CARBON PRO OWNERS DO YOU USE THE BALLAST

[bananaron]

I really enjoy me carbon pro however I usually ski with just my wife as the driver or one of my ski partners and that means the boat is not balanced.Do you use the ballast tank in that situation and if so do you fill and leave the water in for a short time or drain and fill each time.And how much do you fill it.I have zero experience with ballast tanks as I have had many boats however never one with a tank until now.I love the boat however it is weight sensitive. Or would it be easier to put in the bags.Any info would be appreciated.......THX

[Anderson]

Fill it up! When I do this on my Carbon Pro is comes close to balancing hte wake. When you are behind the boat before your set, you can see if it needs less (or more, which would requre other weight) but mine was close enough for what I need. I drain mine after each use, but if I forget, it will slowly drain out on my boat - learned this from the tiny rivulet of water that was draining out my boat after forgetting to drain the ballast. Haven't had any troubles with it and I think it is a nice feature as I never ski with an observer in the boat. Hope this helps!

[Bdecker]

Love the ballast tank. Best feature that is too rare in ski boats. Ours needs a new impeller at 840 hours and I need to take a few yoga classes before crawling up there to replace.

[lkb]

@Bdecker where is the pump? Behind the footrest bulkhead? I need to look at mine too.

[Bdecker]

@lkb yes it is up on the driver’s side. I reached out to Paul Crawford and he suggested crawling up and around from the observer’s side. If only I could get my 11 year old trained on the fix!

[dbutcher]

Two 50 lb. weight bags are much more convenient and quicker. Also bags are infinitely and immediately adjustable to achieve level. No pump failures or water leaks. No freeze danger because the tank wasn't completely emptied in the fall. I've seen one Carbon Pro that leveled up pretty well with just one 50 lb. bag.

[skihacker]

So i think it's the 12 inch tool bag that lowes sells packed with wheel weights is right around 50 lbs, i have 2, leave both in when just me and the wife and use 1 when we have a third,

[shoeskiman]

Hey Bananaron,

I have a 2013. Last year I took the supplied sand bags out of the boat (now that we live on a FL lake. We have two passengers once a week so we use them as ballast. I keep the fuel tank at 1/4 or less (5 gallons added after two sets.) So I fill the ballast tank till it spills out and the wake is really close to being symmetrical. (I trick and I can use the wake on either side.

[Cent]

I fill mine most of the way. Works well with my wife driving.

[bishop8950]

I use the ballast all the time. I also relocated the pump to behind the passenger seat so it’s easier to change the impeller.

[RAWSki]

We use the ballast for training all the time. If there is only a driver I fill it full and the boat runs nice and level. Two 50lb bags are not close to the weight of the the full tank.

 

If we have a driver and observer it's not usually need but you can toss in one shot bag for fine tuning.

[Ali]

I'm with @Bdecker ballast tank is awesome, driver changes (80lbs diff) quick pump out or in. Otherwise you have to start moving weights around. Driver runs 1 pass, feels the difference add or takes out a little for the next pass,

[RAWSki]

@Ali WHY can't all Skiers-Oberservers be the same weight!!?? :D

[Martin1980]

Moving weights around gets old, the ballast system is the best which gives the driver the option adjust anytime. If you throw in 50 or 100 lbs and get to the end and realize you want to move the weight the driver needs to get up in the middle of someones set and move things around, with the pump it is quick and simple.

[sixball]

I use two kitty litter buckets full of water in another brand for driver only. I ski up a lake to pick up a third and am not going to let the first run of glass go! The tops snap on and don't leak much. Oh they fill and empty very fast.

[DaveD]

@RAWSki I doubt @Shell wants to weight as much as me.

[Bdecker]

Update, I did the impeller replacement yesterday in between sets on my buddy’s SN2020. It is much easier on the 2016 to access the pump from the driver’s side. I had to pull the front and side kick plates and the footrest, but in total it was only 10 screws. The pump in our boat is next to the driver’s left foot, so the “up and around” strategy I suggested earlier would have been brutal.