new to ballast

[Fire_medic]

I have an 05 22v with no ballast (it has TAPS) I just purchased 2 540 lb sacs for each side of the engine. Is this going to be ok for surfing? Can I use these for wakeboarding? Do I need a sac for the front of the boat? All input would be GREAT!!!!!

[chpthril]

Yes, fill one of those 540s in the rear locker and fill the other in the seat along the side that you surf and you will be in good shape. from there, you will just need to fine tune the wake with speed and he TAPS setting. 10.5 MPH and TAPS @ 4 is a good starting point for that boat and amount of ballast.

For wakeboarding, I think you will find the wake better with no ballast filled over both those 540s filled in the rear.

[robert theisen]

You could try the 540 centered on the rear seat and the other 540 centered in the bow.That would be for wakeboarding.

[Wakeman22]

You could try the 540 centered on the rear seat and the other 540 centered in the bow.That would be for wakeboarding.

X-2. These boats respond better with a little wieght in the bow as well as some in the back. Play around with wieght placement and you will find something you like.

[rensink]

More weight in the rear the steeper it will become more weight in the bow the longer the wake becomes fine tune with taps for shape and such but a good starting point is 40% in the front 60% in the rear.

[Fire_medic]

Thanks guys good stuff to know. Now I have seen alot of guys installing their own ballast systems, is this all that hard? it seems simple drill holes add valves hose to pump hose to bag and then wire. besides building up the nerve to drill a hole in your boat is it very hard?

[NICKYPOO]

Its not that hard if you take the time to do the research and come up with a good gameplan. Mike (chpthril) has been an enormous help in setting up a lot of our systems. Can't forget jason@wakemakers either. he has been a supplier of many systems here as well. The hard part is having patience and being double sure you have all your ducks in a row before you drill hole 1.

[chpthril]

Fire_Med,

Its totally a doable DIY project for those that want to tackle it. There are plenty of threads already, as well as a few active threads with tons of info. And if needed, you can always contact us through private message or just post up the question.

Mike

[Fire_medic]

I will have to let you guys know when Im ready to get started I'll need to save up a few bucks im sure its not cheap lol. but do you guys have a ball park for cost if I want a sac on either side of the engine and one in the bow. Can I use the sacs I have now? I got one sumo pump with them so I assume I need one for each sac.

[NICKYPOO]

I'm in around $1500 for custom sacs, pumps, plumbing, switches and hardware. Oh ya, I have to add in my new fuel tank to that figure. My set up is really kind of a unique though. It really depends on how far you want to go with it.

Get yourself a quote so you know what you need to come up with.

[Fire_medic]

Im not sure how far into it I want to get I'd like to get some sort of set up to help for resale. I was just at the boat show and boy would I like to trade up to a newer Tige (Rz) I used to be a malibu guy and I thought Mastercraft were the cats MEOW but after the boat show Tige is the boat I'll stick with the new mastercrafts are way to gaudy. But Ill tell you 1500 to set up a ballast system is pretty good and if yours is bigger and badder than most my basic should be pretty cheap then as well. the dealer up here in canada quoted me 3700$ to get it installed. Can I use the sumo pumps for it? I thought I seen one guy use them. the sacs I have now are round maybe I should get square ones?

[NICKYPOO]

Mine is pretty basic. It's just a two bag set up. It is not bigger and badder. You need to look at duffymahoney's boat for bigger and badder. I'm sure he is in at least twice as much as me but, he is putting out at least 5 times the ballast I am. $3700 might not be out of line if its full tilt badass. If its just a couple pumps connected to your existing sacs then its probably not worth it.

Call Mike or Jason and find out what works for you.

We need pics of your boat. Without pics, you technically don't have a boat to us.

[chpthril]

Im not sure how far into it I want to get I'd like to get some sort of set up to help for resale. I was just at the boat show and boy would I like to trade up to a newer Tige (Rz) I used to be a malibu guy and I thought Mastercraft were the cats MEOW but after the boat show Tige is the boat I'll stick with the new mastercrafts are way to gaudy. But Ill tell you 1500 to set up a ballast system is pretty good and if yours is bigger and badder than most my basic should be pretty cheap then as well. the dealer up here in canada quoted me 3700$ to get it installed. Can I use the sumo pumps for it? I thought I seen one guy use them. the sacs I have now are round maybe I should get square ones?

Your Sumo pump is nothing more then a Rule 500 gph live-well pump with an ACC plug and a hose put together by Straight Line. If you wanted to reuse the pump in an integrated plumbed-in system, you would need to cut the plug off and remove the fitting from the hose. its just cheaper and easier to design the system using new pumps, and tuck the manual-fill kit away as a spare if you even needed to manually drain or fill a sac.

Buying new sacs isn't a must, if the sacs you have now allow you to achieve the wake you are looking for. All you need to plumb them in are the correct fittings for the Straight Line sac that are hose-barb. From there, everything else is easy. IF you do want/need to buy new sac, I would suggest going with the Fly High because the they have the best fitting available to integrate a plumbed-in system.

[Wakeman22]

Mike was very helpful in answering all the questions I had and very helpful in designs and specifics. I am in at just under 2K for a very elaborate set up. 5 sacks total and all the parts to do it right. Could have done it for less but I wanted only to do it once.

Pics would be great.

[Fire_medic]

I would only want three bags 2 rear one bow I think that would be more then enough for my skill level lol keeping the sumo for a back up is a good idea. we test drove it on Dec 23rd was a GREAT Christmas present!!!!!!!!