Wakemakers Ballast Hosing??

[Riding23]

So whoever I bought the boat from took out all the original ballast hosing and replaced it with cheap stuff from home depot. Will there is kinks everywhere in the hosing and its got to be almost doubling my fill and drain time. So I was thinking about replacing it all with Wakemakers hosing... Anyone ever had a problem with their hoses? Doesn't look too expensive to switch out all the hosing for the ballast...

[wolfeman131]

You won't get hosed by WakeMakers. :)

[Boonejeepin]

I have had great experience with Wakemakers. I have ordered plenty of hose from them and never an issue.

The hose from Home Depot was not very good for me!

I would suggest the solid black hose vs the clear version. Just my $0.02.

[jmvotto]

Wakemakers ballast hose is great and what the factory offers pricing is great as well.

[bergermaister]

You guys are a bunch of hosers.

http://thedroidyourelookingfor.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/strangebrew.jpg

If you have any tight corners to go around I'd suggest the clear with the black rubber coil type stuff in it. You virtually cannot kink it unless you're standing on it. A little more spendy but never a worry.

Take off eh!

[Riding23]

Only thing I dont like about the black is you can't see if water is running through?

[jmvotto]

Black hose is cheaper , never had problem with it. I did a GI to GIV upgrade with lots of hose, thru hulls, switches and pumps. You can hear and feel the water running in the hose, but if you need to see it then as berg said get the clear with black lines.

[beat taco]

The wakemakers has a white plastic cord running through it so it is definitely rigid. I could have never got it on the through holes without a heat gun.

[Riding23]

So your saying it isn't going to be as easy as I'm hoping to re-plumb it all? HAHA

[moombadaze]

Only thing I dont like about the black is you can't see if water is running through?

had clear hose on my last boat-after a couple use's it gets all cloudy looking and after a couple years I could not see the water thru it



The wakemakers has a white plastic cord running through it so it is definitely rigid. I could have never got it on the through holes without a heat gun.

I bypassed the heatgun and went to using a lighter-the long fireplace/bbq style


So your saying it isn't going to be as easy as I'm hoping to re-plumb it all? HAHA


not to hard, but still going to be a pain cause its going to be harder than it should-unless you can see the hose from the pump to the fitting

[mmandley]

I've re-hosed my ballast 2 times. First time i was adding longer hoses to the V drive bags and vent lines. I used the Clear with Black corded style from Wake Makers. I personally found it easier to work with. I could cut it easily with a razor knife and i didn't need to heat it up to make it fit on the fittings. Just a little extra elbow grease.

I then gutted the entire system of 3/4 and went to 1inch and reversable pumps.

i used the all black hose the second time. It required a heat gun, also its a lot easier to cut it if you have a hose cutting tool.

It will bend easier then the clear style hose.

Removing both types is a pain and normally requires you to cut it off near the fitting and then cut it long ways on the fitting to peel it off.

Yes you can see the water flowing through the clear. As for how long it allows you to see it, i never had an issue the 2 years i had that hose in my system. The black one you can feel the water move through, also you can pinch it and feel the water pressure as well.

[brain_rinse]

I prefer the factory black hose from Wakemakers. I would also suggest switching to 1" hose if you still have 3/4".

[kaneboats]

Definitely go with 1" if you are redoing everything anyway. Don't be afraid to draw up your plan, scan it, and post it on here. You can get some suggestions from the guys on here who have done plenty of these. That way you only order what you need to do it right and only do it once (yea, right, well in theory anyway).

[Riding23]

Good idea, headed to get the boat this weekend and will start drawing it up!! Was thinking might as well upgrade to 1" if I'm pulling it all anyways! appreciate all the help guys!

[Boonejeepin]

The reason I prefer the black hose is that the clear version seems to get brittle at the locations that were heated to insert fittings.

I have used some if both.

Again- just my $0.02.

[brain_rinse]

Good idea, headed to get the boat this weekend and will start drawing it up!! Was thinking might as well upgrade to 1" if I'm pulling it all anyways! appreciate all the help guys!

And while you are at it you might as well upgrade to dedicated reversible pumps. Just sayin'. :)

[jasonwm]

Our premium hose should be just as durable as the standard stuff, as long as you don't subject it to too much heat.

Feel free to contact us if you have questions about upgrading to larger diameter hose, unless you're making significant changes to the rest of the system it's probably not worth it, as there are other bottlenecks limiting the speed. if you do decide to upgrade to reversible pumps like the '09+ boats then you'll have to change over to 1" hose. We can help make sure you have all of the parts you'll need.