1995 Sunsetter; factory or aftermarket wedge?

[Baraboater]

Hi

I have been researching a second hand 1995 Malibu Sunsetter I am looking at buying. It has a wedge fitted. From all the research I have done on this forum and elsewhere says the wedge was not a factory option until later in the 90's. The seller is saying that it was a factory fitted wedge. Can anyone shed some light on this issue for me, when did Malibu start fitted Wedge's as a factory option?

If this does send up being an aftermarket fit I assume that the transom has not been sufficiently strengthened and that it is a significant risk buying this boat?

[Eagleboy99]

Official Press release from '98

"The word is out! And the praise is as high as the wakes with the introduction of Malibu's new Wedge. A revolutionary wakeboarding device that dramatically increases wake size to satisfy the most demanding boarder or aspiring novice. The Wedge is a deployable wing that is attached to the transom. Its unique design pulls the rear of the boat down to produce a huge wake equivalent to 1,000 lbs of additional transom weight. But the benefits of the Wedge go beyond its unparalleled performance. At boarding speeds of 18 to 22 mph the Wedge eliminates the need for any additional weighting systems that can adversely affect seating capacity and safety. And when the water glasses off and the slalom ski calls, the Wedge can easily be raised for world class slalom wakes. The Wedge is available on all direct drive Malibus for 1998 and can be retrofitted on all SV23 direct drive hulls prior to this year. Performance Wakeboard Report said it best, "The bottom line is that we believe the Wedge to be the most significant development in wakeboard boat technology". You'll believe it's the most fun you've ever had behind a ski boat."

I _suspect_ it will be fine - but no guarantees.

[jmack]

I've got a '96 that has the wedge added. I had it done by a dealer and I asked lots of questions concerning transom strength before adding it. They assured me that there were no upgrades to the transoms for later model boats with wedges installed at the factory and that mine would be fine. There is a large aluminum backing plate on the inside of the transom that's installed as part of the upgrade - just the same as the factory does. I wouldn't necessarily call mine "aftermarket", as it's the same OEM parts that come from the factory, just installed after the fact. Mine was installed in 2004 and the boat has nearly 750 hours on it since then with no issues whatsoever. I believe this was a common upgrade for boats of that era.

[asnowman]

two of our ski partners have tantrums, with the wedge, that they installed after the fact, they have well over a 1000 hours on at least one tantrum, and no issues related to the wedge.

[Baraboater]

Thanks everyone. So when I get back to look a this boat again soon I am looking for a large aluminium backing plate on the inside of the transom where the four bolts holding the wedge on are. This will signify that the install was most likely done by a Malibu dealer and is a legitimate addition to this boat.

[jmack]

12 hours ago, Baraboater said:

Thanks everyone. So when I get back to look a this boat again soon I am looking for a large aluminium backing plate on the inside of the transom where the four bolts holding the wedge on are. This will signify that the install was most likely done by a Malibu dealer and is a legitimate addition to this boat.

Yes - the backing plate on mine is black anodized just like the exterior aluminum bracket.