Lead in bow

[Stevo]

Yeah yeah yeah ... You and your pickle forks.

I tried this math problem and ended up cross eyed. So I'm taking madman's #'s http://www.themalibucrew.com/index.php?/topic/58997-lead-in-bow/?p=902324

In that case the leverage saves about 100lbs , but still too much for me to leave in there full time

Edited February 16, 2016 by Stevo

[MadMan]

One more thing to consider about lead in the bow is tongue weight on the tow vehicle. Using the same 12' from before (lead in front of cg of boat, which is between trailer axles) and the 550lbs of lead is 4' from the hitch, the tongue weight is increased by 550*(12/(12+4))= 412 lbs. That could squat a tow vehicle 2-3 inches.

[Socalbu]

I spoke with a guy at LeadWeight last year and I could have sworn he told me he doesn't use lead anymore. He was getting to much heat for the environmental hazards of lead.

I can't 100% verify this but it may be worth asking.

[Stevo]

One more thing to consider about lead in the bow is tongue weight on the tow vehicle. Using the same 12' from before (lead in front of cg of boat, which is between trailer axles) and the 550lbs of lead is 4' from the hitch, the tongue weight is increased by 550*(12/(12+4))= 412 lbs. That could squat a tow vehicle 2-3 inches.

F350 here, not too concerned

[malibudog]

hey stevo this is mildly off topic, but when you get around to doing this can you please post a DIY pictorial of how to get to that front back bow cushion's mounting bolts? I looked at it for a while and couldn't figure out how to do it without taking the whole bow apart or getting arms that were 10" longer and have a second elbow. I mean I'm sure there IS a way... I just wasn't smart enough to figure it out. Right now my 150 in lead is tucked under the false floor in the front, around the sides of the tank.

Hey Shawndoggy: I am not sure which cushion you are talking about, but the one I had trouble figuring out how to get out was the small one at the very front of the bow, so I will report on that. To get it out (in a 2009 247), there is a center bolt on the back of the seat which you can access by (1) taking out the pop up bow light and reaching down through there (need thin arms) or (2) undoing the plastic cup holders on the side and sliding them up and back in place (need long arms to reach around). The part it took me forever to figure out is that there are also two top corner lag bolts, which you access by taking off the mesh metal screens on the outside sides of the boat bow, and screw out from there.

Probably not even the cushion you are talking about, but on the off chance it is, thought I would offer what I had learned.

[Cooketopmedia]

On 2/15/2016 at 4:56 PM, KeepingupwiththeJones said:

Does the LSV have the same size bow tank as the VLX? There isn't room to add bags to the VLX without moving the tank some.

I decided to test before I went through the effort of moving the tank around. Put 400#s in the nose. All hard tanks full. WM 820's full and wedge two clicks from lift. I was not very impressed. I had a lot of bow rise. Had to sit on one knee to see. Sent my 185# friend to the bow and it was much better. I could see sitting on the booster. I didn't get any pics of the wave or bow rise but here is how I had the lead.

Hey Steve. Where did you buy the hard tank for the bow, and how did you plum it into your ballast system?