GregHind

Yesterday we had 11 miles of lake to ourselves. 11 miles of glass - just like this all day. Mum still skis but drove the boat for the first time in probably 15 years. My sister, her partner and Kate (2) all

had a run. My children Reiley (8) and Zarah (7) are in this photo. Zarah crossed the wake and got back on doubles for the first time ever in this run. Dad and I had a ski together too. I've been barefooting and slaloming as much as I could handle for 3 days solid.

We were doing that on discs on the weekend. Stupid to do it without a buoyancy vest. You can go very deep. It takes forever to come up if the boat stops - and that is with a vest on.

The new price is fair but I would have left the fee the same as it was and added a per set fee. Takes the sticker shock out of it and also makes it easier to raise the fees when boat or gas prices go up. Eg $1000 season fee plus $15/set

@Ilivetoski‌ pretty easy to tell if PP servo motor is causing problems. Hesitation isn't how I would describe what it could cause though. Surging is possible but not hesitation.

it is a

If you do linkage tests and servo tests you will see if something is binding. Set your hand throttle at different positions (with the engine off) and run the tests. As the servo winds, you should expect perfectly smooth movement. If the dacron cord (on the servo knob) is catching on the glue which holds it to the knob, it can cause surging. Check to see any jumps there and any binding of the black servo cable plus the engine throttle linkage.

 

Other possible reason is weak return spring and low voltage to the master module.

 

It doesn't sound like a PP problem to me, but the test is so quick and easy you might as well eliminate it. Post a video here if you want me to check it.

@dlokshin that video of John was amazing. I'm glad you've taken the time to post here and share your expertise.

 

I can't fathom how your system works as well as it appears to if not using accelerometers in between GPS samples.

 

Perfect Pass boat speed control uses 5hz GPS to calibrate itself constantly and then relies on data from engine RPM signals and accelerometers to provide sufficient data for speed control

 

The Zero Off system in John's boat probably also uses some feedback about RPM (I don't know that for sure but it is highly integrated with the engine ECU and since PP needs the data and the RPM data is right there, I assume Zero uses it too). It also needs accelerometers to provide the accurate pull that it does. 5hz GPS is far too slow to be used for boat speed control alone.

 

Anyway, I'm not doubting at all but rather I'm very interested in what you've done, how you did it and what your system teaches us about our sport. Obviously there is some tricky, secret stuff in your device! Thanks for posting!

@alext my sister has a 2013 HO Freeride. All the girls love it. Minimal drag, good performance and stability. HO recommend 67" if she is over 130. 65" is for shorter girls - its hard to be fit, tall and still only 120 pounds. I'm in Australia too and about to buy a 2015 67" Ladies Freeride for my girl.

 

 

Definitely take video next time as we can help yor driving just as much as his technique and get everything sorted for him

 

 

Very interested to see how it goes. Your engine is very light so in theory you should need less down trim on your cav plate than standard engine boats. Without looking up the power curve of your engine again it is probably making 350hp at 4500rpm. The prop must still be gripping a lot otherwise your engine would simply hit the limiter.

 

My bet is the change you have made will help a lot. The nose will come up a touch more on holeshot and the prop will be in the water more.

 

I would be aiming for 3000 to 3500rpm on takeoff ideally but you do have a very big engine so it may be best to set it up to spin even 4000rpm on holeshot.

 

While getting holeshot vid please also get wake pictures at 55, 58 and 66kph.

 

What town/city are you in?

Greg when you say cavitation, what rpm does your engine spin up to in the first second after you nail the throttle? I would have expected as much as 3500rpm with that engine. If it's up at 4500 or more then your prop is slipping excessively. 3000 to 3500 would be perfect.

 

What rpm is it in the first second then what happens in the next 5? How about a holeshot video showing the tacho and gps speed?

@DkLkSkr‌ i don't think it is software. My guess is your servo motor isn't running smoothly. Pm me your email and email me some video of a servo test. I'll help you.

@DkLkSkr‌ If you don't have at least 8.04 software, don't bother playing around with background settings. Upgrade software first. What boat, engine and prop do you have?

Keep the pictures coming!!! Wake pictures at 36 skiing and 41mph barefooting please!

What motor will you be fitting?

@TallSkinnyGuy‌ I tested that software for them late last year. It worked great/felt good. However, if you are a serious skier you want z-box.

 

@skiboyny, I'm not sure if you are talking about the simple slalom mode or some new tournament mode, based on simple slalom but extended and improved to incorporate z-box. Do you mean simple slalom mode (which is GPS based) or something else?

@skiboyny I haven't heard about a GPS only version yet unless you mean simple slalom mode? That works well in my testing, but it isn't what is used in the tournament version. Maybe it will be, I don't know??

http://www.customskiboats.com.au/#!__boats/protege

Greg, stick with it. That will be an awesome boat. That motor should be brilliant in there!!!

 

Not sure why you'd drop down to 12" diameter if you are having cavitation problems. It will probably be much worse. That motor packs so much punch it should just overcome a 12 by 14 and spin to the rpm limiter instantly. Increasing pitch will increase bite/traction. You have a light boat and a very stout motor.

 

I would see what prop people run with that same engine in Nautiques, Mastercraft and Malibu - or even Sanger. Especially Sanger (google ABC barefoot forum and ask there). Your boat is lighter but if you go with the same model prop but higher pitch it should have enough traction.

 

Your engine is particularly light. It is likely that you don't need as much down trim from the cav plate to get your boat to the right running angle. No harm in playing with the angle of the plate. For reference, if you want, just lift the thing up high out of the way and see how the hull handles. You then know what the two extremes are and can weigh up what kind of compromise in the middle works best for you.

 

Your engine is quite light so you may find you just don't need the plate on your boat.

 

Please post pictures of the boat and also of the plate. Do you have zero off?

 

I'm interested as to why you optioned up to the 450hp engine? Do you barefoot a lot and fast? Understanding why you got that engine would help you achieve whatever your goal was.

 

I want my next boat to have that engine!!

@waternut if I had that job I'd be running the pipe! Wouldn't be that hard to have a standard gas station type filler with trigger on the lake end. A bigger tank at the top or just hook it up with a quick release to a 15 gallon tank in the back of your truck. With that much head height, even with that distance, you probably only need 3/4" hose....

 

Oh and the 1/2" jiggler hoses are seriously slow. The 3/4" hoses are really, really quick. Like more than 4 times the speed.

Why wouldn't you use a jiggler hose. The 3/4" ones are really fast and very easy. The link below shows what they look like and how they work. In the video, the hose is out of round, kinked etc. That is a rubbish version, you want it to stay strong and round with stiff walls so it works fast. But you get the idea?

 

If you fit Zero Off, you should get some of that cost back at resale and it should be easier to sell too. Probably won't get the full $3,000 back, but if you were going to spend $1100+ on that boat for PP, I'd be tempted to get Zero.

For wakeboarding on a river, you ideally want speed over water which is why some people prefer paddlewheel. If you want to be doing 23mph, you want it to be 23mph as compared to the water flow. The speed over ground could be 20mph in one direction and 26mph in the other.

 

For slalom course, you want speed over ground. The slalom course does not move. It doesn't matter how much the river is (or isn't) flowing, you want to complete the slalom course in the correct amount of time.

 

GPS is much better for river currents.

 

Skip the old stuff. Get a brand new system with the latest software. Get Z box if you can, but if not, just get the 3 event version. Then you don't even need magnets.

@dklkskr how did it go with the linkage tests? What voltage does pp report with the engine running at 2000rpm (in neutral). Show photos of your throttle setup on the engine and servo. Show a video of a servo rotation test with engine off and hand throttle at 3/4 or full

 

Pp is really good. Something is wrong with your specific setup in your boat. If I was there it probably wouldn't take long to find out

What pp software version do you currently run?

@yardsale get it from @jody_seal every customer of his speaks highly. I'm in Australia, provided the link to skidim as that is the only online pricing indication I've ever seen of inboard engines for the US.

http://www.skidim.com/products.asp?dept=1014

 

Looks like you can get the engine for about $12k.. But then you need transmission/adaptor? digital throttle setup and Zero.

@racerdjs and @Razorskier1‌ how did this all end up for you?

 

Also can anybody tell me how these go for barefooting with the 6.2. What wot rpm and speed with just driver? How about with footer in tow? What is the wash like?