Custom SwimDeck Ballast Bag project

[geohil]

I'm shocked you don't have that.

Nope - bad pic but the 212X makes tying a bag on the upper deck tough.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Nope - bad pic but the 212X makes tying a bag on the upper deck tough.
View attachment 77016

Yours is at the chrome handle.

 

[MidnightRider]

Nope - bad pic but the 212X makes tying a bag on the upper deck tough.
View attachment 77016

Yeah in my opinion that tow hook is at a better height for towing up there as well and have wondered if I could install one up there. Wonder if there is any reinforcement in the fiberglass on the boats that have that one up there. If its just the hook and backing plate that's different a person could order it and install it on our boats. Part 30 below from the 2016 model 192 parts list.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Just an FYI, this past vacation I used the air pump to inflate my bag and tie it down. Then I used my pump to fill the bag while it was venting air. 100% worked as expected. I never had it easier to fill the bag.

 

[swatski]

Just an FYI, this past vacation I used the air pump to inflate my bag and tie it down. Then I used my pump to fill the bag while it was venting air. 100% worked as expected. I never had it easier to fill the bag.

Thanks.
We already knew that.
@jcyamahariders wife told us.


—

 

[jcyamahariders wife]

@swatski here is the picture when the bag is filled full it doesn't cover the vent. This is a little deceiving because in person there was a bigger gap probably the angle of my picture.

 

[Scottie]

Added two new cleats towards the stern. 1 reason was to finally have somewhere to usably hang a fender from, and the other was to have a good outside tie point for the new bag, that wasn't the tower or otherwise in the way. It's perfect, for both counts. We were able to move the bag all the way into the corner without fear of it rotating out and off the deck, due to the new tie point. The wave is even bigger.

 

[nate kennedy]

We finally got out this weekend and tried out the new bag... don’t think we got any pictures but it was the best wave we’ve had. This bag is what these boats needed! So much easier for me being a novice surfer to find and stay in the pocket... still working on surfing ropeless consistantly but the wave is not the problem now! Used less ballast didn’t fill my center ski locker at all and only had 3 adults in the boat and 1 surfer which is a smaller crew then usual when we go surfing.

 

[jcyamahariders wife]

@Scottie I used your utube video on our website for the transom bag ! Hope that was alright your wave looked great !

 

[jcyamahariders wife]

Used less ballast didn’t fill my center ski locker at all and only had 3 adults in the boat and 1 surfer which is a smaller crew then usual when we go surfing.

Same for us loved that we put less time and effort filling bags !

 

[swatski]

@swatski here is the picture when the bag is filled full it doesn't cover the vent. This is a little deceiving because in person there was a bigger gap probably the angle of my picture.
View attachment 77077 View attachment 77078

That looks freaking great.
Will be trying that new method tomorrow. Bull Shoals Lake, baby!

--

 

[nate kennedy]

Only pic we got from a buddy’s boat... surfers first time trying... I think we had more room left to fill in the transom bag... going to try filling with air first get positioned and replace with water like others do and are going to try. Can’t say enough about this bag. More stable than a regular bag and makes a world of difference. Wish we had more time to surf before heading up river to treasure island for the night!

 

[swatski]

So, a little update on "surfing with the swatskis", lol

First of, the swim deck bag really is the bomb!
Kudos to @0627Devildog and @jcyamaharider for making this a reality, honestly I think between this bag and the wedge those are my last hard surf mods/purchases.
Now - just need to dial it all in.

That bag alone pushes the swim deck under water



Filling the bag with air first (before replacing the air with water) works very well.
Especially at first, it is very useful to get a good feel for the size/shape/position on the platform. Towards the end of the day, after a couple of test fill-ups, I was able to fill the bag with water strait up with almost the same result, albeit the bag was slightly more "spread out" as far as its footprint.

This is of some importance as the bag does interfere with the air intake, at least in the AR240s like mine. So - if filled up with the air first, the bag holds its shape better - no problem with intakes, as below.


However, if filled up with water - strait up - the intake is obstructed to the point the air flow may be restricted (you can feel the air being sucked hard - with your hand).
I used a bumper to keep the bag from smothering the intake, as shown below.



I'm using one of my 4 integrated Johnsons to fill up (the right one on strb side in the pic below) - the black quick connector (in the top pic) works perfect for that.
Of note, the bag fills slower than my other 800lbs bags (with "black on black" quick WM connectors) as the grey "quick" connect ports are 1/2" reducing the ID and providing some obstruction (which I do not have w/other bags).
(the hose I use here is the 1" from WakeMakers - I think its the best hose there is)


W/ swim deck ballast alone (and the wedge) the wake looked okay already:



After filling the center locker 800lbs it looked downright good:
(w/no other ballast in the rear/side compartments filled)




The wave was very surfable (again - w/swim deck plus center locker bags only, NO other ballast).
My 12 and 14yos had a little fun with it before we needed to boogie for the night:



My 16yo could easily keep some slack on the rope, albeit none of my kids are surfers, yet:


The side/rear bags (when filled up) will certainly improve the wake!

I feel I still need to find the right angle for the Wedge (@jcyamaharider - I could use some help with that!)

Overall - I feel we are getting pretty close to what I would consider a sweet spot for surfing w/this boat, with minimum setup effort required (a critical issue for me).

Boat runs easy, in high 5k RPM, but we were not fully loaded.
W/ swim deck bag only:


Or similar w/swim deck plus center locker:


--

 

[jcyamaharider]

Are you coming to shelbyville this year?

 

[swatski]

Are you coming to shelbyville this year?

Working on it...
I figured the worst case I will just drive up for half a day!

--

 

[0627Devildog]

So, a little update on "surfing with the swatskis", lol

First of, the swim deck bag really is the bomb!
Kudos to @0627Devildog and @jcyamaharider for making this a reality, honestly I think between this bag and the wedge those are my last hard surf mods/purchases.
Now - just need to dial it all in.

That bag alone pushes the swim deck under water
View attachment 77817
View attachment 77816

Filling the bag with air first (before replacing the air with water) works very well.
Especially at first, it is very useful to get a good feel for the size/shape/position on the platform. Towards the end of the day, after a couple of test fill-ups, I was able to fill the bag with water strait up with almost the same result, albeit the bag was slightly more "spread out" as far as its footprint.

This is of some importance as the bag does interfere with the air intake, at least in the AR240s like mine. So - if filled up with the air first, the bag holds its shape better - no problem with intakes, as below.
View attachment 77818

However, if filled up with water - strait up - the intake is obstructed to the point the air flow may be restricted (you can feel the air being sucked hard - with your hand).
I used a bumper to keep the bag from smothering the intake, as shown below.
View attachment 77819


I'm using one of my 4 integrated Johnsons to fill up (the right one on strb side in the pic below) - the black quick connector (in the top pic) works perfect for that.
Of note, the bag fills slower than my other 800lbs bags (with "black on black" quick WM connectors) as the grey "quick" connect ports are 1/2" reducing the ID and providing some obstruction (which I do not have w/other bags).
(the hose I use here is the 1" from WakeMakers - I think its the best hose there is)
View attachment 77820

W/ swim deck ballast alone (and the wedge) the wake looked okay already:
View attachment 77821
View attachment 77828

After filling the center locker 800lbs it looked downright good:
(w/no other ballast in the rear/side compartments filled)
View attachment 77822
View attachment 77827


The wave was very surfable (again - w/swim deck plus center locker bags only, NO other ballast).
My 12 and 14yos had a little fun with it before we needed to boogie for the night:
View attachment 77823
View attachment 77824

My 16yo could easily keep some slack on the rope, albeit none of my kids are surfers, yet:
View attachment 77829

The side/rear bags (when filled up) will certainly improve the wake!

I feel I still need to find the right angle for the Wedge (@jcyamaharider - I could use some help with that!)

Overall - I feel we are getting pretty close to what I would consider a sweet spot for surfing w/this boat, with minimum setup effort required (a critical issue for me).

Boat runs easy, in high 5k RPM, but we were not fully loaded.
W/ swim deck bag only:
View attachment 77825

Or similar w/swim deck plus center locker:
View attachment 77826

--

The irony of being tagged in this today is that it was my very first day with the new bag. . . . . .and holy crap it was awesome!

Frankly, it, along with the wedge are a MUST have for anyone wanting to surf a jetboat.

Whomever thought to fill it with air first and letting it vent while pumping the water in is a GENIUS. Worked flawlessly.

Also, significantly reduced my fill times today by using the aux cigarette lighter I installed and spare pump.

VERY excited to use this setup for the rest of the season.

 

[BigAbe75]

I'm using one of my 4 integrated Johnsons to fill up (the right one on strb side in the pic below) - the black quick connector (in the top pic) works perfect for that.
-

Do all those pumps run simultaneously? Concerned at all about all that draw on the battery at once? I’ve been waiting to fill my integrated bags first then shut off pump before running my aux pump. Would rather do it at the same time, but guess I wasn’t sure if I should. I’d only be talking about 2, currently, though.

 

[jcyamaharider]

I have ran 3 pumps at the same time before.

 

[haknslash]

As long as you have dual batteries I don't think it would be an issue running all the pumps. When I test drove the wake boats we ran them all at the same time to fill and empty. I only have a single battery and a throw over the side Tsunami pump so I like to leave my engine running just in case lol.

 

[BigAbe75]

Yeah, I know for sure my internal pump is connected to my house battery. Not real sure about the aux connector though.

Thanks! That’ll speed things up a bit.