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Old     (beleza)      Join Date: Mar 2010       07-31-2013, 2:33 PM Reply   
So... I just picked up a new to me 04 Super Air TE. Love it. I took it out for the first time today and turned on the ballast but nothing was pumping into the tanks. Pumps were going but no water was coming in. When I got home I looked under the dash and saw the ballast valves were all on CLOSED. I went to turn them to OPEN but they wouldn't budge. The port valve was the only one I could turn. I didn't want to turn too hard because I didn't want to break anything. Is there a trick to turn the valves to the OPEN position? I plan on taking the boat out tomorrow so any help is appreciated.
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Old     (beleza)      Join Date: Mar 2010       07-31-2013, 5:54 PM Reply   
Did some research and sounds like I might need to replace the helm ballast control cables? The boat only has 152 hours on it so is this normal? Are those cables tough to replace?
Old     (DenverRider)      Join Date: Feb 2013       07-31-2013, 6:42 PM Reply   
Check the valves themselves first. There was a recall on those valves (at least on my 2005 there was) because plastic would break prematurely. The original owner of my boat already replaced the belly valve because it had cracked but I got the rear valves new in the package in case they break as well. If the valve looks broken then you found your problem. If you remove the cable from the valve and the cable then moves freely, then the valve is the problem. If you remove the cable from the valve and the cable still won't move with the knob then your cable is frozen inside the housing and you have a cable problem. If the previous owner didn't use the ballast at all then that may cause the cable to fuse to the housing. The worst thing you can do with a boat is let it sit. The same goes for any individual part of the boat that is never used. With only 152 hours on a 2004 it is very possible that the lack of use caused your problem. It is possible that you could remove the cable completely and use a pliers to work it back and forth until it moves freely again. Check the valves first though.
Old     (DenverRider)      Join Date: Feb 2013       07-31-2013, 7:11 PM Reply   
I've never replaced the cable but if I did it, then before I pulled the cable out the first time I would attach a strong line to one end so that when I pull the cable out the line replaces it. Then when you are ready to reinstall the cable, you reattach it to the line and pull it back through.
Old     (beleza)      Join Date: Mar 2010       07-31-2013, 8:37 PM Reply   
^^^^ Great info. Thank you
Old     (beleza)      Join Date: Mar 2010       07-31-2013, 9:26 PM Reply   
Quick question... where are the rear tank valves located? I found the belly tank valve but I looked all over for the valves to the rear tanks and couldn't find them. Are they in the actual engine compartment or in the side compartments with the tanks?
Old     (DenverRider)      Join Date: Feb 2013       08-01-2013, 12:09 PM Reply   
I haven't seen mine yet but I would guess that they are either under the floor panels of the storage compartments that flank the engine compartment. If not there then there is a removable floor panel in front of the back seat that I would try. You have to unscrew some things to get under either of these areas.
Old     (mnwakerider)      Join Date: Jun 2004       08-01-2013, 8:04 PM Reply   
In my 2003 SAN I removed these outright when updating the ballast to a reversible pump. You can find the shutoffs by following the intakes from the thru hulls. Thru hulls are just below the rear seat/hatch, beneath on the port side of the tranny. Find the ball valves and work our way back.

You could just leave them open. Down side is you may have some constant draining if the tanks or filling if sitting and not moving.

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Old     (DenverRider)      Join Date: Feb 2013       08-01-2013, 9:18 PM Reply   
You may be able to remove them with the reversible pump you have but if you leave them open with the stock setup your tanks will always be filling. That's fine if you always want all of your tanks full but doesn't work if you want to run empty tanks because your small kids are riding or if you want to use less than a full tank to customize your wake as you want it. Also if you have a long ride back to the boat launch and you want to run at full speed, the full tanks won't make any sense as you lose almost 10 mph and get really bouncy when full. Those inlets on the bottom are constantly scooping water into the tanks whenever the boat is moving forward if you leave these valves open. That's why they are there.
Old     (beleza)      Join Date: Mar 2010       08-01-2013, 9:59 PM Reply   
So I can just open the valves manually and leave them open? It doesn't really bother me if water leaks in and out for now. I already contacted correct craft and they are sending me new valves and helm cables. I just want to be able to use the ballast until the new stuff comes in. I saw that there are two little rods with blue handles that stick up in the engine compartment that I can turn to shut off and on some kind of valves. I assume that's the emergency shutoff? I will see if I can find the other valves that are stuck shut. The guy at correct craft told me that if the helm control knobs won't turn then it's probably bad cables. Hopefully I can just manually open those valves. Sucks cuz I am manually filling all my fat sacs right now.
Old     (mnwakerider)      Join Date: Jun 2004       08-04-2013, 2:47 PM Reply   
If you can get the cables to open then you can just use the manual shutoffs via the blue handles in the engine bay. That is what I did and its nice and a better seal than those helm driven ones.


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Old     (beleza)      Join Date: Mar 2010       08-04-2013, 7:18 PM Reply   
Yeah that's what I did for right now. I just manually opened the helm drive valves and use the shutoffs in the engine bay. Annoying, but will work for now. I'm gonna just replace all the valves and cables and it should be good to go.
Old     (DenverRider)      Join Date: Feb 2013       08-05-2013, 9:34 AM Reply   
Sounds like a plan.

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