Wedge manual

[Monk]

OK: I was hoping to add a manual wedge to our 95 sunsetter. Started to buy a mounting bracket from mrgreencu off this site. Called our local Malibu dealer to check prices on the other parts I would need. They wanted to check with Malibu to make sure it would be OK to install a wedge on a 95 sunsetter. Gave them our hull ID, thinking this will be just a formality but wanted to make sure. After reading all the post about manual wedges, floating wedges, hole placement, old -vs- new transom backing plates. I thought this will be a no brainier. Dealer called this afternoon and told me no problem to add a wedge. but Malibu will only repair manual wedges now, they no longer sell any manual wedges/parts. The only wedge Malibu will provide to their dealers for resale, will be the floating wedge. Installed quoted price will be $1,300.00 plus tax.

Question 1. Given how many manual wedges there are out in the market place, could I find all the matching parts to put together a manual wedge to install?

Question 2. Any Ideas as what the cost would be to gather all these part together? Anyones guess would be fine.

Question 3. Is there a great advantages going with a floating system?

Question 4. If we go with finding all the manual wedge parts, what foil should I be looking for? Or does it matter?

Looking for a direction to go in right now. Thanks for all the help.

[WakeGirl]

1. It's possible on the open market, but you may play a waiting game.

2. No idea, I'm sure this is highly variable

3. IMO, yes. Read my writeup here. Obviously it's a different hull, so YMMV.

4. Wedge 23, the one with the bend in it. And yes, it does matter.

The price on the floating system sounds about right. We installed our own, but it didn't involve any measuring or drilling since we were replacing the old fixed wedge & bracket. It was literally plug & play.

[Sunsetter95]

On my '95 my Wedge is the flat one OEM. It would be relatively easy to reproduce it if that was your only choice. If that is your last option, I would be glad to give you all dimensions necessary to do that. See my pic's in my gallery. The polished one is the best.

[guido]

I too like Tracie replaced my manuel wedge with the floating wedge and it matched perfectly with my existing holes in the transom. I really like the floating wedge it is a great design even though they came upon it by accident.

[WakeGirl]

On my '95 my Wedge is the flat one OEM. It would be relatively easy to reproduce it if that was your only choice. If that is your last option, I would be glad to give you all dimensions necessary to do that. See my pic's in my gallery. The polished one is the best.

The flat one was OEM for that year because they didn't come out with the 23 until later (2001 or 2002, can't remember at the moment). The 23 (bent) is what they put on the non-diamond boats after it came out.

[awilco]

OK: I was hoping to add a manual wedge to our 95 sunsetter. Started to buy a mounting bracket from mrgreencu off this site. Called our local Malibu dealer to check prices on the other parts I would need. They wanted to check with Malibu to make sure it would be OK to install a wedge on a 95 sunsetter. Gave them our hull ID, thinking this will be just a formality but wanted to make sure. After reading all the post about manual wedges, floating wedges, hole placement, old -vs- new transom backing plates. I thought this will be a no brainier. Dealer called this afternoon and told me no problem to add a wedge. but Malibu will only repair manual wedges now, they no longer sell any manual wedges/parts. The only wedge Malibu will provide to their dealers for resale, will be the floating wedge. Installed quoted price will be $1,300.00 plus tax.

Question 1. Given how many manual wedges there are out in the market place, could I find all the matching parts to put together a manual wedge to install?

Question 2. Any Ideas as what the cost would be to gather all these part together? Anyones guess would be fine.

Question 3. Is there a great advantages going with a floating system?

Question 4. If we go with finding all the manual wedge parts, what foil should I be looking for? Or does it matter?

Looking for a direction to go in right now. Thanks for all the help.

Monk,

Did you actually buy the plate from mrgreencu? I ask because I had been communicating with him on that subject. Below is the PM he sent me a couple days ago.

As far as cost goes check ebay they are sold there.

Answers to some of your questions:

The advantage for the floating wedge is the ease of use but you may have to install a trap door on your platform to reach the wedge release.

As far as bent to straight, the power wedge that came on the 2006 is not bent and looks lots like the manual that came stock on my 1997. I would not go with the bent.

If you do not have one you will also need a backing plate. I can send you a template to make one if you need it. They are easy to make. I can also help with install info. I have installed a few, manual, floating and a power wedge.

mrgreencu

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Re:I will buy your wedge plate. Thanks Andy, Yesterday, 09:05 AM

Ballast Buddy

Posts: 7

Joined: March 9, 2007

From: Raleigh, NC

I just sent you an email. I'm working on payment and shipment.

Edited April 16, 2008 by awilco

[Monk]

1. It's possible on the open market, but you may play a waiting game.

2. No idea, I'm sure this is highly variable

3. IMO, yes. Read my writeup here. Obviously it's a different hull, so YMMV.

4. Wedge 23, the one with the bend in it. And yes, it does matter.

The price on the floating system sounds about right. We installed our own, but it didn't involve any measuring or drilling since we were replacing the old fixed wedge & bracket. It was literally plug & play.

Wakegirl: Thanks for the info. OK bent wedge it is. When looking I should be on the look out for a wedge 23? Also I did read your writeup on the lost of your first wedge and the new floating wedge. I Understand about the prices being highly variable but for a used manual wedge with a bent foil your best guess, am I looking at 700.00 or 1000.00 for a wedge? The reason I am asking is, if I am close to the 1000.00 mark I will just go ahead with the floating wedge. If I am around the 700 mark and under I will work on the manual wedge.

[Monk]

OK: I was hoping to add a manual wedge to our 95 sunsetter. Started to buy a mounting bracket from mrgreencu off this site. Called our local Malibu dealer to check prices on the other parts I would need. They wanted to check with Malibu to make sure it would be OK to install a wedge on a 95 sunsetter. Gave them our hull ID, thinking this will be just a formality but wanted to make sure. After reading all the post about manual wedges, floating wedges, hole placement, old -vs- new transom backing plates. I thought this will be a no brainier. Dealer called this afternoon and told me no problem to add a wedge. but Malibu will only repair manual wedges now, they no longer sell any manual wedges/parts. The only wedge Malibu will provide to their dealers for resale, will be the floating wedge. Installed quoted price will be $1,300.00 plus tax.

Question 1. Given how many manual wedges there are out in the market place, could I find all the matching parts to put together a manual wedge to install?

Question 2. Any Ideas as what the cost would be to gather all these part together? Anyones guess would be fine.

Question 3. Is there a great advantages going with a floating system?

Question 4. If we go with finding all the manual wedge parts, what foil should I be looking for? Or does it matter?

Looking for a direction to go in right now. Thanks for all the help.

Monk,

Did you actually buy the plate from mrgreencu? I ask because I had been communicating with him on that subject. Below is the PM he sent me a couple days ago.

As far as cost goes check ebay they are sold there.

Answers to some of your questions:

The advantage for the floating wedge is the ease of use but you may have to install a trap door on your platform to reach the wedge release.

As far as bent to straight, the power wedge that came on the 2006 is not bent and looks lots like the manual that came stock on my 1997. I would not go with the bent.

If you do not have one you will also need a backing plate. I can send you a template to make one if you need it. They are easy to make. I can also help with install info. I have installed a few, manual, floating and a power wedge.

mrgreencu

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Re:I will buy your wedge plate. Thanks Andy, Yesterday, 09:05 AM

Ballast Buddy

Posts: 7

Joined: March 9, 2007

From: Raleigh, NC

I just sent you an email. I'm working on payment and shipment.

No I did not buy the wedge plate for mrgreencu yet. Working to see if I can everything together for a manual wedge.

[WakeGirl]

1. It's possible on the open market, but you may play a waiting game.

2. No idea, I'm sure this is highly variable

3. IMO, yes. Read my writeup here. Obviously it's a different hull, so YMMV.

4. Wedge 23, the one with the bend in it. And yes, it does matter.

The price on the floating system sounds about right. We installed our own, but it didn't involve any measuring or drilling since we were replacing the old fixed wedge & bracket. It was literally plug & play.

Wakegirl: Thanks for the info. OK bent wedge it is. When looking I should be on the look out for a wedge 23? Also I did read your writeup on the lost of your first wedge and the new floating wedge. I Understand about the prices being highly variable but for a used manual wedge with a bent foil your best guess, am I looking at 700.00 or 1000.00 for a wedge? The reason I am asking is, if I am close to the 1000.00 mark I will just go ahead with the floating wedge. If I am around the 700 mark and under I will work on the manual wedge.

Yes, bent wedge = wedge 23. My guess....under $700 for the whole setup (wedge & bracket). But like I said it may be a waiting game for you, so you have to decide how badly you need instant gratification. One reason that I went with the floater (& you may want to consider this) is that it shouldn't have the same problems that the fixed wedge had with bolts shearing since the floater's foil is welded on instead of bolted. Given that the floater is designed to come up when you make a hard turn, the forces on it should be less as well. Both of these things lead to the conclusion that the floater should be sturdier & not as prone to failure as the older fixed wedge. This may become even more important given that you won't be purchasing a fixed foil from a dealer but rather second-hand, so I suspect that you'd be lucky to get it covered under warranty if that were to happen. I'm the last to be critical of anyone trying to save some money, especially given that you may be able to get this done for as much as half of what the floater will cost you installed. But consider all of this before deciding because IMO there's more to it than just the up-front costs.

[Monk]

Great point Wakegirl. Checking with a few dealer to see if anyone has any of the fixed wedge parts in their inventory. If not I will be going for the floating wedge. Thank you all for the help and direction. We should be on the water by next weekend. Hope there is not too much loose stuff on the water........

[WakeGirl]

Good luck, & be sure to update us on what you get as well as how it performs for you.

[Sunsetter95]

On my '95 my Wedge is the flat one OEM. It would be relatively easy to reproduce it if that was your only choice. If that is your last option, I would be glad to give you all dimensions necessary to do that. See my pic's in my gallery. The polished one is the best.

The flat one was OEM for that year because they didn't come out with the 23 until later (2001 or 2002, can't remember at the moment). The 23 (bent) is what they put on the non-diamond boats after it came out.

Ok, so I have the 23 hull with the flat wedge. If I switched to the 23 wedge, what difference in the wake will I see. Anybody know? Bigger or smaller, more narrow or wide, steeper or shape change, less wash behind the boat... that sort of thing.

[WakeGirl]

Cleaner with less wash is probably the biggest difference. If you already have a wedge, I'm not sure that it's worth changing. But being that the OP doesn't have one, it makes sense to get the correct one IMO.

[Monk]

Good luck, & be sure to update us on what you get as well as how it performs for you.

Will do....

[Tracktor]

Sunstter, I have both foil plates for my wedge. It's on a '98 VLX non-diamond hull. The flat is way better for surfing but a bit too aggressive for boarding, imo. However, if you like a real steep poppy wake it would be the way to go! Too tell the truth we rarely use the wdge at all, but I have a V-drive so it's easier to add weight than a dd.

Monk,

I paid $250 for the whole thing, then another $75 for a bent plate as it came with a flat. Frankly as much as we use it I would pay too much for it. But like I said above since you have a DD I think it would be alot more useful for you. If you search hard a good deal shouldn't be hard to find. I see one for sale every month or so now that I'm not looking. Another option would be to search old failed wedge threads and try to put a good one together from two of those. (If you're handy & cheap and don't mind a bit of risk).............

[WakeGirl]

Sunstter, I have both foil plates for my wedge. It's on a '98 VLX non-diamond hull. The flat is way better for surfing but a bit too aggressive for boarding, imo. However, if you like a real steep poppy wake it would be the way to go! Too tell the truth we rarely use the wdge at all, but I have a V-drive so it's easier to add weight than a dd.

Monk,

I paid $250 for the whole thing, then another $75 for a bent plate as it came with a flat. Frankly as much as we use it I would pay too much for it. But like I said above since you have a DD I think it would be alot more useful for you. If you search hard a good deal shouldn't be hard to find. I see one for sale every month or so now that I'm not looking. Another option would be to search old failed wedge threads and try to put a good one together from two of those. (If you're handy & cheap and don't mind a bit of risk).............

That being the case, I would have to wonder if the bent wedge would give you the capability to go slower with a cleaner wake? Can you comment on that?

[Tracktor]

Wakegirl, are you talking surf or wake?

All around I believe the bent is better for the wake hull. Maybe if you only surfed the straight would be better but you definitely had to go faster and hit it just right when wakeboarding. The lip was plain huge. The straigh wedge wasn't unrideable, just very abrupt and more unforgiving than with the bent. The surf wake with the straight was unreal for that size of boat..........

[WakeGirl]

Sorry, wakeboarding was my thought on that.