2007 RZ2 with no ballasts... Yes or No

[culrich77]

So I'm just looking for opinions on buying a 2007 RZ2 with no ballasts. The boat is immaculate, has only 189 hours and the price will be 40k. The seller does have 3 Fat Sacs included in the sale, my question is how well will it surf? And how much will I be looking at spending if I decide to integrate a ballast system. Any thoughts would be much appreciated, thanks!!

[Surf406]

the skys the limit when it comes to settn up a boat with all the custom stuff out there, honestly if it were me id find one with factory already in it and then go from there but it sounds like a good deal, also on the earlier rz youll have to shave the corners off the platform to keep it from dragging your wake. if it were me id wait but that's just my opinion. cost wise maybe anywere from $1000-$2500? if you have a shop do it and they know how.

[robert theisen]

Actually not a bad deal. You could do your own ballast. That way you could control hose and pump sizes to minimize fill and drain times.Chpthril would be a good person to ask about cost of ballast.

[dakota4ce]

Different people, different opinions. I would PREFER no factory ballast. A huge ballast system with custom sacs is going to run $2500 for the equipment. Install is up to you. I installed my own. I am sure there are a million ways to get it installed by someone else and a million price points too.

And x2--Chpthril is absolutely where to start.

[chpthril]

my question is how well will it surf?

100% better with aftermarket ballast over stock ballast. Starting with a clean slate, you are ahead of the game IMO.

[alwayssummer]

I bought my 2008 with no ballast and couldn't be happier. I did all my ballast myself and there is really only one hard part. That being putting a drill to the bottom of your baby. It seriously took me two trips to the boat before I could finally pull the trigger. However, from what I've heard the ballast of those days was far from desire able, lots of problems. yes I did build my own swim platform. The old one will have a monster lip on the bottom. And it was too big. The corners cut into the wave like a butter knife. And the silly "E" rubber is tough on the feet. The only other problem I've had is the plastic handle on the board racks of the Sampson tower. Easy $25 fix from Sampson for the metal ones. Also the vinyl is junk. But everyone already knows that. I say, if you can pick it up for 40k, then it is well worth the investment.

[retox1]

My 07 came with factory ballast and i probably would have preferred if it came with none. It would have made for less work overall when i was plumbing in sacs. I was able to reuse some of the factory things like switches, and the factory front pumps, but it was a fair bit of work to pull the factory tanks, open up the lockers for more space, move batteries, make new engine divider walls, etc. Some of that can be avoided when your starting from scratch.

[culrich77]

Thanks for the awesome insight. So another question, if I buy the boat (which I'm leaning to strongly) and take it out with what it's got, the 3 fat sacs, and some big friends how will my surf wake be with just filling the sacs in the rear lockers and sticking some big boys in the back corner?

[Surf406]

everyone likes there own surf wave, your headed in the right direction youll prob be fine but it takes a lot of playing around to get exactly what u want too.

[culrich77]

I've searched for a thread where someone modified the swim platform but can't find one, can anyone point me to one or does anyone have pics?

Thanks! This forum is much more friendly and helpful than the Malibu one, haha!

[alwayssummer]

I did it with a 750 in the port rear and 250 in front, plus a lot of friends and it was OK. that was before I plumbed in the ballast. you will have to play around with it a lot, but the RZ2 is an amazing surf boat. I like my RZ2 with about 500 up front a 1450 surf side and 750 off side. one 155lb. guy in the boat and a driver.

[alwayssummer]

as for the swim platform. I went the most expensive way possible. I wanted it to look nice(but also. I'm kinda stupid). I made the shape I want out of 3/4" cdx. doubled up for a 1.5" thick deck. then a coat of polyester resin one layer of fiberglass mat. another layer of resin. then gel coat. without a chopper gun to spray the gel coat on I wasted a lot of it. a gallon to be exact. for the traction I went with seadek, and again wasted a lot of it because I just had to be different. total cost was about $500. still half the cost to have one made but about $300 more than if I just went with HDPE and the seadek, which is what most people do. its not super difficult to do. you just don't want it to touch the water when your surfing. I took the new deck straight to the brackets (nothing wider than that) and rounded the corners off. you can always just make a mock up plywood one, screw it on and see if you like the shape and then go for it.

[Booms]

When I purchased our 08 RZ2 it had no ballast. I worked with Mike Chpthril to get everything I needed for the install.
Here is my ballast install - http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...all&highlight=

Then I was able to secure an 09 swim platform and then i did the following. Probably overkill but it filled in the lip.
http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...-swim-platform

I also did this to make more room for the large goofy side sac.
http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...uilt-in-Cooler

The RZ2 puts out a great wave. Have fun!!

[culrich77]

Thanks for the great info Booms, do you know about how much everything ran you for the ballast system?

[retox1]

I did mine last year and i went the cheap route. I did an 1100lb sac in each rear locker with 1200gph pumps for fills and drains. The only thing i reused in my rear ballast was the factory switches, and a few small fittings on my vent lines. If i remember right, my package of stuff was just over $900, but that had a few things for my front as well. I do wish i would have went with the bigger "enzo style" sacs, but that would have added quite a bit to the total. If you are starting from scratch and want to do it with the big sacs and do it properly, i'd guess somewhere between $2-2500 for the parts.

That RZ2 will still surf ok even if you just throw a few sacs in the lockers and a couple buddies on the seat. I still remember my the test drive in mine. With just factory ballast (250lbs) on the surf side, and the seller and his kids on the seat, the wave was way bigger than what we used to surf on in my old Mastercraft 205.