Adding FlyHigh sacks to stock ballast system...(winter project)

[x10vancouver2003]

Hey all,

I am looking into adding some bigger sacs for my 2003 X10, and was looking for a bit of information and advice. The whole system is still stock, so the 2 hard tanks in the back compartments are obviously going to be removed...

I'm not sure if I can get away with leaving the stock original sac in the floor ski locker, but the boat definitely needs some more weight.

I have no experience with plumbing, although I have a pretty good grip on how the ballast system works, the pumps, etc. Was thinking about getting it done after this semester during Christmas break.


- How easy is it to remove the hard tanks in the back and add a pair of FlyHigh 400's or 750's?
- Can all the other components of the ballast system stay in tact? (pumps, PVC pipes, etc)
- Are the bags from FlyHigh able to be quick disconnected when not in use?

Any other tips and/or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time all!

[nmcjr]

I'll give my experience, but keep in mind I have a 02 star, though I imagine they are fairly similar.

Yes, remove the hard tanks—it’s easy and you will have so much more storage and servicing the engine etc is so much easier without them. You can upgrade the hose that goes from the pump to the sacs to 1" for faster flow, I didn't do the center tank because it’s harder, but you will have to add new hose from the pump to the sac and from the sac to the air outlet anyway (fill from the bottom, vent the top). I bought a black ribbed vinyl hose from West Marine that is very flexible that worked well. You may have to use hot water to get the hose on some of the fittings, just dip the end of the hose in the hot water for 30 seconds or so and it will make things much easier. For the fittings, check out the link below and go with the 740 style quick connects.

http://fatsac.com/PDFs/Quick%20Connect%20Fittings.pdf

For sac size, there are two trains of thought. One is to go with bigger sacs for more flexibility for surfing etc, but you probably won’t run full 750’s in the rear for wakeboarding. Or, you can do what I do and that is to go with smaller sacs so I can just fill them until the water runs out the overflows and have consistent weight and not have to time/eyeball the fill each time etc. I probably wouldn’t replace the center sac because you won’t add much weight anyway so to me it’s not worth the time and money.

Final thought is that you will need to add more weight to the bow too. I think a lot of people run too little weight in the bow, which causes the wake to be soft and thin at the top. Bow weight goes a long way toward wake quality and consistency. This is hull-specific so I don’t know exactly how much you will need, but I ended up with the 1000# bow triangle but that takes up all my bow seating so you could try the IBS or side sacs under the seats, but you may also need lead. I didn’t plumb the bow weight, but you could add a pump and do that too.

Check out wakemakers.com, they are very helpful if you call them-good guys. Hope this at least gets you started.

[nmcjr]

Oh, and if you haven't replaced your impellers recently, buy 3 new green style impellers which will make the pumps work much better.

[76S&S]

I have the same boat as nmcjr, I plumbed in the IBS off of the center sac and it works great. The center sac overflows into the IBS.

[jason@wakemakers.com]

Green impellers are essential if you upgrade to larger bags, otherwise your pumps will essentially stop working once the bag gets to around 300-350 pounds.

We're setting up a kit to Piggyback the Integrated Bow Sac off the factory center bag because that's something that so many of our customers have been doing lately.

[skeeler]

Not the same boat, but an X-Star. May give you some ideas....

http://www.lockituponline.com/08-x-s...high/index.htm

[jason@wakemakers.com]

Nice install skeeler, would you mind if we posted your pics on our site in our system showcase for other boat owners to view?

That setup used Fly High's additional ballast system kit for the X-Star (it's also available for the 2006 and newer X-2), and allows you to select whether you want to fill and drain the factory tanks or the auxiliary bags.

With the rear tank setup in your boat unfortunately that's no an option, but you could use that type of setup for the Integrated Bow Sac up front if you wanted (we sell the flow control valves separately here: http://www.wakemakers.com/fly-high-d...-manifold.html).

[skeeler]

Originally Posted by jason@wakemakers.com

Nice install skeeler, would you mind if we posted your pics on our site in our system showcase for other boat owners to view?

That setup used Fly High's additional ballast system kit for the X-Star (it's also available for the 2006 and newer X-2), and allows you to select whether you want to fill and drain the factory tanks or the auxiliary bags.

With the rear tank setup in your boat unfortunately that's no an option, but you could use that type of setup for the Integrated Bow Sac up front if you wanted (we sell the flow control valves separately here: http://www.wakemakers.com/fly-high-d...-manifold.html).

Go for it....

[s_worty]

I have a bow bag and two rear bags in the rear storage compartments plumbed in from the overflows on the stock ballast bags. I think I bought them all from wakeside.com but I don't know the exact bags, but they are all from Fly High. I used fittings from Fly High or from Ace Hardware and water heater/water filtration/reverse osmosis tubing from Ace Hardware. They all fill and empty with the original ballast pumps. The front bag made the most difference because when I used to hit rollers the PerfectPass used to surge so this helped keep the paddle wheel in the water. Unfortunately when I added the rear bags I started having problems with the surging again, so I upgraded to the Stargazer, wow, what a difference, like a whole new boat! However, at that point I didn't have any hole shot and my boat used to take forever to plane, so I bought a new OJ prop from Eric. Problem solved, and now I get a great wake!

oh yeah, and I don't notice a significant increase in gas consumption, great wake...and economical with the MCX engine...

[G-Star]

Originally Posted by 76S&S

I have the same boat as nmcjr, I plumbed in the IBS off of the center sac and it works great. The center sac overflows into the IBS.

I've been looking at doing 750s in the rear lockers and an IBS up front. Do you have any photos of how the IBS fits in your '02 X-Star? Does it completely fill, or is it too squashed up?