What Quad Hard Tank™ Ballast Does

Quad Hard Tank ballast is one of the most powerful pieces of the wake-making and shaping system in your Malibu. It’s an essential part of your boat’s Integrated Surf Platform, or I.S.P.™, and it can take your wake from small and approachable to absolutely massive, all while maintaining that perfect Malibu shape. Here’s how.

How Quad Hard Tank Ballast Works

There are two parts to a Malibu ballast system, the Quad Hard Tank ballast and the Plug ’n Play ballast. Quad Hard Tank is the backbone of any good Malibu wake or wave. As the name says, there are four tanks, one in the bow (optional on some models), one in the middle and one on either side at the back of the boat. You won’t see these because they’re all below the floor, but you can monitor them from the Malibu Command Center™. Being able to monitor how full the Quad Hard Tank system is will allow you to make your perfect wave.

How to Adjust Quad Hard Tank Ballast

The general rule is the more ballast you have in the boat, the bigger your wake or wave will be. It’s best to start with an empty boat and add weight until you like the size of the wake. You don’t have to completely fill the ballast at first, and in fact junior riders and beginners will probably have a better time with less weight and a smaller wake. One of the biggest benefits to Malibu’s Quad Hard Tank ballast is that it allows you to better scale the wake and wave for all ages and ability levels. Keep the weight even from side to side so your wake is clean on both sides. If one side is washing over, move weight to that side with either passengers or ballast. You can also remove weight from the side that’s clean and it should even out to being clean on both sides. Malibu makes it easy with floating sensors inside the tanks that monitor the level of your ballast so you know exactly how much weight you have at all times.

Now that you have your wake size nailed down, you can affect the shape of the wake by moving weight forward or backward. In general, the more weight you have in the back of the boat the steeper and more abrupt the curl of the wake or wave, and the more weight you have in the front the more mellow and gradual the curl of the wake or wave. You can move weight around to create your ideal shape. For example, if you want a more vertical wakeboard wake, you could put more weight in the rear of the boat.

What is Plug ’n Play Ballast?

Plug ’n Play is additional ballast in specially designed bags that fit in the rear lockers. Filling these can take your wakeboard wake to pro level and your surf wave to a light ocean swell, and the basic concepts above are the same. If you’re using Quad Hard Tank and Plug ’n Play and you’re getting a wake or wave that’s steeper than you want but you like the size, you can try moving passengers to the front of the boat or adjust the wake using Power Wedge™ III .

Next Steps

Quad Hard Tank works in conjunction with the rest of the parts that make up I.S.P., so the next step is to learn about Power Wedge III and Surf Gate .