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hydraulic wedge and wakesurfing


Chia

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It's my understanding the Power Wedge can be deployed 'on the fly'.

It can also be used to apply 400Lbs of ballast or 1200Lbs.

The standard Wedge applied 1000Lbs.

It will definately increase the size of the wakesurfing wake, but I don't know if 'huge' will be the result simply becuase it's dragging at a different angle than before.

Anyone with one - chime in here.

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Actually Andy, you can't deploy it while in gear, has to be done in neutral. The 5 different settings can be adjusted under 10mph, above that you're stuck with where you're at. Also, no manual release of any kind, so if something happens it's stuck where it's at.

As for size of the wake, we'll have to wait & see what our crew members say that decide to ante up for it. I wasn't one of them.

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I would think it'd work great for wakesurfing. Think about it. The manual wedge is set at a fixed angle. This angle is oriented in a way to pull the stern into the water when the boat is "on plane." When the boat is not on plane (with the bow high in the air), the angle of the wedge is oriented pretty much parallel with the water surface, minimizing the amount of downforce it can provide.

Now take a wedge that's "tunable" and give the hull the same attitude in the water. You can now swing the wedge back a few degrees to get additional downforce on the stern to throw a huge wake.

What works well at 24 MPH doesn't necessarily work well at 10 MPH. Big difference in the hull's attitude at those speeds.

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Actually Andy, you can't deploy it while in gear, has to be done in neutral. The 5 different settings can be adjusted under 10mph, above that you're stuck with where you're at. Also, no manual release of any kind, so if something happens it's stuck where it's at.

As for size of the wake, we'll have to wait & see what our crew members say that decide to ante up for it.  I wasn't one of them.

Quoted from Malibu's memo to Malibu Dealers regarding the New Power Wedge :

"The Power Wedge is operated by a single rocker switch next to the key switch. You will notice that The Wedge will NOT operate when the boat is not moving. Our Power Wedge Computer regulates when the Wedge can be moved, and how far.

We have made it as safe as possible, we don't want anyone getting hurt, therefore, to move the Power Wedge down you must be going at least 1/2 mph, but under 10 mph to lower it.

Once it's down, you now have the ability to control the shape of the wake up to 25mph. It will not come up past the safe wake shaping zone, unless you slow the boat down between 1/2 and 10mph.

Boats built after July 26th have anew controller program that will allow The Wedge to go down between 0 and 10 mph. You can lower it while it is sitting still, but the above parameters still apply to bring it up".

Edited by Madmanacrossthewater
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Thanks for the clarification Madman. We got our info from Merced, but no details like that.

I would think it'd work great for wakesurfing.  Think about it.  The manual wedge is set at a fixed angle.  This angle is oriented in a way to pull the stern into the water when the boat is "on plane."  When the boat is not on plane (with the bow high in the air), the angle of the wedge is oriented pretty much parallel with the water surface, minimizing the amount of downforce it can provide.

Now take a wedge that's "tunable" and give the hull the same attitude in the water.  You can now swing the wedge back a few degrees to get additional downforce on the stern to throw a huge wake.

What works well at 24 MPH doesn't necessarily work well at 10 MPH.  Big difference in the hull's attitude at those speeds.

Now I don't know, it might work great for wakeboarding depending on what a person likes in the shape of their wake. The way the manual wedge works, you need to put weight up front to maximize its benefits (a lot of weight in the new VLX, there's a lot of bowrise on that boat), but say a person really likes the way their wake is with a lot of weight in the back with very little up front (never mind how you're "supposed" to weight a boat, I'm talking personal preference here). I really think that in cases like this that it will give people more options to work with.

Edited by WakeGirl
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No problem WG. We are still awaiting the arrival of our first Power Wedge here. We have a few 2006's in stock, but all have the traditional Wedge on them. I am looking forward to taking some wakeboarders/surfers out yet this year, and play with it a bit. The water level on our reservoir here is slowly going down, so it may have to wait until next year..like my Cubs Cry.gif .

Edited by Madmanacrossthewater
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Ah, the Loveable Losers (you guys probably get sick of that :)).

Yeah, I'm anxious to hear what people think about it. It sounds like it's working out to be about $1100 more than the regular Wedge. I'd really like to know if the extra flexibility that it will offer is worth it.

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My dealer told me you have to be moving at a significant speed for the power wedge to work on the boats they've tried it with. I guess fast enough for the speedo to register you're moving. On my boat the speedo really doesn't spin until you're moving 3-4 mph or so.

It won't move when sitting still, so you can't move it with someone messing around behind the boat near it.

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I don't know about the rest of you but I don't trust my wedge and it is just the regular one. The bolts are rusting and Ultimate says wait until it breaks off then it will be a warranty issue. As for the hydraulic wedge, I would be concerned of its robustness. Also, if you look at it, it is very hard to remove the rear plug. I am glad I have a manual wedge.

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Denjoe, I hear ya. My wedge has been solid, but after all the stories in the forums lately I'm kinda scared to use it.

My bolts (hex head) are slightly rusty on top which I think is a bad sign. I have made sure they're tight, and so far no problems. Thinking about heading to the local bolt store and replacing with stronger bolts? I really don't like the idea of "waiting till it breaks."

Only wedge problem I've had is the wedge door in the platform. People open it just to see what it is, then slam it closed without pulling up on the loop, which eventually bends the latch catch underneath, and then it won't close properly. Twice now I've had to bend that little "L" shaped piece of stainless back up.

As for gas gauges, I must have got a fluke. My '05 VLX's gauge is pretty accurate, and steady.

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I've been in a boat with the power wedge and it's function is awesome! The amount of shaping that you can do the wake is huge, you can really put a peek on it for surfing or tone it down, the most force is about 75% down and as you are adjusting you really feel it bite down into the water. The safety features are also very well thought out and in terms of relability, sure it's unproven, but the simplicity of it makes me believe it will be fine.

Sun and Ski in Bala have a few 2006's with them on and the boat I tested had it as well.

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We have an '06 VLX with a power wedge.

I had it full down when my girlfriend was riding and it looked a little big since she's just learning. I thought I'd be nice and bring it up half way, the wake grew at least a foot from full down to half down.

We now ride half down all the time, it's a monster and not nearly as wide.

You do need lots of weight in the front, but I think that's pretty typical.

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We have an '06 VLX with a power wedge.

I had it full down when my girlfriend was riding and it looked a little big since she's just learning. I thought I'd be nice and bring it up half way, the wake grew at least a foot from full down to half down.

We now ride half down all the time, it's a monster and not nearly as wide.

You do need lots of weight in the front, but I think that's pretty typical.

Would love to see a pic of the wedge half way down if you ever get the chance

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