1jeffgignac

Thank you for the information. I can't wait to take a look at the underside/backside of the boat in the lift this weekend and start poking around to figure out how everything is run and where all of the various pumps are located. I am treating the situation as a blessing. In 2010 when the pumps were installed they were all 750 GPH. I am taking this opportunity to upgrade each "empty" pump for my rear locker V-Drive bags on each side of the engine from Johnson 750 GPH to Attwood Tsunami 1200 GPH pumps. I may revisit the "fill" pumps in the off season and upgrade those so they fill quicker as well.

Thanks @Jake707 and @Willy.Fire. @DarksideRgave me the same advice. From all accounts, it sound like 2,750-3,000 lbs. of ballast is the sweet spot. My rear bags were aftermarket that were plumbed in so fortunately I can just swap those bags out with larger 750's easily. Hard to imagine those big bags being full and fitting in the back lockers but it sounds like they just barely do. I currently have a single 750 sac in the mail that I plan to lay across the back seat and additional bow weight on the way as well. One issue I was running into with my homemade wave shaper device is that my boat was not sunk enough to give a lot of real estate for the wedge to be properly placed. With the additional weight, I will have much more flat hull surface that is submerged that would not have been before.

I hit something underground for which the shaft had to be repaired. Additional work to the hull needed to be done as well so it sounds a bit more sever than your encounter, @TexP51. Since that time, whenever the boat sits in the water for longer than 30 mins. our bilge will run and blow water out. It never amounts to anything and out boat is always under a covered lift year around but it has never been the same since the prop incident.

There may be a thread out there addressing this so redirect me if this horse has been beaten.... Looking for how folks have setup pre-surf system era boats to get the best wave. My boat is 21' 6'' long and 93 inches across. I have a 200 lb. built in ballast running up the middle and a 250lb tank in each V Drive locker also built into the boat. There is generally 250 lbs. of sandbags in the bow that can be thrown around as needed depending on whether we are wakeboarding or surfing. I keep 100 lbs. of lead on board at all times for small adjustments. I have a DIY surf shaper and am also trying to determine how to best use that new device. To answer the obvious question: I am open to getting more ballast in any form/shape/size. I really want to know how to most to effectively place it within the boat to maximize the wave my smaller boat can throw out. Looking for very specific setups and pics if possible...

I purchased Fly High aftermarket ballast bags to go into the V-Drive lockers for my '09 Elite V C4. They were plumbed in and integrated into the controls of the boat's helm. The port side ballast bag will fill properly when the switch is flipped. When going to empty the bag, the 5 amp fuse blows immediately before the pump motor even begins running. My initial thought is to replace the Johnson pump that is currently attached. That brings up two questions: is it the ballast pump motor that is causing the fuse to blow? Why only when emptying, not filling the bag? It appears as though the style of integrated pumps that Johnson and Jabsco put out have changed from what I have and I am not entirely sure how it is supposed to plumb in. Any thoughts on the setup are appreciated. The pictures are of my existing pump (Johnson 750 GPH). The ballast bag has two tubes coming out of the top. One is the vent that allows run off to come out of the side of the boat. I am not entire sure what the other tube leads to. The pump is on the back bottom of the bag. It is pulling water in the bottom I imagine but am not entirely sure.

@Troy, the top portion of my tower got severely bent from being crunched in the boat lift. The bottom half that actually connects to the boat has not been impacted.

I think we are currently going through the exact same issue. I have a 2009 Elite V C4 with an old school 4 post mount tower. It has broken and I am looking for a replacement. I started a thread on here several days ago and someone replied with a post regarding their conversion to a Roswell Aviator Pro. It looked sick but was costly considering $5,000 for the tower and additional work to patch up fiberglass. I will keep you in the loop if I can source an OEM tower for this make and model. My boat is pictured below, it may be the same tower you are looking for.

This is definitely on my winter to-do list for my 2009 Elite V C4. The carpet is in good shape but the snaps have started breaking off and will continue slowly but surely. From what I have read on here and other forums, the template kits are pretty easy to use.

Thank you for the reply's. @InfinitySurf, the article you mentioned said something about Great Lakes Skippers. I have seen one their that appears to fit but the shipping will be pricey. The aviator tower looks slick on his boat and it a very close representation of what one would look like on my boat. Cost difference between the two would be roughly $3,500-$4,000 for the aviator or $2,500 for an older tower. Time to see how much investment I am ready for.

Our 2009 Elite V C4's "tribal" style tower was badly bent after being left in the boat lift while it was raising. The top half of the tower was badly damaged. The lower half of the tower that connects directly with the boat is relatively unharmed. Finding the same tower has proved impossible since tower designs have changed drastically since then. I have contacted most OEM and aftermarket tower makers with no success. I am looking into what all is involved in removing the lower half of the tower, repairing the fiberglass from the original mounting points, and installing a more modern tower with only 2 mounting locations (as opposed to 4 with the tribal). I am looking for suggestions regarding this process or other avenues of taking this repair. Thanks for any input!