Malibu manual wedge vs. power wedge

I'm currently looking to buy an 07 Malibu and I've found a boat that has everything I want except for the power wedge. How big of a deal is this? I'm not talking about the hassle of putting it up and down, that I can live with. But I'm getting mixed opinions on how crucial it is to be able to shape the wake with the wake with the wedge. Some people say it doesn't matter unless you've got a ton of weight in the boat (far more than stock ballast) and then it starts curling over with the wedge in the down position. Others have said that even with stock ballast it will be a wall with the wedge down and too flat with the wedge up. Should this be a deal breaker? I would consider myself a novice with 3 inverts if that makes a difference, however I can see myself riding a lot more once I have a boat.

Wedge is dumb unless you run very little weight in the boat. If you run over 3k then all it does is wash the wake unless you go 27mph+ on an lsv. Manual wedge is fine if you are going to go with a wedge. It takes 2 sec to put it down and with the money you save you can buy alot of weight to get that wake proper.

(Message edited by eyekahn on November 10, 2008)

I guess someone needs to tell Rookie of the Year Kyle Alberts that he's "dumb" for liking to use the Wedge with weight.

Reed I doubt you would ever want to ride with the wedge accept those days you had a really small crew on your boat. Manual wedge works great I wouldn't let it scare you away.

I am not familiar with malibus but couldn't you add the power wedge later if you wanted?

no, Bret you really can't add it later.

Reed i have a 07 bu with the Manual wedge and i didn't even use the wedge a single time this year. you seriously don't need it. get the mid and rear ballasts and you will have all the wake you can handle unless you are a pro, and doing some crazy tantrums backflips and stuff....

I think it's interesting how all of a sudden people are against using the wedge. I really don't have any on-the-water experience with Malibus or the Wedge, but it's always been something that is generally talked about favorably (I said generally...), and I'm sure has sold a lot of boats for Malibu.

IMHO its the beginning of winter, wait and get what you want, there is no rush to buy something in November! Personally I would go with exactly what you want and nothing less, especially for the money your spending...you'll feel better about it later.

It depends on which model Malibu you are considering. On the pre 2005 VLX hull, we used almost 3k ballast and no wedge. On my 05 VLX, 2600lbs and manual wedge in shallow water--no wedge in deep water. My 08 VTX runs 2600 lbs ballast and the power wedge in shallow water(4-5'). I love the ability to change the shape of the wake on the fly with the power wedge. I can actually make the wake grow 6" at the touch of a button! Power wedge rocks!

It is great for creating an advanced level wake without filling any bags. I think most really good riders would like it better with no wedge and a ton of weight. This however is annoying. The manual wedge works just fine. You may not be able to fine tune your surf wake but that is about the only downfall.

i like the power wedge just because its easy to get a decent wake, out of the box... i have a 07 vlx and i love it, the pwer wedge is nice too when i surf... it changes everything.

I have a 05' VLX and I really like the manual wedge. It makes the boat very versatile. If we choose to have a steep wake with less weight you can just drop the wedge and ride factory ballast. On the other hand if we want to ride with factory weight plus another 2k we just dont use the wedge and it has a huge wake without that lip. IMO they are both great options.

Notice I diddnt say the people who use the wedge are dumb. In my experience 4500lbs of weight in a vlx with no wedge is the most perfect wake. The wedge washes it out with that much weight. 3k or less the wedge helps the wake a lot. I have heard that a bigger boat at higher speeds the wedge actually makes the wake alot better with that kind of weight.

I have an 07 23lsv and about 4000k weight and i love the wedge. i pull it half way up and i can literally watch the nose of the boat raise up a foot. which in theory make me think the back end sinks down more and make the wake just climb even bigger. it makes it really easy to pop straight up for sevens and more diffucult tricks. stay posted my winter project is to plum all the sacks n on switches. including a triangle sac up in the bow on quick connects for days when there is three of us out. pretty much to keep nose from bouncing with up and down with 2 1000 pound sacs in back lockers. boat has stock 4 ballast tanks also.

4 million LBS? Thats a lotta weight. Haha. Ive plumbed in sacs on an 07 VLX. So, if you have any questions let me know. The whole process took 30 min. and 50 bucks.

(Message edited by eyekahn on November 11, 2008)

"I guess someone needs to tell Rookie of the Year Kyle Alberts that he's "dumb" for liking to use the Wedge with weight."

More like I guess someone needs to tell David Williams that he's "being a little over-dramatic and jumping to conclusions."

My experience has always been that the Wedge is cool if you have little or no weight, but as soon as you add a bunch of weight, you're best to lose the Wedge. If you can make a list of pro riders that honestly and regularly use the wedge with a lot of weight and it outnumbers the list of those that don't, I will kiss your ass.

power wedge is clutch for fine tuning that little extra to your riders desired wake. it really works. just go demo a vlx and find out. we run stock plus bow ballast full wedge, 500 in the walk way, and 500 on the floor along the rear seat. imo since i do own a vlx the wedge makes it a little steeper and lippier, the weight is what makes it thicker and meatier. and if you surf the power wedge works great for size and shape. but you need to be your own judge.

power wedge > manual wedge > no wedge

- power wedge gives you the ability to customize as you see fit

- with the manual wedge you at least have the option to use it if you don't have a ton of weight or if you prefer the shape

- no wedge requires the use of more weight always to get the same size/shape

In my older Malibu ('01) I run 2x550's in the rear, 500 in ski locker (mid), and 500 in the bow. I definitely like the wake with the manual wedge down better. But, I don't have any experience with the newer hull with a manual wedge.

I would say go ride behind the boat your looking at. Take a set with the wedge and one without. If possible take some extra people along for the ride. I have an 08 VLX with the Power Wedge and honestly, we never use it. The only reason I got it was for resale. The wedge does add the ability to adjust, but I don't like what it does to the wake and I don't like the way the boat handles with it down (we have some tight turns on our lake). I run 500lbs of lead plus factory and my wake is plenty big at 80ft. I honestly thought I'd need more weight when I got the boat and was gonna plumb 2 750s in the back and run all my lead up front, but when we have lots of people in the boat I sometimes find myself letting a little water out or riding at 85ft.

**sp0tts**
Where do you place your 500 #'s of lead through out the boat?

sp0tts...where have you been? Justin I would bet he hides the lead up front pretty nicely.

Just curious of placement...ie. 200 #'s in front, 100#'s under rear seat, and 100 #'s in each locker...??
Lead makes a HUGE difference and I'm trying to figure out proper placement.

This thread is awesome because I am too looking at a couple Bu's...either a VLX or VTX and was wondering about power or manual wedge.

Justin, it is all about balance. I run as much as 4-500 up front, but I will move weight around depending on how much is loaded in rear of the boat.

(Message edited by johnsvt on November 13, 2008)

Justin I though you needed a boat with a 93" beam and were looking at the vrides?

Justin
Power wedge all the way!!! Why limit your options. I know it's a long drive, but if you could make it up to Bakersfield, you could ride/drive my boat and see for yourself.

Justin, I actually have Pop bags. I put 2 in the nose, 3 in each rear compartment and 6 at the front of the walkway and I think they're 40lbs each. If we get a lot of people in the boat, I rarely have anyone sitting in the bow, then I'll move some more weight forward.

If I ran the wedge, I'd probably have most of my weight in the bow. I would definitely look for a boat with bow ballast or get lead up there if it doesn't have it.

Ewing, I've been laying low, trying to put off winterizing for as long as possible (gonna try to make it till December). May be riding Long Level tomorrow on a friends Supra, how bout you, good summer?

Good summer.

Are the docks still in at Long Level? Docks are surely pulled at blue marsh and there is hardly any water left.

Chuck...thanks for the offer man, I may just take you up on it.
NuBu...still looking in to a Vride, but man -newer vlx's are getting cheap!!
Sp0tts...thanks for the info man.

Justin, no problem.

Ewing, I would bet the docks are out, they are almost everywhere. We don't use the marina though, my friend has a cabin up river. If I see them in though, I'll let you know.