Too much weight for a 1990 Sport Nautique?

Hey guys Right now I am currently running two 350# sacks next to the engine compartment and one 540# sack in front of the back seat. There is around 1200# in the rear of the boat. Obviously I am wanting to add a sack to the front of the boat to even things out a bit and help the boat plane out. My question is how much weight is too much for my '90 sport nautique? If I add another 500# to the bow will I be putting too much strain on the hull/engine? I know all of the newer boats can handle 2-3k #'s of ballast no problem, but my boat isn't as big. Where should I max out with my ballast without putting too much strain on the boat?

I'd put the 540 up front and see what the wake looks like first.

Bryce, i had an 89 sport for many hours, around 1600 +, the last few years i was running 4 sacks plus 200 pounds in the ski locker and some random lead bricks for balancing the wake. i didn't always fill them all the way up depending upon how many riders i had. 4 sacks makes the wake huge and gnarly,with a strait up lip that will boot you. especially in calm/smooth water.
4 full sacks does make the sport a bit of a low rider, got to really watch the nose of the boat on the turn arounds, i def took a few over the bow. motor and tranny were strong and running great when i sold it. the next boat i got had tranny problems you could feel the tranny slipping, i NEVER felt any thing like that in the sport. hope that helps.

Bryce we were able to come across some tractor weights and 10 or 12 pvc pipes that were filled with lead and capped on the ends. we placed the tractor weights under the rear seat and the lead pipes through out the boat. with a 300 on each side of the motor and 500 in the front the wake was like Nedge's and haven't had any problems with pull. its usually 4 or 5 of us in the boat with that.

I would go with the 540 up front and if you have to go to the 750 in the back. Moving the side sacs forward and backward 6 inches to foot can make a big difference too.

hmmm... so if I went with the 540 in the back, 350's on the sides, and 540 up front I should be okay? Also I was thinking of throwing a couple hundred pounds of sand bags in the ski locker. Those PVC pipes full of lead sound like a good idea for the locker. That would put me around 2k pounds of ballast... Kevin how does your '86 2001 handle with that much weight? Also, I plan on installing perfect pass in the next couple weeks, will it do okay with all that weight?

I'd put one of the 350 in back with the 540 and one in front.
As far as maxing out the boat as long as you change the oil every 50 hours and the trainy 50-100 hours things should be okay.
Have you been having any problems with either so far?

No problems so far with the tranny. Okay, I might have this figured out. Right now I have 2 350# sacks and one 540# sack. I currently run all three in the rear. What i think I will do is put the 540 up front, keep the 350's on the sides of the engine, and just add one 250-350# sack to the very back (in front of the back seat). This will put me at around 1500# total, which I feel more comfortable with. With that being said... does anyone have a 250-350# sack lying around to sell me?

My 2001 handles great with that much weight. I know you wouldnt think so, but it drives really good still. I can easily manuver it around docks and can drive double ups effortlessly. After I repropped it, it even holds speed better (no perfect pass) and it doesnt rock side to side as much when cutting out. Went out the other day and never even came close to dipping the bow. I know that defies logic, but it really does handle great. Handling without weight is like driving a sports car. With weight its like driving a midsize truck, definately not a tank like other boats you hear about.