2001 23V rebuild from the ground up

[SONIC]

Mike,
Good to know about the comparable fill rates, what's the fastest reversible out there right now?

Sending over ballast files now. Dimensions may change if I decide to move the batteries and pump, but this will be a good starting point, if they change they will just get about a foot longer.

[chpthril]

With a reversible impeller pump, we design our systems to fill and drain at the bottom. No issues at all. Still suggest a vent on the top though. An un-vented sac can burst or worse, pop the deck cap loose from the hull at the rub rail. Seen it twice.

By time you factor the head loss of a typicall 1100 or 1200 gph aerator, you end up at the same flow rate of the jabsco puppy or johnosn ultra.

Once the entire system is designed, not a huge cost difference between an aerator and impeller pump system. Impeller setups are simpler and no need to worry about pump orientation in regards to air lock. Both have pros and cons though.

Put some dimensions and ports on those sacs and ill get a quote for you.

[SONIC]

That's a good call on the fittings.
Possibly on the lower rear of the bags so that they never have to flex with the upward movement of the bags.
I've read opposing viewpoints on filling from the bottom, bit I imagine it works fine.

[SONIC]

I hadn't considered making my own bags, I'm not quite sure how it's done. I may have to look into it.
Kind of seems like a good way to sink a boat though, I can just see them filling all the way up and then bursting hahaha

I'll be using reversible aerators are just too many possible failure points for me. I'm okay with slightly slower fill times.

[freeheel4life]

Only serviced one new Axis, but I hated the rear bench seat while I was in it. Having a picnic table bench with powder coated aluminum and a vinyl piece on top is not a seat. IIRC, it was a new(er) A22.

Are you planning on building your own bags as well?? If so would love to see your process. One thing to consider if you are, is how the fittings and hoses will flex as bags fill and drain.
Some have gotten it right, and others not so much. From what I've seen no fitting from any bag builder does well if the fittings get rubbed against hatches above or on glass/solid structure around them as bags expand and contract. So consider hose and fittings so they move as little as possible, yet still have room to move, if that makes any sense. Why i like reversibles over aerators, amongst other reasons.

[SONIC]

Drew up my ballast bags this afternoon for the rears
I can add another 332 lbs per side if I move the battery and TAPS pump. Still deciding on that.

[duffymahoney]

Yeah, I would just have left it how it was stock, then just added this. I think its a great design by them. Simple and effective. Boats are too complicated now

[SONIC]

That would have been a good call!
I don't know how I would have made it match up with the original though. That's pretty clever on axis' part though, less materials AND more storage.

[duffymahoney]

And amazing work!

[duffymahoney]

It could have been cool (easier) to leave that as a shelf. No fiberglass going down, like the new axis boats, makes for good storage.

[SONIC]

So begins the glass work:

For the seat I stuck it together with polybond b39 and am now glassing over it.
That one's cured (I did wet it out better) on the inside for reinforcement. Now I'll use cloth on top after I round over the edges, then glue it into the boat with the putty and glass it in. Then I'll finally get to glass the floor.

This is my first foray into fiberglass using epoxy resin and not polyester.....it sucks. Having to wait 24 hours to cure makes work very very slow. With the quick stuff I would have been done by now haha.

[SONIC]

Yep that's exactly my thought!

I've also got a Duramax and I routinely pull 20k+ lbs of lumber so it doesn't even notice the boat

[freeheel4life]

We ran 250 a side in the rears of an r21 this last summer, and that combined 500 in lead weight was a huge difference especially with only 4 people on the boat. I know its been said but being able to concentrate weight in certain areas with lead seems to be beneficial. Some kind of access/door in rear lockers to stack lead subfloor is an awesome idea. If you know you are tubing/having multisport day you can always pull some out as you can count on having more bodies on board. Then put it back in for weeknight surf session with just a couple of people real quick My favorite.

[JohnnieMo]

But lead is more dense

Liquid lead is a bit more challenging to deal with

More ballast is a good idea overall. I've always avoided lead because my poor Avalanche was already at its limit towing my boat. However I now have a Duramax. Maybe I need some hard ballast too!

[SONIC]

As far as lead sinking the boat if it swamps...
At that point it's insurances problem, I don't care if it's 2 feet underwater or 100