HELP - Adding weight - Sunsetter VLX

Hi my name is Dave and I am a "ballast newbie".

OK, here are the details....boat is a '99 Sunsetter VLX (no ballast, no wedge). Family boat. Young kids will want a small wake right now. The wives are just fine with the wake as is. My brother and I would like to add some weight to help our riding progress. I like the lead idea, but considering use of the boat and variety of riders, it doesn't seem like a logical solution.

So....having never dealt with fat sacs, I have a ton of questions. I'm guessing we could put 1 on each side of the engine and possibly one in the ski locker.

What size sacs?
What size pump?
Can you fill them only 1/2 way?
How long to fill one sac?
Rough cost for the 3 sacs and pump?

Thanks for any help.

Here you go: put a 600lb sac on each side of the engine and another in the ski locker. You'll want the 2000 gph pumps, very fast. Yes, you can only fill them half way if you like. Should only take a few minutes to fill each sac. Rough cost for 3 sacs and the pump, about $400. Good luck, and if you want some lead, I can you some for a great price. www.westsidewakeboard.com

the sunsetter i rode behind was alittle newer and had a wedge but he weighted it with two "side sacs" on either side of the engine and one "tube sac" in the ski locker. that will throw a pretty good wake for you guys. that stuff is all fly high products http://www.buywake.com/catalog/index.lasso?cat=8 and theres other companies that make similar products. in our boat we throw a fly high "fat seat" in the back and a couple people int eh front. also we have the fly high pump and a buddy has a fat pump and they both work about the same ours is alittle faster but not really noticeable. yes you can only fill the sac 1/2 full or however full you want it just plugs into your little cigarette lighter type thingy or theres alittle plug in that you just hook the wires to the battery then plug it into that, then you just unplug the pump when ever the sac is as full as you like. prices are at that site and they have alot of different sacs on that site. any more questions just ask.

I had a 2001 Sunsetter VLX and couldn't sink that hull. It has a lifting hull with lift strakes on each side. I put a 600# sack each side of the engine and 400# in the nose with another 400# across it in the nose. (formed a "T") All that weight (2,000# plus people) and still not a large enough wake! Don't bother with the old wedge, it doesn't do much at all to the wake except eat more gas and poor handling. I guess that said, it's a great all around boat for wake boarding and slalom skiing. Its just that once you go for the pro caliper wake...you need a different hull.

I must disagree with you Jim. I've ridden behind a few '01 VLX's and with the right weight it is an awesome wake.

Brandon's suggestion sounds about right but I would put a little more weight in the bow if it were me.

Dave - I look at it like this: if you like the shape of your wake the way it is now but you just want it taller, distribute your weight to about a 50/50 ratio. 50% off the added weight in the front, and 50% of the added weight in the rear.

Believe me, once you add a little bit of weight, sooner or later you're going to want more. I would buy a Skylon Fat Boy for each side of the engine (600lbs?), get the fluid concepts locker sack (800lbs?), and see if you can't get one Skylon Fat Buddy (350lbs) to put in the walkway of the bow. I would then reccommend using some lead or something else about 150lbs in the very nose of the boat. With all the sacks completely full your wake would be awesome. From your post I wouldn't reccommend filling them all the way until you're comfortable with everything about half-full. Then sack it out.

I don't own a boat, but I've ridden behind a lot of 'em and I know a thing or two about weighting 'em.

I can't reccommend a pump to you.

Yea, I agree with most of these guys. About 350lbs on each side of the engine and about 500 up front should give you a nice balanced wake, not. The make ballasts specially for the side of engines and for the bow area of the boat. Get the sizes that fit and try to get the biggest bags possible, that way you can fill them up more as you feel the need for a bigger wake. Right now the 700 in the back and 500 up front would do fine, but for an awesome wake you would probably have to add another 1000.

I have found that adding wieght to the nose hardens the wake and narrows it up. Adding to the rear makes it bigger and wider. So as you add weight to the back you need to add it proportionally to the front. In an 04 VLX we ran 1000 in the nose, the MLS, 350 sacs on the sides of the engine and 100 pounds of lead under the sacs.

We tinkered with it a lot until we found the right formula. BU's are big boats, so while 2000+ pounds sounds like a lot, it take a lot to sink them.

Thats alot of weight sam, that wake must be huge, 2700 lbs before you add people, gear and gas!
I run about around 1500-1600 in my VLX and the wake is plenty big. Drop the wedge and it is scary big.

Perhaps the biggest increment in time as far as emptying/filling the fat sacks is getting the pump out, attaching it to the fat sack and getting the operation started.

You will find that you will definately want to establish an order: Fill the tanks, then everyone who wants to ride with full tanks gets their turn. Empty the tanks, then pull the riders who don't want full tanks.

If you have room for the fat sacks they are definately the way to go, however. You can always choose to leave the fat sacks full. It is a lot harder (and possibly expensive!) to decide to ditch the lead....

Rod

I am not a big fan of the wedge. It creates a lip on the wake....but that is personal prefrence.

The wake is nasty.

The good thing about the Bu is, you have the MLS, so if you want the wake to be a bit smaller or something you drain some of the tanks. But it's worth the time to fill the tanks....the big wake make the time more enjoyable.