Ballast not filling while underway

[houstonshark]

I've noticed a few times in the past that the port side rear ballast bag was not filling. I really noticed it a lot this weekend as the port side wake was washed while my wife was riding. I typically start with the rear ballast empty while she is riding and then just adjust them on the fly up to around 50%.

I kept filling, and filling and filling the port side but the wake was still washed. It filled all the way to 100% on the Tige Touch but clearly wasn't filling while she was riding. She fell so I checked the locker and sure enough the bag was not filling.

I'm pretty sure I know what the problem was but wanted to make sure this actually is the issue. Before we launch the boat when I am getting everything ready, I pull ballast bags out and lay them down flat and on the port side I place our 3 life jackets we ride in on top of the bag. On the starboard side, I usually throw the wakesurf and wakeboard rope on top of the bag until we are ready to use it.

I'm guessing that the pressure of the jackets (now only 2 since she is wearing 1) was not allowing the bag to fill properly while underway right? I filled it while I was picking her up and it worked fine.

Will the rear bags not normally fill well while underway? Also, how do I know if there is air in the bags? Can they be burped?

I got the starboard wake issue I was having figured out by moving some Pop bags around. I'll grab a few pics and post them later today.

[ragboy]

We fill and empty while surfing all the time while surfing, should be fine. Once you get to about 15, it won't work. The thing is, it may be harder to prime while moving. Make sure you start filling them at rest, see if that helps.

[Ewok]

The mushroom type thru-hulls are not designed to supply water to the pumps while underway, they only type of thruhulls designed for that are scoop style such as on the water inlet for the engine cooling system. If Ragboy is able to fill while surfing then that's a bonus.

While the boat is underway, the flow of water past the thruhull actually creates a low pressure area which is stronger than the pull of the pump and the pump should not be able to pull water out of the lake.

As you figured out, the tige touch displays the amount of ballast in the bag based on time, not on actual water flow.