Hey guys. Got finished up with the first stage of my ballast install on my 21v last weekend and tested it out last night. Everything works as planned and I am really pumped to have the project done (for now 
)! I figured I would share a few details and pictures of the project as I worked through it.
Phase 1 of my project was to drill a through hull, wire and plumb in one reversible impeller pump to a port side custom surf sac. Phase 2 will either take place late this season or next spring when I will add a second impeller pump and a bow sac. Big thanks to Mike with Mike's Liquid Audio for putting together all of the parts, fittings, custom sac, and most of all answering about a million questions along the way. Also to my buddy, Yokes, who has a 21v as well and let me borrow his trailer.
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Drilling the through hull was what I was most concerned with. After working with a buddy for a while we found what would be the best location to drill. We checked the location in relation to the trailer bunks, fresh water scoop, transducer, etc. and marked everything up. I drilled a small pilot hole from the inside to use as a locator from drilling underneath. I used blue painters tape on both sides of the hull to ensure no damage to the gel coat. Tested the hole saw in a piece of wood just to make sure sizing was correct as well.
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After drilling I used a Dermel tool with a sanding attachment to bevel the hole edges, which worked very well. I put the epoxy on the flange of the through hull fitting and also in the bilge where the nut on the inside would press down. My buddy tightened down the nut on the inside while I was using a chisel and wrench to hold the fitting from spinning underneath the boat. We noticed that when the nut on the inside of the bilge was tightened down, the whole fitting still spun. I then spun the fitting from the bottom of the boat which really snugged things up. We actually forgot to attach the shut off valve before tightening, but lucked out and the direction of the handle ended up being correct.
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Next we drilled the hole for the vent and installed the fitting. We located it in the same place as the bilge fitting on the other side of the boat. I had already mounted the pump and ran the wires for it about a week ago when the boat was on the lift. I located the pump on the back of the rear seat, right behind the ski pylon in the engine compartment.
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IMG_2231.jpg
I used a heat gun to soften up all of the hoses while connecting everything. This was very helpful to prevent damage to anything and make sure all of the connections would not leak.
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IMG_2233.jpg
I used a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel and router bit to cut out the hole for the rocker switch. I chose to mount it on the throttle wall right next to my tower speaker volume knob. This will leave me room to add one or two more in the future.
IMG_2235.jpg
Everything went very well and I am extremely pleased with this project. Will follow up with some more pictures of the wave and the sac filled up when I get some time to do some more testing!
)! I figured I would share a few details and pictures of the project as I worked through it.Phase 1 of my project was to drill a through hull, wire and plumb in one reversible impeller pump to a port side custom surf sac. Phase 2 will either take place late this season or next spring when I will add a second impeller pump and a bow sac. Big thanks to Mike with Mike's Liquid Audio for putting together all of the parts, fittings, custom sac, and most of all answering about a million questions along the way. Also to my buddy, Yokes, who has a 21v as well and let me borrow his trailer.
IMG_2241.jpg
Drilling the through hull was what I was most concerned with. After working with a buddy for a while we found what would be the best location to drill. We checked the location in relation to the trailer bunks, fresh water scoop, transducer, etc. and marked everything up. I drilled a small pilot hole from the inside to use as a locator from drilling underneath. I used blue painters tape on both sides of the hull to ensure no damage to the gel coat. Tested the hole saw in a piece of wood just to make sure sizing was correct as well.
IMG_2217.jpg
IMG_2218.jpg
After drilling I used a Dermel tool with a sanding attachment to bevel the hole edges, which worked very well. I put the epoxy on the flange of the through hull fitting and also in the bilge where the nut on the inside would press down. My buddy tightened down the nut on the inside while I was using a chisel and wrench to hold the fitting from spinning underneath the boat. We noticed that when the nut on the inside of the bilge was tightened down, the whole fitting still spun. I then spun the fitting from the bottom of the boat which really snugged things up. We actually forgot to attach the shut off valve before tightening, but lucked out and the direction of the handle ended up being correct.
IMG_2222.jpg
IMG_2223.jpg
Next we drilled the hole for the vent and installed the fitting. We located it in the same place as the bilge fitting on the other side of the boat. I had already mounted the pump and ran the wires for it about a week ago when the boat was on the lift. I located the pump on the back of the rear seat, right behind the ski pylon in the engine compartment.
IMG_2226.jpg
IMG_2231.jpg
I used a heat gun to soften up all of the hoses while connecting everything. This was very helpful to prevent damage to anything and make sure all of the connections would not leak.
IMG_2230.jpg
IMG_2233.jpg
I used a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel and router bit to cut out the hole for the rocker switch. I chose to mount it on the throttle wall right next to my tower speaker volume knob. This will leave me room to add one or two more in the future.
IMG_2235.jpg
Everything went very well and I am extremely pleased with this project. Will follow up with some more pictures of the wave and the sac filled up when I get some time to do some more testing!
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