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Back to the Mirror issue...


SmoothWaterMan

Mirror Placement on Non-Tower boats  

140 members have voted

  1. 1. Mirror Placement on windshield, on door or in front of driver?

    • I prefer the Mirror in the middle, mounted to the walk-through door - Great visibility of the skier(s)
      79
    • I prefer the Mirror on the driver's windshield, so I simply look up into the mirror. It still has plenty of view range for me.
      37
    • I prefer the Mirror on the driver's windshield BUT right next to the walk-through door. It may stick into the walk-way a touch but it's better than on the walk-through door.
      24
    • I don't have a tower, but I don't want it on the windsheild either.
      0
  2. 2. Brackets - mounting style preference?

    • Old style - U shape bracket with 2 mounts on windshield frame - thumb screws underneath & bolt to adjust tension
      72
    • New style - Single bracket mount with ball & socket design - hand knob behind mirror
      68
  3. 3. Walk-through Door

    • I always shut the door underway.
      82
    • I often leave the door open.
      45
    • I always shut the door, but still prefer the mirror in front of the driver.
      13


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I now have my mirror mounted to a bracket that's attached to my tower. I like that best of all. However if I had to have it attached to the windshield, I prefer it on the walk through window.

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I've got mine on the tower now too, love it there....as Ron Popeil would say "set it and forget it"

Prior to the tower, I HATED it mounted on the door, with a full boat of kids and adults moving around in the boat, I had to always ask them to close the door for me before I could pull up the next victim. Many times the door slipped out of their hands and hit the deck or my windshield. Almost always the mirror would need re-adjusting after closing.

I'm happy with the tower mount, even with a little less visibility, easy enough to turn my head and have complete visibility if I need it.

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Looking for where you like the mirror for best visibility, ease of use, and bracket style.

Thanks,

Peter

Peter,

I'm seeing a lot of response to this regarding tower mounts, but I don't see anything pertaining to that in your poll. Are you looking specifically to address people that may not have towers? I personally also prefer a tower mount, but can see that it's not a viable option for some & your poll would indicate that it's slanted in that direction.

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Peter, the mirrors with knob adjustments simply do not work for boats. You MUST be able to adjust the mirror with one hand while underway (just like our cars). I can get it adjusted perfectly while sitting still using the knobs and 2 hands. But, once the boat starts moving the adjustment needs change as the boat rises and planes off. It is a very different setting for pulling wake boarders than it is for pulling a skier in a slalom course.

Although I have not driven with the mirror mounted on the drivers side, but hanging into the walk thru, it sounds like a reasonable compromise. That way the center section can be open without the added weight of the mirror.

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Peter, how soon is this coming and for what models?

It's for the new windshield - RLXI and VTX - unknown production time, unknown release date.

I have my own opinions and while the current one is under hot debate, I still like the one we've used for years. I have a set of mounts designed to use the old style mirror, but due to continental US machine shop rates and low production runs, the cost of mounts, bracket and mirror may simply force an owner to live with the existing.

Peter

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Having a tower makes your boat so much more dynamic. So much more to do and many more to please.

Having the mirror on the tower is IT.

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Having a tower makes your boat so much more dynamic. So much more to do and many more to please.

Having the mirror on the tower is IT.

I agree, but it's a trade off that some skiers aren't willing to make. The weight of a tower makes a measurable difference with the wake on most ski boats. Plus (& I've gotta go with the skiers on this one) there is something so sleek, so sexy, so cool about a pure ski boat...sans tower...sans extended pylon...sans open bow. Nothing on the water drives like a boat like that. :)

skistud,

Just out of curiosity, what about it didn't work? I've still got the same u-bracket & tried to use it on my VLX's windshield (before getting the tower arm), but the windshield cap was too big to get it over. Was this your experience as well?

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"Double up" is the only way to go! I've got the mirror on the walk thru and a tower mounted mirror. The view is sooo much better. And when the boat is full of riders and kids and you want to keep the walk thru open, you still have a mirror. Rockon.gif

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Having a tower makes your boat so much more dynamic. So much more to do and many more to please.

Having the mirror on the tower is IT.

I agree, but it's a trade off that some skiers aren't willing to make. The weight of a tower makes a measurable difference with the wake on most ski boats. Plus (& I've gotta go with the skiers on this one) there is something so sleek, so sexy, so cool about a pure ski boat...sans tower...sans extended pylon...sans open bow. Nothing on the water drives like a boat like that. :)

skistud,

Just out of curiosity, what about it didn't work? I've still got the same u-bracket & tried to use it on my VLX's windshield (before getting the tower arm), but the windshield cap was too big to get it over. Was this your experience as well?

Do you mean a mirror and bracket like the one in this picture? If so I had to grind some of the plastic spacer off to make it fit on the windshield.

gallery_1681_265_69362.jpg

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skistud,

Just out of curiosity, what about it didn't work? I've still got the same u-bracket & tried to use it on my VLX's windshield (before getting the tower arm), but the windshield cap was too big to get it over. Was this your experience as well?

I was looking to use the stock "U" bracket that's mounted on the walk- thru windshield, and replace the stock Comp mirror with the extreme CIPA.

You posted about your lack of success some time ago, and based on your post / experience I decided to let the idea go. About the only way to make the extreme work is to mount it to a tower mirror arm. Or use the stock mount that comes with the extreme which looks suspect to say the least.

OR....Peter can come up with a another workaround just like he did for allowing the drive's seat rotate on a LXI. Works like a champ by the way Peter!

Currently I don't have a tower and with God willing......I can keep the kids in the dark about W_ _ e boarding.

Tower?????????? What's that for Jr. ??????? Innocent.gif

Edited by skistud1
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I have seen those forward sweeping mirrors that mount off of the Illusion X tower and drop down in front of the driver, Who makes them. I want to get one for my new lsv so I don't have to take the mirror down every time I want to cover the boat?

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skistud,

Just out of curiosity, what about it didn't work? I've still got the same u-bracket & tried to use it on my VLX's windshield (before getting the tower arm), but the windshield cap was too big to get it over. Was this your experience as well?

I was looking to use the stock "U" bracket that's mounted on the walk- thru windshield, and replace the stock Comp mirror with the extreme CIPA.

You posted about your lack of success some time ago, and based on your post / experience I decided to let the idea go. About the only way to make the extreme work is to mount it to a tower mirror arm. Or use the stock mount that comes with the extreme which looks suspect to say the least.

OR....Peter can come up with a another workaround just like he did for allowing the drive's seat rotate on a LXI. Works like a champ by the way Peter!

Currently I don't have a tower and with God willing......I can keep the kids in the dark about W_ _ e boarding.

Tower?????????? What's that for Jr. ??????? Innocent.gif

Well, I had tried a couple of different things. The first of course was to use the little clamp that came with the Cipa Extreme. That didn't work, but what Justin posted above about shaving down the plastic spacer might. Still, I don't like the idea of clamping something over the top of the cap, but that's just me.

The other thing that we tried was using the u-bracket that you spoke of. I like the clean setup that Malibu uses to mount it to the windshield (no clamps over the cap), but IMO it's poorly implemented (I'll get to that). We cut the bracket in half (boy, that was a job & a half) & used an adapter like the one that Monster Tower sells here to mount the mirror at the cut. The tension from the adapter is enough to keep it rigid, it actually worked quite well. Here's where I think that Malibu messes up with the implementation. It used to be that you could buy a bracket for the traditional Cipa mirror that wasn't u-shaped, but the arm that was closest to the driver was shorter. This gave the driver the correct angle to the rear of the boat & the view was centered on the wake. With the symmetry of the u-bracket, the angle is wrong & you can't adjust it enough to make it right. I don't think that it's as noticeable with the standard mirror because it doesn't have full view anyway, but the Extreme really emphasizes the problem & sort of defeats the purpose of having the wide mirror. If I could find one of those older brackets & somehow convert it to mount the way the current u-bracket mounts, that would be the ichiban to me. Does that make sense?

I have seen those forward sweeping mirrors that mount off of the Illusion X tower and drop down in front of the driver, Who makes them. I want to get one for my new lsv so I don't have to take the mirror down every time I want to cover the boat?

SamsonSports.com, talk to Scott.

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On my closed bow Sporty, the only time I open the door is when I have to crawl up on the bow to moor it, or when putting along to let some air through. I like the location of the mirror on the door, except that it stresses the door. The framing loosens up. Eventually, I will have to through bolt the framing or make some other mod to keep it from falling apart. Relocating the mirror to the driver's section is probably better as that section of the windshield is stronger than the door.

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"Double up" is the only way to go! I've got the mirror on the walk thru and a tower mounted mirror. The view is sooo much better. And when the boat is full of riders and kids and you want to keep the walk thru open, you still have a mirror. Rockon.gif

I'm a double up kind of guy too!!!! Have it both ways! Whistling.gif

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  • 1 year later...
skistud,

Just out of curiosity, what about it didn't work? I've still got the same u-bracket & tried to use it on my VLX's windshield (before getting the tower arm), but the windshield cap was too big to get it over. Was this your experience as well?

I was looking to use the stock "U" bracket that's mounted on the walk- thru windshield, and replace the stock Comp mirror with the extreme CIPA.

You posted about your lack of success some time ago, and based on your post / experience I decided to let the idea go. About the only way to make the extreme work is to mount it to a tower mirror arm. Or use the stock mount that comes with the extreme which looks suspect to say the least.

OR....Peter can come up with a another workaround just like he did for allowing the drive's seat rotate on a LXI. Works like a champ by the way Peter!

Currently I don't have a tower and with God willing......I can keep the kids in the dark about W_ _ e boarding.

Tower?????????? What's that for Jr. ??????? Innocent.gif

Well, I had tried a couple of different things. The first of course was to use the little clamp that came with the Cipa Extreme. That didn't work, but what Justin posted above about shaving down the plastic spacer might. Still, I don't like the idea of clamping something over the top of the cap, but that's just me.

The other thing that we tried was using the u-bracket that you spoke of. I like the clean setup that Malibu uses to mount it to the windshield (no clamps over the cap), but IMO it's poorly implemented (I'll get to that). We cut the bracket in half (boy, that was a job & a half) & used an adapter like the one that Monster Tower sells here to mount the mirror at the cut. The tension from the adapter is enough to keep it rigid, it actually worked quite well. Here's where I think that Malibu messes up with the implementation. It used to be that you could buy a bracket for the traditional Cipa mirror that wasn't u-shaped, but the arm that was closest to the driver was shorter. This gave the driver the correct angle to the rear of the boat & the view was centered on the wake. With the symmetry of the u-bracket, the angle is wrong & you can't adjust it enough to make it right. I don't think that it's as noticeable with the standard mirror because it doesn't have full view anyway, but the Extreme really emphasizes the problem & sort of defeats the purpose of having the wide mirror. If I could find one of those older brackets & somehow convert it to mount the way the current u-bracket mounts, that would be the ichiban to me. Does that make sense?

I have seen those forward sweeping mirrors that mount off of the Illusion X tower and drop down in front of the driver, Who makes them. I want to get one for my new lsv so I don't have to take the mirror down every time I want to cover the boat?

SamsonSports.com, talk to Scott.

For you of thoes who have this setup from SamsonSports.com....Does your mirror have a rattle noise? I purchased mine last week from scott...The mount is solid, but the mirror makes this rattle noise every lil bump or wave we hit.... PLEASE let me know...

Kevin

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skistud,

Just out of curiosity, what about it didn't work? I've still got the same u-bracket & tried to use it on my VLX's windshield (before getting the tower arm), but the windshield cap was too big to get it over. Was this your experience as well?

I was looking to use the stock "U" bracket that's mounted on the walk- thru windshield, and replace the stock Comp mirror with the extreme CIPA.

You posted about your lack of success some time ago, and based on your post / experience I decided to let the idea go. About the only way to make the extreme work is to mount it to a tower mirror arm. Or use the stock mount that comes with the extreme which looks suspect to say the least.

OR....Peter can come up with a another workaround just like he did for allowing the drive's seat rotate on a LXI. Works like a champ by the way Peter!

Currently I don't have a tower and with God willing......I can keep the kids in the dark about W_ _ e boarding.

Tower?????????? What's that for Jr. ??????? Innocent.gif

Well, I had tried a couple of different things. The first of course was to use the little clamp that came with the Cipa Extreme. That didn't work, but what Justin posted above about shaving down the plastic spacer might. Still, I don't like the idea of clamping something over the top of the cap, but that's just me.

The other thing that we tried was using the u-bracket that you spoke of. I like the clean setup that Malibu uses to mount it to the windshield (no clamps over the cap), but IMO it's poorly implemented (I'll get to that). We cut the bracket in half (boy, that was a job & a half) & used an adapter like the one that Monster Tower sells here to mount the mirror at the cut. The tension from the adapter is enough to keep it rigid, it actually worked quite well. Here's where I think that Malibu messes up with the implementation. It used to be that you could buy a bracket for the traditional Cipa mirror that wasn't u-shaped, but the arm that was closest to the driver was shorter. This gave the driver the correct angle to the rear of the boat & the view was centered on the wake. With the symmetry of the u-bracket, the angle is wrong & you can't adjust it enough to make it right. I don't think that it's as noticeable with the standard mirror because it doesn't have full view anyway, but the Extreme really emphasizes the problem & sort of defeats the purpose of having the wide mirror. If I could find one of those older brackets & somehow convert it to mount the way the current u-bracket mounts, that would be the ichiban to me. Does that make sense?

I have seen those forward sweeping mirrors that mount off of the Illusion X tower and drop down in front of the driver, Who makes them. I want to get one for my new lsv so I don't have to take the mirror down every time I want to cover the boat?

SamsonSports.com, talk to Scott.

For you of thoes who have this setup from SamsonSports.com....Does your mirror have a rattle noise? I purchased mine last week from scott...The mount is solid, but the mirror makes this rattle noise every lil bump or wave we hit.... PLEASE let me know...

Kevin

Nope, my mirror and arm are quiet...my board racks make all the noise. Heck, maybe my mirror is making noise, but I can't hear it over the board racks.

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skistud,

Just out of curiosity, what about it didn't work? I've still got the same u-bracket & tried to use it on my VLX's windshield (before getting the tower arm), but the windshield cap was too big to get it over. Was this your experience as well?

I was looking to use the stock "U" bracket that's mounted on the walk- thru windshield, and replace the stock Comp mirror with the extreme CIPA.

You posted about your lack of success some time ago, and based on your post / experience I decided to let the idea go. About the only way to make the extreme work is to mount it to a tower mirror arm. Or use the stock mount that comes with the extreme which looks suspect to say the least.

OR....Peter can come up with a another workaround just like he did for allowing the drive's seat rotate on a LXI. Works like a champ by the way Peter!

Currently I don't have a tower and with God willing......I can keep the kids in the dark about W_ _ e boarding.

Tower?????????? What's that for Jr. ??????? Innocent.gif

Well, I had tried a couple of different things. The first of course was to use the little clamp that came with the Cipa Extreme. That didn't work, but what Justin posted above about shaving down the plastic spacer might. Still, I don't like the idea of clamping something over the top of the cap, but that's just me.

The other thing that we tried was using the u-bracket that you spoke of. I like the clean setup that Malibu uses to mount it to the windshield (no clamps over the cap), but IMO it's poorly implemented (I'll get to that). We cut the bracket in half (boy, that was a job & a half) & used an adapter like the one that Monster Tower sells here to mount the mirror at the cut. The tension from the adapter is enough to keep it rigid, it actually worked quite well. Here's where I think that Malibu messes up with the implementation. It used to be that you could buy a bracket for the traditional Cipa mirror that wasn't u-shaped, but the arm that was closest to the driver was shorter. This gave the driver the correct angle to the rear of the boat & the view was centered on the wake. With the symmetry of the u-bracket, the angle is wrong & you can't adjust it enough to make it right. I don't think that it's as noticeable with the standard mirror because it doesn't have full view anyway, but the Extreme really emphasizes the problem & sort of defeats the purpose of having the wide mirror. If I could find one of those older brackets & somehow convert it to mount the way the current u-bracket mounts, that would be the ichiban to me. Does that make sense?

I have seen those forward sweeping mirrors that mount off of the Illusion X tower and drop down in front of the driver, Who makes them. I want to get one for my new lsv so I don't have to take the mirror down every time I want to cover the boat?

SamsonSports.com, talk to Scott.

For you of thoes who have this setup from SamsonSports.com....Does your mirror have a rattle noise? I purchased mine last week from scott...The mount is solid, but the mirror makes this rattle noise every lil bump or wave we hit.... PLEASE let me know...

Kevin

Nope, my mirror and arm are quiet...my board racks make all the noise. Heck, maybe my mirror is making noise, but I can't hear it over the board racks.

I called samson sports and told them what was going on with the mirror, they sent out a new one and it's on the way now... Rockon.gif

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