perfect pass wakeboard pro gps

I'm looking to put perfect pass in my 2000 bu lsv. any thoughts on the gps based perfect pass. I know my boat is throttle by cable, but they have the gps star gazer for this system

any thoughts would be helpful.

thanks

Do it, super easy to install, and nothing is a better upgrade! Once you have it anyone can pull you. It should make your boat worth more, so it's a valuable upgrade.

easy as anyone with basic skills can do it?

An easy installation and very easy set up.

any downsides to this sysmtem?

Do you ride on a river or a lake?

If you ride on a river the wake will change due to the boat speed vs water going upstream vs downstream, can be annoying.

For wakeboarding the paddle wheel seems to work best. IMO

Stargazer rocks...got it on my I/O and its accurate...we ride in a lake..most of the time right on spot, and if it varies, its maybe .2+- off...

Mikeski , I really dont understand why they went away from the simplest, most accurate system ever produced, the paddlewheel? As long as you dont ride on a river or waterway that moves GPS should be great.

Bob,
I don't understand your post. Are you saying the paddle or the GPS is the most accurate system ever produced? From a pure accuracy standpoint GPS is probably more accurate.

GPS is fine in lakes and for slalom where the bouys are anchored to the earth. But the boat speed vs. water speed is what determines the wake. On rivers with 2mph of current GPS is a pain.

I think one reason they are going to GPS is for simplicity. With drive by wire the installation is quick and easy. Install the gauge, plug the controller into the boat computer, and stick the GPS antenna on the dash - you are done.

Saves the drilling through the hull for the paddle. The paddle wheels also wear out, Airmar suggests your replace the wheel every other season, they also suggest you remove it when transporting the boat due to the water cooling.

My boat has almost 500 hours on the original paddle wheel, probably been towed 5000 miles. I will probably replace the wheel before spring.

rmack, let me know how it goes, if you don't mind. I am intersted in putting something in my 2000VLX at some point and that GPS system sounds pretty nice.

I won't use a GPS based speed control because of what Mikeski says... there are many of us who ride rivers or areas with small currents...the paddle wheel is the only way to go for me.

-Uj

love mine. installed it last year. works great.

i think they came out with it (at least the stargazer wake edition) for people who do not already have a paddle wheel.

i've heard rumors that they are working on a firmware upgrade and one of the "fixes" or new features will utilize the paddlewheel in conjunction with the gps to compensate for current. don't know if that's true, but that's what i had heard. pretty sure the firmware upgrade is coming, but not sure if that fix is going to be included and it wouldn't matter for those who don't currently have a paddle wheel.

yeah im looking at the star gazr for my '01 Launch. So i'm very curious too.

As far as the river subject, I do know that zero pass has a set up config that accounts for upstream vs downstream. I dont think star gazer has. But so what, if you know your river runs 2mph, then you bump the speed +2 going up stream. Am i over simplifying this? seems pretty simple to me.

Personally, i'm itching to pull the trigger on the pp star gazer, and i run rivers (but they have almost no movement). Let you know how it goes.

About how much does a GPS pp go for?

I think PP sells them for around $1250....I think you can get it a little cheaper than that though on a couple sites..at least it was $1250 when I bought it

I was just told by a service manager in Bossier City, LA that perfect pass was brand specific, and with my Centurion being an '01 model that it probably wasn't made anymore. Is this true, I thought that it was an after-market product? He also told me that they cost between $1800-2000 just for the system, not counting installation. That sounds high to me; do they really cost this much?

Not brand specific but you can get your brand on the display.
No issue with an '01 Centurion.
www.perfectpass.com

I would just call perfect pass up...they are in canada though, just so you dont get a shock on your phone bill...they are super easy to work with and helped me out with every question I had..

See I've been told very inflated numbers compared to their website. So is it just stealerships trying to rape me or whats the deal?

daniel, that service manager is freakn lying to you bro. PP works on any inboard boat, and most I/O boats. Art is right brand specific has to do with the display.
$1800 to 2k just for the system is total bs. http://www.perfectpass.com/perfect_pass_products.html

12 hundy! looks like he was trying to add a little fat to parts.
As far as after market, it is now. It used to come on all new boats, but the industry switched to ZeroPass. Who actually bought out PerfectPass.

thank you art, that post helped quite a lot in my negotiations this afternoon. he changed his tune and now i'm getting the pp stargazer installed for $1400 total. i love this forum, thanks again!

I had the price wrong for the system...It was 1195 I don't know where my other number came from...sorry bout that.

Glad to help. You're going to like it.

You will definitely like it...saves tons of headaches and aggravation....

i pull people all day long, strive to do it well, and have been told by sponsored riders that i drive well enough to pull in contests. however, i weigh about 240 lbs and it's discouraging when my ride is the worst of the day because someone can't hold the speed. hopefully this purchase will improve my summer exponentially. thanks again.

BennyBoy,

Current can change .5 mph or more easily depending on the depth and width of a river. If the river is wide at one point, current will slow down... narrow, current will speed up. That would suck if you are riding and the boat speed changes as you go into different sections of the river...

IMO, why did they even go to GPS... people have been drilling holes in the bottom of fiberglass boats for years and years... a little sealer and your good to go... why change what works for EVERY place you ride!

I fundamentally don't get GPS speed control...

-Uj

Mike I meant what UncleJessie said...well said... I guess most have not run a boat on a moving waterway or they would get it? Mike my paddle wheel has more hours then yours but the sensor, I believe, has recently failed and requires replacement...but hell 600+ hours. Simplicity is the paddlewheel not a sattelite based system, imo. Of course I couldnt live without my gps, saved our a$$e$ twice in fog you couldnt see 1 or 2 boat lengths ahead, at night