Weight bags for boat

[bojans]

What are you guys using for weights to level the boat? We used to use gas cans filled with sand but those slide around. I have seen some really nice bags that must be filled with some type of shot. Any idea where to get these?

[LoopSki]

http://www.pop-products.com/our-products.html

[John Brooks]

I use cloth tool bags, each with about 25 lbs (easier to move around than heavier bags). For mine, I went to visit my local auto repair shop and got the used wheel weights. I place the weights in zip locks (because they're so dirty), about 4 or 5 lbs in each zip lock and then I place some foam or something soft in the tool bags along with the weight. The foam is for when I kick the bag, it doesn't hurt and my grandchildren don't learn new words and tell their grandmother about what grandpa said.

[lottawatta]

I have 50 pound bags from leadwake. Work great, dont move, lay flat, nothing hard to stub your toe on. www.leadwake.com

[skierjp]

 

[Razorskier1]

I have 2 of these 50 lb ones like @skierjp posted above. Close up of the label has phone number to order them

[DW]

@skierjp : description / part number / source?

[skierjp]

@dw look at previous post

[DW]

@skierjp : You mean I should have been reading instead of looking at the shiny pictures, who wouda' thought, LOL! (and I am well past High School...) Thx.

[mwetskier]

Yeah those vinyl weight bags are nice but if you are no where near michigan and don't want to pay shipping on a couple of 50 lb packages you can buy these bags on ebay - military canvas tool bags -

and fill them with washed gravel from your local home depot. each canvas bag will take exactly one 60 lb bag of gravel and they last pretty much forever. they are smaller than they look too.

[TEL]

I bought 3 canvas bags on sale at harbor freight think they were $4 each. If your from the Orlando area you know the store Sky-Craft they were selling 35lb boxes of wood screw for $10 each, emptied each box into bags. they do not slide around at all and 35lbs is easy to move in and out of the boat.

[dchristman]

@mwetskier the leadwake.com website says free shipping anywhere in the continental US. I wish I would have known about them before I bought my 50 pound calibration weights - painful toe stubbers even though I have them painted bright orange.

[rq0013]

Im in need of some weight bags as well. Brooks said Radar will be making them and should be available soon.

[theboardingschool]

The Lead Wake bags are awesome! Highly recommend.

[mwetskier]

@dchristman -good to know about the free shipping from leadwake. however i'm pretty sure a good number of bos members do not live in the united states, and for them the ebay tool bags will undoubtedly be much cheaper. every major hardware store in the world is likely to sell gravel, along with other sources such as construction sites and landscaping suppliers.

[jcamp]

Wake Ballast was a sponsor of the 2017 Eastern Regionals, so that should probably earn them some points. If you patronize them, please tell them that their sponsorship was a factor in your buying decision.

[JohnCox]

I have an old 50# elevator weight. I coated it with rubber and put carpet on the bottom. Works great.

[markn]

I am cheap. I just buy 25 or 50 lb. bags of water softener salt...and they even have a carrying handle. MWN

[oldjeep]

I have now come to the conclusion that skiers are both the cheapest and pickiest bunch in the world. Seriously - 50lbs on one side of the boat makes a difference in your skiing? We have more of a difference than that depending on which position (driver or spotter) that my father in-law and brother in-law pick. If this is seriously an issue I can't figure out why nobody has installed a ballast tank and auto leveling controller behind the spotter seat. This would take the average monkey maybe a weekend to figure out and a 4 banana shade tree howler money maybe a couple hours.

[oldjeep]

@markn - ok, I gotta ask. where in the world do you find 25 and 50 lb bags of softener salt? They are either 40 or 80 here

[Broussard]

@oldjeep MasterCraft has had an "MTS Training System" to counterweight the boat for years.

[dbutcher]

A level boat is important to me as a driver and as a slalom skier. It makes a difference in the wake crossing from side to side, especially at the slow speed at which I ski (30.4 mph). An extra little wake bounce may make the difference between my making or not making the next buoy at my shortest line length. Since a level boat is so easy to achieve, why not do it. In my SN200, one 50lb bag properly placed levels the boat no matter who is driving/riding. It takes very little effort or time to get it placed properly, and it is infinitely adjustable. A level boat also drives better. A level boat responds more consistently to pulls from either side, and the driver's sight picture is more consistent. Or so it seems to me.

[Nando]

A balanced boat also drives and tracks better. Back in the pre-speed control days I really insulted a very large (not tall) boat timer by adding like 100 lbs. of weight to my side of the boat before driving the event. The guy didn't speak to me the whole time and pretty much glared at me during about a 30-skier event, but better than giving the skiers a crappy pull.

[skiinxs]

Agree with @Nando boats absolutely need to be level to drive, track, and TURN correctly as well as having a balanced wake for the skier.

[markn]

OK, my bad. I did not look closely enough at the bags. You are correct on the weights. My sincere apologies. MWN

[WaterSkier12]

Just got our leadwake bags, 35 lbs, very nice

[Mcgreg]

If u live in the Midwest, here is a great value option:

Menards "70 lb sand in a tube", $2.99 each!

[keithh2oskier]

How many 50# should I need. I have a 196, drivers weigh about 150#. I usually have 2 kids which weight 80 combined.

[skierjp]

@keithh2oskier I would say 1 plus you can move the kids around for additional balance

[2Valve]

Lowe's 60lb. sand bags work well.

 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/QUIKRETE-60-lb-Tube-Sand/3006072?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-bdm-_-google-_-lia-_-210-_-masonrybaggedgoodsrepair-_-3006072-_-0&placeholder=null&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=Cj0KCQjwm9yJBhDTARIsABKIcGY7MHh94dyB99JhAKn7eexvsjg7MiT4Fhd3E3iZloswIcmAKDvJVHIaAiCiEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

When you're done using them in the summer, load in the bed of your p/u for added winter traction.

[tjs1295]

@2Valve that’s exactly what I do.

[LeonL]

Been using a 60# bag of sakrete in a athletic bag for 8-10 years. Talk about cheapskate. Thought it would set up, but I put in a heavy garbage bag and it's still loose.

[floridagm]

@oldjeep carbon pro has that covered

[APB]

Radar/Ronix makes great ones. 25&50lbs bags

[vtmecheng]

We found a couple of abandoned temporary sign bases that are made of recycled rubber. 50 lbs each, they stay put, and have handles to make movement easy. If you find a couple in a ditch don’t pass them up.

[H2Oer]

does anyone add weight to the bow? I've hear 30-40 lbs in the bow helps the boat track better in the course.

[UWSkier]

@H2Oer yes, and offset to the passenger side on my Malibu. Improves the wake a little bit also but does reduce top end a tad if that's important to you.

[DW]

@H2Oer - similar effect if you take weight out of the transom to improve the wake. I was pleasantly surprised that a weight reduction project that moved the Cg forward made the boat track very well. Was expecting a lighter boat to move around more but not with the CG moved forward.

[jjackkrash]

Weight in the bow may or may not help but it depends on the boat and how its weighted (and if the gas tank is in the aft how much gas it has in it, for example). I have played around with weight in the bow on more than a few boats and it helped some and hurt others. Weight in the bow can lift the aft out of the water more than it should and harden the wake. The bottom line with most ski boats is you want them weighted so they run as level as you can get them, side to side and front to back. Try your boat and see what works.