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Wake Boat Ballast Tips

Dec. 12 2023 Ownership Tips By Northwest Inboards

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If you’re new to wake boat ownership or have recently purchased your first wake boat model, you may not be aware of the importance of ballasts. While wake boats provide everything you need to successfully cruise blue waters and kick up some impressive waves, ballasts are the best way to ensure you catch real air while surfing with your wakeboard. To learn more about ballasts and how to use them on your new wake boat, check out our helpful guide below. 

Why Ballasts Are Important

If you own a wake boat, you likely have plans to give wakeboarding a shot at one point or another. However, if you really want to ride some massive wakes, you’ll need to take advantage of ballasts to create some truly impressive swells. Ballasts are essentially weights—sometimes filled with water, sand, or scrap metal—used to weigh down a wake boat in strategic places to increase wake size. While you’ll still be able to hit a few swells without them, ballasts are the best way to experience wakeboarding with your boat.

Types of Ballasts

Many wake boats will come with automatic ballast systems that intake water from whatever pond or ocean you may be in to add weight to your model in specific areas. You can easily adjust the weight and water intake of this system with your wake boat’s dashboard.

However, if your wake boat doesn’t come with an automatic ballast system, you can still take advantage of fat-sacs or ballast-weight bags to weigh down your model. Fat-sacs are manually filled with sand or water so you can better control the weight of your wake boat but are much more difficult to care for and clean up after. Ballast-weight bags are much easier to maintain, but come pre-filled with metal so you’re unable to adjust the weight.

Looking for the perfect wake boat to help you catch some serious waves? Then stop by Northwest Inboards here in Issaquah, WA to get started! We offer an amazing selection of high-quality and top-performance wake boat models for you to choose from and proudly serve those nearby in the Seattle, WA region.