Wakeside 1500 lbs Elevate balast system

[Liquidroam]

I stared a post a couple of months ago asking for help on selecting items for a balast system. Some one suggested that I look at the Elevate system from Wakeside. I did. I bought I installed and now I am very pleased. At that time I promised that I would post a review.

I have a full write up with pictues but I can't seem to post it. It is a word doc, but the pics don't land. I can e-mail it to whom ever would like it.

If someone can post it for me that would be great. I continue to get grat advice from a lot of you and need to give back.

[email protected] if you want a copy

Will

[jcbatt]

Hopefully someone on here can help you post it. I am interested to hear what you thought of it....

[jshap]

You have the ability as a paid member, so just cut/paste the text into the posting page and use the "Attach an image" tool below the text box to get your pictures into the main field. Just make sure the pictures are under 100kb or they will be rejected.

Hit "Browse" to get the pictures into your folder and then select which picture goes where and "Add Attachment". It will insert the code into your message whereever your cursor is. Experiement and keep hitting Preview Post until you get it right. Happy posting!

[Liquidroam]

Here is the post without the pictures. I have sent wakegirl a message asking for help. Hopefully we can get there. In the mean time here is the write up.

It is important to know that I like mechanical, I HATE ELECTRICL. The pics of the wiring harness is what sold me. It made everything SO easy.

Well here you go an entire ballast system all in one, actually three boxes. I recently purchased this 2004 Malibu Sunscape 21 LSV. I shouldn’t get into why I am trying to board behind a boat that has essentially a ski hull, other than to say I needed a cross over boat. One child skis and the other two wakeboard.

The boat already had the wedge installed. I decided to add a ballast system to the boat to increase the size and definition of the wake. The wake boarders needed it, and I wanted to start SURFING.I figured that a sport where I fall but am only going 10 MPH is a good sport. In the short time we have been doing this my soon has already surpassed me.

Look Mom No hands

I did a lot of research and work designing a system. I had asked a lot of questions on many different websites, and of various knowledgeable people. I had decided on the Barefoot International Pro X Series bags, and hardware, Attwood Tsunami Pumps, and was beginning to work on the electrical system. Then someone on www.themalibucrew.com suggested that I look at a product called the Elevate ballast system designed and offered by Wakeside for custom installation in all makes of boats.

I started to look into it, and the more I found out about the Elevate system the more I liked it. Jason at Wakeside has a lot of experience modifying boats to do what they can’t coming out of the factory, including installing these systems in Malibu and other boarding boats. I talked to Jason a couple of times and settled on the 1500 lbs Elevate system. They also offer a 2500 lbs ballast system but I thought I would need to re-prop the boat and this is deeper than I wanted to get into it at this time.

I will tell you that if you purchase an Elevate system and receive the boxes at your home, your initial impression will be one of I spent all that money on just this. Hold on don’t quit reading. The reason you feel this way is because Wakeside has done ALL the work.

• Jason’s group did a complete Wiring harness. If you are unfamiliar with a wiring harness, this is what they use in manufacturing aircraft. You get all of the wires neatly bundled. This means that you run wires to each position ONCE.

• All connections are plug and play. Not one bare wire.

• The intake manifold is completely assembled.

• The discharge pumps are already attached to the bags.

• They use the best bags in the business.

• Custom manufacturing OEM switches. Forget an extra panel. I replaced three ACC switches on the right side of the steering wheel.

• Etc.. etc……..

Rather getting into the specs of the system here I recommend going to http://www.wakeside.com/page/w/CTGY/integr...ballast_systems to look into it more. I have attached a lot of pictures here of the different components in this review.

The system arrived in three boxes. The first thing I wanted to see was the wiring harness. I was not looking forward to stringing wires all over the boat. From the pictures you can see that it really is a professionally done pre-fabed wiring harness. All of the connections are snap connectors. The wiring is wrapped in braided nylon to be sure that the insulation does not abraid.

Next was the intake manifold. It was completely assembled. The materials are brass, and the ball valve is high quality.

The sacks are the Pro x series from Barefoot international. The best in the business. The three drain pumps were already attached to the bags.

I laid the whole thing out on the floor of my garage and it all looked remarkably simple. I was high on confidence at this point. It just didn’t look that hard.

That good feeling lasted only until I looked in my engine compartment to locate the position for the intake manifold. The picture of the manifold above was my first try at the location. It didn’t work. The type of pumps used in this system need to be located below the water line. With about a ½ hour of cusin and discusin, I did figure it out. The system comes with a rigid brass elbow. I didn’t like the idea of using this. I felt that this would put undue stress on the gel coat of the boat. I was worried about Spider cracking. I decided to separate the intake scupper from the manifold and use a flexible connection. I bought this at Home Depot. It will all have to be removed and inspected every year. I also made a support bracket for the other end of the manifold. This removed a lot of the forces on the boats hull. This change was my decision. Jason was willing to figure out something else if needed, but I decided to go this way.

I was extremely nervous about drilling holes in the boat. Jason had assured me that this was really very easy. It turned out he was right. All four holes were very clean and placed correctly. The instructions were clear and made sense. I followed them closely. Ok, I almost screwed up. I forgot to see where the boat was sitting on the trailer bunks. The Lord was looking after me. This is important, so measure from the middle of the boat out on the inside and then confirm that this location will work from the outside point of view. Measure five times drill once.

All of the fittings in the kit matched. The switches were a perfect fit.

They had to of come from Malibu.

Other than the lack of room in the bilge area for the intake and manifold there was nothing out of the ordinary in the installation. Total time spent working was about was about 10 hours over three days. This does not include about three spent sitting in the boat drinking beer scratching my head figuring out the best way of handling issues that came up. OK I was Thirsty.

What I want to get across here is that the system is complete and was everything that I hoped for. I have no problem running the plumbing. I was very concerned about having to run all of the wiring. The Elevate systems wiring harness made this the most painless part of the process.

The instructions are complete. Follow them. DO not think you know better. I installed the scupper facing backwards because I thought that if it faced forward it would allow water to flow past the pumps and into the bags when the system is off and I was doing 30 MPH. What I succeeded in doing was to make the system NOT be able to fill when I am running. I will reverse this error this winter. Follow the directions. All of the principles have been tested, and refined to work.

After completion and testing, the system fills in 10 minutes and drains in 10 minutes. I have a feeling that it would fill faster if I were able to have it run while we were heading out from the marina. Draining is not a problem, due to the fact that this can be done anywhere. I am going to look at all of the tubing this winter to be sure that I have routed the best way possible. I have a couple of turns that are pretty tight. This can restrict flow.

All in all this is a great system. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to put a ballast system into a boat. The boat now sits much lower in the water and throws a heck of a wake. Good luck with your searches.

I just read this over and I can’t decide if I sound like a used car salesman, or that I work for Wakeside. Neither, it’s just in this day and age when I find something that actually delivers I get worked up.

[jcbatt]

Thanks for the excellent write-up.... the system seems a bit pricey, but it sounds like and ideal fit for someone that wants an integrated system, and doesn't want to spend hours and hours buying and trying all different fittings (and still having leaks), electrical connections (and not having it work properly). I think just the front MLS is a $500 option (ICBW), so I guess the system is priced about right. I wonder how much the full MLS costs as an option on a new LSV?