Ski Mirror Location

[canuck]

Check with Samson Sports they may be able to make you a mirror arm.

http://www.samsonsports.com/wakeboar...r_mirrors.html

[NiceOnes]

That would be awesome! Can you record for playback as well? What an awesome feature! It swivels with the rope right?

Yup! Took a little getting used to but now I don't miss the mirror at all!

It records at the touch of a button and follows the rope. You can watch the replays right there on the screen in the boat too.

The media is saved on a removable SD card (.avi format I beleive..) and the quality is more than fair too!

[IDBoating]

I fiddled around with two different mirror mounts and two different mirrors in all sorts of locations and could never find an arrangement that worked. Either the forward view was blocked too much, or the rear view was obstructed by the bimini top, or something.

I solved it with this:



That is a camera normally used for rear-view systems on commercial vehicles like trucks and delivery vans. It has a 90 degree horizontal viewing angle, which is narrower than most such cameras but still more than is really needed for this application.

I fabricated a mount for it from 0.080 inch acrylic sheet and mounted it to one of the unused speaker attach points on the tower. It reverses the video automatically, so what the driver sees is exactly like looking in a mirror.

Here is the driver's view:



This shot was taken from the driver's normal eye level when sitting on the seat bolster which is how we normally drive when surfing due to the bow being high. The screen does not obstruct the view at all. That's true when sitting on the seat (without the bolster) too.

That is a seven inch LCD screen. I tried a nine inch but it was quite a bit dimmer and didn't really improve the view.

The camera and screen are wired into the ACC circuit of the keyswitch and power up automatically whenever the key is in the ACC or ON position. No action is required of the driver.

Total cost for this setup was just over $200, less than I paid for the CIBA mirror I had on my last boat. Also less than I paid for the mount that mirror sat on. Less than half the cost and this solution is better. Live and learn.

BTW, an unexpected side benefit is that folks sitting along the rear seat often watch the action via the screen rather than cranking their necks around all the time (assuming they can see around the driver).

Right now the wiring is just ziptied to the tower, as I wasn't sure I would want to keep it. I'll route the wiring properly within the tower when I winterize. Also, I'll probably rearrange the termination of the coax so that I can slave off the camera to a recorder of some kind - virtually everyone asks if we can record from this setup and since it's already there, why not?

[Timmy!]

If you did it like WA's setup, all you would need is the camera since the Tige Touch already has the video input build in. Would probably be cheaper than a mirror!

[IDBoating]

If you did it like WA's setup, all you would need is the camera since the Tige Touch already has the video input build in. Would probably be cheaper than a mirror!

The camera was under $70. That's way less than any decent mirror, not to mention a good bracket/mount for it.

[Dave S]

We run our mirror on the port windsheild (have been for the last two years) and it works great. Just fold it down and leave it mounted when covered-no problems. When the bow is raised and we are going the mirror is over everyones head so no restricted view to the rear and I can see all around to the front as well. As a matter of fact-not having it on the left of the drivers window creating a blind spot saved us from a very bad "almost" jetski accident the other week when they did not yeild to me.

The driver side=restricted view-90% of the time I have the seat bolster raised so I can see above people on bow and mirro got in way.

Center-98% we have the center windhsield open and I am not about to close the center window everytime just to utilize the mirror in that location.

[Duncan]

That is a camera normally used for rear-view systems on commercial vehicles like trucks and delivery vans. It has a 90 degree horizontal viewing angle, which is narrower than most such cameras but still more than is really needed for this application.

Any possibility of showing a pic with an image of a surfer and an image of a wakeboarder, just to see perspective and angle of view?

[IDBoating]

Any possibility of showing a pic with an image of a surfer and an image of a wakeboarder, just to see perspective and angle of view?

I'll try to get one next time we're out. We're starting to add Sta-Bil to our fuel now, as the seasons are changing and school has started again, so I'm not sure when we'll be back out. Maybe next weekend...?

[Dave S]

I'll try to get one next time we're out. We're starting to add Sta-Bil to our fuel now, as the seasons are changing and school has started again, so I'm not sure when we'll be back out. Maybe next weekend...?

Are you using "Marine" Stabil? Our dealer recomended that we use it all year round just to be safe. Then double dosage for winter storage.

[IDBoating]

Are you using "Marine" Stabil? Our dealer recomended that we use it all year round just to be safe. Then double dosage for winter storage.

I use standard "red" Sta-Bil because I only use non-ethanol gasoline. The standard strength (1 ounce per 2.5 gallons, or two ounces per five gallon gas can) stabilizes the fuel for 12 months. That's more than enough, so that's what I use.

As far as keeping the fuel system and injectors clean, I use Seafoam in every fillup, about 1/2 ounce per gallon.

Hope this helps!