Hard plumb front ballast

[Raffit78]

I noticed few of the members have done this and I found the threads from a while back, unfortunately the images all say "not found" so I'm not able to see how people are hard plumbing their front ballast in, so I don't have messy tubes in the front.   Any members interested in re-uploading images for some of us to see? I noticed IXFE has done something like this in his older boat?   through a cup holder? 

[Slurpee]

Surprisingly I don't have any photos at the moment. That's odd for me.  So I'll describe it.  I have a brass thru-hole fitting with barbed end down in the bilge in front of the gas tank.  I ran a hose up into the battery compartment and mounted a reversible pump there against the wall that makes up the seat frame.  Then I ran the hose forward along the floor next to the walkthru wall of the port compartment (kind of hid it under the fascia pieces all the battery wiring is behind for the charger and Perko switch), and then up along the port gunnel so that it pops out above the port speaker.  There's a quick release fitting on the hose and it's long enough that it tucks in out of site in the cup holder pocket.  I bought the Wakemakers wiring harness (it's worth it) and placed the control switch for the pump on the front wall of that carpeted storage compartment to the rear of the throttle.  I use the Integrated Bow Sack bag myself.  It still lets a passenger or two (if they're kids) squeeze up there and the shape is a natural baffle for the water moving around.  Tried the triangle sack first and didn't like it personally.  Bothered me how all that mass was rolling around up there.

[Raffit78]

Thank you for that info, not urgent, but if you ever get the time to post some pictures I would really really appreciate it.  Did you also run individual pumps for the rear?  I believe IXFE did something like that from what I read, but man, I don't know why but most of the pictures on this site, they are just not working, if they are a few months old.  

 

 

 

[Slurpee]

Oh the picture thing is a policy change for photobucket.  I use flickr so my photos are still here.  But all the photobucket pictures are now gone from the site.  Yeah, I pretty much copied IXFE's work with my own little touches.

I'll be happy to post pictures.  However, my boat's at the dealer getting a little maintenance done.  I hope to get it back soon, and will snap some photos if no one else beats me to the pictures.  

I plan on putting individual pumps in the back, but honestly it's not high on my priority list.  The PnP is already there and I figured out that 550s work better in the 22 VLX than bigger bags and they don't take terribly long to fill or drain.  I'd certainly like it faster and will get to it, but those pumps are expensive.  And the wiring and switches and connectors and stuff for a clean install are nothing to sneeze at either.  The bow bag is nice to have especially when there's lots of crew sitting in the back so a plumbed in bag up there was a must, and got done in the first month of ownership.

This reminds me.  I need to collect a pump from someone towards that ultimate project.

[Raffit78]

I know I'm getting ahead of myself but I just purchased a 13 247lsv and honestly, it hasn't even been delivered. Crossing fingers for Wednesday. So I'm just getting my list of stuff together to get this boat to be perfect. I know it likes a ton of weight and needs some help. So no need to hurry, I really do appreciate it. Thanks for the advice. 

[Stevo]

I copied IXFE as well with a slight change.

parts were about $475 from wakemakers (not including bag)

reverseable pump mounted in vdrive locker, used the drain thruhull in vdrive bilge as fill/drain (sorry don't have these pics of this

you will need this part, ask your dealer, they have a bunch laying around, 

i fabricated a metal plate to secure the connection point hidden above the cup holders in the gunwale. (Plug mentioned above keeps inadvertent flips of the switch from filling the boat with water)

i put my fill drain switch in the walkway pocket above the speaker, hidden from the kids primarily, maintain factory dash /helm. But also easy to turn on/off when in the bow area

 

[Raffit78]

1 hour ago, Stevo said:

I copied IXFE as well with a slight change.

parts were about $475 from wakemakers (not including bag)

reverseable pump mounted in vdrive locker, used the drain thruhull in vdrive bilge as fill/drain (sorry don't have these pics of this

you will need this part, ask your dealer, they have a bunch laying around, 

i fabricated a metal plate to secure the connection point hidden above the cup holders in the gunwale. (Plug mentioned above keeps inadvertent flips of the switch from filling the boat with water)

i put my fill drain switch in the walkway pocket above the speaker, hidden from the kids primarily, maintain factory dash /helm. But also easy to turn on/off when in the bow area

 

So the metal fabrication was to simply keep hose straight and flat. Then you add an extension to that 90 that's at the end of the hose coming from pump, so you're not potentially pulling a hose through the cup holder but just connecting a small hose to it? 

 

Then it looks like that plug is the connection between the 90 and the hose coming out of the cup holder? 

 

You didn't create a new thru hull but used one that was already there. Which with the 1 hose you are able to fill and drain. (Reversible pump)? 

 

I think I got it. Hose for the pump was probably ran under seats all the way to the bow? Any major obstacles to cut through?

 

please forgive my ignorance as I'm a complete noob to this.  

[Stevo]

Yes, you got it. The back side of the vinyl has threaded posts with nuts securing the pad in place I simply cut 2 holes to secure the plate to those posts, and several holes to the bottom of the plate to secure the hose to plate with some HD zip ties

as far as the plumbing it goes like this.....

thru hull in vdrive locker - you need the following 

3/4 brass nipple

1 inch to 3/4 brass reducer 

1 inch ball valve 

1 inch threaded to 1inch hose barb 

hose to reverseable pump (up to bow, and from bow to bag)

reversable pump(I went with the wakemakers branded one as it has the electrical harness connection pre-wired for plugin play install 

crimp connections for all hose sections (I prefer the crimp style over worm drive in the areas near vinyl, also you can order some 2 inch heat shrink tube to cover the connection (see pic above)

wire harness ($99 I think but worth it imho)

switch

I think that's  everything 

[Simo]

Similar thread

http://www.axiswakeboardboats.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3888

[gobble]

6 hours ago, Stevo said:

Yes, you got it. The back side of the vinyl has threaded posts with nuts securing the pad in place I simply cut 2 holes to secure the plate to those posts, and several holes to the bottom of the plate to secure the hose to plate with some HD zip ties

as far as the plumbing it goes like this.....

thru hull in vdrive locker - you need the following 

3/4 brass nipple

1 inch to 3/4 brass reducer 

1 inch ball valve 

1 inch threaded to 1inch hose barb 

hose to reverseable pump (up to bow, and from bow to bag)

reversable pump(I went with the wakemakers branded one as it has the electrical harness connection pre-wired for plugin play install 

crimp connections for all hose sections (I prefer the crimp style over worm drive in the areas near vinyl, also you can order some 2 inch heat shrink tube to cover the connection (see pic above)

wire harness ($99 I think but worth it imho)

switch

I think that's  everything 

Why not use the through hull in the center in front of the fuel tank?

[Slurpee]

@Raffit78, I did find one photo where you can see what I chose to do that was a bit different than others.  I don't have an interface port to plug a hose into like Stevo did.  Just not my favorite kind of fabrication.  What I have is a long enough length of hose from the pump by the batteries that it can travel all the way down the top length of the port bow pocket and then curl up a bit in a "J" at the front end of the pocket.  This holds it out of sight unless it's pulled free to use.  I have one 90 degree barbed quick release fitting on it so it lays exactly where I want it to when I plug into the bottom rear port corner of my bag (which lies right up against the seat back.

For when it's not in use I made a plug out of the mating quick release fitting, a short bit of tube and a barbed plug end.  You can kind of see it in the picture.  I hadn't tucked it all the way in here after pulling it out to check the speaker wires after my speaker install.

Otherwise what Stevo said.  Wakemakers pump with connectors, their wiring kit with connectors, a DPDT switch, the mounting plate is handy for a clean look, a Brass thru-hull fitting, a few other things.  My wakemakers shopping list was:

34026

34013

37016

35001-100

35003-100

35007

31002-100

31003-100

23001

32012-100-100

33048

37018

33046

33043

[Slurpee]

39 minutes ago, gobble said:

Why not use the through hull in the center in front of the fuel tank?

You could.  I chose not to because I wanted a larger opening through the hull and I still like to be able to pull the plug and drain the water out of the bilge that way.

[gobble]

9 minutes ago, Slurpee said:

Otherwise what Stevo said.  Wakemakers pump with connectors, their wiring kit with connectors, a DPDT switch, the mounting plate is handy for a clean look, a Brass thru-hull fitting, a few other things.  My wakemakers shopping list was:

34026

34013

37016

35001-100

35003-100

35007

31002-100

31003-100

23001

32012-100-100

33048

37018

33046

33043

If you want to save some money, Wholesale Marine has a coupon code out there to do better on the Johnson Pump. Also, I was able to find this hose locally from a company called Milwaukee Rubber products. It's about half the price of their premium hose and feels just like it (I had that on my prior boat) https://www.centralstateshose.com/Kanaflex-110-CL-1-inch-water-suction-hose-clear-pvc_p_20846.html. Menards sells the 3/4 nipple, 3/4 ball valve and 3/4 - 1" adapter.

Edited August 28, 2017 by gobble

[Raffit78]

thank you guys! Boat is currently leaving "Austin Texas"  to be in California by Wednesday.     Hoping for a safe journey and an awesome winter projects ahead. 

 

 

 

[Stevo]

2 hours ago, gobble said:

Why not use the through hull in the center in front of the fuel tank?

That one was the lowest point on my boat while on the trailer , I wanted to be able to drain from there

[Murphy8166]

I did it this way.  1.5" aluminum angle iron and a fitting from lowes.

Bottom piece goes thru aluminum and threads into grey fitting.

[Raffit78]

Great setups I love it. Can't go wrong with any of these! 

[onwi]

I'm certainly jealous of you guys with the gap in the gunwale.  My A-series Axis is closed off around the entire bow.  I cut a hole in a cup holder and run my tube up through it.  Similar to other set ups, I have a quick connect there, but it still sits about 2 inches above the top of the cup holder.  Would be cleaner if the cup holder was recessed like the malibus or Axis T-series.

[Brichter14]

Do you not need a vent hose for these setups? So basically you just connect the bag (with hose already on it I assume) to the quick connect and hit a switch to fill it? Flip the switch another way to drain? No ball valves/check valves necessary?

[Stevo]

6 minutes ago, Brichter14 said:

Do you not need a vent hose for these setups? So basically you just connect the bag (with hose already on it I assume) to the quick connect and hit a switch to fill it? Flip the switch another way to drain? No ball valves/check valves necessary?

If U go sumo 650 bag it has a built in spring vent to burp the bag, and its listed as 650 but will go 900 no prob

[onwi]

All the versions I've seen/heard of use a single reversible pump operated via one switch.  The bag is on the seat.  The first time you fill there may be some trapped air to burp.  But, the reversibles suck the bag flat when done.  The next time you fill there is no air to deal with.

There is a ball valve on my set up where I drilled the hole in the bottom of the boat.

[windy1]

sorry that its sideways but this is my reversible in front of sub on the driver side. under floor to my existing mid ship drain plug.

[windy1]

[Simo]

23 minutes ago, Brichter14 said:

Do you not need a vent hose for these setups? So basically you just connect the bag (with hose already on it I assume) to the quick connect and hit a switch to fill it? Flip the switch another way to drain? No ball valves/check valves necessary?

For safety sake, you may want to put a ball valve at the thru hull. 

[onwi]

The hardest part of the project, IMO, was finding the right spot for the intake and ensuring everything was tightened as much as possible given the space issues of working in the boat.  Wakemakers videos show the thru hull fitting being installed and then the elbow/ball valve/barbed fitting tightened after.  My space restrictions made is a smarter decision to tighten the elbow, ball valve, and barbed fitting together outside of the boat.  I then tightened those onto the thru hull fitting prior to the thru hull fittings final tightening.  This allowed me to tight the elbow into the fitting by spinning the fitting and not the 8" long ball valve barbed fitting portion.  Once those were snug and sealed, I applied the 3m compound to the thru hull fitting hanging from the bottom of the boat and tightened the thru hull fitting down.

Take your time and plan your steps.  The pieces add up and end up requiring space.