NICKYPOO's Ballast Thread

[NICKYPOO]

It has begun. Got the interior pulled out of the back of the boat. I just need to pull the tank out. It's still got around 20gal still in it. I'm gonna put it my little brothers truck and then take the tank out. From what I can see, there might end up being more space than I originally though. The floor does not run all the way to the stern. Once I get the tank out, I'll be able to see what exactly is going on down there. Stay tuned.

[jason@wakemakers.com]

This should be a good one, I'm tuned in to see how it turns out!

[NICKYPOO]

This should be a good one, I'm tuned in to see how it turns out!

Damn, I better make sure I do a first class job if I got you tuned in!

The more I look at it, the more ideas I have. If I moved the rear seat forward 8 inches, I figure I could get upwards of 600# p/side. It would put the seat right up to the clamshell though. I don't think I'm talking the wife into that. It would require altering the gunnel interior panels, building some standoffs for the rear seat plus new front supports, new rear hatches and some way to make the underfloor access...accessible. I think I'll just stick to my original plan of 400#+ in each corner and a new/better fuel tank. I am considering having custom sacs made for it though. I'm gonna see if I can make the Jumbos work out but, customs are going to be the way to go. I feel I could get damn close to 500# in each corner, all below decks with no interior mods. Well, except the trunk but you won't be able to tell when it closed.

[jason@wakemakers.com]

I'll be curious to see just how much space is available between the transom and the floatation cavity outside of the stringer since most manufacturers run the floor all the way to the transom. Tige doesn't on their v-drives, so that is a good sign for you.

[TeamAllen]

Looking good NICKYPOO Kid. I thinks I asked before, but what are you doing with the old ballast sack that was in the trunk?

[NICKYPOO]

I'm not sure yet. I've got to of them. They are the older types with the waterbed fittings. They are a pretty good fit for our boats. I used to run one in the trunk and one in the walkway back in the olden days of wakeboarding. The last few seasons I had been running one in the trunk and one under the back seat since all we do is surf. You wanna buy 'em?

[NICKYPOO]

I'll be curious to see just how much space is available between the transom and the floatation cavity outside of the stringer since most manufacturers run the floor all the way to the transom. Tige doesn't on their v-drives, so that is a good sign for you.

Ya, me too. The space under the tank is ~ 24x24. If it was 6" deep, that would give me around another...125#. It should be fairly consistent in depth from the stringers out seeing as how the boat is a flat bottom D-Drive. Hmm, I'll have to figure out what can be removed. From what I can tell, the floor seems to stop short of the transom by about 12". If I can cut that floor back another 12" and pull that foam out, it would be well worth it. I can feel foam under there but, I really can't tell what's going on until I get that damn tank out. I'd be out there now if I had a place to put the gas.

[topaz surfer]

Good luck with the install. I'm just finishing mine. Working on posting up pics right now. Sac that thing up and we can put on a Northern Nevada surf day.

[NICKYPOO]

That's funny dude, I just posted on your thread.

[NICKYPOO]

Well, found some buried treasure but, it wasn't the treasure I was looking for. There's not as much room under the old tank as I had hoped. There's a little but, it ain't more than 50# if I cut out the old tank support. It appears to just be glasses in and non-structural. It would also be a great time to get rid if the AirGuides. Mo money. The good news is, the new tank is gonna work. I'll have to trim a little from the hinge area for the trunk lid but, I was anticipating that. I'm going to fab up a floor for it between the stringers and box it in with 3/4 marine ply coated in something. I'm not set on a finish yet. Anybody have any suggestions?

I included a pic of my bilge booty. Me and a guy that I used to work with would always collect all the little parts and pieces you find when you tear a boat apart. I like to think he's looking in on this thread. Found a lighter, dude!

Sorry for the crappy phone pics.

[NICKYPOO]

No visual progress tonight but, new steering cable is done. While I was at it, I took the time to reroute the transponder cable for the depth finder. It was routed down the gunwhale, around the stern and back up between the exhaust logs. It now runs right up along the steering cable, up through the bilge and into the helm. Much cleaner.

[chpthril]

Looking good! Those two beams running from the floor level to the transom, are those what you are thinking of taking out? They look like they may add some strength to the transom

[IDBoating]

Nice to see someone else not afraid to dig right in and make major mods to get what they want! Swapping out fuel tanks is a big step, looks like you found one that fits perfectly - uses the vertical space and opens up the sides. Was that a custom tank, or did you find one that was already just right?

Also, are you going to relocate your fuel filler? Looks like the new tank has its filler on the port side, whereas the old tank had its filler on starboard.

Can those "floor surfaces" be removed from the sides? It looks like it's just the passenger area floor, extended aft. I know the supports might remain, but you could still recover all that volume right down to the hull's inside surface. Creative use of standard fat sacs might fill the resulting "slots" and they could be plumbed together to act as a single ballast chamber. Hard to tell from the photos if this is practical or even possible.

[NICKYPOO]

Looking good! Those two beams running from the floor level to the transom, are those what you are thinking of taking out? They look like they may add some strength to the transom

Thanks Mike. Ya, I'd like to cut those out. They are definitely put in after the foam was glasses in. I'm 90% sure they are only there to support the old tank. The transom has an extra, glasses in piece of 3/4 that runs the entire width of the transom. I don't think its going anywhere. I would like to get a second on that from an expert. I'm thinking of taking it down to my glass guy and having him look at it.

[NICKYPOO]

Nice to see someone else not afraid to dig right in and make major mods to get what they want! Swapping out fuel tanks is a big step, looks like you found one that fits perfectly - uses the vertical space and opens up the sides. Was that a custom tank, or did you find one that was already just right?

Also, are you going to relocate your fuel filler? Looks like the new tank has its filler on the port side, whereas the old tank had its filler on starboard.

Can those "floor surfaces" be removed from the sides? It looks like it's just the passenger area floor, extended aft. I know the supports might remain, but you could still recover all that volume right down to the hull's inside surface. Creative use of standard fat sacs might fill the resulting "slots" and they could be plumbed together to act as a single ballast chamber. Hard to tell from the photos if this is practical or even possible.

Thanks WAB. Your build gave me confidence. I figured ic you could do it, I could do it. I could have just left the old tank in and just put two sacs in there but, it just wouldn't be nearly as effective and I would still worry about running it out of fuel constantly with the added list from the new-better ballast.

The new tank is from Moeller. It just one of their standard tanks. I just got lucky that they make one that size. I'm losing a few gallons of capacity but, its a much more effective layout for surfing. I'll still get two days of fuel out of it so, it just as effective as the old one on that front. The fuel gauge might actually work better as well being that its dead center in the tank as opposed to all the way on one side, which is how the old one was.

Ya, I have to relocate the filler. It's the only part of the build I don't like. Its going to have to come right out the back of the boat. I think. I'm kicking around the idea of running it over to the Starboard side but, I have yet to to find the right filler neck for that. If not, its coming right out the back.

I've got two Jumbo Surf Sacs for sacs. They are way to long but, the were the only ones that gave me the height and width I needed. I'll probably have some customs made eventually but, for right now, I'm azz deep to a giraffe with what I got.