Power "wedge"?

[onewake09]

I'm sure this has been asked before but I can't seem to find anything on it. Just bought my first wake boat, a 17' A20. It was a dealer stock boat with 5 hours, so new. Has anyone heard of someone adding an actuator like the ones on the surf gate  for the auto set wedge? I mean even if you just had a simple up/down switch on the dash that would be enough to fine tune it. I'm a pretty smart dude.I have my own machining and Fab business so I could easily make the hardware and brackets for mounting. I would also assume the main wedge bracket is the same for the power wedge right? You wouldnt even have to drill another hole in the hull as you can use the same hole that's already there for the auto set wedge switch. What are your thoughts? 

[robbennett]

The wedges are different. The power wedge bracket extends further for the actuators. Google some images of both and you will see what I'm talking about. 

[racer808]

Yeah I looked into this as well and I don't see how it could be done without some serious engineering & brains, simply beyond my ability unless someone developed a kit.  Perhaps the engineers on here but as of today I have seen no one successfully add power wedge.  Malibu will not under any circumstances sell you the power wedge either.  Sucks, kept me from getting a 17 this year.

Edited October 24, 2017 by racer808

[agarabaghi]

i bet power wedge could be retro fitted to a 2017 but i dont think axis will sell you one ha

[robbennett]

I'm sure you could get one somehow. It would have to be used or maybe you could get an owner of an 18 model to order it for you. 

[racer808]

16 hours ago, robbennett said:

I'm sure you could get one somehow. It would have to be used or maybe you could get an owner of an 18 model to order it for you. 

Good idea!  

 

What are others people opinion of the power wedge?  I only played with it on the demo & honestly I thought it was very limited in what it provides regarding surf wake.  I would like to try an Axis with Go Surf Assist, seems to be Surf Gate is hindered by only being able to handle X amount of weight before the gate is buried & not providing a wave anyway.  Thoughts?

Edited October 27, 2017 by racer808

[robbennett]

On my t23 I surf no wedge. I am only about 20% surf though and I prefer floating wedge for the wakeboarding. I was never able to ride with the power wedge with my old boat because it was too much to teach every driver how to adjust it once on plane. Then for them to remember to do it was another challenge.

Surf wave responds really well to weight distribution on my boat. Easy enough to just dump or fill ballast to adjust between steep and long. 

I do wish that my t23 had the power wedge 2 because that may solve the slow to plane issue I have had when wakeboarding with the 350 engine. With surfing it does just fine with the 350 wedge or not. I'll either be getting another smaller boat or another t23 or a24 with a bigger powerplant as soon as I can.  

[dealjb]

2 hours ago, racer808 said:

Good idea!  

 

What are others people opinion of the power wedge?  I only played with it on the demo & honestly I thought it was very limited in what it provides regarding surf wake.  I would like to try an Axis with Go Surf Assist, seems to be Surf Gate is hindered by only being able to handle X amount of weight before the gate is buried & not providing a wave anyway.  Thoughts?

Coming from a GSA/07 23 LSV owner...............I think the new power wedge works great.  Demoed several new models and was able to take the wave from steep/shorter to not as steep longer with wedge and speed adjustments.

Love my GSA but these new boats with PW2 and gates weighted right are supper easy to set up and go right out of the box.

 

[Sixer]

 

On 10/26/2017 at 3:12 PM, agarabaghi said:

i bet power wedge could be retro fitted to a 2017 but i dont think axis will sell you one ha

I doubt any dealer will retrofit anything for you, but if you can figure out a way to do it yourself you might be able to swing it.  I have a 2014 Malibu, and when I was having some work done on the back of the boat I asked my dealer if they could swap out my Power Wedge for the PW2, and they called Malibu and got a "NO".  I don't know why this couldn't actually be done, doesn't seem like it would be that hard, especially if I'm willing to pay for the upgrade.  I'm assuming it's similar to why Malibu didn't let dealers install Surf Gates to the 2012 and older boats.  They want you to buy a new boat, not fix up your old one.

[Ronnie]

There's more involved in the system for PWII than the wedge assembly itself. There's electronic controls for speed deployment, gauges for the wedge etc. as well that probably wouldn't play nice with your existing system.

[vanamp]

Well then there is this......... 

 

 

 

[agarabaghi]

I cant imagine flashing the computers and switching out the key pad would be much work for someone with the tools. 

[robbennett]

I don't understand their logic not selling newer features to retrofit to older boats. They act like everyone is made of money and can just buy a new boat the second a new feature comes out. That is certainly not the case for most people and they could make money selling the parts to retrofit rather than make nothing. I guess they are giving us a good reason to switch away from the brand. 

[agarabaghi]

Wouldnt be surprised if we see some changes soon. i know mc you can retro fit gen2 after the fact. 

 

I wonder if its more of a liability stand point, though i cant imagine the floating wedge and the pw2 put different amounts of force on the hull

[robbennett]

31 minutes ago, agarabaghi said:

Wouldnt be surprised if we see some changes soon. i know mc you can retro fit gen2 after the fact. 

 

I wonder if its more of a liability stand point, though i cant imagine the floating wedge and the pw2 put different amounts of force on the hull

Nautique will also sell you a surf system. I believe Moomba and supra do too. I can't see them making the hull any different for boats with or without the wedge. It is more cost effective to just build one hull for all boats. The wire harnesses are setup for all available options on my 16 axis even though it doesn't have them all.   

[agarabaghi]

yes i agree who knows....

i do know the pads are different as there is a go home / wedge up down etc... on the 18s

[vanamp]

As much as I wish they would sell me all the parts of these boats so I could DIY stuff on my boat I understand why they choose not to. 

As a bigger company like Malibu when you decide to sell something you are also selling warranty and support on that item.  They probably do not want to dedicate the resources to support DIY installs gone wrong.  If they sell them as a dealer install only item,  it will drive the price up to a point where the DIY'ers won't buy them anyway. 

One bad DIY power wedge install would probably result in a 1000 page "power wedge sucks"  planetnautique/centrurioncrew/wakeworld thread. 

The more I think about it the more I think I would not do it if it were my company. 

Edited October 31, 2017 by vanamp

[agarabaghi]

i would be perfectly fine paying a dealer to install a pw2 on my 2017 t23

[vanamp]

1 hour ago, agarabaghi said:

i would be perfectly fine paying a dealer to install a pw2 on my 2017 t23

If that were an option,  It would probably be more cost effective to trade into a 2018 that has it. 

[racer808]

On 10/28/2017 at 11:14 AM, vanamp said:

Well then there is this......... 

 

 

 

That's interesting, Tommy's the one that told me no.  Could have sold me a 17 T22 that day if it was an option

[windy1]

what's the difference in the power wedge and the power wedge II

[Malibuzer]

Power wedge is smaller and uses Lenco electric actuators.  Power Wedge II is larger and actually deploys far enough to create lift.  Also it has a new type of hydraulic actuator. 

This is a snippet from a Malibu document

 

POWER WEDGE II

Our exclusive, patent-protected Power Wedge II hydrofoil—now with hydraulic actuators—is another evolutionary leap and the greatest thing to happen to watersports since Surf Gate. Compared with the original Power Wedge, the bigger, more versatile, hydraulic Power Wedge II features a larger foil, with a 21 percent surface-area increase, equating to an additional 300 pounds of ballast, for a total of 1,500 pounds of wake-creating water displacement. On top of this massive boost, a new upward angle radically increases lift, allowing the driver to get a fully loaded boat planing much faster, saving you time and gas money. The more symmetrical wake that the Power Wedge II hydrofoil creates is also taller, longer, and cleaner.

[ConnollyCrew]

7 hours ago, agarabaghi said:

i would be perfectly fine paying a dealer to install a pw2 on my 2017 t23

My bet is it would be over 5k to retrofit one ... just a guess here ...

[Pnwrider]

3 hours ago, ConnollyCrew said:

My bet is it would be over 5k to retrofit one ... just a guess here ...

Probably not a bad guess since it’s a $3100 option on new boats...

[Cole2001]

Would it be worth the 5k? Strictly surfing only.