'11 Z1 Ballast Setup

[Bedwards]

I'm new to the forum and just bought a '11 Z1. Can someone point me in the direction of the best surf ballast setup? I have the basic stock ballast (250's in the rear, and 400 up front). I'm not opposed to taking everything out. Thanks in advance for the help!

[jslayde1]

Welcome, got any pictures of your new boat?

[Bedwards]

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[skippabcool]

Welcome to the site and congrats!

I would PM Chpthril. He is a great guy to work with and can get you exactly what you need.

[chpthril]

Bedwards,

Thats a good looking Z1, congrats and welcome to the tigehood.

I see that boat has an NC REG on it, are you in NC?

You just need some additional ballast in the back for sure. That hull makes a great wake, but it just needs more in the rear surf side in order to hit its stride. The ideal way to maximize the locker space is to go with an "L" shaped surf sac. This would need you about 1200 lbs additional ballast. You would also have the option to plum it into the factory hard tank, as well as add an additional fill pump and transfer pump for a faster fill time and reduced time to switch sides.

[Bedwards]

You guys are the best! I bought it NC this weekend but live in NY. During my test surf we shoved a 750 in the rear port and one on the bow seat. They only filled to about 500ish. It was a decent wake but thought u guys would know the optimal setup. I was thinking (2) 400's under the bow seats, a 400 under the port seat and 600's in the rear on top of the factory ballast.

[chpthril]

A pair of 400 lbs sac in place of the factory sac, which I think is actually the Fly High W711, will not net you much more weight. What it will do, is give you the ability to just fill the bow sac on the surf side, or both. IMO, the Z1 is going to do better with all the available bow weight, as opposed to just the surf side. Also, by my estimations, the factory Z1 bow sac is more then the advertised 400. I feel its closer to 500 lbs.

A single "L" shaped surf sac will accomplish what both those sacs will. It will be far more efficient to drain/fill whether manually filling or plumbed in.

[Bedwards]

Chpthril- I'm thinking about going with the "L" shaped custom bag like you said. And integrating with the factory pumps. Do you know if this is how the pro ballast is set up? I mean there are no extra pumps for the 350 on the pro ballast set up is there? I'm sure the "L" shape will take a long time to fill/empty only working off one pump, but will it empty properly if I run a fill/empty and vent line from the hard tank below? Thanks again for all your help.