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1994 Flightcraft Sportster Wedge Question -- Anyone Done It?


chevyspy

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I recently purchased a 1994 Malibu Flightcraft Sportster and just got done repairing some cracks/uneven areas in the composite floor due to the previous owner placing water sacs in the wrong spots (and probably using too much weight). Anyway, I bought the boat to barefoot and wakeboard, I know it's not the best wakeboard boat but I'm no serious competitor either. With that thought in mind, I was wondering what I could do to get a decent wake out of this inboard boat without using too many sacs. I would like to use no more then 2-200 lb. sacs, this way I really can't hurt the floor if they are placed in the right locations (one in front, one in back).

So I was thinking about installing a wedge. I can buy one at my local marina with the transom plate. If I am going to spend $500+, I want to make sure this unit will actually do something for my boat besiedes rattle around on the back of the boat when hitting waves. Can anyone tell me if my hull can benefit from a wedge? If so should I be looking at the flat or bent wedge? I am being told the bent or angled one is the way to go for my boat. I have measured and it looks like it will fit perfect.

Any information would be appreciated.

Edited by chevyspy
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The Wedge works well with the Sportster hull. It will never be a loaded VLX, but the wake should be OK.

'm not sure if the '94 rides on the same SV23 hull as later Sportsters, so you might want to check that, but the 'bent' Wedge is the correct design for the SV23 hull.

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chevy, I would wait for more input on this one. I don't believe the Flighty Sportster was the same hull as the Sportster, BICBW. If you Wedge a boat that was not designed for the transom stress, you may end up an unhappy camper.

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First off, did you buy that Sportster from Billy? I saw he had one listed and then it changed to sold....

Anyhow - the Flightcraft Sportster is completely different animal than the 99- Malibu Sportster. The FC Sportster (94/95) is actually a GREAT wakeboard boat, a great barefoot boat, and a decent slalom boat. Due to it using the deeper V hull of the Flightcraft line it rides better but gives up a little on the slalom end.

I would NOT mount a wedge on it - but then I don't own it. (If I owned it, I wouldn't either) Doubtful the floor cracked from fat sacs - I'd just keep using them.

Hope that helps -

Peter

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First off, did you buy that Sportster from Billy? I saw he had one listed and then it changed to sold....

Anyhow - the Flightcraft Sportster is completely different animal than the 99- Malibu Sportster. The FC Sportster (94/95) is actually a GREAT wakeboard boat, a great barefoot boat, and a decent slalom boat. Due to it using the deeper V hull of the Flightcraft line it rides better but gives up a little on the slalom end.

I would NOT mount a wedge on it - but then I don't own it. (If I owned it, I wouldn't either) Doubtful the floor cracked from fat sacs - I'd just keep using them.

Hope that helps -

Peter

No, I did not buy it from Billy (not sure who he is), but I did recently just purchase it.

I don't understand your comments about it using a "deeper" v-hull, if anything I have noticed that the F/C hull seems to be shallower then the new Sportsters', my understanding is that this boat was totally designed for barefooting, a flat/seamless wake at wide open throttle.

I have definitely confirmed that the floor has cracks and un-even areas (swells) in it due to the water sacs. They were placed on either side of the engine box, probably left in the boat for long periods of time without draining which is what probably caused the permanent damage. The good news is that the floor is composite (thick plastic) which means that it won't rot. I have repaired the cracks by flattening them out and using epoxy resin, it's amazing how strong it is now.

Anyway, I think I agree with you, I am going to start out with one 200lb bag on the back seat and one 200lb bag up under the bow in the ski storage area and see what happens, I am confident I can't hurt anything with that kind of weight. Like you said, I am apprehensive about drilling holes in the hull if the wedge is not tried and true for my boat. But I am also curious to see if it would work since the back of my boat is very similar to newer Malibu's that use the Wedge.

Edited by chevyspy
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chevyspy, I have a '95 Sunsetter. We load it up with two 550's, one on each side of the engine, one 360 locker sac, and we put the wedge down. My floors are fine. It is also known the some of the older boats, like mine, have soft spots in the floors. It is just the way they are from what I have heard.

You could try a fat seat in the rear so you don't loose the seating, and then put one smaller one up front to get a better shape on your wake.

Have fun either way.

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You could check the thickness of the transom buy inspecting where the exhaust goes through the hull ,on my 07 vtx its 3/4" thick, I measured when put on my silent tip exhaust.

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You could check the thickness of the transom buy inspecting where the exhaust goes through the hull ,on my 07 vtx its 3/4" thick, I measured when put on my silent tip exhaust.

How were you able to measure it, after you drilled holes?

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You could check the thickness of the transom buy inspecting where the exhaust goes through the hull ,on my 07 vtx its 3/4" thick, I measured when put on my silent tip exhaust.

How were you able to measure it, after you drilled holes?

I measured after I took out the flaps , before I mounted the STE's

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Well I found one and am gonna give it a try, wish me luck. Rockon.gif

You could check the thickness of the transom buy inspecting where the exhaust goes through the hull ,on my 07 vtx its 3/4" thick, I measured when put on my silent tip exhaust.

How were you able to measure it, after you drilled holes?

I measured after I took out the flaps , before I mounted the STE's

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That hull was not deisgned for the Flightcraft hull, so you might be opening up a can of worms... or the transom of your boat...

Call the factory and ask for yourself before you end up doing something damaging or dangerous to your boat.... 209-383-7469, ask for customer service and they will give you the years that the wedge was compatible for the boat...

The Malibu "Sporster" as we are more familiar with did not start production until 1998 which the wedge was compatible on.

Nothing prior to 1995 is compatible, the only boat it fit on in 1995 was the Malibu Sunsetter...

cheers

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That is also my understanding and I already called Malibu on this.

My understanding is anything with the sv23 hull...dating back that would include the 93-94 Echelon.
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  • 5 years later...

Not to ressurect an old thread but I am looking at purchasing a 1995 Flightcraft Sportster by Malibu. I had a few quesitons about this boat which I wanted clarifation on. I previously owned a 1996 Malibu Echelon which was all comosite construction and had the SV23 hull. It was a great all around boat for everything we wanted to do. I emailed Malibu the VIN number and they confirmed two important facts for me in a email reply. First the hull was constructed using Fibecs system and compositech floor system with no wood being used which I was already pretty sure of. The other thing they confrimed which I had no real information about is the SV23 hull design was used in 1995. This means I can install a wedge on this hull just like I did on my Echelon. I know the pervious post said 98 and up for the sportster but I believe this was for the Malibu Sportster not the Flightcraft Sportster.

Mark D.

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Not to ressurect an old thread but I am looking at purchasing a 1995 Flightcraft Sportster by Malibu. I had a few quesitons about this boat which I wanted clarifation on. I previously owned a 1996 Malibu Echelon which was all comosite construction and had the SV23 hull. It was a great all around boat for everything we wanted to do. I emailed Malibu the VIN number and they confirmed two important facts for me in a email reply. First the hull was constructed using Fibecs system and compositech floor system with no wood being used which I was already pretty sure of. The other thing they confrimed which I had no real information about is the SV23 hull design was used in 1995. This means I can install a wedge on this hull just like I did on my Echelon. I know the pervious post said 98 and up for the sportster but I believe this was for the Malibu Sportster not the Flightcraft Sportster.

Mark D.

Mark,

The person you spoke with may be confused about the "Sportster". The Flightcraft Sportster did not use a SV23 hull. Never did throughout it's life span. The list above shows the hulls included in the SV23 and SV23 diamond hull design.

On a 1995 Flightcraft Sportster the transom shape is okay, so you can mount a Wedge plate, although the transom cutout's vertical height is different. This should not make a difference when using a Wedge, but it did make a difference when I mounted a suppression plate to mine. (Had to custom fab some arms)

Peter

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My Flightcraft has the same issues with the floor in the same spots, but it never had a fat sac on it in its life, there's probably just poor support in those areas. Adding a little weight makes a difference but I think a fly high does a lot more for wakeboarding than some extra weight. With a couple fat friends in back and the fly-high, it's good enough for recreational boarding. Let me know how the wedge works out and if you do any reinforcing before trying.

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Peter thank you. I was pretty sure that was the case but I decided to send a reply asking for clarification. Sure enough even after I explained that I was not asking about the 1998 Malibu Sportster but rather the 1995 Flightcraft Sportster they again said it did have the SV23 hull. I asked them to send me a scan or picture of the "brochure" they were using as a reference. They are probably sick of me by now. From the looks of it the hull is different from the 93 and 94 hulls at least at the transom. I would love to see the technical drawings on the various hulls.

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