Ballast installation tips or pictures for 2000 2100V

[civilgee]

Hey guys,
I have been in contact with Michael at Mikes Liquid Audio and I am about to add a complete ballast system in my 2100V. I am so excited but super nervous about the installation. Any tips or pictures of this install would be greatly appreciated. I want to do a super clean installation and I like to have it completely planned out before I get going. Michael said he will provide all the support I need, but I like to pick everybody's brain. Thank y'all in advance for the psychiatric support.

[007]

So, I can't help you with this specific install. I can however say:
1. Mike is freaking awesome...his instructions and advice on a different project was spot on.
2. I've built my own low tech ballast system on a previous boat. Once you get past drilling holes in a perfectly good boat (measure twice!), its not that bad. Take the time to route things well, look for screws and other sharp objects that could pierce a full ballast bag and don't rush yourself.

[freeheel4life]

One good thing to know is reverse drilling your holes so that you don't damage the gel coat. Once you get thru the gel you can switch back to forward if you jave a dteady hand.
If you are using aerators then assemble to the thru hull fittings and play around with where you want them in you bilge, keeping in mind orientation of where hoses are going to run from the pumps, and obviously remember that they won't be as tall when mounted.
Make sure engine divider pieces are strong enough to support the bag pushing on them, if they have a floor track making sure it's securely mounted to the floor and stout.
Wouldn't get too hung up on your plan as you may find you want to run wire in a different location for looks or whatever reason. Just be willing to adapt your plan.
IF you are planning on running the boat listed then cross vent your bags.
When installing vent fittings less is more on the 5200, especially if you vent above the rub rail. It will squish out a donut.You can wipe it clean but it's a hassle, wait for it to cure a bit then either cut it off with a razor or sometimes you can simply tear the excess donut off with your fingers if it has set up a bit and isn't gooey.
Have fun and good luck. Once you drill that first scary hole the rest get easier and easier.

[civilgee]

I’m going with the reversible pumps and a transfer pump for the rear bags to list it. Definitely cross venting. The biggest area that makes me nervous is the wiring.


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[freeheel4life]

Well I'm sure if you bought your kit from Mike it will have your circuit protection. 20A fuse for reversibles. If you got Jabscos they are super easy as they come with a polarity reversing switch. Read the directions as far as which colors are supplied 12v and ground on the switch harness(believe it's red and yellow, orange and black are the switched power and ground). There will also be a diagram in instructions.
Figuring out where and how you want to mount said switches is usually the only part that can get tricky. I often build a small panel and mount to throttle handle vinyl panel down low to the right of the seat, but just depends on your dash. Hopefully you already have a BUS bar under the dash.
Don't forget to mount reversibles with the impeller down or sideways. Not up, or above the motor. If shaft seal starts to fail it will leak water into motor and kill the pump. Also, I always try and mount them up out of the bilge. They seem to last a lot longer when you keep em high and dry.
Just out of curiosity, have you weighted the boat evenly and tried one of the many shapers that are out there??

[civilgee]

I have weighted evenly and tried a shaper, but I only had 700 lbs of combined ballast. My mind compares this to the old saying for horsepower (V8 vs 6 cylinders)... there’s no replacement for displacement. Worse case, I buy a shaper later. I’m hoping to have kit in hand on Friday.


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[NICKYPOO]

I was extremely happy with the way the pumps turned out on my buddy’s 21v. I ended up mounting them directly to the ski pylon mount. We had a couple very simple mounts fabricated and they bolted right on. Wiring those pumps is really easy. Not too much to it. I always twist my entire length of power and ground wire together before connecting anything. I also found some great connectors. I’ll add a link at the bottom. My biggest issue is that I tend to under estimate the amount of tightening for the thru hull and it always throws off how I want my finished project to...finish out. You want your thru-hull to tighten up perfectly where you want the fill lines to route out. I’m usually hyper critical of myself on this aspect and I still seem to under estimate how tight is tight and I finish out over rotated by a few degrees once everything is truly tight. Just remember that when you tighten everything up, it’ll tighten up just a tick more. I’ll see if I can dig up some pics of his install.

These are the chit. http://www.holidaycoro.com/Solder-Sh...bing-p/177.htm

[hopps1945]

Take photos as you go. I have a 2000 2300V Limited that I want to do a kit from Mike hopefully next year.

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[civilgee]

I received the bill of materials and this looks like an awesome kit. Only thing missing is a 6-pack of IPA.


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[civilgee]

So here is the general plumbing layout. As soon as the earth magnets arrive, I will drill (2) holes in the hull.

Ballast Layout.JPG

[rfoon]

I'm curious what the drain trap does? Is it to prevent siphon?

[SONIC]

And I'm curious about the transfer pump. Why?
You're using 2 reversible, why not just drain the nonsurf side and fill the surf side when you want to change sides?
Other than amp draw the speed would be the same.

The only advantage I see is you could run all three pumps at the same time and fill the surf side bag twice as fast theoretically?

[freeheel4life]

And I'm curious about the transfer pump. Why?
You're using 2 reversible, why not just drain the nonsurf side and fill the surf side when you want to change sides?
Other than amp draw the speed would be the same.

The only advantage I see is you could run all three pumps at the same time and fill the surf side bag twice as fast theoretically?

Thats it man. Doubling surf side fill times. Why not run even weight and a shaper I say. The almost 300 you pay for a reversible gets you your shaper, or most of one depending...

SONIC, howabout an update on the rebuild??

[chpthril]

And I'm curious about the transfer pump. Why?
You're using 2 reversible, why not just drain the nonsurf side and fill the surf side when you want to change sides?
Other than amp draw the speed would be the same.

The only advantage I see is you could run all three pumps at the same time and fill the surf side bag twice as fast theoretically?

The concept is that yes, when switching sides, you do drain the full sac while filling the empty sac but the with the transfer pump on, you are also moving water from the full sac to the empty sac. This gives you 2X the flow rate. Not in theory, but in actuality.

[Jetdriver]

I was going to do the same as you with regard to the transfer pump but after building a suck gate and running everything full except offside rear only 75% I changed my mind and don’t have a need for it. Having the boat sit more level is nice for everybody, don’t necessarily have to load all the passengers to the surf side and being more level keeps the swimdeck out of the water so it doesn’t cut into the wave like it does when listed. Here’s a link to my build, some info in there that may help you. I used Johnson reversible pumps. I included a switch wiring diagram that made it easy for me. The wiring is really straight forward beside the switch. Only thing I’d add is make sure you think about being able to service and remove/reinstall engine or drive components when you pick your location for thru hull and valves. I put mine a touch too close to my drive and had to disassemble the valves from the thru hulls to get the drive out after I had a damper plate blow apart.

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...-Ballast-build