ballast in pirata or saltare

[cowboy4]

Thinking of going ahead and putting a ballast system in my pirata. Wonder if anyone had pics or idea's of how much and where i should weigh it down. I was thinking of bracing the rear compartment filling it and the center where the pole and cooler used to be. maybe even fill the enclosed bow. I saw where someone had rebuilt the seat bases in the back into one base and had a bag built to fit the entire space.

I mostly do wake boarding but want to try wake surfing this summer so definitely need to get some weigh into it.

[Salty87]

i played around with my saltare a bunch, back in the day. i don't think i'm going to sac my new floors but i don't board as much as i used to.

anyway, the best i found was to keep the weight more forward. i tried a 250 in the rear locker a few times and the effect wasn't good. it's just too far back. or, i should say it didn't work with a 500 on the bow cushions (playpen). maybe it would with more up in the bow, you might have room to work with in a closed bow.

i liked having a 500 on each side of the engine and 500 in the bow, right in front of the windshield. lift your wakeplate all the way up too.

you might play with 250 in the back and more in the closed bow to keep the floor clear. the sacs were in the way of closing the engine cover too if you need to get in there at all.

[cowboy4]

I have been talking to some guys on ww and there is a guy with a saltare running 1k in the bow and 600 in the back and he said he loves it. The pics of his wake looks great to. When I redid my floors I took out the cooler and pylon. So I think I might try to get a bag that fits all the way from right in front of the motor to under the bow under the floor. Put a nice brace in fron of the motor so I don't eat up my sac with the pulleys. Then brace the rear compartment and see if I can get 600 back there. Thinking using a external pump till I like what I see then do a full install. Also have you surfed behind your boat?

[Salty87]

in front of the engine sounds like a good spot. 600 in the back will be interesting.

i've surfed but haven't messed with ballast, usually have a larger crowd for that so i just have people move around. i've only surfed behind 1 other boat, i think...can't really compare it to anything.

[cowboy4]

Side not is the 97 saltare the same hull design as ours? Looking for a custom cover and got a shop that'll make one out of sunbrella for 250 but the closest they have is a 97 saltare cover.

[Salty87]

i don't know specifically...nada guides shows the same length and beam for the 2.

[cowboy4]

Might have to try it. Thats the same cost the generic covers go for.
Salty your boat put up for the year yet??? I dry winterized mine but there have been so many warm weekend lately I have beenso tempted to go out.
How far from texoma do you live?

[Salty87]

i'm probably 6-8 hours from texoma, never been there.

that's a good price on the cover, i need one too. make sure you can return it if there's a problem. just risking shipping then.

i usually don't winterize. it doesn't get that cold in austin, not for long either. i use a shop light under the cover for a few nights a year.

was 80 here this weekend, boat ran great!

[cowboy4]

maybe sometime this summer we should go run over there. I got to eufaula a few times a year but haven't been to texoma in a while.

80 thats not fair this past weekend got to 75 but today it's in the teens.

[Salty87]

i checked out your WW thread...1000 in the bow, 600 in the back...sounds like fun.

i replaced some of my seat bases in the back because they were rotted. it's pretty easy. the guy that trimmed his seat backs did a great job. i wonder what he did for the middle cushion, he said he extended the middle part by about 6 inches. check out the pic in this thread.... http://supraboats.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=3520

nice looking way to deal with that cushion.

you gonna do the same setup? looks real nice

[cowboy4]

Was thinking of doing it the same size as factory but that may be a better idea and just have some teak as a step.