My Outback Ballast Upgrade...

[Sled491]

I was under the impression that the Outback didn't really benifit from extra wieght in the front due to it's hull design. Just to save you some effort

[jasonwm]

I was under the impression that the Outback didn't really benifit from extra wieght in the front due to it's hull design. Just to save you some effort

It really depends on how you are planning on using the boat, and what your expectations are as far as the wake is concerned.

Will you be using the boat for surfing as well as wakeboarding? If so, it maybe more important to have weight up front in order to make the pocket long enough.

[jmvotto]

ian, from the pics does this mean you lose the whole back seat.???

I want to convert from ballast I to III but weighing all these new mods everyone has done.

[Sled491]

JV, You would have to leave the back seat in the sundeck position for the regular outback. BUt looking at Ians pics, even that looks iffy.

[ian ashton]

ian, from the pics does this mean you lose the whole back seat.???

I want to convert from ballast I to III but weighing all these new mods everyone has done.

I think if its completely full the back seat will need to be stashed at the marina. I'm guessing I'll most often just fill it to the most I can get with the seat in the up position.

[Sled491]

Ian now you just need some kind of drop curtain hanging down from the seat cushion to hide the bag from view and give it a real clean look.

[Limishowman3]

That is what i plan on doing moving the 400# sac to the front. At the moment since the only free time i have is being able to spend on the lake instead of modding my ballast. I have been just using the 750 in the walkway and filling to however full it can get. I can say the wake has gotten a whole lot bigger and the planes out so much easier. The only problem I am going to have to figure out is how to fill that 400# sac w/o spilling water since the connections are on the side instead of the top like the 750# fly high sac i have. I might make an extension fill hose for it. Just have to wait another two weeks before I can go home start my summer/boat projects.

[jasonwm]

I might make an extension fill hose for it. Just have to wait another two weeks before I can go home start my summer/boat projects.

Another option would be to purchase Fly High's Check Valve Fitting, that will prevent water from spilling also (but will cost more than the few feet of hose you would need to extend the filler above the top of the bag).

[ian ashton]

I'm still undecided on the bag - I think I'm still want the 20x20x60, as originally advertised. The 12x20x60 fits perfectly, but its just not the weight I wanted. I emailed the seller to see if he can physically measure and find an actual 20x20x60 - if not I'll use this for now and eventually pick up a FlyHigh 20x20x50. The 60" width just fits so perfectly, I really hope I can get the larger size.

Anyway, I decided to install the 12x20x60 to see how it looked when full of water, so here is how I did it.

First things first, I ordered 3 male Flo-Rite threaded connectors from WakeMakers (Great company, fast shipping, great price!!!). At their reccomendation I went to Lowes and bought 3 threaded to barb fittings, as there isn't a male Flo-Rite to barb fitting.

For the fill I used the "waterbed" fitting that came with my sac, and threaded one of the Flo-Rite connectors to it. I didn't have to extend the factory fill hose at all, it was in the perfect spot:


With the vent I used one of my adaped fittings, and again didn't have to extend, it worked out perfectly:


For the drain I decided to use the center fitting on the sac. To do this I just had to make an extension hose to run from the center of the sac to the factory drain. I used another one of the adapted fittings to plug in to the factory drain:


On the other end of the extension hose I just used a 3/4" barb elbow to connect to the sac:



*****All these pictures were taken in my 'testing' phase. I know that I need to add clamps to all the lines, I just wanted to make sure everything fit correctly before I clamped it all down. I also worked the barb fittings further into the hoses, I was just antsy when taking the pics.*****


All in all I'm really happy with the setup, but I do want more weight back there. With this in the back the boat basically will not plane, so my next project is to move the factory 400lb bag that came in the back of the boat up to front walk through. I'm hoping to plumb it the same way, using all the factory quick-release fittings. I'll also need to add another pump and all that.

[ian ashton]

And this is how it looks completely full:


There is a definately noticeable improvement in the size of the wake, but again, never enough, lol.