WakeMAKERS is pleased to announce that we now offer will call pick up of orders placed by local customers.  If you live in the greater Portland, OR area (or if you’ll be traveling through the Northwest), you now have the option of picking up your order to get it the same day.  While you’re here, ask about our great deals on Fly High Factory Seconds and blem wakeboard ballast bags.

If you would like to come grab your order give us a call or reply to your email confirmation and let us know. Once you have contacted us we will send you an email with an availability date and further instructions for your local pickup. Remember that you must order the item(s) you want before arranging for local pickup, this is not a retail location.

WakeMAKERS is located at 17435 SW 63rd Avenue Lake Oswego OR, 97239

Please send an email to sales@wakemakers.com with any questions or for directions.

For information on other shipping options and policies, please see our Shipping Policy.

The only complaint about the Ballast Puppy (and any other flexible vane impeller pump) is the price, these high capacity, solid brass pumps are spendy.  Finally we can do something about that, as we’ve been able to negotiate a better price with Jabsco based on our volume, and we can pass those savings on to you.

$219.95 Buy Now »

]]> http://media.wakemakers.com/2010/07/price-drop-alert-jabsco-ballast-puppy-wakeboard-ballast-pump-just-219-95/feed/ 0 http://media.wakemakers.com/2010/06/get-it-by-the-4t/ http://media.wakemakers.com/2010/06/get-it-by-the-4t/#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:39:34 +0000 spencer@wakemakers.com http://media.wakemakers.com/?p=347 WakeMAKERS.COM has just received a shipment of Fly High Tsunami Ballast Pumps and the Launch Pad Sumo Pumps just in time for the the holiday weekend. We also have a huge selection of both Fly High Ballast Bags and Launch Pad Sumo Ballast Bags.

CONTACT US with any ballast product questions you may have.

WakeMAKERS.COM has just received a shipment of Fly High Tsunami Ballast Pumps and the Launch Pad Sumo Pumps just in time for the the holiday weekend. We also have a huge selection of both Fly High Ballast Bags and Launch Pad Sumo Ballast Bags.

CONTACT US with any ballast product questions you may have.

Most Popular Ballast Pumps:
Fly High Pro X Tsunami Ballast Pump
Launch Pad Sumo Pump

Most Popular Ballast Bags:
Fly High Pro X Series V-Drive Surf Sac 400 lbs.
Launch Pad Sumo V Sac 750 lbs.

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Launch Pad Sumo Pump:

For the 2010 Season, Launch Pad has introduced the NEW Sumo Pump. This high speed ballast pump pairs up with Launch Pad’s popular Sumo Ballast Bags using the Link Fitting System.  Launch Pad’s spring-loaded Link valve creates a clean, water-tight seal that automatically opens and closes when the Sumo pump is used for filling and draining, eliminating water shooting into the boat. The Sumo Ballast Pump is being touted as one of the most powerful ballast pumps on the market. With a fill rate of 100 pounds in 55 seconds your sacs will be full before you can finish applying your sunscreen.

When you want a clean simple to use ballast bag and pump combo check out the Launch Pad Sumo line of products. Launch Pad has a Sumo Sac to fit every storage compartment in your boat. Contact us for any questions you may have about the new Sumo Pump or how to weight your boat for wakesurfing or wakeboarding.

Fly High called us the other day to ask if we would be interested in buying some custom bags they had made that a customer had decided not to use. We said sure, why not, send them our way. Imagine our surprise when the box arrived tucked in among one of our shipments, and we opened it to find these custom made Tige bow ballast bags. When they said their customer wasn’t interested it never crossed our mind that their customer might be the company that built your boat!

So if you’ve got a Tige Z1 these custom bow bags are perfect for you. If you’ve got another boat with an open bow, then chances are they’re perfect for you too, especially if you’re into surfing. Having a single custom bag made to these dimensions would easily cost $400 due to the shape, but since we got them for a deal we’re passing the savings on to you.

Buy This Custom Wakeboard Ballast Bag»

Add two of these bags to the bow of your boat and you’ll have a fully integrated setup that excels for surfing, is great for wakeboarding, and won’t break the bank.  Plus, you’ll still have your center storage area available for your anchor.

No one explained to Will Asher that he needed to have a V Drive boat to wakesurf. Well do you? Mr. Asher recently loaded up his new Malibu LXi with a couple of friends and the wake was definitely surfable. Consider this, there isn’t any stock ballast nor is he using the Malibu wedge. By looking at the picture above we are guesstimating there is around 1000 lbs. of displacement. With the correct distribution of weight, the wake could be much better.

One question we often receive at Wakemakers is… “How much weight do I need to surf behind my direct drive water ski boat?” The answer is eight friends, but those friends aren’t always available. They can easily be replaced with a ballast bag, four to seven minutes of your time and $230 to $300.00.

There are a couple things to consider when weighting a direct drive ski boat. Most importantly determine how to best use the limited seating space available as you don’t want a visit from your local authorities when passengers are not sitting inside the boat. Keep in mind that you will want to seat everyone on the surf side of the boat and don’t be afraid to send passengers to the bow. As you distribute weight towards the bow, the sweet spot of the wake will get longer and will allow the rider to surf further away from the back of the boat.

We suggest placing the ballast sac next to the engine compartment as far back as possible on the surfing side. The optimal sacs for this location are the Fly High V-Drive Surf Sac (450 lbs.), the Fly High Fat Sac (750 lbs.), the Fly High Jumbo Surf Sac (1100 lbs.), or the Fly High Ultimate Wake Surf Sac (1000 lbs.). Remember that your ballast bag doesn’t need to be completely full. Choose a bag with the most weight you would ever need. You can always remove weight but there will be a limit to the amount that can be added.

When you find the perfect Fly High Ballast Bag don’t forget to grab the Fly High Tsunami Ballast Pump. With it’s quick connect  fitting system and unmatched flow rate of 150 lbs. of water per minute, you’ll be riding faster than ever before.

The great thing about the new system for 2010 when it comes to adding additional ballast is that the duration the pumps run for when filling and draining is now user configurable right from the dash. That means you can replace the factory wakeboard ballast bags in your 2010 Supra wakeboard boat with larger versions, and simply adjust how long the pumps run for to account for the increases capacity of the new bags.

We offer a number of upgrades for Supra owners, from individual bags for surfing, to the complete Gravity Games ballast system, and if with 2010 boats, it’s incredibly easy to upgrade.

Whether you’ve got a new Supra, or any other boat, contact a ballast expert for more information on the available products to upgrade your wake.

Like pretty much everyone now-a-days, most of our customers are looking to save money wherever they can.  Because of that, it’s not uncommon for them to head down to their local Home Depot or Lowes when it comes to buying a ball valve for their integrated system.  On the surface it may seem like a good way to save a few bucks, but take a look at the picture above and maybe you’ll change your mind.

Although it looks almost identical to the ball valves we offer, it has one key difference, and that is (quite obviously) the metal that it’s made out of. Cheaper ball valves you can purchase at Home Depot are made of Brass, a metal that is fine for the common plumbing applications for which they are sold by home improvement stores, but is a poor choice for use in a boat.

Due to the environment your boat will be used in, all metal components below the water line or in contact with the water are subject to galvanic corrosion. It’s for the that reason that Correct Craft, Mastercraft, Malibu, Supra and every other manufacturer use tracking fins, prop struts, rudders and all other underwater hardware that is made out of bronze (exceptions are the use of other non-corrosive metals like stainless steel in the prop shaft, and nibral in the propeller).

The picture above (courtesy of Marine Cruising) clearly shows the risk of using a brass ball valve where a bronze alternative should be used. The result is not only a complete failure of the function of the ball valve, but also significantly reduced strength in the body of the fitting itself, which could lead to fracture and ultimately complete failure of the fitting. The results of that a failed ball-valve (or any thru-hull intake fitting) obviously have the potential to be disastrous.

So when it comes to installing a ballast system, do yourself a favor and spend a few bucks more to get the right tools for the job.

Periodically there are times when we are called to help those that are less fortunate.  We’re in one of those times now as hundreds of thousands of fellow humans are fighting for their lives.  The entire nation of Haiti is in ruins, and without some assistance from outside their borders, recovery to their meager living conditions prior to the earthquake will be difficult if not impossible.

We’ve teamed up with Red Cross to make that happen, and are pledging 10% of all sales for the next week to international aid organization.  Here are the details:

• 10% of all orders placed between 1/18/2010 and 1/25/2010 will be donated to the Red Cross for their Haiti Earthquake victim relief efforts.
• There is no limit to the amount or size of orders you can place that qualify.
• If you would like to donate directly you may do so on the RedCross.org website, or by texting Haiti to 90999 from any mobile phone in the US.

We realize this gesture may be relatively small in comparison the needs of the Haitian people, and we certainly encourage you to make a larger individual donation directly through Red Cross or the non-profit of your choice.  If you’ve been thinking about buying some wakeboard ballast though, there’s never been a better time to get the products you want, and also help those in need.  Every little bit counts, and it won’t cost you anything.

If you have any questions about how donations will be made, or what ballast is right for your wakeboard boat, feel free to contact a ballast expert toll free at (888) 338-6085 or by email at sales@wakemakers.com.