Plumbing ballast idea…

[brettmcox]

I have a 2001 Super sport and I am thinking about plumbing some ballast in the boat. I do not plan on doing much if any surfing at this time and if I do I can tweak things in the future.

What I currently have is two 400 rear bags and bow sack under the front.

I am currently filling with 2 of the standard portable pump.

The past owner removed the stock speedo and replaced it with a paddle wheel pick up and cut the hole in the ski locker area. Thus this is not correct half the time because the wheel comes out if the water all the time.

I am thinking about removing the paddle wheel when I add the PP and using that hole to T off two pumps one for the front and one for the rear.
Next I could also add one drain pump at the same location to drain all the bags at the same time.

The drain pump could be tied into the stock bilge pump line so that I do not have to make a new hole.

The rear bags could have the vents loop together to help ensure that both bags are filled equal. And the Vent could tie into the current rear stock bilge pump line.

The front vent could be tied into the cooler drain hole under the dash where the glove box cooler is.

Please let me know what you all think… Dumb idea.. Good idea…. Missing this from your idea…. Will not work because…. Would work if you do this…

What I like MOST is no more Drilling in the boat… and less new hoses…. And I can Flip a switch to fill and drain when we switch from skiing to boarding…

[High altitude]

Honestly, drilling into the hull is easy to do and frankly, nothing different than what the manufacturer did if they needed more pumps. I have drilled three seperate holes in my 99 SN and they turned out great. Now if you are going to remove the paddle wheel anyway, it makes sense to use the existing hole. The problem is that the hole might not be the correct size for any of the standard thru hull fittings. If that's the case, you are going to be left with an unpleasant situation. I would have to look at my hole saw but I think it was a 1 and 1/8 hole for the 1 inch thru hulls. Isn't the paddle wheel a bit bigger than that?

If you use the paddle wheel hole and go with a tee make sure you use impeller pumps not aerators. You will have problems with that setup for sure.

Also, a suggestion for the rear pumps would be to have a tee fitting with shutoff valves going to each 400 lb bag. If you ever decide to surf, you would be setup for that without having to make mods. Also it would be a bad idea to use the rear stock bilge pump line for the vent unless you put a one way valve on that line. If you don't, you might find yourself pumping the overflow right into the boat. Same with the cooler drain. I don't know how it works on a SS but on my boat those drain lines go straight to the bilge. Again, no problem if you are on the ball, but what happens if you forget a pump is on and it starts pumping the overflow into your bilge? Personally, I would have a least one dedicated vent for ballast. Since that hole is not a thru hull fitting, you can install it in about 5 mins.

I know you want to make this as simple as possible, but I think you might want to consider doing a little more. Also, remeber that your water temp is tied to your paddle wheel (assuming it's a PP paddle) so if you cut that out you will lose that feature. -Marc

[brettmcox]

The problem is that the hole might not be the correct size ..... I think it was a 1 and 1/8 hole for the 1 inch thru hulls. Isn't the paddle wheel a bit bigger than that?

From underneath boat, using the page 3 drawing mount the paddle-wheel. FIRST check inside the
boat to make sure there are no hoses, wire, etc… in the way that may get damaged. Use a 3/16” drill
bit to drill the pilot hole. From the underside of the boat use a 2” hole saw to drill out the hole.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16432636/FAR...ash%20pics.pdf

Also it would be a bad idea to use the rear stock bilge pump line for the vent unless you put a one way valve on that line.

i was going to do this...

Also, remeber that your water temp is tied to your paddle wheel (assuming it's a PP paddle) so if you cut that out you will lose that feature. -Marc

Not a PP wheel so i do not have a water temp... just my feet... feet blue... water is a little cold! HAHAHA

from what i hear on the current hole and the hole i will need the 2 inch size will not work.
but there is this one....
http://www.amazon.com/Perko-2-Inch-T.../dp/B001HC2T7C