Looking for older boat with GPS cruise control
 

I'm ready to buy my first boat this year and want to start narrowing down my options. Top choice is a ~2005 SANTE, but open to 05-09 VLX, early Axis A22, etc. Great CLEAN wake is number one priority, and would like to stay around 21-22 feet as I'll be towing with a V8 4Runner.

My biggest question is around cruise control. My dad's 05 VLX can't hold a speed with Perfect Pass (paddle wheel) while weighted no matter what we do to the settings, so we just freehand it. But I'll be riding with lots of unexperienced drivers so GPS cruise seems like a must for this boat. From what I understand, retrofitting GPS cruise control is very difficult / expensive. Maybe even impossible depending on the engine?

Can anyone shed some insight on that? How old can I go and still get GPS cruise? I'm trying to keep the budget to 30-35k so I can go cash, but if needed I could consider newer / more expensive and financing.

Older boats will not have GPS cruise. All my boats always had paddle wheel cruise up until the most recent which is a 2021 model. That said, I never had any problem holding speed while surfing or wakeboarding with a paddle wheel. Your problem with the VLX is likely not the cruise. I'm guessing the problem is the wrong propeller for the amount of weight you are carrying. We surfed with a paddle wheel and had no issues but we had the correct prop to get the boat moving and keep it moving.

You're probably right — I might just have to spend a day playing with the settings after re-propping (I live in Denver so will have to re-prop for high altitude) but GPS would be really nice to have. I know 2009 Epic 23Vs had GPS cruise so maybe there are some late 2000s boats out there I could find with it.

You can upgrade paddle wheel Perfect Pass to a GPS system their Stargazer system.

http://perfectpass.com/?q=upgradeoptions

Not sure about the Manufacturer specific cruise control systems.

With that said, I've never had an issue holding speed with my paddle wheel Perfect Pass System.