Finally Automated my ballast
 

I decided this was the year to automate my ballast system and nothing beats dropping the boat in and flipping a switch. :D I still have to adjust the bags / hoses while filling but that's no biggie. Another luxury of having a system is being able to tweek the wake while underway or while picking up a rider after a fall. All around I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The only downside was not being able to drain the sacs entirely at the end of the day, but I kinda knew that going into this fom reading other threads.

One thing I noticed while working on my system is how low the thru hulls are to the water line when fully loaded. I'm definately going to invest in some check valves for "all" my through hulls for both starboard / port sides. How is everyone else keeping water from coming in through the thru hulls? Mine are located about 1.25" below the rub rail.

Overall pretty stoked. I went with the 400# Fly High, 800 Tsuanmis all around. Pretty much what Jason over at Wakemakers suggested. If you're even thinking about a system, give them a call. Anyway here are a few picks.

With the aerator pump setup do you typically vent through the empty pump/hose? Of do you run a separate vent line?

I was initially thinking I'd need a fill, empty and vent hose going to each bag. Then I started thinking about how water/air should flow through the aerator pumps when they're off so the empty line with a check valve on it (Only allowing flow out) could potentially act as the vent during the fill operation. This would save a few bucks on fittings and hose while cleaning up the appearance of the plumbing job.

You need to upgrade you rear sacks to 700lbs'ers. I love my V215 wake. It's nice and big. It makes me look like a better rider than I am. Nice job by the way. Did you boat not come with rear tanks?

This is my lastest and greatest weight skeem. I have people ask me to let ballest out now.

@ Jeff... Yeah, I thought about the same thing as far as having my vent through the drain line since I'm using aerator pumps. From reading some of the other threads, by doing it this way (venting through drain line) you may be putting undue stress on the sacs before any water comes out the drain through hull for venting purposes. Not saying it can't be done. So, I pretty much went with what Wakemakers suggested. That is running separate vents and drain lines. Only thing I overlooked is the through hull location for both the drain / vent. Mine are too far back toward the stern and sit really close to the water line when fully loaded. :eek: My boat only came with the center ballast, no rear tanks so I had to add the drains/vents for these. In order to keep everything symetrical, I spaced them evenly next to my bilge thru hull. Bad idea since the bilge thru hull sits way in the back. Never really took notice until I dropped the boat in the water and started filling... So in order to avoid taking on water I'm going to add check valves throughout. It may not even be an issues since the sacs will be taking on the water, but I just don't want to take on any water when not purposely filling the sacs.

@ Dave...your thread was a huge help man and your wake looks unreal!!.. lol .. Probably the main reason I didn't go with the 750s is I would've had to upgrade my prop which will be next years project. As it is right now: 540# in the walkway, 300# stock, 200# lead, and the 400#s in engine compartments it is a bit slugish getting on plane. I think for now I'm good and really just like the luxury :D of being able to drain / fill with the touch of a button. BTW, did you ever figure out how to entirely drain the sacs? Originally I was going to locate my drain pumps toward the stern, but decided not to since they'd be crushed when the sacs are full.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Antonio, I did get my sacks to drain all the way. What I did was put 2 40lbs pop bags under the rear sacs towards the bow. So now all the water runs towards the rear of the boat/bag. I get them almost all the way dry. Also when I am on the ramp pulling the boat out of the water, I drain the bags one more time. I am glad its all working out great.

So, do the pumps give some resistance to air/water passing through them when off (Not pumping)?

I guess if the pumps offer resistance you could still use a single thru hull with a "Y" merging the vent and empty hoses. My main goal with that setup would be to not have a bunch of extra thru hulls. You'd need a check valve on the vent side of the "Y" to prevent the water from taking the path of least resistance back into the bag though.

@ Jeff, I would imagine the drain pump resisting the flow a bit if it was acting as a vent. I've heard of people doing it this way (perhaps someone who has can chime in), but I chose not to. It certainly would save on thru hulls, hose, etc. I also thought about using a check valve for the vent and using the drain thru hull, just opted not to. I want to get a picture up of what the wake looks like, but my buddy has been a bit slow in getting them to me. As soon as I do, I'll post em up. For you guys check out.

Tony

Here's a pic of the wake. Not the best conditions out there on Tuesday, but made the most of it.. Check out the wake... :D

nice wake!