22ve surfing without front ballast

[Semi-Pro-ish]

Hello, I have a new-to-me 22ve with ballast bags in the bow and stern. Ive noticed the front bag only drains halfway and I cant lift it out in order for the compartment to dry out, so it pretty much stays wet all the time. I wouldn't mind eliminating the front ballast and using the space for storage instead. I was wondering, if I lower the TAPS all the way down, would this create the same effect as having ballast weight in the bow?

[chpthril]

The answer is, no. TAPS down will create stern lift, which subtracts from the aft ballast, where as bow weight puts the bow down, displacing more weight.

What year boat? Is the ballast OEM or aftermarket. There may be some things to do that can improve the draining.

[cucv]

We started off surfing our 22V without any Ballast up front. Over time we have added more ballast and found that bow ballast is very valuable and adds to the quality of the wave. But I do understand that storage is more valuable than ballast to some. You could consider replacing your bow ballast with Steel shot ballast bags like Leadwake, which could take up less space for the same amount of weight. However my preference is water ballast.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[Semi-Pro-ish]

The answer is, no. TAPS down will create stern lift, which subtracts from the aft ballast, where as bow weight puts the bow down, displacing more weight.

What year boat? Is the ballast OEM or aftermarket. There may be some things to do that can improve the draining.

Thanks for the responses! Its a 2008 22ve. The boat did not come with factory ballast. The previous owner installed an aftermarket system with a large bag in the rear port side and a V shaped sack up in the bow. Its integrated to fill and drain from switches on the dash: one switch for the stern and another for the bow. The bow sack will only drain about 1/2. Any suggestions will certainly be appreciated. Thanks!

[chpthril]

Knowing that its aftermarket, we need to know details on what type of pumps are used how many and how the bow sac is plumbed.

[sandm]

our '12 22ve would occasionally have water left in the front pair of bags. factory for a '12 was a pair of 400lb bags on each side under the seats.
we got in the habit of: when leaving for the day, gf would back trailer in, I drive boat on trailer, kill ignition and start front drains. she would pull boat up a little and slowly move up the ramp. gravity forced the water to the pumps which were attached at the rear of each bag and voila. drain every time.

don't know the model of bags but drain pumps were at the bottom rear of each bag. factory setup on the trailer level always left water in them.

good luck...

[BCRider]

Having an 09 VE myself I'll agree the bow doesn't drain all that well even with the OEM set up. The bags sweat being on carpet and any water that is in the bilge will also run to the front and help keep that carpet wet. I've debated pulling all the bow carpet out for this reason.

You could run lead rather than water but, of course will always have the weight there.

For surfing you do want the bow weight. IMO more so for any goofy riders than regular. I personally find regular doesn't like a lot of bow weight and run 1/3 to 1/2 full. Goofy on the other hand I fill and add another 250lbs or so on top.

As sandm noted, I also hit all my drains while underway or on the launch to try and get as much water out as possible but, the drain holes through the wall in to the front lockers are still over an inch off the floor.

[Semi-Pro-ish]

Knowing that its aftermarket, we need to know details on what type of pumps are used how many and how the bow sac is plumbed.

Thanks again. I'll try to determine that info and report back. I know it has two pumps but I dont know anything about them, I'm still getting familiar with the details of the system. I had the boat out yesterday and I also noticed when Im draining the sacs, the rear pumps water out really well and strong, the front seems to discharge water fairly well then turns into a trickle and will trickle for quite some time. Maybe the front pump is failing?

[Semi-Pro-ish]

If it helps, I found this from the previous owner.