fat sacks for a glastron boat

finless05 · Newbie Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 30

my sister just bought a 05 glastron gx 205, its 20 feet and has a 5.0L engine with 270 hp. it sets a good wake but i was thinking about putting some fat sacks to build it up. everyone i have talked to has told me to put like 400 in the back and 300 in the front. that seems like alot of weight to add to the boat and i dont want to mess it up... i have also heard when you weight the boat like that you have to come to stops and slow down easy to keep water from coming over the front and im afraid that she might not do that or other people driving wont. Also i am afraid it will make the wake too big for her since shes learning, so i was thinking of buying three 85lb launch blocks and putting two in the back and one in the front... what do you think?

finless05 · Newbie Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 30

after reading some of the other post should i try trimming up a quarter once i plain out before i buy anything or does trimming up not do anything...

5280HighButter · Soul Rider Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 258 City: Littleton

OK, 1st, 700 lbs won't mess a boat up, 1400 lbs won't even mess it up. That is a new boat with a good size engine, it will have no problem with the weight. A general weighting rule for I/O's is to distribute the weight 60% up front and 40% in the rear, this is because I/O's have trouble planing (sp?) out. Everyone you talk to is giving you the opposite because that is generally how you weight an inboard boat, it's the opposite for I/O's. Trim up an 1/8 - 1/4, it will help your wake. 3 85 lbs launch blocks won't help your wake too much, it's not enough weight so don't even waste your money on it, if you're going to buy sacs, buy sacs, at least 600lbs for that boat. Usually a sac in the bow walkway will do wonders but you still have to experiment a little so get a bunch of people in the boat and move them around to see how it affects the wake. If your sister is still learning then you really don't need sacs at all yet. Get them when everyone can go wake to wake. As for taking water over the front, yes that can be an issue but I/O's sit higher out of the water than most inboards so don't worry too much about that. However you should still be slowing down easy and then turning slowly to pick up a rider, DON'T EVER POWER TURN, it only messes up the rest of the lake. Hope this helps!

Vampyre · Addict Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 622 City: Ooltewah, TN

Well said, 5280HighButter.
Ebay has some decent 600 lb sacs, usually you can get for around $50 or so.
Throw one in the bow walkway, and then maybe try some other weight around the engine on either side, and in the ski locker.
Some people have used 2 liter bottles filled half full of sand, then fill with water, and throw in a rubbermaid container on the side of the engine.
Trim it up as high as you can, without experiencing bow bounce. Drive around, and experiment with weight, trim and speed, and observe the wake.
Also be sure to balance the weight left to right.

Randy · Posted: Nov 09, 2005 6:29 pm Post subject:

Hey,
I have a 2000 Larson 206 SEI. Its pretty close to what you are describing and here's my setup. 130 lbs lead under bow seats, 400 lbs in ski locker, 350-375 lbs in seat just in front of the engine. The wake is nice with 3 ppl in the boat. When you get 5-6 ppl in the boat its huge. I've been very happy with this setup. Let me know if you have any more questions.

finless05 · Newbie Joined: 09 Nov 2005 Posts: 30

i never really go out with less than 5 or 6 people... so to make it bigger but not huge would 310 in the back and 155 in the front help, since its my sisters boat and she doesnt know too much about wakeboarding i think i might have a hard time convincing her that its okay to add 700 or more lbs to the boat, but if its just three bricks of 155 she might let me...

atolman · Posted: Nov 10, 2005 11:19 am Post subject:

I ride behind a 19ft Glastron & I find the wake is best when I put the trim up as far as it will go without bow bounce. When adding weight I put almost all up front in the bow or in the ski locker & just a little in the back.

Randy · Posted: Nov 10, 2005 1:30 pm Post subject:

I would put MORE weight up front. If your boat is like mine, the ski locker is pretty big. I have all of my weight hidden, so you don't have to step over it. If you are only adding 500 lbs or less, try to put it all up front. Bowriders generally have enough weight in the back due to the engine. However, when adding more weight than 600, I would recommend the 60/40 routine.