Ballast for wakeboarding - Sundeck 200

[stuey]

Hi Guys , has anyone tried adding ballast to a Sundeck 200 to enhance the wake . I see that the MWC says 1400lbs , anyone exceeded that and what was the wake like . Also our boat has a "Permatrim" plate on the engine . This helps with planing but I'm led to believe it does this by lifting the back of the boat ie not what you want for wakeboarding , again anyone reckon it would enhance the wake if it were taken off ? Thanks a lot

 

[89 Searay 200BR]

Hello, you might try here-----> http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=37067d33d0377d62a2c5da329927cb33

They may not have tried this with your model, but they might have some helpful information on ballast.

 

[billandamy]

Are you running off a tower or the transom?

Ballast is not an exact science, but it doesnt mean juts plop weight wherever you want. The best advice you can get is to experiment with placement and weight until you get optimal wake.

This will need to be adjusted anyway usually depending on other variables from day to day: people on the boat and where they sit, fuel level, smoothness of the water, wind, etc...

I havent seen anything specific to the sundeck in the wakeboarding BB's I am on ( the previously mentioned bb is one I am on) or in magazines.

 

[Nickwa]

Hi, I like your setup, I have a Sundeck with Factory Tower and was thinking of putting a ballast tank under each seat in the bow then linking them up to make a Deck shower. Has anyone had experience with that? Cheers

 

[billandamy]

There are several good sites for ballast.

Here is a popular one that many boarders use:

http://www.onlyinboards.com/Ski-boat-accessories/fat-sacks.html

If you dont want to deal with water, you can use weighted bags, another popular choice for boarders:

http://www.metaltecsteel.com/shot_bags/shot_bags.asp

Good luck!

 

[julians]

I use two fat sacks in the bow of my 200 select (about 400lbs in total), it doesnt give a massive increase in wake height, but it does increase it slightly.

I would add some to the floor locker, but it full of gear so I cant do that

 

[billandamy]

Thus the problem with our bowriders: limit on the amount of weight you can safely put in.

You may want to move the sacs to the back and add 200 to bow if you can add another 200.

You usually want more weight toward the back, this may be why you arent seeing a large increase in the wake :thumbsup:

 

[julians]

billandamy, that advice about wanting more weight at the back than the front runs contrary to the received wisdom on all the main wakeboarding websites, that say on an I/O you want the weight biased towards the front in the first instance and then add some in the back if you have the space, because you can sink the back using the trim, so you need something to push the front down too.

This is opposite to if you have a direct drive or vdrive, where the weight definately needs to be at the back, because you cannot adjust trim to push the backend down.

I think ideally I would have the two fat sacks at the front, one in the floor locker, and one or two at the back, but I dont have the space to do that, that and it would take 20 minutes to fill them all up.

 

[billandamy]

billandamy, that advice about wanting more weight at the back than the front runs contrary to the received wisdom on all the main wakeboarding websites, that say on an I/O you want the weight biased towards the front in the first instance and then add some in the back if you have the space, because you can sink the back using the trim, so you need something to push the front down too.

This is opposite to if you have a direct drive or vdrive, where the weight definately needs to be at the back, because you cannot adjust trim to push the backend down.

I think ideally I would have the two fat sacks at the front, one in the floor locker, and one or two at the back, but I dont have the space to do that, that and it would take 20 minutes to fill them all up.

You are correct, I apologize. I spend too much time reading the boards, and the fact that most of them have inboards is forgotten sometimes! I forget I am not on a sea ray site :grin: