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cheapest way to add ballast?


malibuboats4

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so here i am again with more surf help... i am only 17 and have very little money. my parents are not willing to invest in any type of additional ballast for our wakesetter. i have look at the fly high sacs and they are way out of my price range for what i could afford. so is there any alternative? i have been thinking and would filling an old inner tube with water help? maybe even a few of them and have them stacked? i would not put these in the boat for fear of them breaking so is it possible to put them on the teak deck? are there any other cheap ways to make a decent wake to surf on? any help would be great... thanks guys as always!

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Lots of friends!

And after that you can charge them for gas money, (if they get out behind the boat)

and that money should start you out on some sacs.

Edited by Aric's205V
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Go to Wal-Mart and get yourself a couple queen size air beds. They're like $20 and can hold quite a bit of weight.

Or you can see if you can find an old waterbed mattress.

Edited by UWSkier
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You name it, I've done it.

I remember being 15, broke, and boatless. My friend and I were always thinking of ways to sink his parents 18ft. i/o.

We tried coolers full of water, rubbermaid containters full of water, concrete with minimal amounts of water, old weight sets, rebar taken from construction sites (with permission), tubes full of water, etc, etc, etc...

The cement and weights worked out great until his dad lifted up the seats and found them Crazy.gif

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go get you some industrial strength garbage bags from lowe's/home depot. fill em up with sand where you need em, grab another bag and wrap it around the one you filled for a bit of extra strength. also, if you go a scrap metal yard, you can get hooked up with some lead bars or something, that'd be your best bet. wrap them in a bit of carpet and you're good to go

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I haven't used these yet, but I'm looking into it, a friend has a pool and I may try theirs next time we're out.

http://www.bestbuypoolsupply.com/ingroundwinter.htm

The Aqua Blocks look interesting as well as the water tubes. They're similar to the wake bags but are much cheaper. Would probably hold you over for a season or 2

I think each aqua block would be about 40LBS and each 8' tube would be about 53 LBS. so for about $40 you can get about 500LBS of water sacs.

Dave

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A couple of rubbermaid 35 - 50 gal. tubs with lids and a 5 gal. bucket for quick fill/empty. Store the tubs one inside the other along with the 5 gal bucket, when empty. You can also store ropes and other things in them when not in use.

/Steve

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A couple of rubbermaid 35 - 50 gal. tubs with lids and a 5 gal. bucket for quick fill/empty. Store the tubs one inside the other along with the 5 gal bucket, when empty. You can also store ropes and other things in them when not in use.

/Steve

That is a pretty good idea. With 50g tubs that would be about 400 pounds per tub and wouldn't be impossible to empty/fill. They would definitely spill some but that isn't the end of the world it is a boat after all.

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I bought a few sand bags, put them in 2 garbage bags and duct taped every inch of them. That worked pretty well, but get a job, get some cash, get some sacks.

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I'll tell you what, you guys would all see me on the 6:00 news with cuffs on if my boys tried half of what is being suggested here. Sand? Concrete? Trying to pull one over on your parents (and this is the one that would send me over the edge)? Uh, no.

To the OP:

Bottom line, it's not your boat. You're not the one working to pay for its substantial cost, both up front & continuing. Maybe they said that they don't want to pay for additional weight, but you need to ask them straight up if they mind having it in the boat. If your parents don't want the weight in the boat, then you should respect that & work on your form a little more (that wasn't meant to be condescending even if it sounds like it). Investing in a weekend at a wakeboard camp or lessons locally (if they're available) will go a lot farther than an extra 500-1000 lbs ever will. If you're up front about all of this, they'll be a lot more willing to help with things like a wakeboard camp. If you try to pull one over them....well all I can say is good luck with that, I hope that works out for you.

  • Like 1
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Pick up fat chicks who will help pay for gas. Most of them have at least one hot friend. It's a win win situation.

ROFL.gifPlus1.gif

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I'll tell you what, you guys would all see me on the 6:00 news with cuffs on if my boys tried half of what is being suggested here. Sand? Concrete? Trying to pull one over on your parents (and this is the one that would send me over the edge)? Uh, no.

To the OP:

Bottom line, it's not your boat. You're not the one working to pay for its substantial cost, both up front & continuing. Maybe they said that they don't want to pay for additional weight, but you need to ask them straight up if they mind having it in the boat. If your parents don't want the weight in the boat, then you should respect that & work on your form a little more (that wasn't meant to be condescending even if it sounds like it). Investing in a weekend at a wakeboard camp or lessons locally (if they're available) will go a lot farther than an extra 500-1000 lbs ever will. If you're up front about all of this, they'll be a lot more willing to help with things like a wakeboard camp. If you try to pull one over them....well all I can say is good luck with that, I hope that works out for you.

I assumed that his parents didn't mind the weight but didn't want to pay for the ballast. If they do mind the weight than I agree with you he needs to not do it.

OP said he was looking to surf. If that is the case I don't think there is any alternative to ballast of some sort is there?

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Ah, I missed the part about surfing. In that case, you need weight.

As far as the wording, it's a technicality but an important one that IMO should be clarified first. And, he needs to be sure that his parents understand what he's going to do, whether it's dragging a bunch of sand & concrete around in the boat or whatever it is. If you're not up front about that, you can't expect them to go along with it.

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Trust me, parents LOVE it when you f%@# around with the expensive stuff they buy Whistling.gif

Do what I did, skip the parents and buy your own boat(s), saves the hassle but not the lectures!

-Chris

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I've got a high-school kid that works in our store. He takes out trash, changes light bulbs, sweeps up after the other employees, waters plants outside and stocks shelves with product. Great kid, works three afternoons a week and could probably buy some fat sacs in one two-week pay period. If I had more work for him, I'd have him here more often.

Go get a job, save your money, buy the things you want.

Be your own banker.

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For about 35 bucks you can add 600lbs of ballast to your boat. Go to your local Home Depot and pick up 10 60lb bags of pre-packaged play sand. They come in nice sealed water tight bags with a burlap outter sack. They will fit easily in any storage compartment on your boat.

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