I STILL Need More Bow Weight...Suggestions Please

[houstonshark]

When wakeboarding, we typically can only use about 50% rear ballast before the boat almost refuses to plane, even with the 1235 and a total of 1000lbs from the helm forward. I think the additional 250lbs I have in batteries in the very back where the stock batteries go plays a big role in this since they are so far back.

So, ultimately I need to add more weight in the bow area and preferably in the center. I have 520lbs in Pop Bags spread out in the bow area, mostly in the lockers, just aft of the factory U shaped ballast bag. While this has helped, it seemed to compound side to side balancing because the weight is not in the center of the boat. My 65lb 4yr old can literally wash the wake if he sits on the wrong side! This becomes more apparent towards the end of the day as the fuel gets lower.

Today I opened up the floor hatch to see if there was any room between the fuel tank and floor. It looks like there's enough room to fit 2-3 40lb Pop Bags on top of the gas tank just below the hinged area of the hatch. Does anyone think this is a bad idea to put these bags on top of the fuel tank?

I've also considered cutting a rectangular opening in the floor in the walkway and installing an access panel to try and fit some more weight below the floor. Does anyone have any pictures of their RZR's hull, prior to the top deck going on?

The last solution I'm considering is placing some weight bags in the walkway and building a carpeted cover panel to go over them and act as a step up, into the bow. I'm thinking I can get 8-10 bags in there without the step being too high and looking funny. I'd have to trim the factory snap out carpet and have the edges rebanded but I need to do that around the subwoofer trim panel anyway.

We use the front cooler a lot so I can't take up that space and I don't want anything visible so I won't be using ballast bags on the seats. Any thoughts?

We don't really need to use the full rear ballast for our level of riding but occasionally we have friends out on the boat who are used to very heavily weighted boats and huge wakes and I want to be able to load the boat up for them.

[TigeTrojan]

Quick Google search and I came up with:

Hope this was helpful.

[D&P Powell]

LOL... But Trojan, how can you tell they are all wearing bottoms... questionable on 2... Just Saying

[houstonshark]

Ha! The only problem is getting them in and out of the boat! And making sure we have enough food to keep them happy!

[TigeTrojan]

Ha! The only problem is getting them in and out of the boat! And making sure we have enough food to keep them happy!

True, but just imagine the wake. And if those two put on some shorts you could probably count that as another 20lbs.

[Duncan]

[Duncan]

So, ultimately I need to add more weight in the bow area and preferably in the center. I have 520lbs in Pop Bags spread out in the bow area, mostly in the lockers, just aft of the factory U shaped ballast bag. While this has helped, it seemed to compound side to side balancing because the weight is not in the center of the boat.

If the U shaped stock bag is plumbed anything like the RZ2 (ie, two fill pumps, two drain pumps), then consider pulling the U sack and adding a pair of 707 sacks, one per side. The plumbing is already there, you just have to independently switch both sides. This opens up the very front center of the bow (on the RZ2, there is a hatch there, which I removed) for placement of pop bags.

An added advantage is you should have more water weight in the pair of 707s and you can adjust relative port/sb distribution of the bow weight.

[houstonshark]

If the U shaped stock bag is plumbed anything like the RZ2 (ie, two fill pumps, two drain pumps), then consider pulling the U sack and adding a pair of 707 sacks, one per side. The plumbing is already there, you just have to independently switch both sides. This opens up the very front center of the bow (on the RZ2, there is a hatch there, which I removed) for placement of pop bags.

An added advantage is you should have more water weight in the pair of 707s and you can adjust relative port/sb distribution of the bow weight.

What are the dimensions of those bags? Or who makes them so I can look them up? I think the pumps are done the same as the RZ2. There's a decent amount of space in the bow if the bag is low and wide. The factory bag looks to be maybe 12" wide and there's enough space for at least a 24" wide bag.

I cut a larger hole under the front bow cushion and added 3 Pop Bags.

[Duncan]

What are the dimensions of those bags? Or who makes them so I can look them up? I think the pumps are done the same as the RZ2. There's a decent amount of space in the bow if the bag is low and wide. The factory bag looks to be maybe 12" wide and there's enough space for at least a 24" wide bag.

I cut a larger hole under the front bow cushion and added 3 Pop Bags.

Fly High W707. While they are 400lb bags, they will not fill all the way in the bow (maybe 300 each in the RZ2). I picked up my pair from Chpthrl here on TO.

[houstonshark]

Hmm. The W705 looks like it may work better, at least in my boat because it is wider than it is tall and I should be able to use that width to extend along the side of the hull. Maybe Mike will chime in. Did you sell your stock U shaped bag? If so, how much did you get for it if you don't mind me asking?

[Duncan]

Did you sell your stock U shaped bag? If so, how much did you get for it if you don't mind me asking?

I think I sold it to someone on TO but I do not recall for how much.

[Vicseek]

I nudged another 100lbs of weights and stacked them in the very front on top of the boat trailer "eye bolt" hook.
I just purchased four 25lb plates from Wal-Mart. I was thinking of another 100lbs and sliding them under the ballast bags and attaching double sided Velcro so they would stay put.

[Ewok]

Are you keeping taps at the same setting when getting up on plane? I noticed with my boat loaded down I needed to set taps to zero to get up on plane and then adjust taps to the riders liking. I had my rear ballast 1/4 full (1/4 of 1,100 on which side = 500), bow sac, 400 lbs full, and 10 guys on the boat with 3 in the bow. I had to use taps at zero to get up on plane and then I was running taps around 4-5 for the rider when up on plane.

[houstonshark]

Are you keeping taps at the same setting when getting up on plane? I noticed with my boat loaded down I needed to set taps to zero to get up on plane and then adjust taps to the riders liking. I had my rear ballast 1/4 full (1/4 of 1,100 on which side = 500), bow sac, 400 lbs full, and 10 guys on the boat with 3 in the bow. I had to use taps at zero to get up on plane and then I was running taps around 4-5 for the rider when up on plane.

Yes. I always start with TAPS at 1 and then bump it to the desired position once on plane.

So yesterday I ran down to the river real quick to do a little testing which quickly turned into a quick session with a friend. The first thing I did was move 80lbs to the very tip of the bow, under the removable cushion through the hole that I had previously opened up larger. I used to have 120lbs in there but pulled it awhile back when trying to find a better balance of weight in the boat.

The next thing I did was pull the 1235 prop which I just sold and replace it with the stock 1631 prop that I recently had repaired. I have to finally admit, JriesRZR, this prop on the RZR is in fact a monster. Maybe the extra bow weight really helped it but wow, the boat got out of the hole in a hurry pulling up a 175lb rider with 1600lbs in the rear including people weight (300lbs) and 1000lbs in the bow.

Acme said they wouldn't repair the prop but a local place said it was not a problem to repair. I'm hoping it was repaired to the original specs but I did notice that it seemed to be running a little higher RPM's at wakeboarding speed than the 1235. Part of this is that I think the GPS app I used on my phone to calibrate the speedo is crap cause it definitely felt faster riding behind the boat than the speed showed.

It almost looks like the prop has very little cup over the last 3" or so of each blade. Is this normal for the cup to taper down? Whatever they did though, I like it. Now I just need a full day to test it and see how fuel consumption is and properly calibrate the speed.