Ballast system filling with air & water

[Shoemaker Mobius]

In the last couple months we have had problems with our single bag Bertha ballast filling with about 50% air instead of all water. Given this bag is a closed system, there is no way to release the air or burp the bag. I spoke with Skier's Choice and they had no suggestions other than to have my dealer look at the pump and plumbing to make sure there were no obstructions that could be "aerating" the water inlet. My dealer looked at it and could not find anything wrong other than the bag itself was upside down in the ski locker. We just took the boat out (with the bag in the correct position) and we are still having the same problem. I know it doesn't sound like a big problem, but when you are dialing in your wake and you only have half the weight in the center you should, it causes major wake problems. Any suggestions on what we can do? Skier's Choice - can you weigh in here? My dealer is South Austin Marine (btw, a great service department).

[sloppy]

This may be a long shot, but close your ballast system valve when the boat is not in the water. The valve is located in the engine compartment on my 01 Outback LS. Not sure what you have. There may be some way air is getting in the bag when the boat is out of the water. The second thing to do may be to look at the intake hose to see if there is a small hole that could allow air to be sucked in. Like I said, these are just SWAGs, so take it for what it is worth.

[lowdrag]

I usually end up with a bunch of air in my front bag and have to burp it once every two or three times out. I usually arrange it so the inlet is on the top of the bag and then remove the fitting after the initial fill then press the air out from the opposite end of the bag. Hook it back up and top it off.