Fat Sacks filling up automatically

[SupraTamu]

I have a 2008 24' Gravity Launch Edition boat and finally got the chance to take it out for the second time. The fat sack in the front and on the left side are filling up automatically. What causes this? I will be taking it into the dealer to fix but want to know what causes it to occur. I already had it in once before to adress the front sack filling up automatically. I have seen a bunch of threads on the ballasts bags and this seems to be a problem on a lot of the boats.

[Fman]

I have a 2008 24' Gravity Launch Edition boat and finally got the chance to take it out for the second time. The fat sack in the front and on the left side are filling up automatically. What causes this? I will be taking it into the dealer to fix but want to know what causes it to occur. I already had it in once before to adress the front sack filling up automatically. I have seen a bunch of threads on the ballasts bags and this seems to be a problem on a lot of the boats.

What causes this to happen is the sprinkler valves fail or are in the open position and water is forced into the bag through the scupper on the bottom of the boat. The faster you go the more pressure is pushed through the scupper and fills the bags quicker (if the sprinkler valve is not working/open position). One thing you need to check is to make sure the sprinkler valve is in the closed position with the manual black lever. Check in your manual and it will tell you what position it should be in, I believe it is in the down position but I could be mistaken. If they are in the on correct position then the valve has failed and needs to be replaced. You should hear a click when you turn the valve on/off with the toggle switch.

Honestly, your ballast system is very poorly designed. I have an '08 with the same system, and I had to replumb and get rid of the those valves. You can read my project write-up "Tsunami ballast upgrade". It is sooooo much better now, I can fill twice as fast and I never have problems with not priming, bags filling when they should not, air pockets forming. If you are planning on using your ballast system often then I would highly recommend this upgrade, or else you are always going to have problems on the water which we all know pretty much ruins the day. This is why in '09 they went to the impeller pumps, they work much better. You have a great boat with a crappy ballast fill/drain system right now.

If you have any q's please ask, this is one part of this boat I know very well after working on it. below is the link to the Tsunami ballast upgrade. Talk to your dealer and see if they would consider re-doing your ballast system to the '09 system. It would not be too difficuly, just a couple more intake grates, and (3) JABSCO ballast puppy pumps and some re-routing of lines. Its extremely disappointing to see this awesome wakeboard boat with this crappy, flawed ballast fill/drain system.

https://forum.supraboats.com/showthread.php?t=4595

[SupraTamu]

I appreciate the explanation and will check out your link. When I take the boat back in I will ask them about the upgrade.

[jonyb]

I've had to replace my sprinkler valves several times because they fail. They don't have trash, the switch isn't on, I just notice that the boat leans to one side and say: "ya'll are gonna have to get up, I've gotta take these cushions out and turn the water off".