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Perfect Pass Questions


jetskipro550

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I have a few questions about installing some sort of speed control system. I only know of two, Perfect Pass and Accuski. I have a whole list of questions so I guess I will just start asking away.

1. Which one is better PP or Accuski?

2. Accuski lists on their web site that the price is only 499.00 for boats with MSCAN. What is MSCAN and does my 1999 SSLXi have it? Accuski Web Page

3. Which PP model would we want? We ski, board, surf. (price is a factor)

4. Whats the cheapest price of PP? Who supplies it?

5. Is it something that my dad and I can install or does a pro have to do it? For reference the only stuff we have done to our boat is 2" lift on the trailer, new steering cable, and amp/tower speaker install. We are not great mechanics by any means.

6. It is PITA if not impossible to hold speed on our boat with the wedge down, 6 people, and 1000lbs of ballast. I can't get a good wakeboard run in because the speed changes so much. If we get PP/Accuski would it solve the issue or would we have to reprop the boat as well? (at ski speeds this is not an issue)

7. We don't have a paddle wheel on our boat so does that mean we would have to cut a large hole in it?

8. Any other comments, suggestions, or personal stories would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!!!

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I've never installed it, but I have used it plenty as well as driven boats without it.

1. Which one is better PP or Accuski?

Can't say for sure since my only experience is with Perfect Pass, but I will say that for resale I think that PP would get the nod for being a little more known.

3. Which PP model would we want? We ski, board, surf. (price is a factor)

I'd recommend Wakeboard Pro. With the new display & 6.5n software, you can have pre-programmed settings for different riders. Plus there's the flexibility of the kdw & nn settings that allow you to adjust how agressive the control is based on how much weight you have in the boat. You don't get this with the Cruise models.

4. Whats the cheapest price of PP? Who supplies it?

Schnitskis (sp?) used to have really good pricing on it. Also, the MBO discount is still in effect (AFAIK) for Skidim, so you may give them a call as well.

5. Is it something that my dad and I can install or does a pro have to do it? For reference the only stuff we have done to our boat is 2" lift on the trailer, new steering cable, and amp/tower speaker install. We are not great mechanics by any means.

I believe that you can, but with that said I think that if you're sketchy on doing it you may just want to check with Bridge City to see what kind of deal they'd give you to do the whole thing.

6. It is PITA if not impossible to hold speed on our boat with the wedge down, 6 people, and 1000lbs of ballast. I can't get a good wakeboard run in because the speed changes so much. If we get PP/Accuski would it solve the issue or would we have to reprop the boat as well? (at ski speeds this is not an issue)

Holding speed in a weighted boat is hard, there's no doubt about it. A well tuned & properly set up PP system will hold within .3 mph.

7. We don't have a paddle wheel on our boat so does that mean we would have to cut a large hole in it?

Yes. Placement of the paddlewheel is critical, you don't want anything close to it at all including thru-hull plugs. Anything that can create a turbulence near the wheel can create a problem. Randy & Gary at PP are great resources on this, so you may want to give them a call & chat with them about it.

EDIT: Moved to appropriate forum.

Edited by WakeGirl
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To answer #2, you don't have MSCAN in a '99. Mscan was not used until 2001, not sure about '02, and definitely out by '03. Basically, Mscan was the electronics platform that the new TBW system works off of (which I have heard is based on an accuski system). So, accuski would be easy to add to an Mscan setup because the display is already there (it's a 6 button deal).

One thing to keep in mind...Accuski lets (at least they used to) you program how hard you liek to be pulled out of the hole, but has a foot switch that can be a pain. So, there's plusses and minusses to both.

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550:

I put PPWBPRO in my '99 SLXI. It was a piece of cake!

The hardest thing was the pucker factor about drilling a 2-1/8" hole in the bottom of a perfectly good boat!

Actually the toughest part was fishing wires from bilge to dash. Which was not THAT bad...

The instructions that PP gives ARE very good. The guys @ PP are GREAT to work with. Very helpful. Another trickey thing is the throttle linkage. There is some adjustment to be done. Allow a half day on the water for working out the bugs. MBO---I mean WSR has a great article on addin PP to a DD boat. (Jason's)

If you have more questions, feel free to post questions or PM me if you want.

WELL WORTH THE $$$ AND EFFORT!!!

BTW I got the Malibu tach with PPWBPRO direct from PP (Canada) for around $1100 USD. (3 years ago...)

Pat

Edited by Faceplant409
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Also, there's a good tech article on WSR (ex-MBO) about installing PP in a Malibu. It's a little out of date (the hole saw size, for example) but generally is very good.

I installed PPWBP in our '00 SLXi last winter. No problem doing it...just take your time, measure several times, check the water flow on the hull to make sure there are no obstructions and you'll be fine.

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Sold it, Sorry!

WSR article

This is page 1 of 6 that Jason did years ago when he installed it on his Response. I printed this and used it during my install.

Funny thing, I just ran across the 2" plug that I cut out of the hull in the top of my rollaway toolbox.

Pat

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Ah, I thought that you were saying that they still had the analog gauge along with the digital readout.

Just reread the post in question and that is how it sounded. Sorry. I just meant that you can get the one that says "Malibu" if you want to and that it replaces the existing tach in the dash console.

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a friend just picked up the all digital new display for his recent purchase (a 93 mc, mint condition). the display is very, very cool

jetskipro550 - I'm about the least mechanically inclined person you'd ever meet. probably has something to do with my father :) being a mechanic and the whole father/son dynamic.

that said, you can do this install yourself easily.

as faceplant indicated, the most intimidating part is drilling a hole through your beautiful hull. follow the directions on wsr and you'll be good to go.

for my slxi, the most difficult part, like patrick, was fishing the dang wires from the engine compartment up to the electronics unit under the dash. this was a royal PITA on the SLXI. took my brother and I quite a while. however, once we got through that part it was easy, and we didn't need to make any adjustments to the cabling system after the fact.

check out your local ski clubs for prices, you might be able to find a pp rep. I paid $1000 even in Oct 2002 through a friend of a friend (at a local club) for the digital pro, with the then latest malibu display.

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Faceplant409 & Addictedto6, where did you drill the hole on your boats?

Carveitup, how would I test the water flow on the hull? Do you mean just looking under to make sure that there are no obstacles in my way?

Faceplant, thanks for that link! Jason goes into a great amount of detail on that instal.

Edited by jetskipro550
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Carveitup, how would I test the water flow on the hull? Do you mean just looking under to make sure that there are no obstacles in my way?

Exactly: I couldn't put it in the recommended location because there was a depth finder in the way. The instructions that come with PP give all the information you need about siting the hole. You want clean water flow to the paddle wheel, no issues with your trailer, and good internal accessibility in the enginebox/bilge area.

I used a fiberglass hole saw (it's a grit-based saw instead of a toothed saw). Took a little longer but the hole was really smooth!

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Faceplant409 & Addictedto6, where did you drill the hole on your boats?

Carveitup, how would I test the water flow on the hull? Do you mean just looking under to make sure that there are no obstacles in my way?

I'll try to remember to take a pic for you thursday when I'm out at the pond. IIRC, it's to the port side, and slightly forward of the plug in the engine compartment.

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I can't remember exact dimensions. What I did is use a piece of wire (coathanger) and bend it in a U with equal length legs and put it through bilge plug. I found a place that was clear from the top and the bottom. You need +/- 6" clear vertically inside the bilge for the paddle wheel. You need a clear space under the boat so you don't get turbulence over the wheel. IIRC I made the U 7-8" long and I think the wheel ended up about 5" off center on the passenger side of the boat behind the plug. PLEASE do not use these dimensions blindly!!! It was 2+ years ago.....

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Did everyone get the PP Wakeboard Pro? I know that the Cruise is a lot cheaper, but whats the major drawbacks besides being able to input the riders info? Thats not all that important to me. On the Cruise can you adjust the speed while underway? That would be important to us.

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This could be wrong, but I think cruise only works off RPM. The WBpro gets you speed-based control. I have digital pro so it has slalom modes as well, although I have heard a rumor that the WBpro has the same software, but just doesn't come with the smart timer for course magents.

You can change the speed while underway on WBpro...and digital pro...don't know about cruise.

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Did everyone get the PP Wakeboard Pro? I know that the Cruise is a lot cheaper, but whats the major drawbacks besides being able to input the riders info? Thats not all that important to me. On the Cruise can you adjust the speed while underway? That would be important to us.

They work differently as I recall - with Cruise you drive to the speed that you want & then set it, but I'm not sure about on the fly adjustments. With WB Pro you set your speed, drive to it & it takes over (you can make on the fly adjustments). The biggest benefit to my mind, however, is the KDW & NN settings - these can be crucial for boats that use ballast because they control how aggressively the system needs to respond. You can really dial it in as a result. Heavily weighted boats need this because when the speed gets drug down, it takes more time & aggressive throttle to compensate. Cruise has no settings like that, so it may not do what you want it to.

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hijack: so pro, are you happy with the new OAR album.  I saw them in concert about 2 years ago.  Good show.  I like the signature!

I love the new album, especially track # 1, 3, and 10 they rock! I saw them twice last year and I will be going to their concert at the end of this month. They are by far my favorite band!

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Did everyone get the PP Wakeboard Pro? I know that the Cruise is a lot cheaper, but whats the major drawbacks besides being able to input the riders info? Thats not all that important to me. On the Cruise can you adjust the speed while underway? That would be important to us.

They work differently as I recall - with Cruise you drive to the speed that you want & then set it, but I'm not sure about on the fly adjustments. With WB Pro you set your speed, drive to it & it takes over (you can make on the fly adjustments). The biggest benefit to my mind, however, is the KDW & NN settings - these can be crucial for boats that use ballast because they control how aggressively the system needs to respond. You can really dial it in as a result. Heavily weighted boats need this because when the speed gets drug down, it takes more time & aggressive throttle to compensate. Cruise has no settings like that, so it may not do what you want it to.

I have driven and ridden behind the PP WBP many times and it is WONDERFUL!!! I didn't know that PP Cruise was only RPM based and not speed. I guess thats why its less expensive. I think that we need PP WBP then!

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