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Mirror Mirror, on the Boat


Soon2BV

Mirrors  

55 members have voted

  1. 1. Where Do You Mount Your Mirror

    • In Front of the Driver on the Windshield
    • In the Center of the Windshield
    • On the Tower In Front of the Driver
    • On the Tower In the Center
    • What is a Mirror


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Most popular place? Or where do you prefer the mirror be placed?

I have yet to get my Malibu mirror situation dialed in. I bought the boat with a single Cipa Comp on the driver's side on a Fusion tower bracket. It's OK, but I'd rather have a Cipa Comp on both sides so I can see the rider(s) on each side of the wake.

I've tried the big mirrors with 3 sections. But I don't really care for the small wing mirrors on the sides. The reflection is so small it's tough to see much.

I had a pair of Cipa Comps on my MC 205 using a pair of Calabria windshield mirror brackets. It worked great. But the windshield frame is thicker on the Malibu so they don't work. I found that CorrectCraft uses similar brackets on their boats but haven't been able to get a pair of them for a reasonable price. They are ridiculously proud of them & want almost $200 each for them.

One of these days I'll get it dialed in.

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the mirror on my new vride comes stock on the center window. not sure how long it is going to last there. on my last boat I had a roswell tower and i spent about 500 on a mirror and braket. the mirror was directly infront of the driver hanging off the arm of the tower. It had swivels on both ends with could be adjusted to let you see the rider on both wakes, it was pretty good, all i had to do was look up slightly and there was the action. not sure how to get this with the illusion X tower, did see one big a** braket but not sure it i like the look.

hopefully the mirror attached to the center glass will work for me.

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The stock mirror that mounts just to the right of the center winder and sticks up works as well as can be expected and will have to do. For me the ulitimate would be a rear mounted tracking camera and a high resolution bright screen that works in sunlight. I doubt I will spend the money to retro Malivue, but a rear camera setup and screen would be very functional and cool.

It would have to be a wireless camera that could be moved from the tower to the ski pylon, or just have two cameras! Crazy.gif

Edited by MalibuTime
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The bummer about the stock mirror..... don't you drive the boat with the window open when it's hot out?

Hot is only a matter of perspective... :) Front window is closed while driving, IIRC everyone we know does the same. Maybe a wacko CA thing.

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Thats what I had on the 205. It worked great. Drive with the window open, tucked away under the cover out of sight, and had great visibility behind the boat. We did a lot of exhibitions, ski shows, tandem skiers, Around the Boats, etc. with that boat. Thumbup.gif

dual_mirrors.jpg

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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Hey Bill,

How much did you use the big CIPA mirror on the passenger side?

Could you get by with only the big CIPA mounted on the passenger side ?

I currently only have the small CIPA that I mount on the driver's side because I have a low windshield and the big CIPA would block the driver's forward view.

I've been thinking about a big CIPA but I hate to mount it on the swing away middle section.

Comments, anyone ?

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I got rid of the stupid mirror on the middle window because we drive with it open unless its too cold. Got a samson mirror that attaches to the tower and at least for me has nbeen the best improvement to the boat. Looks good too.

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Hey Bill,

How much did you use the big CIPA mirror on the passenger side?

Could you get by with only the big CIPA mounted on the passenger side ?

Comments, anyone ?

I liked the mirror on the passenger side for a couple of reasons. First of all I had it focused on that side of the wake so I could see the rider when they were out there. Second, I was able to look at & talk to people in the passenger seat & easily glance up at the rider in the mirror above their head. It could be used as the only mirror without a problem, other than you'd see less than I had with two mirrors. I had the driver's side mirror above the windshield so I had to look thru the glass, as opposed to over the windshield frame. It wasn't really a problem as the driver's seat is very deep in that boat. The Malibu has a seat bolster so I tend to look over the frame a bit more than I did in the MC.

I've thought about getting another Fusion tower bracket & installing a 2nd mirror on a tower bracket on the passenger side. But their out of business. So I'd have to start over & buy two brackets & a 2nd mirror, not to mention unload any extra gear. And like 'dude said, their spendy & I'm not willing to buck up yet. One of these days I'll get it dialed in.

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"Mali-Titan" does not have a website up yet... Anyone got a decent pic of a Titan mirror arm?

I have one of the first "Rod S" mirror arms and the only one to my knowledge that is modded for the big 3 piece mirror. I'd like to see the Titan version...

Thanks! P

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My mirror is on the center window frame. I would like it mounted higher adn be able to drive with window open but don't have a tower. Anyone know of a way to mount it like the tower arms do without the tower part??

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I was thinking about getting one of the mirrors that hangs down from the illusion towers, but the bracket for them all look pretty large as it wraps around the front of the tower. The first thing I thought was how will the bracket effect the bimini? Does anyone have one of the drop down mirrors on the illusion tower, and deal with the bimini?

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My mirror is on the center window frame. I would like it mounted higher adn be able to drive with window open but don't have a tower. Anyone know of a way to mount it like the tower arms do without the tower part??

Correct me if I'm wrong, but your mirror mount has two small brackets screwed into window frame. You could relocate those brackets to either side of the windshield. If you chose this route, I'd be careful about screwing into the frame with the frame & glass in place.

The brackets I used on the MC were factory Calabria brackets. They are too thin to make it around the windshield frame of my 2005 Vride. But I liked this style of mirror because the mirrors fold down under the cover.... out of sight. I keep my boat on the dock for weeks or months on end & would prefer they not be stolen.

I believe another option is the mirror bracket sold with Nautique's "Full Throttle" package. I think they are wide enough to use on the Malibu windshield. But I have struck out getting a pair of them at a reasonable cost. Heres a couple pics of the Nautique brackets.

mirror_bracket_002w.jpg

nautique.jpg

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Mine clamps onto the glass frame and I could move it to either side of the center window but it's still too low. I rode in Weinrdog's boat a couple of times this year and he has a tower mounted mirror that is high in front of the driver, which I liked. Just trying to figure how to do that without the tower. Also, I have raised my drivers seat so if I moved the std mirror to starboard side it would be right in the sight line.

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My current mirror bracket. It's too long. When people walk to the bow, they bump it & I can't see anything. So I angle it more so that it doesn't sit in the middle. But then it's like 2' forward of the windshield & I can see both tower legs, the windshield, bimini & the floor of the boat in the mirror..... with the rider a small spec.

CIMG0457Medium.jpg

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Bill, is that a Titan bracket? Looks like it articulates in 2 spots?

Thanks!

P

It's a Fusion bracket.... their no longer in business. It does articulate in 2 places. You have to loosen up both spots, position the mirror, then tighten it all back up. But with it being so long, you can't just extend it or it would be in the middle of the boat. So you have to angle it either forward or backward, which causes other issues. Plus with the length, you get a lot of vibration in the image..... so it's rarely in focus if the boat is at speed.

I've considered a Titan bracket. But they are very proud of that thing..... seems like the last I saw it was $149.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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Here's what I did on our Skier....

Mirror arm: Freebie thread snag from NDawg - thanks dude!! I've owed you these pics for a good while!

Tower - Titan Series I

Mirror - CIPA Extreme

The mirror arm looked like it would get the mirror positioned above me like I wanted, but the CIPA mirror out of the box is made to clip to the windshield. I wanted it a bit higher than that and out in front of my so I could easily glance up and see the rider. I took the arm and the mirror into work and the guys in the machine shop hooked me up. We threw around a couple ideas and this is what we came up with. It works like a charm. It really allows a lot more adjustment from the mirror because the swivel adjustment on the mirror is still totally usable. As for the mirror arm pivot (wouldn't stay tight) I took some stick on rubber and put it between the two pieces at the joint. Now, the bolt tightens down and sandwiches the rubber and keeps it from loosening or allowing the arm pivot to "slip". I love the set-up so far. I got it done late in the season so we only have about 5 outings on it so far, but it is way better than our old mirror set-up. Here's some pics....

CIPA Extreme....

DSC03164.jpg

Mirror Arm with round mirror mounting area....

DSC03158.jpg

Stick on rubber to keep the mirror pivot arm put....

DSC03170.jpg

CIPA tightening knob with the "adapter block and pin the guys in the shop made....

DSC03165.jpg

Adapter block in the mirror...

DSC03167.jpg

The machined locator pin goes into the tightener knob....

DSC03166.jpg

Tighten the knob into the block and pinch the round part of the mirror arm....

DSC03169.jpg

Installed on the boat....

DSC03171.jpg

DSC03173.jpg

DSC03175.jpg

Edited by martinarcher
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Looks great MA, thanks for the pics, the rubber insert is a great idea, wish I would have thought of that!! I just wish I hadn't drilled that hole at the joint, but it's hardly noticeable in the pics. Glad it worked out for yuh Thumbup.gif

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