Wakemakers ballast bags for 212x

[InmyElement]

Same here Christmas present, ordered them with the discount. Hopefully be able to elimate that transom bag and maybe throw around some steel shot bags..

 

[suke]

Same here Christmas present, ordered them with the discount. Hopefully be able to elimate that transom bag and maybe throw around some steel shot bags..

Agreed! That's my hope too. Need to get out to my boat and pull out the fatsac and pump. See if someone wants it. Shoot I'd even sell it for $100 plus shipping. Get someone surfing on the cheap.

 

[suke]

Not sure if he's on here, but someone posted this on FB. Those bags look much bigger than I expected them to be. No extra hoses, just a couple of connectors. Would have expected more hose as the stock fill hose is super short where it comes off the pump.

 

[Levi Weatherford]

Not sure if he's on here, but someone posted this on FB. Those bags look much bigger than I expected them to be. No extra hoses, just a couple of connectors. Would have expected more hose as the stock fill hose is super short where it comes off the pump.
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Those are massive! I really think these are gonna do it for those of us that want to get rid of the swim deck bag. I can't tell from this picture but I hope there is a "fill" port low some where on the bag. My custom ballast setup uses a low fill port with the top port used for the vent.

 

[suke]

Those are massive! I really think these are gonna do it for those of us that want to get rid of the swim deck bag. I can't tell from this picture but I hope there is a "fill" port low some where on the bag. My custom ballast setup uses a low fill port with the top port used for the vent.

It's possible there's a lower fill port. However, I plan to get some extra hose just to have on hand when my install happens. I'll probably install check valves on mine and when draining have it drain out the stock overflow/vent fitting. Not sure if I'll do that right away or just get this going and do those later. In any event I'll make sure to have some hose just in case I want to route things differently. There's no install instructions with these.....which is fun. I'm hoping more people do the install before I get mine. LOL!

If you add the fatsac and stock hard tank the difference between those and this new bag is 95 lbs. That's 2 50lb lead bags if you wanted all that weight on that side. However, I can imagine just filling the non surf side ballast more would help sink the rear end enough. If you fill all the ballast full it'll be 2366lbs of ballast. More than double the 1100 lbs stock. Which is awesome!

 

[URODAVE]

Following this thread. I have a 222xd on order. They have the soft ballast bags. I wonder if it would be easy to replace the existing bags with larger wakemaker bags. I believe it should be as easy as plug and play. The question is, as mentioned previously, exceeding the weight capacity of the boat.

 

[suke]

This was supposed to be a Christmas present but the wife said I needed to open it up and make sure all was fine. Looks good to me. However, it has become abundantly clear there's no way to install this without some extra hose. The stock hose is super short and there's no fill port where it likely will hit the stock location. I'll probably get the hard tanks out and then orient the bags to figure out just what I need for hose size/length. Hoping over Christmas break the weather is good enough to give it a go. Also these bags are huge.

 

[suke]

Got word back from wakemakers. Will definitely need some hose. I ordered 20' of hose so I can also hook up the vent side. Glad I emailed them as it appeared they sent the wrong barb fittings. So, they tossed in those fittings in my hose/clamp order. I think I'll only need 14' of hose but I'd rather have extra than not enough. Been chatting with a buddy of mine that deals with manufacturing parts as a contract manufacturer for bunches of OEMs and he's surprised wakemakers doesn't appear to have done much trial/installs/field testing. Not sure how they put together the dimensions for the bags, but definitely interesting being on the bleeding edge of this with not any installs to use as an example. Would have been great if they reached out to a couple of folks on the forum/FB groups to do some documented installs. Would have helped greatly figure out all the pieces needed to be a true full kit for a stock replacement. Also could have used those installs to put together some instructions. Not really knocking them per se....just my feedback to this point. I'll make sure to document the crap out of my install as I imagine I'll have a shit ton of lessons learned. Hopefully can save some folks some headache.

 

[CaptRedbeard]

Agreed! That's my hope too. Need to get out to my boat and pull out the fatsac and pump. See if someone wants it. Shoot I'd even sell it for $100 plus shipping. Get someone surfing on the cheap.

I might be interested in your transom setup if this Wakemakers setup works out for ya, let me know if you end up selling it!

 

[suke]

I might be interested in your transom setup if this Wakemakers setup works out for ya, let me know if you end up selling it!

I'll definitely be selling it. Will let you know when I go visit my boat in storage and grab it all out.

 

[suke]

Just a heads up this is about as involved as I expected. I'll post more details but you basically have to unhook all kinds of shiz. Also the bags don't fit quite as well as I'd hoped.

 

[suke]

The port side was easy to get this panel out so we did to get a good look. You'll need to Dremel the rubrail screws too as they definitely contact the bag. It fills every possible crevice. You'll want to save the 90* bend from the factory fitting to use to connect to the new bag.

 

[buckbuck]

I was wondering how you would get those old hard tanks out of that space. The pictures explained it well.

 

[suke]

I was wondering how you would get those old hard tanks out of that space. The pictures explained it well.

Even if you took those panels out, which I don't recommend, you'll still need to cut them apart to get them out.

 

[suke]

After a long day in the cold and bending all kinds of ways to get into the storage lockers, this was great!

Still need to:

1. trim back the screws for the rub rail,
2. find a better way to support those panels,
3. Build something to protect the battery switches
4. Get some vent lines and hook them up.
5. Calibrate the ballast through the connext

 

[suke]

First few impressions, obviously without using them yet: 1. they're way too big, they don't fit all that great, not terrible though. Definitely not getting these filled all the way. 2. You will need extra hose, and extra fittings 3. You will need to find a way to support the panels in the engine bay as they attached to the hard tanks 4. You'll need to fabricate something to cover the battery switches. I think the battery cover will be fine to protect those as it is. 5. With them filled you will definitely need to check to make sure there isn't any excessive pressure on the fuel filler hose on one side, and the wiring loom on the other.

All said and done with a couple of tweaks/iterations I think wakemakers is really on to something. This being their first go it seems they tried to make bags for several different generations of boats that are slightly different, or didn't spend enough time testing/engineering these.

 

[suke]

Found this solution for the engine bay panels. Common problem for legit wake boats to have the dividers bend with the bags.

WakeMAKERS Engine Divider Panel Savers

One of the most popular WakeMAKERS products for several years now, our exclusive Engine Divider Panel Savers are a robust, easy to install solution to reinforce your engine divider panels. Add additional ballast to your rear lockers to achieve that great wake and don't worry about bowing of the...

www.wakemakers.com

I didn't like the hose routing. Not like it would kink, but didn't want it to try and pull the bag even though I used a 90* connector. Now it'll have a straight path. Got these in 1 1/8" for the 1" line. Heat up the line with a heat gun, press fit these in, and then secure with stainless steel worm clamps once cool. No way it'll leak.

WakeMAKERS Hose Barb Elbow Fitting

This speciality fitting will allow you to make hose connections at a 90 degree angle with 3/4", 1" or 1-1/8" without any kinking. For various reasons it can be beneficial to join two hoses at a right angle. Most often used for routing around a sharp angle without kinking the hose, which opens up...

www.wakemakers.com

I got these for the vent lines. Already had the 3/4" male ones

Flow Rite 3/4" Straight Quick Release Connector W740

Make a secure, water-tight, yet quickly removable connection with the Fly High 3/4" Straight Flo-Rite Quick Release Connector. The straight quick release connector has a 3/4" hose barb fitting on one side and a lockable female end on the other that will connect directly to the Fly High 3/4"...

www.wakemakers.com

Ordered all of that today to finish up the job.

 

[InmyElement]

Thanks for the write up..this will be my spring project. Luckily I have the factory bags already and not the hard tanks, but definetly a few factors I didn't think about..

 

[suke]

Thanks for the write up..this will be my spring project. Luckily I have the factory bags already and not the hard tanks, but definetly a few factors I didn't think about..

Oh man, lucky you! Yours should be a super easy install. Biggest thing you'll have to figure out is the screws, which after cutting 2 I think I'm going to go with rubber caps, and then of course making sure you don't fill them up so much it starts stressing the wires, fuel fill hose/vent hose. Oh and maybe the engine divider supports as those panels are flimsy.

 

[suke]

Never noticed what this sticker said. Oven light tester? LOL, wtf!?