How to Ballast a RZ4??

[EricU]

If all goes correct, next week I will be bringing home a used RZ4, the boat has NO ballast at all and yes it has the trim tab (TAPS)

Does anyone have experience with this hull and adding ballast? The boat will be used for both boarding and surfing (goofy and some of those regular footer people)

I plan on running reversible including a cross-over system.
I figure the rear compartments I will just put in as big as bags as possible ?
In the front, should I plan on:

• One bag?
• Two bags?
• Three bags?

Any real benefit with the ($$$) Enzo style bags?

Thanks for any help, Eric.

[boardman74]

Shouldn't an 08 have come with some stock ballast? All the RZ's come standard with TAPS, all Tige's for that matter. For the front one U shaped bag would work. 2 tube sac style bags would give you control weighting side to side. Not sure how you would set up 3 bags, but i don't see any benefit.

Benefit of the Enzo sac is that it holds more weight in the leg that goes up under the seats. Contact user Chpthril on here for the best deals and service for all your ballast needs.

Good luck on the purchase. You will find lots of great info on here.

[EricU]

No factory ballast as it was an option in '08 that this boat didn't have

Was hoping to hear from someone who has an RZ4

Eric

[NICKYPOO]

There's plenty of RZ4 users with ballast setup like you are looking at. I'm sure they will chime in.

Miles Liquid Audio (Chpthril) should be your connection. I believe he has the custom RZ4 sacs.

Personally, I would go aerator style pumps. You've got the room to mount them and you'll be able to push a hell of a lot more water with them and with the size of the bags you're going to put in, that's going to be nice. The custom sacs hold around 1200#s (I think) with should put you around 15min mark. I think you can cut that in half with big aerators. Worth it IMO. Do some searching on here. I think duffy mahoney had his down under 5 for his 1500#ers (something like that) with his bad *** pumps. WABoating's setup would be next on my list to look at. Once again, big aerators. I used revesables in my system because of a lack of space. I still think it was the right call but, I would like to figure out a way to switch everything over to aerators.

[EricU]

Personally, I would go aerator style pumps. You've got the room to mount them and you'll be able to push a hell of a lot more water with them and with the size of the bags you're going to put in, that's going to be nice. The custom sacs hold around 1200#s (I think) with should put you around 15min mark. I think you can cut that in half with big aerators. Worth it IMO...

That's funny as on my last boat, I was talked into using the reversible, I even added one way valves and Wye connections to get it to drain overboard.

• Are the big Aerators, that much faster?

Once again, big aerators. I used revesables in my system because of a lack of space. I still think it was the right call but, I would like to figure out a way to switch everything over to aerators.

Could someone provide a link to what you consider the "big" aerators? are they the 1100s?


Thanks again, Eric.

[chpthril]

Rule makes an 1100 that we use quite often, they also make a 1600 and 3800 with a 1.5" inlet and outlet. Attwood makes a 1200 and Johnson makes a 1600. thats a little cheaper then the Rule 1600. Another option to consider is to do dual fill pumps for the large surf sacs.

[IDBoating]

There are basically three size categories of aerator pumps.

The smallest, and what most would consider the "standard" size, are the Tsunami and Rule pumps in the 1100-1200 GPH range. There are other brands as well such as Johnson, etc. Quite a few options in this size and flow rate.

Next up is the Rule 209B at 1600 GPM, which is what I use in my 24Ve. Larger and beefier than the little pumps but still compact enough to fit "almost" anywhere and uses standard 1 inch or 1-1/8 inch hose.

At the top end there is the Rule 17A at 3800 GPM, which is what Duffy used in his ballast setup. It's a monster in every way: Much larger, requires 1-1/2 inch hose, must be fused for 20 amps, but OH BOY does it move water! Rule's statement is "It delivers lots of water but at low pressure" so layout is important. Duffy installed his back by the transom and his intakes go through the transom, which means he cannot fill while moving at anything but no-wake speed. I presume he located them there due to space requirements; hopefully he'll chime in here. He does have a writeup thread with photos which you should be able to find with a bit of searching.

Many have commented on the aerator vs. impeller decision. Briefly, impellers are self-priming (no air bubble problems) and can pump either way so it's possible to fill and drain through the same hose. But impeller pumps are much more expensive, require winterization (so the water doesn't freeze within the pump), require maintenance (periodic replacement of the rubber impeller), draw more current, don't move as much water, and are generally noisier. By comparison, aerators are not self-priming so layout is important to avoid an airlock, pump only one way so twice as many pumps are required (one for fill and one for drain for each sac), are far less expensive, don't require winterization, don't require maintenance, draw less current, move more water, and are generally quieter.

I reviewed everything, went with aerators, and would do so again without question. But others have gone with impellers and been happy too. I would guess in an RZ4 you're going to be ballasting BIG, so I would favor anything that reduces fill/drain time... and that probably means aerators.

Hope this helps!