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Installing a wedge on a sunsetter


wsdud

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I have a 1996 sunsetter and i would like to install a wedge plate so first of all can this be done and if so can anyone tell me what is involved in doing this

thanks

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I completed this mod on my echelon. wasnt bad at all get some marine thru-hull sealer (3m), the right drill bits, mine didnt come with bolts so I got grade 8 bolts for the hardware. make shure you remove some of the gell around your transom holes so water doest creep up in back of the gell. use a level and a square to make shure its straight and mount it as low as possable, your going to have to remove the seat back and gas tank but thats simple. search for the tread on mbo's site they have a good thread and take your time. My wedge doesnt do that much for my wake, not quite as much as my 700 lb sack. and your going to need wieght up front, but it is so nice not to remove the rear seat and deal with sacs.

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I put one on my 01 sunsetter, v-drive though. Not sure what yours is. If you aren't afraid to drill 4 holes through your transom, it's an easy job. Although I might have a slight disagreement with sauer's comments about putting it as low as possible. I would do just the opposite. If I did mine again I would put it as high as it would go without hitting the bottom of the swim platform when in the up position. First, it is possible to put it too low. Make sure you consider the thickness of the bottom of the boat before drilling the lower holes. IE, look at the rear drain hole....it should be at the bottom of the floor on the inside, but it isn't on the outside. The reason I would have mounted mine higher is I do notice more drag out of the hole when it is in the up postion for skiing. If more of the wedge were out of the water on takeoff drag would be less. Raising the wedge up an inch or two won't change the wedge operates....it will still pull the back of the boat down just the same.

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One thing to consider and I don't know if you already have one but you'll need a platform with the door to make it easy to bring up and down. That may not be important to you, but I'm just bringing it up.

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PM Ls-One. He did a 97 Sunstter.
Anthony Lee have no wedge how much difference will it make or is balast better
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I had my dealer install a wedge on my last Malibu which was a 2000 Sunsetter LXI. It worked great when up or down and seemed easy enough to install. I would not worry too much if your swim platform does not have the trap door to access the wedge. My wedge's mechanism was so tight that I usually had to be in the water and under the platform to get it engaged or stowed. The new stainless ones are probably a lot better than what I had.

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I had the Wedge installed on my 98 VLX. No problems, fairly easy job (you could do it yourself if you're handy).

As for the door in the swim platform, its nice but not a requirement. I added the door after going the first season without.

Here's a link to a guy who did exactly what you're proposing (on the same boat as you have):

http://www.wakesiderides.com/rides/index.p...=out&id=254

Note:these photos are not my boat, they are simply so you can see what's involved here:

f_ballast_desc--254.jpg

f_ballast_desc--254_1.jpg

f_ballast_desc--254_510.jpg

Here's a link to an old article where a wedge door was cut in the same deck as your boat:

http://www.wakesiderides.com/malibu/viewArticle.php?id=168

Edited by Mechmaster
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  • 12 years later...
On 7/17/2007 at 3:37 PM, Mechmaster said:

I had the Wedge installed on my 98 VLX. No problems, fairly easy job (you could do it yourself if you're handy).

As for the door in the swim platform, its nice but not a requirement. I added the door after going the first season without.

Here's a link to a guy who did exactly what you're proposing (on the same boat as you have):

http://www.wakesiderides.com/rides/index.p...=out&id=254

Note:these photos are not my boat, they are simply so you can see what's involved here:

f_ballast_desc--254.jpg

f_ballast_desc--254_1.jpg

f_ballast_desc--254_510.jpg

Here's a link to an old article where a wedge door was cut in the same deck as your boat:

http://www.wakesiderides.com/malibu/viewArticle.php?id=168

Will be installing a wedge door on my 1999 LX Sunsetter. Is the installation article still available?

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