Need Ballast Help

1st of all will one reversible pump be enough to fill 3 sacs effectively ? 2nd can I put the intake anywhere on the bottom of the hull ? 3rd can my overflow lines run together and go out of the same hole ?

I had a back flow problem when all my vent lines ran together and out one hole. because one sac would fill faster than another and cause air to get locked in the bags. go with separate vent lines. you can fill 3 w/ one pump but it will be slow. you can put it anywhere it does not interfere w/ other stuff (depth finder, perfect pass, raw water pickup) just look at the bottom of your boat and think about how it rides then measure twice then again.

What kind of pump are you planning on running? I am using one Jabsco ballast puppy to fill 2- 750 lb side sacs and 1- 400 lb ski locker sac. Fill and empty time is about 20 min for everything

I'm going to use the Jabsco Ballast Puppy . . . So I'll have to drill more than one hole for over flow ?

The pump should work fine but it will take quite a while for 3 sacs like T-Bag said. You should be able to put an intake anywhere as long as you have room to get to it and room for the valve when it comes through the hull. Obviously it is going to work better in certain locations when at speed but at idle the placement shouldn't really matter. Your going to be happier with an extra vent or two. Three different vent holes would allow you to monitor when each bag is full for optimum weighting.

I think I'm going to go with 2 pumps I hat waiting to fill . . . With my vent tubes I just put check valves on them towards the hole don't I ?

*Hate

use your plug as a reference. you don't want it too close to the bunks either. stay close to center and you should be fin. I put mine in front of the engine. behind would work too.

Does the intake need to be a scoop or does it matter ?

if its on the bottom of the boat it needs a scoop but if its out the back it doesn't

^ actually it depends on your pumps. jabsco and other reversible pumps - need a mushroom. you fill and drain thru the same line. the pump wouldn't like reversing against the pressure a scoop would have. and you don't need to stay on the bottom if you use reversible, unless you want to fill while underway. in that case, keep it on the bottom of the hull.

so if I put the intake out the back like by my drain plug it wouldn't need a scoop

there wouldn't be a point in having one...

BUT you limit yourself to filling while the boat is sitting still. if you hate to wait, i would consider another route.

describe "out the back" .. like the transom?

the bottom line is reversibles don't need scoops. you MIGHT be able to drain while underway with a scoop, but there no need for it.

and you can't fill while underway with a thru-hull on the transom. Like under the platform.

to me, filling/draining while underway (moving) is the best part about it. open a few valves at the launch, head to the cove. YOu're full when you get there. IF you're not considering the details, you'll end up ripping it out after you realize some things.

oh yeah I guess you're right about having to sit still while I fill hmmm so it would be better on the bottom huh ?

yeah that makes since I didn't even think about filling while moving why would I limit myself to only filling while I'm not moving hmmmm glad I asked

take a look at Make-A-Wake.com they have pics of all their systems I copied the RCIII and it works great!!from make a wake in my boat you have 2 swing check valves so you use a scoop tru hull and empty out the side.

Mispella, with that setup does your system drain out of a seperate hole than it fills ?

yes it drains out the side
so you can fill and empty underway

Nice you seem to have a very well thought out system I'm really glad I started asking questions before I started cutting holes in my boat

Mispella, which way are the c/v's flowing? I am having a hard time seeing where the water comes in and goes out? Can you draw on the picture?

the green is from the thru hull and the red is out to another thru hull on the side of the boat.
the fill c/v opens when the pumps begin to suck water in and the empty c/v is pulled closed to keep air from coming in from the side of boat. when emptying the water is pushed through the empty c/v and the direction of the fill c/v prevents water from traveling back thru the pick up.

what pumps are those ?

Montgomery,

What size bags/configuration did you decide on? Just curious since we have the same boat. I have an aerator pump system on my boat right now with a pump for fill and a pump for drain on each V drive sac next to the engine. I throw the fill pumps over the side and hit the switch to fill but I ran the drain and vent hoses using a through hull for each so I just flip a switch to empty. I am planning on upgrading the fill side with a scoop this winter as well as integrating a tube sac under the back seat and hopefully something other than sand up under the bow. I dont know if it would be a problem for reversible pumps but I know one problem I had on my system was putting the drain and vent through holes too close to the back of the boat. When it is sitting level it is fine but when up on plane the top of the sacs would get higher than the through hulls so it would drain about half the sac. I fixed the problem by running a longer hose towards the front of the boat and then taking it back to the through hull but it is something you might think about if you are placing vent and or drain lines.

This is what I'm plumbing in 1 Fly High 750lb that is going in the rear ski locker in a box I built that sits on a platform just above the gas tank, in the front I'm trying to decide between 2 sacs the 800lb Fly High Pro X Series Integrated Bow Sac or the 1000lb Fly High Pro X Series Open Bow Sac either one I get I'll have to cut out the storage divider under the playpin I can't find 2 single sacs that would work very well

as for your problem with the sacs draining when you're on plane you could put an on/off valve on the vent lines and turn the valve/valves off after filling

cool, yeah I hate the way they divided the storage compartments up front. I have a pair of sacs that are like 16" x 16" x 30" that I am going to try to squeeze under there but I dont think they are going to fit very well. Do you think you are going to have to brace the middle seat cushion support after you cut out the dividers? I would be interested to see how it goes.

Yeah, I put valves in as a temp fix but I didnt like having to crawl back there and operate them so I I just ran the longer hose up past the rear speakers and zip tied to the highest point inside the side of the boat and that fixed it for me.

I'm planning on cutting out a portion of the divider so it will be open but there will still be a strip of wood that runs up the front and across the top I still may have to reinforce it though and I'll be posting pictures of the entire install

simer bw85 $79.00 each 600 gph

Awesome where did you get em ? Are they reversible ?

(Message edited by lovin_the_wake on October 26, 2007)

yes be atlas http://www.beatlas.com/ you have to call and it is free shipping modle # is BW85 not bw85p the bw85p comes with a kit and hose that you don't need yoou just want the pump.

Awesome thank you for all the great info.