Hey guys I need some input. I have been working on landing all the basic inverts and am currently working on adding 180's to them. This and along with my family needing more room in a boat(we have a 89 mastercraft prostar), we decided to look around for a new boat. We found a 98 sunsetter vlx without a tower, or ballast in it. So my parents talked to a dealer about adding these and he told them that Ballast is a waste of money and it doesn't make that much of a difference. I need your help to prove this statement wrong. Thanks for any help.

"Ballast is a waste of money and it doesn't make that much of a difference" <BR> <BR> <BR>I see your dealer has never been wakeboarding!!!!

Hahahahahahah I would buy my boat from a different dealer.

Maybe "factory" ballast is what he meant. You would def. still want some extra weight with sacs or something. And a tower helps A LOT! Hope this helps.

I doubt it would have factory ballast if it dosent have a tower.

It doesn't have factory ballast. That's why dealer thinks it would be a waste of money. Factory or not, ballast makes a huge difference.

Watch out he might try and sell you a skurfer next.

I dunno, but maybe the dealer is saying 'automated ballast' vs. 'manual ballast' doesn't matter. Weight is weight and in the end it doesn't matter how it got in your boat, but manually filling sacs gets old quick. <BR> <BR>If you want proof that any ballast matters, wouldn't the proof be in riding your prostar weighted vs unweighted???

I hate that! A while ago we were looking at buying a new boat, malibu, Mc, or nautique. when we talked to the bu dealer he talked non stop about the tripple stiched seats. then I asked him what the wedge was for, because i honestly wasn't sure, and he talked to me like i was stupid. then he tried to sell us a 247, I asked how the wake differed from the vlx, he said its much better for wakeboarding; it rolls over at 28 the perfect riding speed, now my parents are convinced thats the truth

I have a 98 sunsetter vlx and I can honestly say that the wake is really good with no weight, and really sick with weight. Get the boat and start adding ballast as you can

sunsetter throws a cute wake. I really enjoyed our teams.

all malibu boats throw a great wake. the 24-7 is deffinately miles ahead of any boat in their line as far as wakeboarding goes. the shape of the wake is the best and i think that there is no boat out there that can match the size of wake when you load it up. <BR> <BR>back to the O.G. topic if your family can afford to add the ballast system then by all means get it done. beacuse at the end of the day, its dark, your in a hurry to get back to wherever, nothing beats bein able to hit a few switches and watch all the water empty out while your sittin relaxing on the cruize back. dealing with pumps sucks

I've been riding my buddies x-45 for the last 4 months and my x-star for the last 2 months with ballasts from day 1 since we got them. This last sunday 1 of his ballasts wouldn't fill, so we ended up riding without any ballast all day. <BR> <BR>The difference was huge! I spent to much time trying to get comfortable on the wake. Didn't really enjoy the day like I normally do. <BR> <BR>Yes! Ballasts make a difference.

Kevin, <BR> <BR>Have your parents spring for the tower, you buy some fat sacs and a Tsunami pump (mow lawns if you have to!) <BR>If nothing else, go to Home Depot and get some 4" PVC pipe and end caps, stop at a few tire dealers and fill the tubes with wheel weights! You can move the ballast around in the boat, and it's FREE! (plus cost of PVC)

my dad once said, "going wakeboarding without ballast is like going to a bar and not drinking" <BR> <BR>hope that helps

Thanks for your help guys... I know the differnce between weighted and unweighted, my parents don't believe me but they will believe anything the dealer says.

Show your parents this thread. Maybe the input from dozens of people who live and breath wakeboarding will change their minds. <BR> <BR>Dear Kevin's Parents, <BR>Ballast really, truly does matter. It is one of the most important things you can have in your boat. The dealer you talked to was 100% wrong, don't believe him. <BR> <BR>Sincerely and Respectfully, <BR>-Every wakeboarder in the world.

Just tell them you an Epic has 4000 lbs...stock, not an option, you get that no matter what

second opinion.......tell your parents to get one. hahaha <BR> <BR>honestly i would say that ballast matters more than a tower.

I hate to side with your parents, but they are buying you a very nice boat. There is no good reason you can't learn all of your basic inverts behind it--no weight--no tower. <BR> <BR>Consider mowing a few lawns and raking leaves over the winter and pick up a extended pylon--$200 bucks. <BR> <BR>When you can land your basic inverts (first ten or so). You will have a much better case to take to you parents. Quit worrying about what you don't have and rock what you got.

Salespeople say some uneducated stuff much to the point of insulting your intelligence. I try to not let those things get in the way, but at times it is difficult to not let them. If the boat is a good deal then he may be worth putting up with.

I talked to my parents and they said they would buy a tower and a wedge, And I will buy the ballast. Thanks for all your help

All the people crucifying the sales person. If some 40ish people come in looking for a boat, the last thing I(if I was a salesperson) think that is important to them is ballast. <BR> <BR>Side note, he may have said something to the effect of adding "factory" ballast is going to be a waste of your money, get sacks or something to that effect. <BR> <BR>I can see tower to get the boards out of the boat, but people are talking like if you don't have extra ballast you might as well be riding behind a jet ski....<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/uhoh.gif" border=0>

Good point, without weight you might as well. I agree.

Yea....okay.....<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/uhoh.gif" border=0>

My only suggestion is get what you want to begin with. I started with a Direct Drive with tower, no ballast last August... bought a sac and pump, another sac and got tired of filling/draining. Ended up selling this august to get a V Drive with auto ballast.

If they pick up the boat without ballast, then just sneek a couple thousand pounds of cement bags into the hull under the floor. No emptying/filling. Maybe a bit more wear on dads truck towing. LOL!!! <BR> <BR>Tell your dealer to go back to selling ski boats. Ballast doesn't matter if your boat is sitting in storage. If you're planning on riding it's not even worthwhile without it.

It is possible to have fun riding without additional sacks. Often times we are lazy and find ourselves riding with just the stock ballast and wedge, and a fair amount of people in the boat. Other times we sack the boats out big time. It is different each way but we seem to have fun regardless of the situation.

yeah...dont people realize that these boats are made to have a very small wake without ballast? i mean yeah you can still wakeboard, but if i empty all of my sacs and my factory ballast in my launch and put the wakeplate down, its a ski wake through and through, which is what most of these hulls are made to do. <BR> <BR>but i had to buy my own boat at an age of 18, and i bought my supra when i was 20. so id say if your parents are buying you that nice of a boat, then praise them every day and throw some ballast in when you can (or just bring 12 people).

yah riding without ballast not good but hey its better than school or work lol ballast is an addiction though you will want to keep adding and adding until ur boat is almost sinking. Or at least thats what happened to me.

We have a V-Drive with stock ballast. we never use it because my dad says he cannot drive with the extra wieght. I still have fun wakeboarding and it really came in handy at the INT in louisiana, while everyone was complaining about the wake, that was the biggest wake i had ever hit.

You can still improve without. I've been riding for 3-4 years and never once have rode with ballast. Or a 'wakeboarding' boat for that matter...<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/sad.gif" border=0>

my 2001 chapparal. not a wakeboard boat but i just bought a 540 and put it in the center and 300 in the back and i love the wake. definetely big enough for me. <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7015226"><img></a>

Check this out... No ballast and riding from the low ski pole. This is bigger than most people on a loaded brand new boat with 2,000 lbs of ballast. <BR> <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzmzoESPCq0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzmzoESPCq0</a> <BR> <BR>(Message edited by hayes on November 04, 2007)

<a href="http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7018177"><img></a> <BR> <BR>sry. picture for last post.