did not crack. They seem to be pretty strong. The dividers bent back and so did the bracing so no permanent damage done other than possibly weakening the bracing.

I made three changes to keep my dividers from bending:

1) bought and added the wake makers divider reinforcement kit to give 3 metal bars of additional support on each divider
2) added additional pins to lock in the divider on both sides (top and bottom) to keep it from easily popping out of the bottom channel
3) stopped using the trays

After doing the changes above, I've had no issues. Dividers are rock solid and don't bend at all. I've seen comments saying you'd have to install the wake maker dividers on the bag side, but I still installed then on the engine side and it works just fine. Yes, I have to take off the stock aluminum brace whenever I want to remove the divider but I very rarely do that (just for service) and it only takes thirty seconds with a screwdriver to remove it. I think the extra pins are key as the biggest issue might be the dividers lifting out of the channel while the bag is filling. Without the bottom channel holding it in place, the dividers will bend easily. If you do the added pins, you might not need the extra wake maker reinforcement bars, but after having them bend, I like having the extra reinforcement. Once your dividers are solid, the trays will definitely lift up an inch or so whenever the bag is completely full and I didn't like that extra pressure on the locker lids so my trays are out. Personally, I don't miss the trays at all. I stilll throw wetsuites and vests in there on top of the bags just as I did before and I like that I can visually see how full the bags are since you can't always 100% trust the link screen once you upgrade the ballast.

Finally, here's a little info on how I use my setup:

I also have IBS ballast in the nose and some lead that I use in the main cabin to offset the driver and simulate extra people ballast mid-boat when I have a small crew (which is most of the time.) For wake boarding, I fill the front up completely and the rear ballast about 3/4 full. We ride at 24mph with hydrogate all the way up. Wake is huge and firm. For surfing I actually think the wave is best with *no* ballast in the front and rear completely full, running 11.4mph. Awesome wave on both sides. We vary the steepness based on personal preference of the rider with NSS. I like it steep and typically ride with NSS set to 4 or 5.

[markj]

^^^ That's one of the reasons I went custom. My logic was that I'd be less likely to need additional support for the dividers if the sacks were built to the width of the area. We'll see if that holds true. I agree with your concern about the wakemakers kit rubbing on the sacks and potentially ripping or snagging them.

[scottmele2]

Seems like everyone has spring fever and making moves to upgrade ballast. I have a 2015 210 and will be upgrading to the 750s and have researched this a lot.
Locker size:
Width 14 - 16" (wider towards bow and same as 230)
Length 53" (230 may be longer)
Depth 22" (230 May be deeper)

You will need to reinforce the dividers. It bows and jumps out of the small C channels. The middle reinforcement bar is at the 400lb bag level and you will need one higher for the 750lb. I am changing the bottom C channel to a taller L bracket or taller C channel to prevent bowing into the motor side. I am considering adding the panel reinforcement from Wakemakers but they will be on the bag side so I don't know how it will work (snag, rip, drag against bag). Additionally, I am getting a better pin to hold the panels down so they lock into place. They will want to lift as the bag fills (especially with reinforcements) and the pin is always falling out.

Plumping:
I am not plumbing bags to fill from overflow as shown on Wakemakers. They will fill and drain in parallel with the hard tanks. This configuration should eliminate the airlock issue. I have seen a few other solutions but I am opting to plumb the way the factory would on ballast upgrade.

My 2 cents. Happy boating.

[markj]

Well, I just received my custom rear sacks from wakemkers today. Pretty simple install and they seem to fit like a glove. Still waiting on the custom front sack which should be here this week. Can't wait to fill em up and test them all out. Also received 400 lbs of Lead Wake's bags today. They are super high quality. Now if I could just make the sun shine like it was last week.....

[Xcz504d]

I'm wanting to keep the original plumbing in tact, in case I ever throw the original bags back in. The original bags had the vent offset from the center, I ordered custom bags with the vent in the center, couple that with the extra height of the bag, and the stock vent hose is too long and will have too much bend. In order for me to preserve that section of hose, I ordered some additional hose, and 90 degree bends, the 90 degree bend I'm thinking is just going to have the hose do a u-turn without the hose kink. They just came in yesterday, so the new bags aren't plumbed in yet, I will play around with it this weekend to how I like the final fit, and hopefully this summer that wave will look even nicer.


One thing to consider ordering, the 1"inch hose attachments for your 750 bags, the stock bags have the hose attachments glued in.

All in all I ordered 5 feet of extra hose, 4 1 inch adapters for the bag, 4 90 degree bends, and hose clamps, we will see how I end up lego'ing this all together.

[Guntersville230]

Nice wake! I finally received my additional plumbing from wakemakers (90 degree elbows and tubing) today, I'm thinking about ordering an 8 foot section of aluminum U-tube from grainger and cutting it myself ($9 vs $60). I'm hoping to dial in the pocket to 20 feet with the added weight.

Here is a shot of my GF riding in the back, she is 5'10" and the board is a 5'2" fish, I can easily ride another foot further back on my IS sweet spot depending on weight. I think this wake had 6 people in the boat and one on the back deck, wedge up, NSS 2-3 and 11.3mph. We may have had 400 on the floor, I don't remember exactly, wake is usually close to mid thigh.
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Where do you need the 90 degree attachments? How many? wanted to order everything together for the 750's and just wondered what all parts to get up front. Wave looks AWESOME!

[Xcz504d]

Nice wake! I finally received my additional plumbing from wakemakers (90 degree elbows and tubing) today, I'm thinking about ordering an 8 foot section of aluminum U-tube from grainger and cutting it myself ($9 vs $60). I'm hoping to dial in the pocket to 20 feet with the added weight.

Here is a shot of my GF riding in the back, she is 5'10" and the board is a 5'2" fish, I can easily ride another foot further back on my IS sweet spot depending on weight. I think this wake had 6 people in the boat and one on the back deck, wedge up, NSS 2-3 and 11.3mph. We may have had 400 on the floor, I don't remember exactly, wake is usually close to mid thigh.

[seveet]

Sorry, my boat is in storage. If I remember correctly, I had the horizontal support (it is a 2015) and that is what was slightly bent. This only happened on the port side and I am not sure they had properly reinstalled the divider after the oil change. This is the side that spends the most time completely full as it is the main side we surf on. You may just want to keep an eye on it and add support if you think you need it. Here is a picture of the wave with the 750's and the IBS.

[markj]

The engine divider just warped and jumped the bottom track. A couple of the supports were slightly bent. This may have been improperly installed after my first oil change. If wakemakers sells a support kit for the engine dividers, it may be worth the investment.

My 2015 has a horizontal support bar about mid-way up between the two verticals which hold the dividers. Does yours have that middle horizontal bar and if so, were you saying your sack blew out the divider despite that middle bar? It also seems that the suplimental supports that wakemakers sells would have to be installed on the sack side only. Otherwise, you cant pull the divider out. I'm about to install my custom ordered sacks (if they ever show up) from wakemakers and the only thing I'm not certain about, is whether I need to add a support kit or not.

[seveet]

The engine divider just warped and jumped the bottom track. A couple of the supports were slightly bent. This may have been improperly installed after my first oil change. If wakemakers sells a support kit for the engine dividers, it may be worth the investment.