Should I get the hydro wakeplate for supra 22 SS

OK, so for those of you who know me from my earlier posts, you know I just acquired a 2003 Supra 22 SS (DD). So I have taken it out a few times now and so far so good. I had to put in put in a Perko switch cause the amps were killing the batteries. (Thanks for helping me on this Discussion Board) Anyways, now I was wondering the opinion of the Supra hydro wakeplate. The boat currently just has the fixed plate in it with the manual turn buckle adjusts. Currently the boat puts out a very wide and steep lippy wake with stock ballast. Its not rampy like my old 99 VLX. When I tried to slolam ski once behind the boat I was somewhat dissappointed in the wake for a DD. (Of course there were 7 people in the boat at the time). Dealer wants $1250 to put in the hydrolic wake plate. I have never tried adjusting the manual plate yet.

So tell me folks, especially those of you who have a boat like mine.. Should I spend the money? Will the hydro wake plate help me get the better of both worlds ?(wkbd/ski) Is having it really worth it?

ciao.........Leonard

I had a 1999 Supra Launch with a manual plate and my 05 22 ssv has the hydrolic plate. I like being able to adjust the plate while I'm driving. Is it worth it? That would depend on how often you want to adjust it. IMO yes it's worth it.

If you want to both ski and wakeboard I think the hyd wakeplate is absolutely necessary. I've had on both my Moomba and my current Centurion, use it all the time for getting on plane, reducing purposing and tuning the wake.

I think it's important to be able to adjust the attitude of the boat (Without having to smack the driver upside his head).
I just put one on my Sanger that didn't have it on when I bought it.

Plus I think it helps your gas consumption a little bit. You get out of the hole a bit better and quicker with the plate all the way down and once you are going you can raise it to the place you want!

IMO, your never going to get that supra wake shaped similar to the malibu wake. I woudlnt' spend the money on the the hydraulic plate. to play withthe adjusment on the manual plate untill you figure out the optimum spot. I used to own an 04 SSV (same boat, but v-drive)

Ya know I kinda like having the steep wake this Supra makes over the Rampy one I had with my old Malibu. The only thing is that the wake is lot wider. I was just wondering if the hydro plate would allow me to make the wake more Rampy for those that prefer it to the steep one.

I've tried various weight/plate adjustmens to get my old wake to be more rampy...I could never figure it out. To me the malibu/supra wakes are like night and day. I can think of about a 100 different ways I coudl spend $1250.

Couldn't you do it for a lot cheaper. I have an x1 and have been thinking about installing one to help clean and smash down the wake for when I pull beginners. The hydrolic wake plates I have been looking at are around $400-$500.

I suppose you could put in an aftermarket one. I have seen some in overtons etc.. for several hundred for the parts and then instal would be DIY. What I was talking about was for the Supra Factory system, complete with on Steering column controls, guages etc... I am not sure were to go in So Cal to have aftermarket work done?

I wonder when someone will integrate the tabs into the hull. My dad's Carver came with fiberglass tabs that ran about 2' length wise x 2.5' width. Without adjustment, it was nearly seemless in the hull. It seems like that sort of technology could be a step in producing wake without all the weight. ??
Hijack over...

Quite a bit of that $1250 is labor so you could just put it in yourself. You only need one plate and usually they're sold in sets of two in the aftermarket. You can measure and size one that might work really well, if you are just a bit mechanical.
The benefit of the factory piece is that it should be sized exactly for your boat. and cool stuff like the wheel controls. Check if it's Supra's smart system too.

Leonard, where are you at in So Cal? I know several shops that could install a tab on the back of your boat for ya, no problemo. Hell if you wanted to get super tricky with it, and do something (gasp) custom, they can do that too!

Fatsac, it's already being done on just about every performance V-Drive ever built. you recess a plate into the bottom of the boat (called a cavitation plate) and it's a seamless transition from the hull to the plate. The plate then sticks out past the back of the boat to some length.. Usually pretty short anywhere from 8 - 12 inches. (Although some are longer) Instead of the plate being "hinged" it actually bends. By having the water transition on to the plates smoothly the plate is now an extension of the boat. By bending them you can in fact add "hook" to the bottom of the boat. You only have to bend a cav plate a small amount to make a HUGE difference in trim. The other trick thing about it is, if you bend it up you can add possitive trim to the boat, in essence adding what's known as "rocker" to the bottom of the boat. This will allow the boat to free up a little more of the bow and transfer some of the weight back onto the plate.

You don't have to recess necesarrily into the bottom of the boat to make this happen. You can do a plate off the transom, so long as it's a perfectly smooth transition from the boat to the plate. As long as the plate it "bending" instead of dragging through the water you'll get the same benefits.

To be honest with wakeboard boats heritage basically coming from Inboard ski boats, and their heritage basically coming from Jersey Skiff's, and Cracker Boxes I'm surprised nobody has made the connection yet.

The center tab is cool, but it does limit the control, and adds alot more drag in the water, then a little Cav Plate would.

Some pics of Cav Plates for you. I wouldn't do one all the way across the back of the boat though. I'd think a small one in the middle kinda similar to their current tab setups would work pretty well. Of course your going to have to pay someone to build it for you, but I think you might find, an electric Cav Plate, vs how much some of these people are getting for that hydraulic tab.. the price not be that far off between the two.

The center plate on the boat pictured above is basically what I would build for a wakeboard boat.

It'd be different, and honestly it'd work better.

RD