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Malibu Cruise GPS vs. Malibu Cruise Paddle wheel


Fman

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Some of you might have known I have been having issues with surging on my 2013 VLX while towing someone. I had the standard Malibu Cruise paddle wheel when I took delivery of the boat, it was fluctuating between 1-3 mph while towing a wakeboarder. I was not pleased with this.... my first thing I did was try the Nautic Logic GPS conversion, its plug and play and after hooking it up did not notice any improvement from the paddle wheel. So I began to do some research on what was available, the next two speed control upgrades were Zero Off GPS or Malibu Cruise GPS. I have the MEFI 6 ECM, so my boat would only accept the Medallion Malibu Cruise GPS. The unit was installed last week an I spent about 40 hours last week with it on the boat.

Without a doubt, I will never own another boat with a paddle wheel speed control. The difference is literally night and day between the two.... the GPS cruise holds speed at .3 mph +/- and most of the time is dead on set speed. Initial pulls ups are literally surge free, its locks speed immediately... When a boarder pulls out to load the line the speed stays constant and the wake is perfect, its so much better than the paddle wheel. If you are looking for a better speed control upgrade, look into the Medallion GPS unit, it has two plugs that connect under the drivers helm. You mount the puck under the deck and you are on your way. You will have a GPS symbol on your Maliview speed control screen. I really like how its hidden under the deck, no black puck sitting on the top of your deck.

Just thought I would share my results, the GPS is like driving a new boat. I also bolted on the the ACME 2315 prop before last week, and to say the least.... that prop is a beast! its like having a motor upgrade...

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FMAN, is it a WOT cruise style system or is it still a "get super mario between the gap in the blocks" system.

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I like the idea of the GPS cruise but we ride rivers with lots of current, I always figured GPS wouldn't work in those scenarios...

Malibu is allegedly addressing this on 2014 models. This is according to the Malibu rep. Ask your dealer.

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FMAN, is it a WOT cruise style system or is it still a "get super mario between the gap in the blocks" system.

Same system, align the arrow in the box and you will get the "Speed engaged" message. Its much easier to use because the boat holds the speed so much better, my wife could never get it correct with the paddle wheel because of the surging problems, especially at initial pull up, now she has no issues with it locking speed. I am not sure any speed control is "WOT" to engage, my friends X-15 I just drove last week will over ride the speed control if you peg the throttle.

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I like the idea of the GPS cruise but we ride rivers with lots of current, I always figured GPS wouldn't work in those scenarios...

I would think you could use it on a river with little headaches, you might have to adjust the speed when traveling against the current to compensate for "water flow" that the GPS cant determine, but that requires little effort. You would be at two different speeds with the current and against the current.

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Actually if the gps cruise control is designed and working properly, it is adjusting for water, wind etc while working and should give the most accurate control of all, because it is tracking your speed across the earth surface. Water or river flow speeds should have no bearing on it. The signal is being triangulated between the boats movement across the earth (water) surface and satellites and should automatically adjust for wind and water flow... The gps provides the speed indication on your malivue based on the boats travel across the the water, right. If this is he case, it will adjust power need based upon the need for speed or reduction of speed depending on whether you are traveling upstream/upwind or downstream/downwind. We had gps control in our last boat and when we were going upstream the gps was tracking us at he speed our handheld gps and the engines were running about 300 to 400 rpm more than when we would make the turn and go down river. The paddlewheel on the otherhand will not adjust for river speed. Maybe I have misunderstood the operational design of the gps system... Maybe someone can enlighten me. Thanks!

  • Haha 1
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Actually if the gps cruise control is designed and working properly, it is adjusting for water, wind etc while working and should give the most accurate control of all, because it is tracking your speed across the earth surface. Water or river flow speeds should have no bearing on it.

I'm not sure about that. If I am moving 10 MPH due west over the surface of the earth on a river, and the current is moving 5 MPH due west, also over the surface of the earth....my boat will be moving 15 MPH relative to the surface of the water.....while GPS speed reads 10 MPH.

Put another way, if you are floating on a river with a 10.8 MPH current, zero wind, no anchor, with your boat in neutral, your GPS will read 10.8 MPH (you will be moving 10.8 MPH over the surface of the earth) but you aren't going to have much of a wake....SurfGate or not....as your boat speed relative to the water will be zero.

Edited by RTS
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I'm not sure about that. If I am moving 10 MPH due west over the surface of the earth on a river, and the current is moving 5 MPH due west, also over the surface of the earth....my boat will be moving 15 MPH relative to the surface of the water.....while GPS speed reads 10 MPH.

Put another way, if you are floating on a river with a 10.8 MPH current, zero wind, no anchor, with your boat in neutral, your GPS will read 10.8 MPH (you will be moving 10.8 MPH over the surface of the earth) but you aren't going to have much of a wake....SurfGate or not....as your boat speed relative to the water will be zero.

That sounds right. But the system I have with the paddle wheel blows so it would be well worth the manual adjustment.

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Actually if the gps cruise control is designed and working properly, it is adjusting for water, wind etc while working and should give the most accurate control of all, because it is tracking your speed across the earth surface. Water or river flow speeds should have no bearing on it. The signal is being triangulated between the boats movement across the earth (water) surface and satellites and should automatically adjust for wind and water flow... The gps provides the speed indication on your malivue based on the boats travel across the the water, right. If this is he case, it will adjust power need based upon the need for speed or reduction of speed depending on whether you are traveling upstream/upwind or downstream/downwind. We had gps control in our last boat and when we were going upstream the gps was tracking us at he speed our handheld gps and the engines were running about 300 to 400 rpm more than when we would make the turn and go down river. The paddlewheel on the otherhand will not adjust for river speed. Maybe I have misunderstood the operational design of the gps system... Maybe someone can enlighten me. Thanks!

You are correct it does adjust (really it doesn't, it just skips the whole water speed) for current. However this is only useful if you are runnign a slalom course or some other means of navigating objects which are fixed to the earth (not water) where your timing/speed over land needs to be precise. For all other applications you really only care about your water speed. To add to what RTS said, I have tied a rope to a bridge and surfed/wakeboarded the current. My speed was 0mph, just as a GPS cruise would read it, but my water speed was likely ~15 mph, as I was still riding the water and thats all that matters.

I'm not sure about that. If I am moving 10 MPH due west over the surface of the earth on a river, and the current is moving 5 MPH due west, also over the surface of the earth....my boat will be moving 15 MPH relative to the surface of the water.....while GPS speed reads 10 MPH.

Put another way, if you are floating on a river with a 10.8 MPH current, zero wind, no anchor, with your boat in neutral, your GPS will read 10.8 MPH (you will be moving 10.8 MPH over the surface of the earth) but you aren't going to have much of a wake....SurfGate or not....as your boat speed relative to the water will be zero.

Just FTR, you'd be moving 5 MPH over the surface of the water ;)

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THIS is one of the main reasons I LOVE the Murphy system on my Mastercraft (and nautique and Supra). Zero off GPS is standard on the Murphy system. Malibu needs to get with the others and include it as standard feature like their competitors. I fought the cruise control on both the 2011 and 2012 Malibus. The integrated zero off is rock steady and it engages quick.

FMAN, great write up and maybe Malibu will start to listen and fix that cruise....

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I would think you could use it on a river with little headaches, you might have to adjust the speed when traveling against the current to compensate for "water flow" that the GPS cant determine, but that requires little effort. You would be at two different speeds with the current and against the current.

That sounds like a hassle to me. What I want accurate is speed of water passing under me, not speed over earth. If I ride my foil at 23 mph on no current, no problem, but if using gps and 4 mph current, water passing under me will be 27 mph going upstream and 19 mph going down. Driver has to shift setting everytime you change directions. Feel free to correct me if I am seeing this wrong.

Edited by dalt1
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That would be some pretty stout current wouldn't it?

Not really. I foil in 2-4mph current all the time. The joys of foiling on a river. Sucks.

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What does the upgrade approximately cost? Did you do the install yourself?

You need to contact your dealer, they can order the part for you. It is a simple two plug system and mount the gps puck under the deck. You wont be disappointed, it works great.

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It would be cool if somehow it could account for current, because I really dislike having the paddle wheel on the bottom of the boat. On my trailer its about 1/2" from the bunks. Had to replace one last year when it got damaged from loading.

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Even with gps cruise you have the paddlewheel, not sure why, but it comes with the boat. Regardless, the gps cruise is so much better at holding the speed...I know my sales rep at my dealer uses gps at the river. I believe he adjusts the speed when traveling against the current, does not seem like a big deal.

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  • 5 years later...
On 7/22/2013 at 12:57 AM, Fman said:

Some of you might have known I have been having issues with surging on my 2013 VLX while towing someone. I had the standard Malibu Cruise paddle wheel when I took delivery of the boat, it was fluctuating between 1-3 mph while towing a wakeboarder. I was not pleased with this.... my first thing I did was try the Nautic Logic GPS conversion, its plug and play and after hooking it up did not notice any improvement from the paddle wheel. So I began to do some research on what was available, the next two speed control upgrades were Zero Off GPS or Malibu Cruise GPS. I have the MEFI 6 ECM, so my boat would only accept the Medallion Malibu Cruise GPS. The unit was installed last week an I spent about 40 hours last week with it on the boat.

Without a doubt, I will never own another boat with a paddle wheel speed control. The difference is literally night and day between the two.... the GPS cruise holds speed at .3 mph +/- and most of the time is dead on set speed. Initial pulls ups are literally surge free, its locks speed immediately... When a boarder pulls out to load the line the speed stays constant and the wake is perfect, its so much better than the paddle wheel. If you are looking for a better speed control upgrade, look into the Medallion GPS unit, it has two plugs that connect under the drivers helm. You mount the puck under the deck and you are on your way. You will have a GPS symbol on your Maliview speed control screen. I really like how its hidden under the deck, no black puck sitting on the top of your deck.

Just thought I would share my results, the GPS is like driving a new boat. I also bolted on the the ACME 2315 prop before last week, and to say the least.... that prop is a beast! its like having a motor upgrade...

Trying to open back up this old thread....I'm a little late to the game and just bought a 2012 Wakesetter VLX last year.  I love everything about it except for the overshoot and undershoot of the darn cruise control.  There seems to be such a lag in the system.  Like Fman my first attempt was trying the Nautic Laugic GPS which didn't help the cruise control at all but did help with my lift bunk spacing always crushing the paddle wheel.

My question is where do I get the Medallion Malibu Cruise GPS that Fman mentioned?  I normally do all maintenance and mods myself to save money so was trying to avoid the dealer.  Is this an entire replacement of the Medallion Malibu Viper system or does this plug in to the existing system?

Thanks for any help!  I'd love to fix this issue!

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I have debated doing the same thing as I have a 12VTX that can overshoot and have trouble holding speed surfing. I and still debating the Nautic Laugic System so let me know if you are looking to sell it... maybe it will work for me. In talking with bakes, this was the information I got that is needed. There are brackets and stickers that I didn't price out but this is at minimum what you need:

3962048.1 - gps puck - $370
3737058.1 - harness  - $66
396008 - switch  -  $16

 

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