Quest for rear bench seat hard tank...

Hey guys - As you probably know I am always trying to perfect my ballast in my 87 SunSport DD which can be a challenge.

The rear bench seat is particularly tough. There is a top seat section and a base section that the top seat section sits on. In our older models the base is a wooden storage locker. It is divided into three sections to support the weight of someone sitting in the seats.

It is possible to remove the dividers, rebuild the seat base and put a sac inside. However, the space is small and when full the sac only holds about 200-225lbs. When it gets full, the seat cushins pop up. :) Also, there is some wasted space between the rear back of the seat base and the gas tank that could be better used.

So, I would like to try and replace this rear bench seat base with a hard tank. This is standard on 1999 era Supra Launch boats. The top section has the same three piece divider under the seat cushion (Top piece) but the base itself is a big plastice tank and the top is not open for storage.

I have been looking for resources and links, and have finally come across some.

This thread has good discussion and sugesstions. I will repost some of the pics below.
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/m...21/322389.html

Here is my original rear bench seat base, with the top section disconnected. It unscrews, then lifts up on a hinge and folds over the rear ski locker.

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/3490/DCP_5932w.jpg

Here is the rear bench seat base after I modified it. Some of the wood was rotten but I got away without haveing to replace anything.

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/3490/DCP_5937w.jpg

Here's how it looks with a sac in it. The rear bench seat top section has been lowered back down over the base, but not screwed in (allowing easy access). The cushing just set on top rear bench seat top section.

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/3...ium/603713.jpg

And here are the pics of the hard tank taken from Aaron Ware user 99slaunch. I will be calling Skiers Choice soon to see if they can supply this and dimension and price.

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/3490/LaunchTank1.jpg

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/3490/LaunchTank2.jpg

http://photos.wakeboarder.com/data/3490/LaunchTank3.jpg

More links to discussion on this topic

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/m...19/721579.html
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/m...21/380263.html
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/m...21/557566.html
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/m...21/460268.html
http://www.wakepics.com/video/9832/2...aunch-for-sale

Cool upgrade, keep us posted on the progress!

I made a hard tank in my last boat just like you have pictured. I made mine out of aluminum. It worked great and could handle anything. It held five hundred lbs.

Got a pic?? What model boat was that?

It was a 1983 Correct Craft. I have pics somewhere Ill try to find. It worked real well, tank looked similar to our gas tanks only bigger. It was fairly easy to weld up. Fittings were common also. You can also go to Rv compaines that have hundreds of presized water holding tanks you could use as ballast tanks. Some even have used that are much cheaper like Colaw Rv parts.

I'm looking at buying a 2000 Launch. I went to test drive it today to find out that this boat does have the rear factory ballast under the seat but the owner said that it has never been filled up. There were no switches by the steering wheel that said anything about the ballast and I didn't see a place to connect a pump to fill the tank? I can't imagine that someone would buy a boat and pay for the upgraded factory ballast but then not pay for the pump to fill the tank. I know it seems like a stupid question but does anyone know how to fill it? Thanks.

Hey mikey, I have one in my 87 Sunsport, it's super sweet, makes it really easy. If you need any info on it, I can do some research. The fella I bought the boat from had it done at a local shop here.

Can you tell me any more about how it is set up? Does it have a vent/overflow line that exits the hull so you can tell when it is full? Do you have a sac in the rear ski locker too and are the connected? What type of pump do you use? I would love to see a pic of how good of a fit it is for the rear bench seat in the SunSport.

Ditto, what Mikey said! do you also happen to know how many lbs of water it holds? I'd love to have my ski locker back for storage.

I want to use BOTH spaces hehehe!

Hey sorry for the delay here, haven't been on the forum for a while, too busy working so if the sun ever comes out here!!!!!! I can use my boat! Yes, it does have an overflow so I can see if its full, it is a 55 gallon tank, so about 460 lbs or so, it is also connected to the front ballast, and filled with a seperate pump. About that ski locker, filled with a 370! but I still put some stuff in there when it's not full. The 370 and the 750 I run are both soft and not hooked up to my built in pump, which sorry Mikey I actually know nothing about, except I hit two switches one to fill the bow and one to fill the hard tank. The others I fill manually with a tsunami pump. By the way Mikey, I'm getting my surf wave dialed!! just following ur example.