Bow Ballast Drain Issue

[whiteflash watersports]

My front bow drain kinked after 400 hours on the boat. After looking at it, I cut 12" off the line, added another hanger and good to go. Took about 15 minutes, and works great. Friend of mine has a Nautique that has a rear ballast drain pump that is impossible to reach with out disassembling the entire rear of the boat. No boats are perfect.

Wait till you have to get to the rear drain pumps on the rzr - I had to remove all sorts of stuff just to get my hand on the port pump to replace. It burned out after 600 hrs. So not upset just a giant pia. I hope the starboard lasts forever because I don't know if I would be able to get to that one..

[KEH]

Update
Picked up the boat from the dealer today.

Both bow port and starboard drain pumps are now secured to the floor using the same mounting brackets that are used to hold the rear locker ballast drain pumps to the floor (see attached photos).
Dealer removed two brackets from a showroom boat so I didn't have to wait on parts.
They also had to remove about 12" of hose from both lines to make the connections line up correctly.
Re-positioned and then filled/drained both bow bags in the shop numerous times to confirm correct fitment and operation.
In addition, water tested to confirm fill/drain numerous times both prior and after surf use.
Dealer went above and beyond to make the issue right.
If manufacture is going to install a bow ballast system that's difficult to access, it should be done right.
Not sure why Tige doesn't add the same floor mounting brackets to the front pumps. Its a cheap solution to prevent this scenario from developing and frustrating the boat owner.
Dealer stated they are going to pass along the lessons learned to Tige.
Hope this helps anyone who experiences the same problem
Cheers

[BJM]

This might sound crazy but I think they leave them loose for a reason. When the bag is full it is not a concern, but partially filled bags makes the issues arise.

The threads are a weak point on the tsunami pumps and parahana pumps. When a partially filled bag sloshes around, it pulls and tugs on the pump. I’ve hat two port rear drain pumps break at the threads on our Z3. I’ve left both rear pumps un-mounted and have not had an issue since.

I think securing the bag is the issue but 300 lbs is a lot of momentum pulling and tugging.

I had a Sanger that had the parahana pumps threaded straight into the bag and they broke constantly.

I’m glad your dealer is working with you and fixing the issues. Hopefully this will fix it and keep you on the water. There is no better feeling than when they pull a part off a showroom boat for you!

[freeheel4life]

For a couple years the front bags had the ties and glued on fittings like the rear L(Surf XL) bags to keep them secured. It was great until you had a bag fitting give up the ghost and you had to change box bags out. From a service standpoint having the bags permanently fixed in the bow was a nightmare if there was bags that needed serviced/replaced.

Glad your dealer squeezed you inn and took care of you.

[KEH]

Interesting...
Some say tie them down, some say leave them loose.
I guess its all based on your experience and what worked for you.
I installed and plumbed a bow bag in my first boat and after I installed the bag it never moved an inch full, empty or partially filled. Mind you it was the horseshoe style bag.
I've noticed that what seem like similar issues, can actually be quite different from one boat year to the next. Maybe due to the fact the manufacture made subtle changes that each owner is unaware of.
Either way, the set up I had wasn't working, so I'm hoping the dealer fix solved the issue.

[freeheel4life]

Interesting...
Some say tie them down, some say leave them loose.
I guess its all based on your experience and what worked for you.
I installed and plumbed a bow bag in my first boat and after I installed the bag it never moved an inch full, empty or partially filled. Mind you it was the horseshoe style bag.
I've noticed that what seem like similar issues, can actually be quite different from one boat year to the next. Maybe due to the fact the manufacture made subtle changes that each owner is unaware of.
Either way, the set up I had wasn't working, so I'm hoping the dealer fix solved the issue.

^^Absolutely correct. There are lots of manufacturer tweaks each year. Some were to fix little things that they learned last year. Sometimes its trying new stuff. Sometimes works, sometimes doesnt. Youd be amazed as well how many owners dont even realize that they are having ballast or other issues and just keep using the boat oblivious that it could be better.

[D&P Powell]

^^Absolutely correct. There are lots of manufacturer tweaks each year. Some were to fix little things that they learned last year. Sometimes its trying new stuff. Sometimes works, sometimes doesnt.

Good example; the flip seat walk through in the transom (between the main walk in area and the ballast lockers). They had it for a few years until 2014 and then discontinued it. I wanted one in our 2014 Z1... until I contacted the dealer and he said "NO you don't". I guess they had tons of problems with those and the dealer told me at the time he spent way too many hours on warranty issues on those seats. He said "best thing Tige ever did was get rid of that flip seat". Sorry,

[Ewok]

Thanks for your reply and your fix.
A kink after 400 hours I would tolerate (that would equate to an issue after 4 seasons of boating up north).
I appreciate no boats are perfect.
Here's where it gets frustrating...

The price of boats has skyrocketed.
Yes they have, during the housing bubble average middle class boat buyers were able to take equity out of their house and buy or finance a boat. When the bubble burst inboard boat production went from 13,500 in 2007 to a low of 4,000 in 2011. In order to keep the doors open, the boat manufacturers had to shift their target customer to upper middle class and/or way outside the middle class. The boats were upgraded to justify the higher prices, better vinyl, bigger stereos, factory installed huge ballast systems, more technology, touch screens. That is why prices keep going up, the boats are not marketed or designed for people from 15 years ago. When the economy goes bad again, people with money will always have money for a new boat, the middle class will not. This is how the boat companies are insulating themselves from future market downturns.

Top tier surf boats are pushing $200000 in Canadian dollars (thanks for the new tariffs BTW).
As a result, most repeat boat buyers like myself (and especially first time buyers) expect the QUALITY to have kept pace with the price.
After buying my third boat, leap-frogging from $45000 to $85000 and finally crossing the 6 figure mark (I still shake my head), I really expect to have hardly any issues.
Particuarly issues that I think should have been well thought out and tested before leaving the manufacturer .
Sadly, there is a real tolerance from a lot of boat owners (across all brands) to expect "issues" and not hold manufacturers and dealers to a higher standard to match their sky high prices.
The one area that has not kept up with higher boat prices is the quality and service expected with a higher cost product. Many first time boat owners who expect Mercedes level quality and service with the Mercedes level prices. Each boat is still made by hand, in low volume, and at different times of the year with slightly different environmental conditions. They are all a one-off custom. The same people that made an "expensive" 50K boat 10 years ago are making the same 150k boats today, just with nicer interiors and electronics. The same quality control issues from the entire history of fiberglass boat making is still present today. This is why so many older boat owners, like myself, understand that all boats come from the factory with a few problems to be sorted out. They are usually corrected at the dealer but sometimes a new an inexperienced dealer doesn't catch it, or they can't keep their promises of unrealistic deadlines to get the customers new and expensive boat on the water.

I can't believe I got sucked into derailing my own post...

Update on the bag issue to hopefully follow soon

I'm not excusing the lack of quality control with newer, more expensive boats. I'm just trying to shed some light on how the boat prices got to where they are today, why new boat owners are disappointed with their purchase, and why older boat owners are quick to point out that all boats have problems and you need to be patient with the dealer or learn to fix it yourself. I think the boat manufactures are keenly aware that their target customers are not receiving the product and services promised but it's not an overnight fix. They have been doing a bottom up review of the manufacturing and delivery process to try to get these issues resolved, but it requires adjusting the factory floor, the quality control area, and training for dealers and mechanics to catch and fix more issues before the customer gets the boat. Some dealers are great at this, and the manufactures need to examine the great dealers and use their processes to deliver a more consistent product through all their dealers.