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Bow Bag or Lead?


ahopkins22LSV

Bow Bag or Lead  

55 members have voted

  1. 1. Bow Bag or Lead?



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17 hours ago, dinovtx said:

I think a little bit of both is best. I have a 14 VTX and have 100lbs of lead hidden in the gunnel of the bow. If we have a big crew I make sure 1 or 2 people are sitting up front to help balance us out. If we have a small crew or no one wants to sit up front I run a bag I had from my old Prostar. I store it under seats so it is out of site when not in use. A little weight in the front is great for Slalom skiing and for Surfing so is a win win. I do keep the boat on the lake so no towing concerns not sure how 100lbs would affect towing.

The 200 I keep in bow helped me to get more tongue weight cause I use a tall hitch.  if I use a shorter one the front tandom tires are significantly compressed  compared to rear axle tires ,  less compressed with the higher hitch so my tongue weight ends up a little light, the 200 balanced it back out and my tows are better and the rake ends up perfectly level offsetting the 500 lbs over the axles in cabin , the more compressed front axle tires were that way  long before the 500 lead 

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On 1/3/2019 at 6:33 PM, jwl019 said:

Have you tried to stash some in the bow behind the speakers yet?  On my '18 LSV, I figure that is the only way to access that far forward.

I ordered 300# too and want to place some in the bow, behind sub, and watchers seat area.

Not yet.  I was gonna pull it out of storage this weekend to do it, but didn’t get around to it.  I’ll probably do it the weekend after next. 

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What about creating a false floor in the bow area and place a layer of Lead Bags between the two floors (the factory floor sits on top of the hard tank and a homemade floor to sit on top of the lead bags) and place the cushions on top of the false floor?  I assume the bags wouldn't cause the false floor to be more than about 5" or so higher than the factory floor right?

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1 hour ago, thealy said:

What about creating a false floor in the bow area and place a layer of Lead Bags between the two floors (the factory floor sits on top of the hard tank and a homemade floor to sit on top of the lead bags) and place the cushions on top of the false floor?  I assume the bags wouldn't cause the false floor to be more than about 5" or so higher than the factory floor right?

If the cushions were 5 inches higher I don't believe they would fit because they tuck under the side cushions.  And I really wouldn't want my kids or anyone else sitting 5 inches higher either. The bow is a dangerous enough place already.

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  • 1 month later...

Not sure if anyone already mentioned it but I read somewhere that if you take out the speakers, there's a lot of empty space back there that you can put some bags of lead into. Thats what I was planning to take a look at once Spring rolls around....

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On 2/10/2019 at 9:20 AM, SpaceSurfer said:

Not sure if anyone already mentioned it but I read somewhere that if you take out the speakers, there's a lot of empty space back there that you can put some bags of lead into. Thats what I was planning to take a look at once Spring rolls around....

I just added some lead behind the speakers of my 2018LSV.  I only put 50 lbs on each side, but I think I could have added another bag on each side.  There is definitely enough room, but lots of wires, so I chose to play it safe.  I’m confident you can fit 200# up front if you took the time to do it right. 

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Lead hands down for bow weight.  Our kids and guests love sitting in the bow, and wet bags and pumps were always making our vinyl nasty.  I also hated dealing with extra sacks and pumps.  I stacked about 400# of lead all the way forward in the walkway and then put an extra lead bag in each of the gunnels up front behind the cup holders in our 2005.  Now that this area is closed off in the '19, I'll probably just stick to lead in the walkway.  If I'm feeling like sacking it out, I'll put a bag in the walkway and the lead on that front nose cushion in the bow.

Edited by eubanks
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On ‎12‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 10:17 AM, ahopkinsVTX said:

Correct. We are typically out for the whole day so we pack a “48 can” cooler almost every time. Three years ago it probably would have had 48 cans of beer in it but now there is maybe a 6 pack, lots of water a food. Ahhh kids lol. 

I have tried the bag in walkway and not the bow,   It doesn't work out very well in the vtx, even when you throw people in the bow.   You need the weight all the way up front.  

Now with a light crew I will and can run 2 in the lockers, 1 in the walkway cabin and bow sac.   All on pumps, im pretty sure I have told you this before.  Hit a button and all gone in a few minutes.  I understand not wanting to get the bags out,  cramp up space, climb over people in the VTX, etc.... so lead could be appealing but moving 10 bags around would get old and I don't want the extra weight in my boat all the time.   

I know your boat is alittle higher than mine but With the 650 bow sack full my front D ring is just barely out of the water when sitting still.

Edited by Chrisjjbrown
  • Like 2
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ahopkins22LSV
45 minutes ago, Chrisjjbrown said:

I have tried the bag in walkway and not the bow,   It doesn't work out very well in the vtx, even when you throw people in the bow.   You need the weight all the way up front.  

Now with a light crew I will and can run 2 in the lockers, 1 in the walkway cabin and bow sac.   All on pumps, im pretty sure I have told you this before.  Hit a button and all gone in a few minutes.  I understand not wanting to get the bags out,  cramp up space, climb over people in the VTX, etc.... so lead could be appealing but moving 10 bags around would get old and I don't want the extra weight in my boat all the time.   

I know your boat is alittle higher than mine but With the 650 bow sack full my front D ring is just barely out of the water when sitting still.

Good to know, thank you. I’m settled on a bow bag. Going to just throw the pump over for this year and make it a project for next winter. Or sooner depending on what my wife thinks of the pump over the side. Definitely not happening this spring though, last semester of her doctorate for her and she’s finishing on time so help me! Lol

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1 minute ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Good to know, thank you. I’m settled on a bow bag. Going to just throw the pump over for this year and make it a project for next winter. Or sooner depending on what my wife thinks of the pump over the side. Definitely not happening this spring though, last semester of her doctorate for her and she’s finishing on time so help me! Lol

That will work fine too,   I did it for a year and that was enough for Kristin to ok getting pumps. 

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ahopkins22LSV
19 minutes ago, Chrisjjbrown said:

That will work fine too,   I did it for a year and that was enough for Kristin to ok getting pumps. 

That’s how I’m hoping it will go for me too! You have the sumo 650 right? That’s what I think I’m going to get. Looks to be the best bang for your buck for bag and pump. 

Edited by ahopkinsVTX
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  • 1 month later...
On 2/15/2019 at 1:19 AM, SCMike said:

I just added some lead behind the speakers of my 2018LSV.  I only put 50 lbs on each side, but I think I could have added another bag on each side.  There is definitely enough room, but lots of wires, so I chose to play it safe.  I’m confident you can fit 200# up front if you took the time to do it right. 

Finally got around to installing 50# behind each bow speaker today.  It was easier to push it back towards the windshield verses forward towards the bow.  I will see how it does on my 1st outing and may order a couple 25# bags to push towards the bow since it gets smaller going that way.  I will say, 50#'s is not fun to try to fish thru the speaker hole!

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2 hours ago, jwl019 said:

Finally got around to installing 50# behind each bow speaker today.  It was easier to push it back towards the windshield verses forward towards the bow.  I will see how it does on my 1st outing and may order a couple 25# bags to push towards the bow since it gets smaller going that way.  I will say, 50#'s is not fun to try to fish thru the speaker hole!

I also pushed mine towards the windshield for the fear of ripping out the wires for my docking lights.  Good call on the 25s towards the tip of the bow.  I still haven’t gotten mine out on the water yet to see how it performs with that weight, and with my kids theater commitments this spring i might not get the boat out until Memorial Day! 😫😤

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  • 1 year later...

This is a good thread. I already have 400# lead mostly on port side as I am a regular surfer only. This recent Black Friday I picked up a Sumo 675 bow bag and I had the pump left over from my old boat. I don't fill the bag all the way but even at 3/4 full with my wife and 2 kiddos, the wave is great!

The over the side pump and hassle is getting old quick.

Debating whether to add 400# lead to stash in the front.

My plan would be 120# in the nose cone, 200# in the battery compartment (just forward of the walkway), 40# in each respective bow gunnel, and 40# in the subwoofer compartment.

My question here is: is this too much lead to be towing with? We would have 800# lead total. I tow with a 2013 F150 (chipped) and hasn't had any issue so far, but wonder if another 400# lead would be too much.

I love the idea of not having to deal with bags/pumps etc.... Mind you, I have installed a thru-hull and switches before on my 1999 Tige 21v but I'm not sure I want to add a switch on a new boat, nor am I sure I want to piggyback off the bow bag already in there (450#).

Too much weight to tow??

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