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Broken Wedge


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I bought my 2010 VLX at the beginning of June and have been enjoying it immensely (200 hours already) but today I had my first bit of bad luck. I was getting pulled and had a friend driving but he swung too wide in a turnaround and hit something under the water close to shore. I ride a man made stretch of the intercoastal waterway lined with trees and stumps. We then stopped the boat and after pulling the key I swam under and cant feel any damage to the prop or rudder but my power wedge moves up and down freely with my hands. It feels as though the actuators are loose and possibly both broken. The wedge itself feels fine. I keep the boat in a dry storage facility that was closed when I came in so I wont get to look at the damage till they pick the boat up in the morning. Someone please give me the bad news so I will sleep better. It was the last run too just as the sun went down and the water like butter....damn!

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martinarcher

I bought my 2010 VLX at the beginning of June and have been enjoying it immensely (200 hours already) but today I had my first bit of bad luck. I was getting pulled and had a friend driving but he swung too wide in a turnaround and hit something under the water close to shore. I ride a man made stretch of the intercoastal waterway lined with trees and stumps. We then stopped the boat and after pulling the key I swam under and cant feel any damage to the prop or rudder but my power wedge moves up and down freely with my hands. It feels as though the actuators are loose and possibly both broken. The wedge itself feels fine. I keep the boat in a dry storage facility that was closed when I came in so I wont get to look at the damage till they pick the boat up in the morning. Someone please give me the bad news so I will sleep better. It was the last run too just as the sun went down and the water like butter....damn!

Bummer man. My guess is the eyelets let go that connect the wedge actuators to the foil itself. I would guess you can have the eyelets replaced and you'll be on your way. Not sure if that requires new actuators or if the eyelets themselves can be replaced. It's good the wegde moves freely. Hopefully that means the wedge isn't bent or twisted. Glad to hear the prop and rudder are still OK. Thumbup.gif

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You can't purchase eyelets alone since they are part of the actuator which is assembled as a sealed unit.

Worst case you need to buy new actuators.

Best Case, you can remove them and see if Lenco can repair them for you? (if that is a possibility)

Hope it's a easy fix for you!

-Paul

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Actuators aren't horribly expensive I think I had both of mine replaced for less than $500.00 about 2 years ago. Pretty quick fix also, problem is waiting for them if they're not immediately available. Not the best answer but if that is the case find a way to strap it up and continue riding. Good Luck

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With boats, all costs are measured in units. Each unit equals $100 and nothing costs less than one unit. Sounds like your fix’in to spend a few units.

:biggrin: Actually I thought 1 unit = $1000 (B.O.A.T.) If he can diagnose and do the repair himself he should spend less than 1 unit. New actuators are around $300 a peice, not sure about a rebuild.

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Good luck on getting them in a timely manner (Actuators). I had to wait two weeks for malibu to get them to the factory. And now i am waiting, and have been waiting for an additional 2weeks and counting on a new sensor for my wedge. A bit rediculous IMO. First season with my 2009 VLX.

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Well it seems the wedge is bent a little after all, so I am now awaiting a quote from my dealer to replace the 2 actuators as well as the foil itself. I guess I should be lucky that I didn't do more damage. I'm hoping it will be a $1000 or less, we'll see.

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martinarcher

Well it seems the wedge is bent a little after all, so I am now awaiting a quote from my dealer to replace the 2 actuators as well as the foil itself. I guess I should be lucky that I didn't do more damage. I'm hoping it will be a $1000 or less, we'll see.

It's a 2010 so your under warranty right? Just down time without being on the water. Cry.gif

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Well it seems the wedge is bent a little after all, so I am now awaiting a quote from my dealer to replace the 2 actuators as well as the foil itself. I guess I should be lucky that I didn't do more damage. I'm hoping it will be a $1000 or less, we'll see.

:no: especially if you're not doing the labor.

It's a 2010 so your under warranty right? Just down time without being on the water. Cry.gif

I think he hit something, I know malibu's warranty process is awesome, but....

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  • 1 year later...

Reviving an old tread.

I tagged a tree in the water with the wedge down last weekend while surfing. I put the boat in gear and brought the wedge gauge to up, but the wedge was still down. I was able to move it with my hands (deployed to all the way up). So I tied it up and head to the docks.

At first look, I thought I broke the mounts on the wedge side of the hydraulics. Then I noticed that the mounts were still a completed circle with what looks like relief cuts on the out edge so the wedge could "break-away" under a heavy impact. So I pulled the holding pins, pushed the wedge up to the mounts and put the pins back through. Wedge is a bit c***-ied, but back in place.

So, am I mistaken that the hydraulic mounts at the wedge have a "break-away" feature and I truly did break the mounts? In which case I'll discover this the next time I deploy the wedge and hit the gas as the wedge would immediately come loose from the hydraulics and bounce around until I figured it out? The break/relief on plastic mounts on both hydraulics is in the exact same place, but this could also be an actual break if I hit something square and subsequently broke both mounts at a weak point.

Thanks for the help.

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