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Tools needed
-Drill (I prefer impact)
-Phillips bit
-Holesaw kit
-5/16 nut driver
-Teflon tape
-Good flash light
-Parts/tools bin
-Heat gun
-Small vacuum
Parts needed
-2x Wakemakers full ballast kit Item #: S16744
-2x Wakemakers Center locker bags 70"L x 20"W x 10"H - 570lbs Item #: B0199
-2x 1” barb by 3/4” FIP Tee
-2x 3/4” barb by 3/4” MIP 90
-Hose clamps
-2” machine screws and nylock nuts
Start with the through hulls. These go 21” forward of the prop shaft exit and 8” left/right of center. Use a 1-1/16” hole saw to drill. Then use the marine grade 5200 sealant (provided with wakemakers kit) on the brass fitting and tighten. This is a 2 man job. I used a deep socket and about a foot
of extensions to tighten the locking nut and valve onto the brass fitting. I find it’s a pain to get the hose and hose clamp onto the barbed fitting so deep in the boat so I install the barbed fitting and hose clamp into a longer length of hose first and the turn the whole thing in at one time. Then just cut off your excess hose before hooking it up to the
pump.
To mount the pumps I built this bracket. I copied the 2022 that I saw in my dealers show room that they were nice enough to let me snoop through. I’m guessing you could just order this bracket from Nautique but it was faster for me to just build my own.
To plumb the bags simply open the port and starboard floor hatches. I drilled the vent line through the floor right next to the current vent and T’d into it with the barbed fittings above the check valve. The factory 1” vent line is steel reinforced hose. This is where the side cutters are used. It won’t be very often I fill factory and supplemental at the exact same time, if it gives me and issues I’ll drill a dedicated vent. For the fill line I drilled through the “V” in the fibreglass near the front of the factory bags. This was the best place I could find that didn’t require drilling through 2 layers of fiberglass to get engine bay access. I used a 2-1/2” hole saw so the line has the most flex/wiggle room possible.
Vacuum up all your fibreglass dust and look for any fiberglass/gel coat chips that fell into the ballast compartment. They can be pretty sharp and will puncture a bag if you miss one.
Hook up the through hulls and fill lines to the pumps. Make sure your fill lines are away from the V drive. The wakemakers hoses are pretty tight so I just used a heat gun and a bit of white lithium spray to help them onto all the fittings.
I didn’t get any pictures of the switches but I mounted them in the glove box. It was an easy wiring route and I don’t mind having to lean over to hit 2 switches. There’s a battery right next to the new pumps and the wakemakers connections make it ridiculously easy.
I’d say this is a medium difficulty project, I’m fortunate that I have a shop full of tools and some know how, if you don’t then please have your dealer do this. You’ll be drilling 6 sizeable holes through your boat so don’t blame me if you mess it up. But at least all you 2021 owners know you don’t have to upgrade to get easy supplemental ballast.
-Drill (I prefer impact)
-Phillips bit
-Holesaw kit
-5/16 nut driver
-Teflon tape
-Good flash light
-Parts/tools bin
-Heat gun
-Small vacuum
Parts needed
-2x Wakemakers full ballast kit Item #: S16744
-2x Wakemakers Center locker bags 70"L x 20"W x 10"H - 570lbs Item #: B0199
-2x 1” barb by 3/4” FIP Tee
-2x 3/4” barb by 3/4” MIP 90
-Hose clamps
-2” machine screws and nylock nuts
Start with the through hulls. These go 21” forward of the prop shaft exit and 8” left/right of center. Use a 1-1/16” hole saw to drill. Then use the marine grade 5200 sealant (provided with wakemakers kit) on the brass fitting and tighten. This is a 2 man job. I used a deep socket and about a foot
of extensions to tighten the locking nut and valve onto the brass fitting. I find it’s a pain to get the hose and hose clamp onto the barbed fitting so deep in the boat so I install the barbed fitting and hose clamp into a longer length of hose first and the turn the whole thing in at one time. Then just cut off your excess hose before hooking it up to the
pump.
To mount the pumps I built this bracket. I copied the 2022 that I saw in my dealers show room that they were nice enough to let me snoop through. I’m guessing you could just order this bracket from Nautique but it was faster for me to just build my own.
To plumb the bags simply open the port and starboard floor hatches. I drilled the vent line through the floor right next to the current vent and T’d into it with the barbed fittings above the check valve. The factory 1” vent line is steel reinforced hose. This is where the side cutters are used. It won’t be very often I fill factory and supplemental at the exact same time, if it gives me and issues I’ll drill a dedicated vent. For the fill line I drilled through the “V” in the fibreglass near the front of the factory bags. This was the best place I could find that didn’t require drilling through 2 layers of fiberglass to get engine bay access. I used a 2-1/2” hole saw so the line has the most flex/wiggle room possible.
Vacuum up all your fibreglass dust and look for any fiberglass/gel coat chips that fell into the ballast compartment. They can be pretty sharp and will puncture a bag if you miss one.
Hook up the through hulls and fill lines to the pumps. Make sure your fill lines are away from the V drive. The wakemakers hoses are pretty tight so I just used a heat gun and a bit of white lithium spray to help them onto all the fittings.
I didn’t get any pictures of the switches but I mounted them in the glove box. It was an easy wiring route and I don’t mind having to lean over to hit 2 switches. There’s a battery right next to the new pumps and the wakemakers connections make it ridiculously easy.
I’d say this is a medium difficulty project, I’m fortunate that I have a shop full of tools and some know how, if you don’t then please have your dealer do this. You’ll be drilling 6 sizeable holes through your boat so don’t blame me if you mess it up. But at least all you 2021 owners know you don’t have to upgrade to get easy supplemental ballast.
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