Max Ballast??

[TayTay]

I was wondering if there is a maximum ballast weight you should stick too? I have an '05 22 SSV and have the stock bags in it. When we have 8 people in the boat and the ballast full, it sits pretty low in the water. Especially when we have three people in the bow. We have taken water over the bow once and it seemed to just pump out but if for some reason a lot of water comes in, is there a chance that the bilge wont be able to keep up? I am looking at upgrading the rear bags to the 750 pounders but dont want to sink the boat, haha. It seems like the boat has a pretty low weight capacity. It says 9 people or like 1080 lbs. Is that 1080 lbs in addition to a all ballast weight when it is full? We had 8 people in the boat and I did some quick math and were probably sitting at 1300 lbs. If anybody has any input about this topic it would be appreciated.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

My 87 says 1400lbs including people and gear (8 person capacity). I routinly run 12-1400lbs ballast. Once you really get her weighted down you can't have too much in the bow or it will get dunked.

Don't forget the boat is filled with foam under the floors, and your gunwales are hollow and designed to trap lots of air (cept for the vents...). Also water is neutrally boyant when it is in the lake. Not so much if in your vdrive compartment and latched but if the boat sank up to the rubrail, they would still be floating or neutrally boyant. IN theory....

[TayTay]

Ya that makes sense. So when it says lets say 1080 lbs persons and gear. That is ADDITION to the FULL BALLAST right. At least the stock ballast. Wouldn't they rate it in addition to how the boat was designed to drive?

[TayTay]

You know what else I find peculiar is that my boat, '05 22ssv holds 9 people. Well we looked at a '05 21v as well and it was rated for 13! I just didn't understand why they made a bigger boat rated for less people...WEIRD.

[Fman]

My '08 22V Sunsport is rated for 15 people or 2100 lbs including ballast, people and gear. I did contact SC and they said the boat can hold quite a bit more weight than this, but legaly they cant tell you to put more weight than the rating posted on the boat. I think your '05 has a narrower beam at 95-96". I have a 100" beam which adds a little more stability.

If you are going to upgrade to the 750's and you have a full load of people, you would have to see how the boat performed. I have the 750's, but most of the time I only load one side for surfing. I have not yet filled all 2000 lbs of ballast and had a full load of people. Yesterday I had 10 people on my boat and was probably damn close to the 2100 lb limit. I dont think I would have felt comfortable adding another 2000 lbs of ballast. I notice the steering starts to lag on sharp turns with a full load of people and towing someone.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Tay, no, the stickers rated weight is the total including all people and all gear, that would include ballast too. Funny though they do not include the full tank of gas. Yes we are going over the rated weight by 5-600 lbs (some much more) but I wouldn't advertise it too much. How legal do you think the pros are riding 4000lbs in an x-star that weighs 5000lb dry (double my boats weight).

[saltare inverts]

Yea, those ratings are for extreme safety. Wich is good if you could see some of the idiots I see on a boat. Not that I am Einstein of wake but wow, it is scary at times. Most boaters are nice though. They will always wave at you.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Tay nine people tops? That seems odd.... is there seating for more???

[Sluggo]

Yeah, my 2005 22 SSV GG is the same way. The only thing I can think of is that they are accounting for the balast some how. There is seating for at least 10 regular size adults in my opinion. We don't have the seating behind the captains chair, but if any of my crew are kids, I usually go over 9 by a couple and not worry about it. Of course I will not have a leg to stand on if I get boarded given the over conservative sticker.

[TayTay]

The only difference between the 21V and 22SSV is the seat behind the drivers chair. I dont see how 4 people could fit there. I just thought it was weird. Who knows. I finally got inspected by the Sheriff yesterday and got my '09 boat inspection sticker. We like to call them the "Dont F#ck with me" sticker. That was nice. But anyway, ya it only holds nine and the weight limit is only like just over 1000 lbs.