How does this sound for first attempt at ballast

in my boat. I have an 05 Reinell 200LSE I/O

750lbs in the walkway to the bow

150 back right
150 back left
150 back center.

Will it make a huge difference or will it just be a medium or slight change?

Only another owner of your boat would know. Every boat is different.

Good luck!

1200 is a lot to start with in 20ft i/o. try filling your "walkway" sack halfway and play with it.

make sure you get a different prop to handle the load and maintain speed under load. If I didn't get an inboard when I did, I would have bought a Mercury Hi-Five prop for my I/O, and I was only running one 650lb fat sac.

i always heard that a good rule of thumb for starters is that you add 60% of the weight in the back of the boat and 40% in the front. i believe this to be correct. my guess is you will be a little heavy in the bow of the boat. ideally, i would put the 750 in the back and the 450 up front if you can get the sacs to fit properly. good luck and your wake should be significantly larger. try not to blow an engine or tranny with the heavier load.

The 60back/40front is a good rule of thumb for inboard starters, but for I/O starters, I'd reverse that to 60front/40back or you'll be propoising before you know it. Then again, I think star star missed the I/O part entirely since he cautioned you not to blow your tranny. Unless AJ has some dude dressed like a chick on his Reinell, I don't think that's an option.

The initial proposition will probably make a huge difference if the prop and engine can keep up.

Its a 5.0 Volvo with the stock prop...what changes should I make?

anyone?? new prop? what pitch