Wedge???

CheerokeeWake · Criminal Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 69 City: Nashville

This may sound dumb, but can somebody explain to me what a "wedge" is on Malibu boats. Is this a type of wake enhancement? Is it available for other boats? any info would be great, i have no clue about this. Thanks

Chris

Swass · Guest

http://malibuboats.com

CheerokeeWake · Criminal Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 69 City: Nashville

Malibu site is under construction, thanks though, i will check back

moblsv · Outlaw Joined: 11 Feb 2003 Posts: 228

moomba / supra has a wakeplate which is similar. The behavior I've seen with my boat, with the ballast bags full, is that lowering the trim makes the wake peak up but if the water has any chop the boat tends to start bouncing so I try to keep the trim as low as possible while keeping the boat on a good plane with no bounce.

Swass · Guest

Hmmm....OK:

Yes - it is a wake enhancement device. The Wedge is a reverse hydrofoil attached to the transom that provides the equivalent of 1600 pounds of ballast. Depending on the model of Malibu that it's mounted to, you'll get a very "vert" wake with just the Wedge. Most people add more ballast to the bow to make the wake a bit more "rampy."

I use the Wedge, plus about 1000 pounds of side sacks and a bow sack. I get a pretty decent wake out of my slolom boat.

Is is available for other boats? The short answer is "no." If you can get one (I hear that Malibu will ask you for the serial number of your hull before they'll sell you one), you can adapt them to other boats. I've only seen it done once. It was mounted on a MC 190, I think. They create an enormous amount of stress on the transom, so I'd be hesitant to try this approach.

Are they worth it? That depends on who you ask. Some people hate the shape of wake they create, and some really like it. The convenience factor is undeniable. If you are family-oriented, they are nice, because you can run with just the Wedge, which keeps the interior free of clutter.

moblsv · Outlaw Joined: 11 Feb 2003 Posts: 228

I have no experience with the wedge but it sounds like they have taken the wakeplate to the next step. The wakeplate allows the hull to sit deeper in the water and create less lift so the boat will displace more water. It sounds like the wedge actually forces the hull down into the water. Is this correct?

Swass · Guest

Yes, that is correct.

CheerokeeWake · Criminal Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 69 City: Nashville

Thanks alot, i get it now. The main reason i asked is the convience factor. I am a co-owner, of a centurion Direct Drive. My partner likes to ski, i ride. I need some wake enhancement, but there is no place for sacs, without compromising space. I talked him into a tower, but he doesn't want sacs sitting just in the floor of the boat. Malibu is the only company that make a wedge type enhancer? nothing after market?

ohsix · Posted: Mar 26, 2003 1:17 pm Post subject:

a wakeplate basically manipulates the hull of the boat and how it sits on the water. by adjusting the wakeplate up it makes the hull ride as if it heavier at the rear and by putting it down it makes the hull ride as if it were heavier in the bow. it doesnt really make the wake any bigger or smaller but it shapes it differently. this is because the wakeplate doesn't have any water flowing over it therefore it does not create any downward pressure. the wedge actually has water flowing over it and under it which creates down pressure because of the way the pitch is set on it. i think it might be a good idea, if it's possible, to make the wedge's pitch adjustable so you can adjust your wake even more.

Jarrod · Criminal Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 84

The Wedge is great. But, it is stressful on your boat. It also sucks your gas down much faster, and the LSV I normally ride behind handles really bad with the Wedge down. Forget about sharp turns.

Swass · Guest

Again, it's all a matter of perception. I certainly don't think mine handles "really bad." Sharp turns? At what speed? I don't know of any boat that will turn sharply at "no wake" speeds. At boarding speed, you can turn as sharp as you want to.

How handy are you? Does your boat have a ski locker? You can plumb a sack from the locker to your bilge drain. I'd recommend a Hippo, but rumor has it they're out of business.

CheerokeeWake · Criminal Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 69 City: Nashville

The only storage in the boat is a large area under the front dash, passenger side, and a small locker trunk in the back. I asked a centurion dealer for the deminsions, he said it is plenty long, about 18in wide, but only about 6in deep, is there a sac that will fit in there? i could plumb it to the bilge easy from there.

Nathan Newman · Addict Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Posts: 711 City: Baylor

well, I just fill the sacs up and operate with them filled
you can still walk around on 'em and stuff, doesn't bother us...

kstateskier · Criminal Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 53 City: Manhattan, KS

Cherokee,

What model of Centurion do you have? At one point Centurion put some wake plates on their boat. I don't know what model you have, but our Eclipse LaPoint is plumbed for a tank under the passenger seat. We have a hard tank in there to level the boat in the slalom course. This pump could easily be hooked up to a sack if you could get your Centurion dealer to plumb it for you, or you could do it yourself.

Also, don't put a bag in your trunk locker, it will sit on the gas tank.

Shawn Madison · Posted: Mar 26, 2003 7:44 pm Post subject:

wes reeves, Exactly-I wish I could elaborate, but I will sit this one out!

CheerokeeWake · Criminal Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Posts: 69 City: Nashville

Kstateskier,

I have the 00' eclipse open bow DD. the rear seat sits nearly on the floor. are you talking about the front passenger seat? would that be helpful to put weight there, on one side of the boat?

kstateskier · Criminal Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 53 City: Manhattan, KS

Cherokee,

I think you could get the weight pretty close to the middle. What we did with our '02 Eclipse was sack the front (pull the cushion from the open bow seat) with a 350lb. sack, put two 350's beside the engine box and put a 550 in the back, removing the rear seat. This boat is aweful hard to hide weight in. The only other option would be a Launch Pad Sofa, though I'm not sure that would fit with the rear speaker mounts angled as they are.

krbaugh · Addict Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Posts: 758 City: Edwardsville

you are talking about 2 different things.

The wedge is a reverse hydrofoil that actually pulls the back of the boat deeper into the water.
Malibu will not sell you one.

a wake plate or taps or what ever you want to call it is a Bennett trim tab. The Bennett trim tab is a hydraulically adjustable trim tab in the center of the boat. The Bennett trim tab can not make the wake bigger it can make it smaller by pushing the front of the boat deeper into the water. It is a big help in shaping a wakeboard wake. So adding one to a boat that does not have one won’t get what you are looking for.

Centurion has a long bag that they put tin the back of the Tornado. That bag will fit in the back of your Eclipse.

Shawn Madison · Posted: Mar 27, 2003 8:24 pm Post subject:

krbaugh, I think you got It!

ohsix · Posted: Mar 27, 2003 8:32 pm Post subject:

krbaugh- i dont believe taps or the bennett trim tab actually make a wake smaller. when it is adjusted the boat still weighs the same but the weight is distributed differently on the water. the wake may appear smaller because it has changed shape but since the boat still weighs the same it is exerting the same amount of downward force on the water which is still displacing the same volume of water.

KG · Outlaw Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 151 City: Cali

I think the wedge works good. I never had any handling problems

krbaugh · Addict Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Posts: 758 City: Edwardsville

I would not agree at all when the bennet trim tab is adjusted down the boat runs flatter on the water. Thus more hull is supporting the same amount of weight. So the hull does not sink into the water as much. So the wake is smaller.

ohsix · Posted: Mar 27, 2003 9:18 pm Post subject:

the hull will displace the same amount of water no matter how the tab is adjusted. that's just how buoyancy works. as long as the boat weight doesnt change it will still have to displace enough water to equal the weight of the boat. the wake does change shape which means it is not as steep or tall but more spread out and with not as steep. the volume of water that creates the wake is still the same though.

im not saying the bennett tab doesn't work. i know it can shape the wake in such a way that it can be better for slalom skiing or wakeboarding. im just pointing out that the wake doesn't actually change size in terms volume as it does with the wedge.

krbaugh · Addict Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Posts: 758 City: Edwardsville

Ok lets try this another way
the flater the boat runs on the water the smaller the wake
tim the plate down you run flatter trim it up the back of the boat can go deeperr in the water making a bigger wake

ohsix · Posted: Mar 27, 2003 11:06 pm Post subject:

dude, i understand what you are saying. i understand how the bennett tab works. the wake of the boat still contains the same amount of water, it is just shaped different. try thinking of it this way. you have x amount of concrete to create a speed bump. you can make the speed bump tall and narrow by using as little area as possible or you can make it short and wide by spreading the concrete out but you still use x amount of concrete for both speed bumbs.

here is an illustration that may help me explain. these are supposed to be speed bumps containing the same amount of concrete but shaped differently, this is what the bennett trim tab does but with water and wakes instead of concrete and speed bumps.

krbaugh · Addict Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Posts: 758 City: Edwardsville

ok dude we will just have to agree to disagree