Another ballast question.

I'm tired of stepping over bags in my DD, and I have no rear locker (96 Malibu Sunsetter). Anyone ever have ballast installed under the floor? I know it sounds like a stupid question, but just curious. I think I'd keep this boat if it could be done because no I'm looking at an 07 VTX Malibu.

BTT, help please?

Anything CAN be done it is just a matter of IF you want to do it. The biggest concerns i would have is resale and liability. I do not know the specifics of what is under the floor of your boat... could be dead air space or it could be filled with foam. I would also think it would be a pretty big chunk of change to tear into your boat like that for modification. Maybe a better idea would be to invest in some lead but that has its own set of issues, its not nuetral weight as the bags are neutral once they are at water level. The bags can still cause a boat to sink but it will TYPICALLY only go under so far whereas lead may pull the boat completely under water. Lead also has an issue traveling in the boat on the trailer. Most trailers are not rated for an extra 1k-2k in weight plus think about your tow vehicle and if it can pull/stop that much weight. Most people say they transfer the lead to the vehicle???? I am sure others will chime in that they have no problems trailering lead but i personally would not do it, there is too much to lose.

I'm not familiar enough with your boat to advise...however, is there a way of rebuilding the rear seat with ballast integrated?

Sorry for my ignorance with your model/year malibu...I tried searching up a pic but only found exterior views.

TR makes several good points....

i think you would have some serious issues the strength of the floor/hull if you were to do that. you're far better off to put a sack behind the doghouse and build it into a sunpad or bench

Thanks for the input first of all!

The rear seat has little to no room, and really woudnt be worth rebuilding to fit ballast. At most it would be around 150lbs. I have the flip up rear seat that sits all the way against the transom of the boat, so there is no storage in the back.

I do have the wedge, and I run 880lbs of ballast, plus another 200lbs of lead in the front. (wedge down, ballast on the side of the dog house and lead in the locker).

So as far as wake, I am very happy, I love the wake. I just hate the manual filling of the bags, plus having to step over them w/lack of room. To make it worse I went out w/my roommate last night for a quick session, he having an 01 X-Star. Pretty much sealed the deal for a new malibu for me.

TR do you still have that pump 4 sale?

I had a PS-205 in which I bought 2 side sacs, and created a harness that held them into the ski storage areas. There was still room to walk past the motor box, unimpeded. I then put in some plumbing, so it would fill/drain via switches.

Dave