converting pitot tubes to paddle wheel

So I bought perfect pass wakeboard pro for my V210 and going to do the install this week. Since I went with the paddle wheel model as I ride in the delta 99.9 percent of the time, I have to install the paddle wheel, so while doing so, can I ditch the pitot tubes off the back and run the speedo off the same paddlewheel as the perfect pass?

I have done this once. Its so much fun drilling a big hole right thru the bottom of the boat. About running the other speedo off the paddlewheel is no, unless you it with another electric guage. Personally I would not mess with it and just use your new PP. Enjoy

Isaac,
what day are you looking to install it? I've got a v210 and would like to see the process for when it comes time to order my own. I'm fairly mechanically inclined so I can be a helping hand if you're looking for some additional help.

Nate, Either, wed or fri this week or possibly the weekend.. I have no problems drilling holes in the boat.. I just did a whole custom plumbed ballast install and drilled a 1" hole in the hull for the water inlet and 4 holes in the side for the vent/drain..

I'm in boston until Saturday night for work. Dont think i'm going to be back in time to provide much help.

ill see what my schedule is like.. im in no hurry to install it.. maybe next week if I dont get to it this week

Most people pull the factory speedo and drop the PP in it's place, no need for 2 speedo's.

so your saying just replace the speedo with the PP? dont most boats come with both?

here is the dash of a my old 215, the 210 should be similar. you should have a void space on the dash where you will cut it in. honestly, im liking the idea of just pulling the speedo all together and dropping the PP front and center. pull your pito's and fix the gel in the back and that would be very custom.

I like my PP where my stock speedo used to reside. No cutting or fuss and I don't need two speedo's anyway. I pulled my pitot hardware off tonight. Will pick up a piece of 1/8 thin stainless and make some block off plates the same shape as what came off. Little silicone and screw them down with the same screws and into the same holes. Been wanting to do this for a while and this thread got me on it. I'll be calling it the "pitot delete option". LOL

just out of curiosity, why not upgrade to stargazer that way you don't have to cut any more holes in the hull and you can still delete the original speedo. Granted I know its more money, but from what i've heard and read its less headaches too, since you don't have to adjust kv and all that jazz

In his OP he said he rides on the Delta which must have a current so GPS doesn't work as well or accurately.

Steven, I actually went in with the money and idea of getting stargazer, but after talking with all the peeps I ride with I opted for the paddle wheel. The delta has currents which can throw your speed off by up to 5mph. This is where I ride 99 percent of the time, so the stargazer wasnt an option..

I just finished up a full plumbed in from scratch ballast install and had to drill a 1" water inlet through my hull, no big deal, so I have no problem putting in the paddle wheel. I think I will replace the speedo with Perfect Pass.

My Wakeboard Pro PP has been flawless since the day I installed it over three years ago. I have never messed with any of the settings either. I do read about PP issues but most sound like they can be traced back to installation.

Isaac I was under the impression that with the paddle wheel and current, it would be more prone to give the incorrect speed than the gps. Of course I don't have any experience with it though.

Here's what I picture happening

<---boat going that direction at 23mph via pp
>---current going the oposite direction at say 4mph.

the boats actual speed would be 19 mph because the first 4mph on pp are so that it can stay even with the current.

That is what seems logical to me. But like I said I'm learning lol

I think the install of the wakeboard pro is fairly easy. The instructions are great and mine to has been flawless for 2 years other than the normal adjustments of settings.

Isaac-I can shoot you some install pics if you don't already have.

Steven, the way I was explained is as so.. if you are on a treadmill (current) and the treadmill is going 5 mph you would have to run (paddle wheel) 5 mph to keep yourself at a steady speed, so your speedometer would read 5mph since that is the speed your running at,

And in the case of GPS.. if you are running 5MPH and a crane was to pick you up off the ground even though you are still running a speed of 5mph, your speedometer would read 0 since GPS is your position over land.

Does that make any sense?

thats the same thing i said, but i was thinking about it more the other night, and I just got more and more confused as to how it should be lol, ie if going up river into a 5mph current and your boat is on plane at 20 by the paddlewheel speedo, your actual speed of movement over land by gps would be 15, now how that affects the wake I dunno lol maybe this is where my confusion lies.

Steven,

For wakeboarding you don't really care about your speed relative to land (what is provided by GPS systems). The wake is a function of the boats speed through the water, this is best provided by a paddle wheel. Might help to think of an kite in the wind, run upwind/run downwind, does it fly the same...

Hope that helps.

thats kind of what i'd begun to think mike. although only after i'd posted my initial reply.

Isaac, how bad to the currents get where you ride. Here where i ride, they are only bad after alot of rain when the river is up and they're dumping water from the spillway. If currents are minimal at best, I myself would go with the gps based version, and before i drop a rider jsut float for a minute to see what the current is at, then just adjust down 1 or 2 mph when going against and up 1-2 when going with lol. Then again, you can ride close to a 30 min set where i ride without changing directions lol. Plus there's alot of floating vegitation here i wouldnt want getting caught up in the wheel lol

so just a little update.. and to throw a whole new loop into this.. I decided to go with a Hybrid Stargazer/Paddle wheel setup from Perfect Pass.. So I will have both the paddle wheel and the GPS unit. Perfect Pass is sending me a jumper kit + special software so that you never need to calobrate the paddle wheel to speed as it takes the GPS Speed, and the paddle wheel speed, then determines the difference between the 2 and will jump between using the GPS or paddle wheel as a form of speed control.

Now I am interested in how well that works. I have been contemplating getting the GPS upgrade but wasn't sure if it will abandon the paddle wheel or just compare information to it.
You’re the test guinea pig for me, so let me know if it works.

Install of PP is a breeze, should be done in a couple of hours including beer breaks.

Oh and Isaac, it depends on which face you ordered, They have one that replaces the existing speedo with the Sanger logo on it or you get the one as shown in Bryan's photo that mounts in the spare guage plug on the dash.

Gary, Should be intersting as well, when I talked to the tech guy at PP, he said the brain uses info from both and then determines what the water speed of the boat is..

Just out of curiousity, why are you looking to upgrade to the GPS?

If your original dash has two pilot speedos, I would disconnect one and replace it with the PP display and paddlewheel. I would keep the other pilot intact just for fun, unless there was something better to put in it's place like in-dash depthfinder or something.

It is easy to install, particularily when Gary does all the work Thanks G, haven't had a single problem with it. My speedo seems to work off an on. More off lately, something stuck in there.

Supposedly GPS based is supposed to be better at holding speed and quicker to adjust to fluxuation. Also Skiers Choice selected a not so good spot to mount the paddle wheel on the 22SSV so right turns drop the speed drastically due to how the water comes off of the keel. So I was thinking GPS might be a good fix.

Gary, I was on a boat that had the Mercury GPS speed controller this weekend and I was actually a bit dissapointed on how well that unit works (Jason dont read into this too much).. And Im not sure if its a setting that can be adjusted but for example when you come around the corner from 1 way to the other on vics the speed drops really bad like down to 17mph from 22/23 and on that system it takes a good while for it to come back up to speed. Like its really slow.. then of course totally noticed the speed differences when going up and down the slough. There is about a 2mph current on Vics when we were there sat so everytime we came around the corner there was a 4mph difference when you ride.. so one way felt a little quick, and 1 way felt slow. SOOOOOO with that said im hoping the Perfect Pass system works a little better in the turns than the mercury speed control and that the software that perfect pass is sending me will be able to jump back and forth from the GPS/Paddle wheel and determine the current. This hybrid system will also make the paddle wheel caliberation obsolete. I MIGHT have this all done and working by the weekend so you can check it out..

I saw your other thread and seems like you got it under control but personally I would just run PP WB Pro on paddlewheel and skip gps. Of course I am on a tight budget tho.

I just got the stargazer installed today and use the delta almost exclusivly . Have not used it yet but i had the 6.5 on my other boat so i will compare the two sometime soon. Seems to me that the river flow would have nothing to do with maintaining speed.

Stargazer is smoother then the wakeboard pro 6.5. I was on old river and one direction was 2 miles slower then the speedo and the other direction was dead on. Not sure yet if it is worth adding a paddle wheel.

2mph is heaps when you are riding. My wake changes a lot with just 1mpg variation but we are running pretty dumped.

I know I agree with you about the logic that supports GPS should work regardless of the river speed because gps should still only measure movement across the earth surface. But I called PP and they agree not to use GPS on river. I am on the Mississippi river.

^ GPS does not compensate for current, and here is a good video to prove that:

http://www.wakeskating.com/media/showphoto.php?photo=1634

water speed = current

GPS would show you are moving 0 MPH

WakeMikey, think about it this way, if the current was 22mph how much throttle would a GPS cruise give the boat? Answer=0. If you got in the water could you ride behind the boat with zero throttle? Answer=No.

...or conversely the guys that surf on rivers but stay in one spot as the flow and current are strong enough to facilitate it. They would register 0 on a GPS.}