Bow ballast upgrade

[GEH]

Just an FYI. Malibu is being incredibly slow responding to parts requests from TN, evidently. They have maintenance parts in Modesto, and I received those pretty quickly. However the tank, carpeted cover and the piece that blocks the walkway are not maintenance parts and had to come out of TN. I just got them after ordering in July.

Ballast Tank $144.05

Carpeted pieces: $165.00

Misc parts (shut off valve, two Tsunamis, misc barbed fittings, 25' of hose, no anti siphon or hose clamps) $151.38

SHIPPING $216.70.

Most of that shipping was for the tank and carpeted pieces from TN. My dealer called up and raised h*ll and the reply was "you should have asked". I'm pissed at my boat partner because Malibu was going to install the entire thing for me for $500 at the beginning of the summer if I brought the boat to Modesto (2 hours away) but my partner wasn't sure he wanted to give up the footwells. Suffice it to say the bow center cushion has never been out of our boat from day one. Oh well.

Greg

Edited September 29, 2009 by GEH

[snaponman2908]

Just an FYI. Malibu is being incredibly slow responding to parts requests from TN, evidently. They have maintenance parts in Modesto, and I received those pretty quickly. However the tank, carpeted cover and the piece that blocks the walkway are not maintenance parts and had to come out of TN. I just got them after ordering in July.

Ballast Tank $144.05

Carpeted pieces: $165.00

Misc parts (shut off valve, two Tsunamis, misc barbed fittings, 25' of hose, no anti siphon or hose clamps) $151.38

SHIPPING $216.70.

Most of that shipping was for the tank and carpeted pieces from TN. My dealer called up and raised h*ll and the reply was "you should have asked". I'm pissed at my boat partner because Malibu was going to install the entire thing for me for $500 at the beginning of the summer if I brought the boat to Modesto (2 hours away) but my partner wasn't sure he wanted to give up the footwells. Suffice it to say the bow center cushion has never been out of our boat from day one. Oh well.

Greg

WHen I ordered my tank from the dealer they got a shipping of fifty dollars. When I picked it up it was 100 bucks for shipping. Not a very good qoute.

[liljohn]

If your not on a time crunch ask your dealer to have it sent with there next batch of boats then there is no delivery.. or the guy buying the new boat will pay delivery..

[GEH]

If your not on a time crunch ask your dealer to have it sent with there next batch of boats then there is no delivery.. or the guy buying the new boat will pay delivery..

I did. Evidently that was too difficult for Malibu. Actually, the tank came unpackaged with a ups label taped to it. They would have to cover it in bubble wrap to avoid damaging the new boat and that would probably involve another 6 month delay.

Greg

[Ian30]

I'm going to try to order a tank here soon, but just to dispell that it won't work in older boats, here is a pic of the seat bases from my 05 VLX. Looks like all the others that are removable.

[kb3]

I'm going to try to order a tank here soon, but just to dispell that it won't work in older boats, here is a pic of the seat bases from my 05 VLX. Looks like all the others that are removable.

I guess that rumor gets thrown out the window. We all believed the earlier boats all had fiberglass molded seat bases. But yours look just like the ones in my 247. Thanks for posting the pics!

[The Nation]

I've been looking to add bow ballast to my ' 07 VTX. I was going to go with a bag setup, but after reading through this thread I would definitely prefer the factory setup. As far as getting the hard tank and the carpeted pieces, I assume you have to order through a dealer, or can you go directly to Malibu?

[Bobby Light]

I've been looking to add bow ballast to my ' 07 VTX. I was going to go with a bag setup, but after reading through this thread I would definitely prefer the factory setup. As far as getting the hard tank and the carpeted pieces, I assume you have to order through a dealer, or can you go directly to Malibu?

Through a dealer, I don't think Malibu sells parts direct.

[liljohn]

You will need to use a dealer for the tank. the carpet you can get else where or order it with the tank. You realy only need the carpet to glue to the tank and your walk thru cover can be made from your seat base.

[Ian30]

Does anyone know the best/cheapest dealer to order from? I was just quoted $250 plus shipping for the tank by itself. Seems a little high to me since everyone is saying to figure at least a hundred for shipping.

[Bobby Light]

Does anyone know the best/cheapest dealer to order from? I was just quoted $250 plus shipping for the tank by itself. Seems a little high to me since everyone is saying to figure at least a hundred for shipping.

$250 sounds reasonable to me, doubt you could get one for less than that.

[The Nation]

Just ordered the tank for my vtx, $214 plus shipping.

[Ian30]

Just ordered the tank for my vtx, $214 plus shipping.

Thanks for posting that, kinda makes me feel better.

[travlnmannn]

AWESOME JOB LILJON. All I've been hearing is how important it is to have bow ballast. I'm not a pro rider but I've heard some other benefits especially in choppy water having it filled is nice to. So I have to ask if anyone with a VRIDE has done something similar to what liljon did on here.

[Bill_AirJunky]

AWESOME JOB LILJON. All I've been hearing is how important it is to have bow ballast. I'm not a pro rider but I've heard some other benefits especially in choppy water having it filled is nice to. So I have to ask if anyone with a VRIDE has done something similar to what liljon did on here.

A guy I ride with owns the 09 Vride used in the Malibu ad/literature photos. He latched onto it after noticing that it had 4 vent holes in the bow, which means it has a bow tank in it. He swears by it.

My limited experience with it is to tell him to fill it all up, and then nut up to hit it with some authority. Besides the 4 factory MLS tanks, he has a pair of the older VLX tanks above the floor in the rear (200 lbs each), plus about 300 lbs of lead he moves around, but usually in the walk way near the dash. The boat definitely has a nice big wake, nice ramp & very clear edge on top.

I'm working on making some Pop bags for the bow of my Vride (older VLX). I have 8 of them & expect them to be around 40 lbs each. I decided to go that route because I didn't want to give up all the storage up front under the seats. I'm using the bags from http://www.pop-products.com/, and filling them with old tire balancing lead. I'll mostly be keeping it in the dead spot under the center cushion, but obviously I'll be able to move that around as needed.

Edited March 11, 2010 by Bill_AirJunky

[travlnmannn]

A guy I ride with owns the 09 Vride used in the Malibu ad/literature photos. He latched onto it after noticing that it had 4 vent holes in the bow, which means it has a bow tank in it. He swears by it.

My limited experience with it is to tell him to fill it all up, and then nut up to hit it with some authority. Besides the 4 factory MLS tanks, he has a pair of the older VLX tanks above the floor in the rear (200 lbs each), plus about 300 lbs of lead he moves around, but usually in the walk way near the dash. The boat definitely has a nice big wake, nice ramp & very clear edge on top.

I'm working on making some Pop bags for the bow of my Vride (older VLX). I have 8 of them & expect them to be around 40 lbs each. I decided to go that route because I didn't want to give up all the storage up front under the seats. I'm using the bags from http://www.pop-products.com/, and filling them with old tire balancing lead. I'll mostly be keeping it in the dead spot under the center cushion, but obviously I'll be able to move that around as needed.

Interesting. Thanks for the response. I don't use that space up front too much except for the Anchor. Which I wouldn't mind moving if I had to. I wold prefer to put something there that is more permanent. I have to look to see if the seat supports are screw down or is it actually molded fiberglass. Malibu doesn't offer that bow ballast in the VRIDE. I guess what we save on is what we want huh. Sounds like your buddies boat rocks out a wicked wake. At my age I'm happy going wake to wake with a grab here and there without bustin a nut...lol

[liljohn]

AWESOME JOB LILJON. All I've been hearing is how important it is to have bow ballast. I'm not a pro rider but I've heard some other benefits especially in choppy water having it filled is nice to. So I have to ask if anyone with a VRIDE has done something similar to what liljon did on here.

Your more than welcome... I wrote it to help the crew that has helped me.

[yabetcha]

The front seat base isn't removable on the VRides. Our only options are to use a sac on top of the seats or a Fly High integrated bow sac (W711) under the seats.

[Ndawg12]

The front seat base isn't removable on the VRides. Our only options are to use a sac on top of the seats or a Fly High integrated bow sac (W711) under the seats.

I hate that! In order to have a bag hidden you have to buy one that is at least 2x's too big.

[Bake's Marine]

Does anyone know the best/cheapest dealer to order from? I was just quoted $250 plus shipping for the tank by itself. Seems a little high to me since everyone is saying to figure at least a hundred for shipping.

$225 + Shipping, if Merced has it in stock it could be drop shipped direct to you to keep freight cost down. Shipping is the brutal part since its over sized according to UPS, so they ding you with a UPS tax.

-Paul

[Bill_AirJunky]

I hate that! In order to have a bag hidden you have to buy one that is at least 2x's too big.

What about having a bag custom made by FlyHigh?

A neighbor of mine has a waterbed tube under the seats of his 04 VLX. I don't know what it weighs, but it comes close to filling the area under all 3 seats in the bow. And you still have the center area you could fill with another bag, lead or whatever.

[Ndawg12]

What about having a bag custom made by FlyHigh?

A neighbor of mine has a waterbed tube under the seats of his 04 VLX. I don't know what it weighs, but it comes close to filling the area under all 3 seats in the bow. And you still have the center area you could fill with another bag, lead or whatever.

I wonder if anyone has had the nuss to cut that section out and install a factory hard tank like the vlx's of the same hull. Does it offer any significant structural support?

[wkbrdjeff]

I just added the bow ballast to my 07 VLX. Believe it or not I found a bow ballast tank on craigslist for $100. The guy told me he flipped his boat while towing it and the tank flew out and landed in the dirt. He had several other parts that the insurance company didnt pick up. Malibu sure made it easy to add this, all the wiring was already there, and special thanks to liljohn for making it idiot proof. Took me about 3 hours to do everything. Going to the lake tomorrow morning to try it. Thanks again

[wkbrdjeff]

With the bow ballast my windscreen doesn't fit anymore. I cut 5 inches off of it and now it fits fine. I was wondering if anyone else ran into this.

[travlnmannn]

The front seat base isn't removable on the VRides. Our only options are to use a sac on top of the seats or a Fly High integrated bow sac (W711) under the seats.

Any thought to using the Pro X Series N***que Wedge Sac set for under the bow seats? If you do the right plumbing you can also set it up to just fill one side for wakesurfing.