Well here's my ballast install thread. I bought my boat last spring with zero ballast. I bought the 2 custom rear sacs and bow sac from mike last year and spent a year filling them with external pumps. Well, I don't want to go through another season of doing that, it was kind of a pain.
Fast forward to this spring, I talked to mike and bought the parts needed for an aerator fill/drain with a reversible port/starboard transfer pump.
First step is to decide where to drill the holes in the bottom, with some help from you guys I decided on the configuration below and marked the hull. I checked clearance, rechecked, then checked it another few times for good measure. Positioned this way I am able to turn off the shut off valves with a short stick from the V drive access port (if ever needed in an emergency).
With the spots marked, I used magnets to tape off and transfer the marks from the inside to the bottom of the hull.
Now the tough part, drilling a hole in your expensive boat. I heard it was easier if you had a beer or two first, so I had 3. It helped lol. I started with a small pilot hole first just so I was absolutely certain 100% that my holes were lined up where they were supposed to be. Turns out they were marked perfect. I found the small pilot hole was a good way to "ease in" to drilling a massive hole. After the pilot it was a lot easier to bring out the hole saw.
Before I drilled the holes for the thru hulls, I tested the hole saws out on a piece of wood first. 1 1/4" was just barely too small, and 1 3/8" was a bit too big. I decided to go with the smaller size and dremel sand out the holes a small amount for a perfect fit. I think it was a good decision and it worked out well.
Dry fitting the thru hulls:
Dry fitting the pumps making sure everything sits okay, everything looking good so far.
Next up is the thru hulls for the drains/vents.
Fast forward to this spring, I talked to mike and bought the parts needed for an aerator fill/drain with a reversible port/starboard transfer pump.
First step is to decide where to drill the holes in the bottom, with some help from you guys I decided on the configuration below and marked the hull. I checked clearance, rechecked, then checked it another few times for good measure. Positioned this way I am able to turn off the shut off valves with a short stick from the V drive access port (if ever needed in an emergency).
With the spots marked, I used magnets to tape off and transfer the marks from the inside to the bottom of the hull.
Now the tough part, drilling a hole in your expensive boat. I heard it was easier if you had a beer or two first, so I had 3. It helped lol. I started with a small pilot hole first just so I was absolutely certain 100% that my holes were lined up where they were supposed to be. Turns out they were marked perfect. I found the small pilot hole was a good way to "ease in" to drilling a massive hole. After the pilot it was a lot easier to bring out the hole saw.
Before I drilled the holes for the thru hulls, I tested the hole saws out on a piece of wood first. 1 1/4" was just barely too small, and 1 3/8" was a bit too big. I decided to go with the smaller size and dremel sand out the holes a small amount for a perfect fit. I think it was a good decision and it worked out well.
Dry fitting the thru hulls:
Dry fitting the pumps making sure everything sits okay, everything looking good so far.
Next up is the thru hulls for the drains/vents.
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