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Speed Control Horrible at 19.4 Setting


CharleyAMN

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I'm still getting used to my 2013 VTX. I had a GPS speed put in when it was winterized. It holds speed nicely for surfing and pretty well for slalom. BUT...when I set it up at intermediate wakeboard (actually for kneeboarding), the speed drifted from 15 to 24 with all kinds of engine surges and idles. 

Am I doing something wrong? Any solutions? 

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I had malibu gps cruise on my '13 vlx as well, also installed after I got the boat.  It worked very well at all speeds, are you possibly loosing the gps signal for some reason?  It should hold at any speed.  I would start by taking a look under the drivers helm to make sure the gps puck is still securely mounted.  Also try shutting off all batteries and reboot the entire maliview.

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The thing is: it works fine at 10 mph and at 30 mph. It appears there is something about 19.4 that it really doesn't like. I'm going to switch back to the paddle and see if it happens there. 

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I just took it out with no one in it or behind it. It did the same thing with the GPS, and I do wonder if it is trying to plane, so it's jockeying back and forth in the amount of drag being produced by the hull. Not sure what to do with the ballast/wedge to counter that. 

BUT...I swapped back over to the paddle wheel and it works like a champ!!! It held speed perfectly through all maneuvering. 

It's odd the GPS would command so much power change where the paddle wheel doesn't. 

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8 minutes ago, CharleyAMN said:

I just took it out with no one in it or behind it. It did the same thing with the GPS, and I do wonder if it is trying to plane, so it's jockeying back and forth in the amount of drag being produced by the hull. Not sure what to do with the ballast/wedge to counter that. 

BUT...I swapped back over to the paddle wheel and it works like a champ!!! It held speed perfectly through all maneuvering. 

It's odd the GPS would command so much power change where the paddle wheel doesn't. 

You would need to create more drag to raise the planning speed - either more ballast in the rear, less in the front or whatever you need to do to add drag with the wedge.  I used to have this problem with my last boat (was an I/O) where it wanted to jump up on plane at wakeboarding speeds and we had to get everyone in the back seats to keep it plowing.

Makes a certain amount of sense that the paddlewheel would work better at plowing speeds since the flow of water over the paddle wheel distorts the speed when the hull is not planed.  Just for grins compare your paddlewheel dash speed with a cell phone GPS speed and see how closely they match.  I'd bet that the GPS says you are going 1-2MPH slower than the paddle wheel does.

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Good idea! 

I could also mess around with the loads/speeds. My daughter said the wakes were "terrifying"!!! So a little smaller wouldn't hurt either. 

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7 hours ago, oldjeep said:

You would need to create more drag to raise the planning speed - either more ballast in the rear, less in the front or whatever you need to do to add drag with the wedge.  I used to have this problem with my last boat (was an I/O) where it wanted to jump up on plane at wakeboarding speeds and we had to get everyone in the back seats to keep it plowing.

Makes a certain amount of sense that the paddlewheel would work better at plowing speeds since the flow of water over the paddle wheel distorts the speed when the hull is not planed.  Just for grins compare your paddlewheel dash speed with a cell phone GPS speed and see how closely they match.  I'd bet that the GPS says you are going 1-2MPH slower than the paddle wheel does.

I went out and played with it and indeed the trick is to find a load/wedge/speed combination that both give the wake I want plus keeps the boat plowing instead of attempting to plane. 

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Are you towing advanced or beginner riders?  For advanced riders I find anything more than three clicks up on the wedge tends to create potential porpoising,  wake curling and puts a heavy load on the boat.

For a beginner rider I would not even use ballast or wedge.  You will have a wake plenty big for beginners and burn a lot less fuel.

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I'm actually using this setup for kneeboarding. I'm not really concerned about huge wakes as they are really scary when my riders are down on their knees! 

Mostly I wanted a steady, appropriate speed. I think I got that worked out. 

Thanks!

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