XT20 ballast bags for rear lockers

[gallobg]

I'm looking to add ballast bags to the rear lockers in my 2018 XT20. Often when I go out surfing, it is just my wife and small kids in the boat so I need to boost the ballast.

My 2018 does not have the "plug n play" system, but my local dealer tells me he can add bags into the system to fill with the main hard tanks. The trick so far is finding bags that fit the somewhat small lockers. I have looked through the Wakemakers website and spoken with their tech department to find something. The best option appears to be a custom manufactured bag (about $250 each, which seems to be a good price on par with standard size bags).

The rear lockers measure 24" long, 18" wide, and 21-24" tall. A custom bag of this size will add about 350lbs for each side.

Here's my question - has anyone done this? I trust my dealer although I have a nagging concern since the boat doesn't seem to be setup from the factory to do this. I presume it is possible to add the bags and adjust the fill timers?

Also if anyone knows of an available bag for the XT20, I'm open to suggestions.

[Hock333]

Did you come up with anything ? I have the very same problem/question.

[gallobg]

Yes. I was able to purchase bags from WakeMakers and had my dealer install them into the boat's plumbing. My 2018 XT20 is not setup to have extra bags installed, so the dealer had to be creative with using a "T" fitting on the inlet side so that the bags fill when the main hard tanks are filling. Similar "T" setup on the overflow lines at the top.

Good news: it now works great and was a gamechanger for my wave. Less-good news: it took some trial and error to work out the bugs (see below).

Here's what I ordered from WakeMakers:

• WakeMAKERS Engine Divider Panel Savers x 1
• Fly High 1" & 1-1/8" Flow-Rite Bag Fitting W743 x 4
• Fly High Pro X Mastercraft X-Series Rear Sac W714 (455 lbs) x 2

Here were the growing pains:

(1) These bags are heavy and displace a lot of force out the sides and back. The biggest problem I had was that the weight of the bags towards the stern while I was surfing collapsed the false wall panel at the rear of the bag compartment (those panels only have a few small screws to hold them in place). This made the bag sit funny and kink the fill/drain line, which meant I couldn't use the pumps to drain the bags! My frantic solution was to physically push on the full bags to get some of the water to spill out the upper overflow line enough to get the bag to un-kink the fill/drain line enough to get the pumps to drain. It worked but was not a fun time.

(1b) My dealer had to reinforce that false wall panel towards the stern so that it could not move again. Once that was done, I haven't had any more problems. Absolutely do something about this from the start!

(2) For the side weight, you absolutely need those engine divider panel savers. Your dealer will need to secure them down with screws to at the bottom (and I think also towards the stern using an L-bracket somewhere).

(3) The onboard fill and drain timers need to be adjusted (extended) to account for the new bags. You'll have to do some trial and error with the dealer to make sure the new bags are completely filled and then later drained.

(3b) Also remember that the fill percentage of the bags (i.e., 50%, 75%, etc). are now based on the entire ballast including the new bags. If you are only surfing, then you'll fill them 100% and it'll be fine. BUT if you are wakeboarding then your previous settings will need to be adjusted and the factory presets will be wrong (the boat will be over-ballasted now, for example, stock present 50% will now be like 30%).


Good luck!

[Hock333]

That is great information. Thank you.
you ordered stock bags and not custom sized ?

[gallobg]

Yes, it just seemed easier and the bags fit the space well.