Trim Tabs on a VTX

[rakr]

Good point (although I did weigh the wedge and actuators in a kitchen scale...) I had probably 8 more gallons of gas in the boat vs the last time I skied. 
 

i previously tried to ski on almost empty, and that didn’t really seem to make a difference. 
 

I’ll see if I can take off the actuator bracket tomorrow to see how much play I have. 

[Badger]

On 6/28/2020 at 10:48 PM, rakr said:

it almost seems like a new boat... I was starting to look for an SSLXI and “pull a @Badger” I’ll stick with it for now! 

Sell your power wedge to me and I’ll pull a rakr to get back closer to the VTX!

[rakr]

@Badger the thought has seriously crossed my mind... don’t tempt me as I am sure it would bite me in the a$$ when I go to sell! 

I chatted with my neighbor up north (bellaire) and he said that his wedge is super simple to take it off. I think he has a floating wedge on his 08 or 09 LXi (not 100% on the year, tribal response on the side). If it were me, I’d look for one of those bad boys vs the PW so you can take it off if it would drag a bit on your boat. 

[rakr]

I haven’t had a ton of time to mess around,  it so far: 

1. I put the 537 back on and prop change doesn’t seem to make much difference with the wedge off. The 1273 eats through a good bit more gas, and we don’t surf a ton. Good to have another prop for a standby and if I end up loading up with the boys to surf. 
 

2. it looks like I can adjust the position of the actuators (Fore/aft). I’ll try to see what that does. 
 

3. I’ll still try to get pics of the wake, headed to the lake for a full week so I should have some time to mess around. it still isn’t as purdy as @truckjunky87‘s! 

[ahopkins22LSV]

3 hours ago, rakr said:

I haven’t had a ton of time to mess around,  it so far: 

1. I put the 537 back on and prop change doesn’t seem to make much difference with the wedge off. The 1273 eats through a good bit more gas, and we don’t surf a ton. Good to have another prop for a standby and if I end up loading up with the boys to surf. 
 

2. it looks like I can adjust the position of the actuators (Fore/aft). I’ll try to see what that does. 
 

3. I’ll still try to get pics of the wake, headed to the lake for a full week so I should have some time to mess around. it still isn’t as purdy as @truckjunky87‘s! 

Not sure it will help, but I just posted a bunch of videos on my 2020 review thread at different speeds. I know it’s two generation hulls, but might be worth comparing. 

[rakr]

The wedge is back on. As someone mentioned above, you can adjust the point where the top of the actuators are fixed. A small change in fore/aft position makes a pretty measurable difference in the height of the wedge. I moved it 3/16ths forward, and it looks like about an inch of height change. 
 

im going to give it a whirl tomorrow morning and will report back. 

[oldjeep]

On 6/29/2020 at 4:39 PM, rakr said:

Good point (although I did weigh the wedge and actuators in a kitchen scale...) I had probably 8 more gallons of gas in the boat vs the last time I skied. 
 

i previously tried to ski on almost empty, and that didn’t really seem to make a difference. 
 

I’ll see if I can take off the actuator bracket tomorrow to see how much play I have. 

Hell, I ski with 38 gallons in the boat.  The tank is in front of the engine - more fuel is better.  Also fill the bow tank.  It makes the wake look nicer, doesn't have a huge impact on how it feels unless you have a lot of people in the boat.

Edited August 18, 2020 by oldjeep

[oldjeep]

On 7/19/2020 at 7:32 AM, rakr said:

I haven’t had a ton of time to mess around,  it so far: 

1. I put the 537 back on and prop change doesn’t seem to make much difference with the wedge off. The 1273 eats through a good bit more gas, and we don’t surf a ton. Good to have another prop for a standby and if I end up loading up with the boys to surf. 
 

2. it looks like I can adjust the position of the actuators (Fore/aft). I’ll try to see what that does. 
 

3. I’ll still try to get pics of the wake, headed to the lake for a full week so I should have some time to mess around. it still isn’t as purdy as @truckjunky87‘s! 

It is funny that a 537 is what came on the boat.   1939 is the typical ski prop for the era VTX we both have.

[rakr]

yeah, I’ll make sure the bow is full. I have thought about going with a lower (12-13-13.5 vs 14+) pitch(which I think  less means less rooster tail, but less surfing power, correct?) and maybe a smaller diameter, there is a team talk article on 13 vs 14 in props that makes me potentially bring this into the equation. 

I am pretty confident what ever the wedge was doing in the stowed position (dragging or knocking down the prop wash) was affecting the rooster tail considerably.  

[oldjeep]

4 minutes ago, rakr said:

yeah, I’ll make sure the bow is full. I have thought about going with a lower (12-13-13.5 vs 14+) pitch(which I think  less means less rooster tail, but less surfing power, correct?) and maybe a smaller diameter, there is a team talk article on 13 vs 14 in props that makes me potentially bring this into the equation. 

I am pretty confident what ever the wedge was doing in the stowed position (dragging or knocking down the prop wash) was affecting the rooster tail considerably.  

537 is already a 13.5"x16 prop.  The 1939 is a 14"x15.5 prop

Couldn't tell you what kind of difference it makes, but the VTX that were being sold by MN inboard for skiing were coming with the 1939.

 

[rakr]

@oldjeep thanks! 

[rakr]

So... as far as wedge adjustment, it seems to be a bit of an art vs science. After moving the adjustment plate too far forward, and going out, it bound against the plate and blew the inline fuse under the helm. I got it adjusted just far enough so that there isn’t any “play” in it. Went up and down a few times in the driveway,  o alarms or binding. I also got 120 lbs of sand I plan on putting in the bow as a test, in addition to the factory ballast. We’ll see when I can make the stars align to test again. 

[rakr]

It seems that either the weight, or the wedge adjustment got the slalom wake close enough to taking the wedge off that I was able to take a few ok turns. Water was not great, had a tuber at 9:00 running circles around the lake, kids in the bow people on the back, weaving in and out of boats and coves. Pretty ridiculous to watch. 

heading to the cottage(I’ll have more time to experiment) over Labor Day and I’ll report back on whether the additional weight or wedge adjustment seemed to make the biggest difference.