93 Skier Wake

[Levi900RR]

Hey everyone, I have a 93 Skier that I use mainly for wakeboarding. I have an extended Pylon and I want just a bit more wake. What would be the best option without taking up all the space in the boat? Can I put a wedge on an old skier? Use some bow ballast?

Thanks!

[Levi900RR]

In researching this a bit more looks like my hull won't support a wedge... bummer

[martinarcher]

We run 1000lbs of ballast for boarding and I have been pretty pleased with the wake and the amount of pop I can get. I run two of the Fly high V-Drive sacs (one on each side of the motor box). If I re-arrange them to the left rear corner of the boat we can throw enough of a wave to comfortably surf on with a CWB Ride board. Let me know if you are interested in pics of my set-up. I also have plumbed four Tsunami 1200GPH pumps under the floor and run about 90-100 feet of 1" hose to make the system pretty automatic (minus turning a couple ball valves).

Edited September 7, 2009 by martinarcher

[Levi900RR]

I would love to see a pic of your set up. The only issue I have with that solution is I dont have any board racks and 2 sacs 2 boards and 4-5 people are quite a bit to shoehorn into a skier...

[martinarcher]

I would love to see a pic of your set up. The only issue I have with that solution is I dont have any board racks and 2 sacs 2 boards and 4-5 people are quite a bit to shoehorn into a skier...

I totally understand. That's why we added the Titan tower and board racks last year. We now take 2 sacs, 4 wake boards, a kneeboard, and a surfboard. Our crew is usually 5 or 6 depending who's working. It's tight, but everyone gets along real well and as long as everyone took their shower for the week their allowed in the boat.

I'll upload some pics tonight to photobucket so you have an idea on our set-up. It was a lot of work, and a lot of messing around, but is well worth it once you get to jump a decent wake. I still remember the day we got it dialed in - we all thought we were riding behind a huge wakeboat! The wake just looked huge compared to what we had gotten used to with no ballast.

[martinarcher]

Here's some pics of the ballast bags and the wakes created. I still need to get some pics of the plumbing and pump system for those who are interested.

One Fly High V-Drive Fat Sac on each side of the engine - 500lbs each for wakeboarding

Wake....

Surf set-up....

Surf Wave....

Edited August 1, 2010 by martinarcher

[Levi900RR]

That looks awesome, I would love to see the plumbing if you have time

[martinarcher]

That looks awesome, I would love to see the plumbing if you have time

Thanks man. Yeah - I've been meaning to get around to taking pics of the set-up since I finished it, but I just never did it. I'll see if I can't get some tonight (working on putting underwater lights on so it would be a good time to do it.) I also liked what a guy on wakeside rides did to show his ballast system. He took a "walk through" video of his boat with a camcorder and showed how everything went together and then threw it on youtube. I watched that video quite a few times before diving into my project. I'll see if i can do the same.

[gmoneycrf450]

That looks awesome, I would love to see the plumbing if you have time

Thanks man. Yeah - I've been meaning to get around to taking pics of the set-up since I finished it, but I just never did it. I'll see if I can't get some tonight (working on putting underwater lights on so it would be a good time to do it.) I also liked what a guy on wakeside rides did to show his ballast system. He took a "walk through" video of his boat with a camcorder and showed how everything went together and then threw it on youtube. I watched that video quite a few times before diving into my project. I'll see if i can do the same.

That would be awesome...I'm in the same boat (not literally) as Levi and I have a '96 Response closed now so space is a premium, but I just picked up my Titan Series II Tower today....any links to that video or some more pics of your setup would be awesome.

[gmoneycrf450]

Hey everyone, I have a 93 Skier that I use mainly for wakeboarding. I have an extended Pylon and I want just a bit more wake. What would be the best option without taking up all the space in the boat? Can I put a wedge on an old skier? Use some bow ballast?

Thanks!

Levi....have you looked into racks for you pylon to free up some space?

[Levi900RR]

Hey everyone, I have a 93 Skier that I use mainly for wakeboarding. I have an extended Pylon and I want just a bit more wake. What would be the best option without taking up all the space in the boat? Can I put a wedge on an old skier? Use some bow ballast?

Thanks!

Levi....have you looked into racks for you pylon to free up some space?

Yes I have, I think im going to try and make some this winter...

[martinarcher]

That looks awesome, I would love to see the plumbing if you have time

Thanks man. Yeah - I've been meaning to get around to taking pics of the set-up since I finished it, but I just never did it. I'll see if I can't get some tonight (working on putting underwater lights on so it would be a good time to do it.) I also liked what a guy on wakeside rides did to show his ballast system. He took a "walk through" video of his boat with a camcorder and showed how everything went together and then threw it on youtube. I watched that video quite a few times before diving into my project. I'll see if i can do the same.

That would be awesome...I'm in the same boat (not literally) as Levi and I have a '96 Response closed now so space is a premium, but I just picked up my Titan Series II Tower today....any links to that video or some more pics of your setup would be awesome.

I took a quick video with me narrating on how my boat's ballast system is set-up. Hope it's not too confusing. Sorry for the bad camera work, I was trying to work around the boat pointing out parts of the system while holding my flashlight. Let me know if you have any questions....

I hope it helps you guys out. It was a fun project. I ran out of flash space so it cut me off, but it gives you a pretty good idea of how the system works. 4 Tsunami 1200 GPH pumps that manage water in 3 ballast bags. The rear pumps fill/drain the 2 500lb V-drive side/rear bags. The front pumps fill and drain the bag under the closed bow. We rarely use the front bag (never for wakeboarding) as it reduces the boarding wake when any forward weight is added. All clear tubing is 1". The black entry line is 1 1/4". There is about 90 ft of 1"line and probably easily 100 hose clamps. Fill time for the rear sacs is around 5 minutes. They drain a bit faster than that. The 1 1/4" one way valves do a great job of keeping the system primed.

[JeffS]

That's awesome! Thanks to you from another skier guy. You got my vote for a DIY tech sticky post.

[martinarcher]

That's awesome! Thanks to you from another skier guy. You got my vote for a DIY tech sticky post.

Thanks Jeff. Glad I could help. I love sharing projects that I have done.

[Levi900RR]

That's awesome! Thanks to you from another skier guy. You got my vote for a DIY tech sticky post.

Thanks Jeff. Glad I could help. I love sharing projects that I have done.

Looks like I have my hands full for this winter...

That video is SO AWESOME Thanks so much for posting it. Super helpfull!

[martinarcher]

That's awesome! Thanks to you from another skier guy. You got my vote for a DIY tech sticky post.

Thanks Jeff. Glad I could help. I love sharing projects that I have done.

Looks like I have my hands full for this winter...

That video is SO AWESOME Thanks so much for posting it. Super helpfull!

No problem Levi! Glad I could help. If you have access to your boat over the winter it would make a great winter project!

[saskie99]

How much to you think the total for the system cost you? I would love to integrate a ballast system like you have. My boat is an 88 sunsetter so I have the open bow but I really like the look of what you have done. Right Now I am running 2 650lbs beside the motor and 250 on the rear seat as well as a 400 lbs in the bow. Can you say pain the $#! to fill them all up. Where can you get a good deal on the pumps?

[martinarcher]

How much to you think the total for the system cost you? I would love to integrate a ballast system like you have. My boat is an 88 sunsetter so I have the open bow but I really like the look of what you have done. Right Now I am running 2 650lbs beside the motor and 250 on the rear seat as well as a 400 lbs in the bow. Can you say pain the $#! to fill them all up. Where can you get a good deal on the pumps?

I didn't really keep track of cost, but if I were to guess it would be around $400. The tubing is all 1" so you would have probably $100 in tubing. The ball valves were a little over $10 a piece and I use 6 of them. I have probably 50 hose clamps which add up to probably $20. Misc pipe fittings and T connectors were probably another $30. The pumps aren't too bad since they are the aerator units. There are 4 1200GPH pumps and I think were about $35 each. I used a IP67 rocker switches from DigiKey that are probably way overkill, but I didn't want them to ever fail to to water exposure. They were $18 each. All I remember is thinking it would cost around $200 and then kept going back to the hardware store over and over at $50 a trip.

Oh yeah I have a 1.5 inch main ball valve and a couple one way valves I forgot to add in. That would be another $35. If someone is interested in building the system I can put together an exact parts/price list and draw up a schematic. I know that would certainly help with the budgeting as well as getting all the parts together you will need. Let me know....

I know it was a bit more than I expected, but it was worth every penny to be able to throw a switch and let the system fill in 5 minutes while the first rider strapped in.

Edited October 8, 2009 by martinarcher

[saskie99]

That would be so great if you would draw up a schematic! I will get all the parts this winter and install in April. 400 bucks I can afford a VLX with integrated ballast I can not! Where did you buy your pumps from? The parts list would be greatly apprecited to. I am already excited to set it up and throw the switch for the 1st time. The video rocks to show how the system works but a schematic would be easier to follow! Thanks again for your response!

[martinarcher]

That would be so great if you would draw up a schematic! I will get all the parts this winter and install in April. 400 bucks I can afford a VLX with integrated ballast I can not! Where did you buy your pumps from? The parts list would be greatly apprecited to. I am already excited to set it up and throw the switch for the 1st time. The video rocks to show how the system works but a schematic would be easier to follow! Thanks again for your response!

No problem - Give me a couple days and I'll put together a parts list doc and a schematic. I'll also see if I have the receipts for the pumps. That will tell me where I got them.

[saskie99]

Thanks again!

[martinarcher]

Sorry it's taken me so long. Here's my parts list with sources for the parts as well as prices and quantities for each part. Looks like my set-up totaled around $900.

Let me know if you have any questions or are confused by any part of my set-up. I'd be glad to help you out.

Parts List.xls

[saskie99]

sorry I just noticed that you put this up! I rewatched your video last night and I am ready to make it work!

Thanks for the detailed list! This is a project I am going to start in the next couple of week. Your parts list and video is awesome. I will let you know how it goes!

Edited April 21, 2010 by saskie99

[martinarcher]

sorry I just noticed that you put this up! I rewatched your video last night and I am ready to make it work!

Thanks for the detailed list! This is a project I am going to start in the next couple of week. Your parts list and video is awesome. I will let you know how it goes!

Awesome. Keep us posted on how it works out. I think you'll really like the results.

[Levi900RR]

Martin, I forgot how awesome this was...

Do you think the bow sac is a must for surfing?