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Wind dam mod


Dexter

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A local plastics shop made the piece for the dam. It goes all around the top of it, and looks like it's about a 1/4"x1". My original intension was to glue it on, but I decided to use three small stainless bolts and locknuts on the other side. Those were covered with black plastisol. The plastic piece has a finish similar to that of the tower. It's not exactly stock, but imo it looks pretty good in the boat and definitely works well. It annoyed me to no end seeing the dam slide down the tracks. I concidered adding stops at the bottom of the tracks, but they are shorter than the sides of the wind dam. So, this is the best I could come up with. What do you think?

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Looks good but not sure why your boat doesn't have the stops, my boat came with the rubber stops on it to keep the dam from sliding down. Did Malibu forget to install yours?

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i have actually seen a few 2010 and 2011 boats that dont have the rubber stops in them. Our local dealer is having to install a bunch on the in stock boats. Other wise it sure leaves a large air gap.

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Same thing with my 2010 no stops will have to speak to the dealer in the spring. It was driving me crazy last year sliding down. Last year was my fist year with our BU and I thought it was just designed like that. But the way these boat are built thought it was just a missed item. Thanks for reminding to get that looked at.

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Is say its definitely an oversight somewhere. My 06 had them, and now my 09 does as well. Strange to think they would stop doing it, certainly not much cost savings there.

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i have actually seen a few 2010 and 2011 boats that dont have the rubber stops in them. Our local dealer is having to install a bunch on the in stock boats. Other wise it sure leaves a large air gap.

I think Penners boat was missing them as well. He had no idea they were missing. I can snap a few picks in a while. Basically two rubber stoppers at the bottom. Pretty simple.

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I think Penners boat was missing them as well. He had no idea they were missing. I can snap a few picks in a while. Basically two rubber stoppers at the bottom. Pretty simple.

Dito on the missing stops, I was thinking of installing something on the bottom of the slides to stop it...That make sence...A phone call is in order...
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Ah, one more thing to add to the list to check for when my boat arrives!! Where do you store the stop when it is not in use? My old boat had a bi-fold door wind stop that stored in the side of the helm when not in use. It was metal and sometimes rattled when stored so it was not perfect from my point of view. This is the one of the two things that my wife liked more on our old boat than the new one since she is the one that closed it most of the time. The other is that the windshield is lower on the Malibu and she will get more wind in her hair. I told her she looks great with the wind blowing through her hair but she didn't buy it.

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I wonder if Malibu has taken these out like they took out the hinge on the cooler? i was at a dealership yesterday, and noticed that a 2011 VTX also did not have these rubber stops installed.....

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Ah, one more thing to add to the list to check for when my boat arrives!! Where do you store the stop when it is not in use? My old boat had a bi-fold door wind stop that stored in the side of the helm when not in use. It was metal and sometimes rattled when stored so it was not perfect from my point of view. This is the one of the two things that my wife liked more on our old boat than the new one since she is the one that closed it most of the time. The other is that the windshield is lower on the Malibu and she will get more wind in her hair. I told her she looks great with the wind blowing through her hair but she didn't buy it.

The stop is just a small rubber bumper that is attached to the side wall. when the wind dam is in, it rests on top of the rubber stop.

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It may have to do with the bow ballast. I don't have the stops but mine originally was made without the bow ballast. Maybe if the ballast was added after the tracks were put in the line may not have known the boat was supposed to have the bow ballast since it was an option. I had to cut my windstop in half to get it to fit.

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It's possible it has to do with the bow ballast. Maybe one of the dealers on the site knows the story. In any case, I doubt I would go with the stops. For the moment, I like how mine turned out.

To answer another question, the malibu wind stop comes with a nice bag and gets stored next to the engine divider panel in the right locker. Ours sees a lot of use however. It's always installed when we tow the boat, and in most morning rides throughout the season.

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I was really annoyed by the open gap as well, looked around my garage and found a very simple solution. I had some left over roll-bar padding, and just cut a strip that slides onto the wind dam. I put it on the bottom, and it holds the wind dam up high enough to close up that gap.

Here's the padding. The slit in the padding is on the thin side, so the thicker side ends up pinned against the ballast tank, and that holds it up plenty high. When I stow the wind dam, the piece of padding just lays near it in the rear compartment.

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS+Performance+Products/555/70001/10002/-1

You could probably do something similar with a swim noodle by cutting a slit in it. The roll bar padding was easy because it was already cut in there...

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I wonder if Malibu has taken these out like they took out the hinge on the cooler? i was at a dealership yesterday, and noticed that a 2011 VTX also did not have these rubber stops installed.....

That bugs me when they take out those little things like the cooler hinge, little things that we value so much and then boats gets more expensive.

If your under warranty I would definitely bring it up, it could be a production over sight. That huge gap from the windshield to the wind block shouldn't be there.

-Paul

PS: What were you doing looking at new boats!?

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Cooler Hinge. While looking at the new Malibus at Nashville boat show, I pulled up on the cooler seat cushion to open it and it fell off and landed on my bare toes. Hurts TOO! :blowup: if your used to the old hinged seat, be ware! At least my 06 model won't bust your toes.

Edited by dalt1
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