Clean Slate Ballast Installation Project - T-1200 pumps, all 1" lines

[mnpracing]

MNPRACING - That's where I'm spoiled a little - the basement on my boat is huge. I'd compare it more to an XLV than anything else. I can fill a 750 until it's ready to burst and still be able close the walk-thru seat down without it popping up. I have the playpen style front seating so there's still storage room in front of the bag too.

If I get tired of messing with the 400's or I can find the right deal I may go with one of the 1180 Gravity Games bags under there in place of the 750. It should fit but will not fill 100% towards the bow where the compartment is not as deep following the lines of the hull.

Thanks! I never quite knew what the playpen seating arrangement meant until now. That is a huge amount of space.

[cab13367]

Great install and how to post Berg! Just one question - is the single 1" intake enough for two 1200's to operate at full capacity?

[bergermaister]

Great question - supposedly according to some advertising the 1" would be enough to feed both but I have some doubts. Only a field test will tell for sure. Thing is I'll probably only be filling one side at a time to full capacity for surfing so a good portion of the time only one fill pump will be running.

For wakeboarding I'm the only one who loads up the ballast in the family so I can be patient and go one side at a time if needed. A few of my buddies are still beginners so we'll see what summer holds in store for them.

I can't imagine boarding behind this thing with 2200 lbs in the rear of it and all 1550lbs up front. If the boat would even float, or get up to 20-22mph with all that weight it would probably be like hitting a wall. Of course I'll have to experiment with it in the coming months!

If I had to I suppose I could upgrade to a 1-1/4" thru hull, ball valve, etc. but everything is just bigger and it's tight in there already. Individual 1" thru hulls would take up a lot of space as well. Just have to see how it goes.

[newty]

Looks as good in practice as it did in beer theory! Nice work man!
Really nice job keeping everything tucked and clean.

Exactly how I would have done it.

Crazy to see those bags lined up! Thats a LOT OF WATER!

We need to try a surf bowl this summer with the boats!

As far as the shared intake, did a bunch or research on it (as I did it myself), there are some limitations with this set-up but because it is shared, but because the the run of shared pipe is so short that any loss of flow will all but be elliminated by having only 3" of that shared pipe. That and the way Berg will be using it makes complete sense.

[mmandley]

@ Berg, i cant see you running full ballast for wake boarding but LOL.

We do run 2500 quite a bit for a couple of the guys who come out and let me say the wave looks big from the boat but its down right scary from the water lol.

I mean its hard to even cross it with out it punting you into the air and im not ready to catch air. Ok well i am my skill level isnt lol.

I can say out of the hole my prop does great, then from 10 to 17 it slows a little as the boat is plowing and i generaly have it 3/4 throttle at this point. Then it hits 22 and will zip to 27 and then i have to slow it back down.

Its the boarder who pays for this as he/she has to wait till i can get the boat at the right speed.

Using cruise for this? Forget it the cruise wont give the full throttle it takes to plane out so i have to remember the RPM and punch it way past then slow it down again and generaly end up right around 23mph

[bergermaister]

Using cruise for this? Forget it the cruise wont give the full throttle it takes...

Don't have to worry about that as my boat is equipped with the CBRA system (Cruise by Right Arm). Makes small wake adjustments tricky for surfing sometimes but no biggy besides that. This is also why I didn't mount my ballast switches in the originally planned spot which would have been kind of behind the throttle up high like the old stereo remote location. Resting my arm there to help make smoother/smaller throttle changes I think would have made for a lot of accidental filling and draining.

"Beer Theory" - I like that! Goes right along with a sign I saw on a guy's garage door that said------ WARNING - Modifications Inspired by Testosterone and Beer.

And YES - been thinking about a 2 boat surfbowl all winter!

[newty]

WARNING - Modifications Inspired by Testosterone and Beer.

^^WINNING!^^

[bbuhtz]

WARNING - Modifications Inspired by Testosterone and Beer.

Awesome! Like the install too.

[bergermaister]

Hmmm - I'm thinking I may have a new signature line there!

[bergermaister]

Finished the wiring and final details of the install and all went smoothly. Then got dewinterized DIY Style and out on the water for some testing.

Ahhh, it's a beautiful thing.



The new fill and drains in the rear work great. I timed the fill on the 1100 port side and it came in right around 7.5 minutes to fill roughly 90%. I had to stop and back off some as the bag was too full and my compartment wouldn't close without something giving up. Mainly just the fill valve fitting sticking up a couple inches. When I was filling by hand it was just plugged and I didn't need to worry about that. I think I can adjust the bag around a little as it's filling next time and get more into it though and with just me and 2 kids aboard I laid that rub rail right down touching the water!



However I did have a couple issues.

My vented loops are dripping pretty heavy when filling. I cranked down the hose clamps as tight as I could and still have some drip from around the edge of the hose, nothing from the vents though. I may pull them off and add a little silicone, then tighten back down. During install the hose went on really easy which I guess is an indicator. No unwanted filling or draining though!

I do have a wiring problem with the stock Rule pump. Everything ran flawlessly in the driveway. Get out on the water and the center switch is dead. Blown fuse. Of course I didn't bring extras so I swapped one out from the starboard switch to try. Blew immediately. Funny thing is I used the wiring that was already in place for the Rule pump. I gave up after that so didn't get the center bag filled or the bow bags to experiment with the wake. Will have to wait until next time.