Locker Ballast question/suggestions....

[Liquidmx]

So I am currently working out my ballast options for my "new to me" 2000 vlx wakesetter. My goal is to have absolutely as much balanced, switched, concealed weight as possible. After riding behind a pro weighted boat, I will probably never go back, but this would be a compromise that would suffice for most the time hopefully. :Unsure:

My plan is this:

fly high bow sack that just came out from wakeside

1000lb sack or custom thats a little bigger than the locker size, see below about question/suggestion.

Option #1: run a 3/4 piece of pvc through the fill entry into the ballast bag to the front of the sack and attach a waterbed fitting to the end (closest point to bow) or some screen type material to keep edges from pushing against sack to allow full filling (hopefully).

Or

Option #2

Run a 3/4 or 1 inch pvc pipe underneath the sack with two 90's ( 180) to fill from the front of sack (closest point to bow). The sack would then be sitting on top of the fill pipe. I would prop run a swing check valve between the two 90's fittings for insurance in case the pipe breaks.

A sack in each v drive compartment that is pretty large. I will probably put some 1/2 or 3/8 inch pvc sheeting in place of current stuff to protect the bags from the engine.

Obviously the bottleneck of weighting is in the amount of offsetting bow ballast, what do you guys think?

[silvtongdvl]

Why not fill and drain it from the rear?
Put a hose thru the compartment drain hole (pump to top hole on ballast bag) To Fill

to drain
Use smaller bilge pump connected to lower hole on bag. Install hose from pump to thru hull fitting on side of boat.

If the ballast bag comes with a third hole (one on the other end) leave it up inorder to burp air from the bag or drain with sac pump if the plumbed in drain pump doesn't work for some reason.
~S~

[Liquidmx]

Draining and filling from rear wont always fill the bag to cappacity in the locker; it gets rolled on itself etc.

I already have a drain and fill system in place, I just want the thing to fill as full as possible and cannot decide which route to go.

This is in the ski locker, so I would not be able to utilize a third hole at the front unless I plumbed into it before filling the bag.