If you're into wakesurfing or wakeboarding, having the perfect wave is essential for a great experience. One of the most important steps towards creating the perfect wave is adding ballast bags to your boat.

However, one size does not fit all when it comes to adding ballast bags to your boat. When you're trying to improve your boat's wave, it's important to ensure that the ballast bags fit their intended space as best as possible. The better the fit, the more weight you'll actually get in the ballast bag.

Ballast bags may have the rated capacity of 750 lbs but if they don't properly fit the dimensions of the rear locker (hint: most of the time they don't), you won't actually get that 750 lbs once the bag is filled with water. That bag may only weigh 500 lbs once filled due to constraints from the locker space. You actually get more weight and better results from a smaller bag that fits correctly and can fill to maximum capacity. In this post, we'll explore the different types of factory upgrade ballast bags and what you need to know to choose the right one for your boat.

Boat Ballast Bag Options

If you've been looking around our website, you'll see WakeMAKERS offers four types of ballast bags, called our FIT Series. Every bag in our FIT Series is made with high quality textiles and constructed with our proven process for durability, quality, and desired outcome for your boat's wake.

UniversalFIT Series Ballast Bags

The UniversalFIT series is a one-size-fits-all approach to ballast bags. These bags are available in four different model lines, each designed for specific applications within the boat. Most of these bags come in three, four, or five different sizes, allowing you to find the right fit for your boat. The rear line, for example, offers 17 different sizes. With the Universal Fit series, you can expect an off-the-shelf product that is readily available for dealers and consumers.

CustomFIT Ballast Bags

If you're looking for a specific shape or a better fit, the Custom Fit series is the way to go. With CustomFIT, you can specify the dimensions of the bag, and it will be built to your specifications. The ballast bag construction process and materials used are the same as the UniversalFIT series, ensuring the same high-quality product.

DirectFIT Series Ballast Bags

The DirectFIT series of boat ballast are crafted based on specific dimensions that are gathered by either deconstructing an OEM factory bag for a direct replacement, or through dimensions provided by the manufacturer. With Direct Fit, you can be sure that the bags will fit perfectly and offer great capacity and performance. However, unlike the ExactFIT series, the DirectFIT bags do not have the specific geometry captured through the exclusive ExactFIT process. So, if the ExactFIT series is not available for your boat, the DirectFIT option is a great choice that will provide all the performance and quality in an application specifically designed for your boat.

Exact Fit Series Ballast Bags

The ExactFIT series is built based on 3D geometry, either from a 3D scan taken using a structured laser scanner, or from engineering staff at a partner manufacturer. The result is a bag that fits perfectly, maximizing the utilization of space and capacity.

All WakeMAKERS Factory Ballast Upgrades use our FIT Series ballast bags. These bags features 1" ports for faster fill/drain times and are built here in the USA. For some applications we use WakeMAKERS UniversalFIT bags that are available in incremental sizes, providing a much better fit than a standard off the shelf bag. Many of our Factory Ballast Upgrades use WakeMAKERS DirectFIT or ExactFIT. 

Factory Ballast Bag Upgrades | How Do They Work?

Designed to directly integrate into your boat's stock ballast system, WakeMAKERS Factory Ballast Upgrades make it possible to add the needed ballast in your boat to create the desired wake you've always wanted. As it is directly integrated, the additional ballast bags are filled/drained simultaneously as your factory ballast using the same switches at the helm. An easy DIY install, a WakeMAKERS Factory Ballast Upgrade can be installed in your driveway or taken to your local marine service center for a professional install.

Types of Factory Ballast Upgrades

There are four different specific upgrades WakeMAKERS uses in our Factory Ballast Upgrades: PiggyBack, TankBuster, BagBuster, and Plug N Play. The correct upgrade for you is dependent on the year, make, and model of your boat. Luckily, we have created a finder tool that makes it easy to find the correct upgrade for your boat.

PiggyBack: this upgrade keeps the factory hard tanks in the boat and adds a WakeMAKERS ballast bag on top.

TankBuster: this upgrade takes out the factory hard tank and replaces it with a bigger WakeMAKERS ballast bag.

BagBuster: this upgrade takes out the OEM ballast bag and replaces it with a bigger WakeMAKERS ballast bag.

Plug N Play: this upgrade directly integrates a WakeMAKERS ballast bag to the already existing Plug N Play kit.

Factory Ballast Upgrades Features

The next section will cover some of the key features of the Factory Ballast Upgrades and what it requires to install.

Built for Your Specific Boat

Each factory ballast upgrade kit is individually designed and built for your specific year, make, and model boat. The provided hardware kit makes for a seamless integration into your stock ballast system and you'll instantly notice how well the bags fit when you put them in your boat's compartments. Once installed, you have a clean looking product that looks like it came straight from the factory with the boat.