WEIGHING A 20V

[JANSEN]

I just ordered a 05 20V. Anyone have any suggestions, pictures, ect. Been looking into a Rival ballast system.

[switchV]

Jansen,

I ordered the Rival ballast system last month for my Switch V. I ordered it from Terry who was very helpful and answered all my questions. I plan to install it this winter. The boys at SkiDog have some experience with the system if you run into problems.

I saw your Switch I for sale and was glad to hear your sticking with Tige. It was your color matched Samson Tower that inspired me to purchase the Samson setup last Spring. Very satisfied with it.

Let me know if you need pics of the ballast system parts or anything.

Mark

[harv]

Switch V,

I'm currently setting up a game plan to install the Rival Ballast system in my 05' Switch V.

Maybe I missed it in another thread, but do you have some pics of where you installed the intake manifold, drain holes and switches? I've got a pretty good idea of where to start but some pics would make me feel a little better.

Thanks,

Harv

[switchV]

Harv,

I installed the system last spring. Allow plenty of down time. It took three days to install the system. I have the boat in winter storage so it would be a few weeks to get pics for you. Email me at v1rot8@whidbey.com with your contact number and I would be happy to call you with my installation setup.

[Gschmidt1]

Sounds like a nice setup! What are the weights on the Rival system? Just wondering, not looking into ballast here, but our family just acquired a 2004 Switch V, so trying to get a feel for the boat.

[akdoc]

Gscmidt1,

Where did you get your new Switch V? We just traded one in to Stateamind in St. Louis. Enjoy the switch, it is a good little boat.

[whitlock87]

Switch V
I have a Red Switch V and was wonder how much difference the ballast made.

Also I checked your gallery photos, and it looks as if you have an Extreme trailer. I thought that they where only sold in Ca. Nice set up, love the tower on that boat.

Thanks for any feed back
David

[Gschmidt1]

Yep, that was the one. Fine looking boat, great shape, we couldn't pass it up. I heard you guys opted for the 24 or something! Anyway, congrats on your new purchase, maybe we will see you @ the owners appreciation thing!

Anyway, its our first V drive, so I am really excited to get it done in the shop (fixing the tears in vinyl, the starter switch, carpet, steering cable, and adding 4 tower speakers, a sub, and amp!). Oh, that and we dont have a slip, so we had to ship in a trailer for it!

[akdoc]

Gschmidt,

If you need any tips on how to weight the switch let me know. I had the surf wake dialed in perfectly. Add a little weight in the bow and the wakeboarding wake gets a little more solid. What tower speakers and sub are you going with? We live in Overland Park now, just moved so maybe we will run into you at a lake sometime.

[switchV]

Hey guys, thanks for the compliments. I'm going through pilot training at a major U.S. carrier so I'm not able to get to the boat to take pictures. Here is some info for now:

1200 lbs system was ordered from Rival. Two 440lbs bags on either side of the engine. Two 200 lbs bags under the front seats through to the bow area. The bow is a little tight so I don't imagine I have the full 400 lbs up front under the seats. The system is designed with a pressure return so you can turn on the fill switches and when you hear water going overboard you shut it off without the worries of overpressurizing the ballast bags. I drilled drain ports up near the bow for the bow bags and one on each side of the rear of the boat for the rear bags. If you take away the floor panel and back seat area you will see an area just aft of the fuel tank to place the valve manifold. I placed some foam under the manifold for vibration reduction and zip tyed the manifold in place. This area allows all the tubing from the manifold to run out of view along the side of the boat to the individual bags. If you are standing on the gas tank looking aft, to your left of the v-drive is an area that is flat and provides a good location for your through-hull pickup. Make sure you measure the location and measure twice for accuracy before drilling the hole. I verified that the pickup under the boat was not going to disrupt the flow to any paddle wheels or the raw water pickup for the engine. Drill in between the strakes. You want a flat area around the hole.

Rival sends you a piece of metal to mount your switches. I had a friend with tools fashion a thin piece of alluminum to make a switch mount and placed it above the throttles next to the arm pad. Looks factory installed after rounding the corners and buffing out the alluminum and using the same style mounting screws as the dash.

The boat had an adequate wake for beginners but we wanted to get launched over the wake so the ballast system provides the extra ramp. I do recommend the gear reduction as it is easier on the engine. We don't get too crazy with adding additional weight as I'm sure it can't be good for the boat.

During the winter just drain the manifold, un-hook the bags and hang the bags over the bow to drain dry.

Items I discovered that I didn't like:

When placing wet gear back into the ski lockers the water gets under the bags and I have a difficult time drying the carpet. I usually place a large towel over the bag to soak up any water.

The valve switch is an up down switch spring loaded to center. You raise it for no more than 1.5 seconds to open the valve to flood the manifold. You have to keep track of valve position in your mind. You close it when finished filling. If you forget you see water draining out of your holes while towing. I wish there was a way to see valve position on the dash. For our boat one person is in charge of filling and draining to keep track of water placement. Usually that is me!

Good luck on the install. Let me know if you have any questions.

Mark

P.S. Yes it's an Extreme Trailer. Nothing special though. I like the one with the bow pads. Not sure who makes that one. Boat was purchased at Ski Dog Sports in the Seattle area. No real problems with the boat. Thinking of a 22Ve next fall.

[Gschmidt1]

If you need any tips on how to weight the switch let me know. I had the surf wake dialed in perfectly. Add a little weight in the bow and the wakeboarding wake gets a little more solid. What tower speakers and sub are you going with? We live in Overland Park now, just moved so maybe we will run into you at a lake sometime.

Actually, I would appreciate some help with it! The last time I surfed was behind a friend of mines boat (rides outlaw in MO), with 3200 lbs of ballast, so I have no idea what our wake is supposed to look like...however, with the ballast on both sides, the wake looked decent at like 12 mph. I actually tested the wake out in a shortie suit on the MS river...46 deg of fun, the wake felt real nice, all of the ballast with 5 people felt a lot better than our old boat!

As far as tower speakers, we are looking into the monster tower tantrum speakers with polk drivers (the ones on the site). Not sure about the amp/sub, but Andrew is helping us make a decision this week. I am not really an audio guy, I just love music, but the real decision will probably be made by my father, who is paying the bills (I am 19/freshman in college).

Hit me up on PM if you need a third!

Switch V: the ballast sounds really cool man. Get us some pics of that when you can!

[akdoc]

Gschmidt,

Just a suggestion on the tower speakers. For the price you will pay for the polk monster tower speakers, I think its about $795 bucks, you can get something else that will be much better. If you want the rider to hear the music, I mean actually hear the music you have to get pro audio speakers.

Look at these, this is pro audio and only $849 bucks, and they will be so much better than the car audio based stuff. Check out the site:
http://www.wetsounds.com/HTML/ProductPage.php

I made my own pro audio tower speakers, I would be glad to show you how to do it, total cost was only like $550 bucks. Believe me, I used to have car audio tower speakers and when I went with pro audio there is just no comparison, it sounds a ton better when you are riding. If you want to talk about this more just email me at kcjohnson78@hotmail.com.

[akdoc]

So now how to weight the switch V.

For surfing:

We filled all of the ballast, make sure you put everyone on the side that you are surfing, and put a couple people in the bow. We noticed when you put people in the bow it cleans up the wave and makes it a little longer. If you want to make the wave even better, add a sac on top of the hard tank on the side that you are surfing. We set PP at about 10.5, that seemed to be perfect. You can add a sac in the front walkway and then the surf wake grows even more. The key is to sink the whole L side of the boat if you are surfing on that side, this allows for a longer wave and a cleaner wave. Here is a pic of a pretty good day:

[Gschmidt1]

looks great, Hopefully we can get it around there. How old/who in your family rides?

[lawnjockey]

i have an 02 20v that I installed a rival ballast system in last year. i Ran a 600# bag in each rear locker, 2 250" fat buddies in the dash compartments and 2 200# tube sacs under the bow cushions. This allows 1900# of totally hidden ballast. You must add a T in the fill and drain lines for the front bags to function properly. It is a little extra work but well worth the effort. You can also mount the supplied switches right beside and above the ignition key. My system drains and fills very fast. The only problem I have had is in Tennessee the cold weather is a little harsh on the cheap hoses Rival supplies; I would opt to get a more rugged hose as these tend to tear leaving you working on hoses instead of riding. It will take some time and engineering to install and wire the system

the wake is pretty impressive
although still not as good as a 22ssv lauch
good luck Brandon Whitehead