Axis Wakeboard Boat Forum

tank, lol... i bet that was fun!!

I did what ed said and put a manual ball valve in between the drain pump and drain port so that my 750s will fill all the way. The only bummer (small tiny "bummer" compared to having to use pumps over the side of the boat like I used to...) is that I have to lift both hatches in the rear, move the drying tray and try not to burn my hand when I open the valves when its time to empty my rear tanks/sacks. So in the spirit of making everything easier and completing my dream since 2007 of being able to slump my boat or empty it with the flick of a few switches, i have come up with a solution.

It will cost me $80 in parts and a couple hours of labor. I am putting in 12v electronic valves connected to each rear "empty" rocker. the valves I ordered are 3/4" 12v "normally closed" valves, I will connect them to the "empty" rockers of the rear ballast switches so that when I push Left and right "empty", the valves will open up when the empty pump turns on allowing me to empty my ballast and completely fill it again without going into the rear hatch...

I will take pictures and post it in the DIY shortly.

Good idea regarding the electronic valves... I want to check that out when you put them in. Where did you find the valves?

I routed my drain hoses on the outer, top side of the locker (far from the engine). They still drain even though the water travels upward.

yeah ed, i forgot to take a look at your boat the other day to see where/how you ran yours. Sounds like a better location for a manual valve, then you dont have to life the dryer tray?

mine run up against the back of the back seats right next to the anti siphon valves. I will keep the new electric valve there.

I found the valves on ebay. search "12v electronic valve 3/4"" and it should pop up. $30 each and free shipping. they are 3/4" brass ball valves with 12v silenoids. I bought 50 feet of low voltage "lamp cord" from home depot for 7 bucks.

I will take a lot of pictures, but I have already tested the connections to the rocker switches with this crappy valve i bought from this sparkfun.com website. it was a plastic 3/4" electronic valve that was only 7 bucks each. problem was the actual opening was only 3/8", and I felt it was too small an opening and would take to long to drain 950 lbs of water.

I expect to get my valves by this weekend.

Ed, finished the install. its awesome! loving it... It took me almost 2 hours by my self. You and I could do it together in less than an hour.

Let me know if you want to do this, we can make it a winter project

I saw your write up John... It looks like a great idea! I think I will take you up on your offer (for a winter project).

Ed... sorry you couldnt come out today. it was fun, but got windy in late morning/afternoon. I am off now for approx 7 weeks straight and plan on riding almost everyday. The weekends are still a little bit hit n miss for skier crowds, but it will taper off as the fall hits us. weekdays in the early am are best. let me know, anytime.

I got an on-the-water test of my valve set up. works great. I did not notice any increase in drain time and when filling, no water leaked or was able to pass the valves. Not sure if you've ridden the back water, but to get to our spot we have to go thru the ski course. So today we ended up making a few trips from the riding spot to the docks. It was nice that while waiting for the skiers to make their final pass so that we could go on the course, i would empty all my sacks as much as possible, saving gas. It was real nice that the 3-4 times I emptied my sacks I did not have to lift anything, just hit the rocker... so stoked. def. worth the $80 bucks.

Tim rode with us today, and he brought randall. It was rad to have him riding behind my boat. I know you've had the opportunity to watch him ride from the boat, so you can appreciate just how fast and how big he rides. My speedo is calibrated and he was riding at 28.0 with a 90' line. It was impressive, even though he is a little bit injured, he still rode big.

Glad the valves work. Sounds like a really good solution.

Dude... sorry I missed riding with you guys! Randall does blow it up every time he hits the wake. Its so impressive how big he goes! My knees hurt watching him ride! By the end of your seven weeks you should be hittin it like Mr. Harris!

I'll pm you about my schedule.