Perfect Pass in an old boat

[Joeprunc]

Well I'm finally ready to pull the trigger and put PP into my old school 95 Tige. I've been skiing the course more and my fiancee (soon to be wife) will not pull me thru the course until I have PP installed and working.

I've been looking online at the Stargazer PP and really skeptical about only having GPS speed readings, as we can get significant tidal currents here. Anyone with the Stargazer have any input on rivers or tidal influenced areas? I would assume if the rivers current is 4 mph, and you are skiing at 34 mph (what the boat speedo registers) against the current. I'm assuming the GPS sensor will only register you skiing at 30 mph and bump up the GPS speed to 34 mph. This would make a skier to water surface speed 38 mph!

I also found someone local who is selling an old PP Digital Pro Xy 6.4 (3 event) with everything except the hardware on the engine for $400. The only bad thing is the display has MC on it . Looking at PPs site it looks like will probably need the Servo & bracket, and also the throttle cable (or does anyone know if I can reuse my throttle cable?)

Would you go with a new system or piece together the old system...keep in mind my boat was bought is probably worth $7.5K?

[Fiveflat]

A friend of mine just installed the gps stargazer in his boat and while I really love the concept, the paddle wheel in my boat seems to just work better. Maybe there's period where you just gotta 'learn' it and get used to it? I'm not sure.

Particularly for your older boat though, do you really want to go through all that work? I contemplated it so many times on my '99 21V and decided I really didn't want to put that much time and money into it.

[Joeprunc]

It will probably be close to $700 when its all said and done...a lot cheaper than a new boat or a new PP system. The guy said he didn't even install the paddle wheel in his boat as he ran strictly off RPMs and the magnetic timer switches, with skiing you can get away with that. I'm really enjoying running the course, but I only have two other friends that are competent enough to provide a decent pull without PP. This will allow for the lady to pull me thru the course whenever we have a third. I think its worth it. Plus I plan on pulling my boat off the hoist this winter and keeping it in the garage. Perfect time for a project.

[Fiveflat]

Yea, if you don't have to install the paddle wheel that could make it that much easier. Particularly if you are actually looking for a winter project.
I have so many winter projects forced on me, I'm not on a hunt for one.

[laserfish]

As the primary driver of our boat it is the best investment I have made. Makes the job of pulling a thousand times easier plus you get to watch the rider more instead of just the speedo.

[hossdog]

My servo motor recently crapped out and I have since fixed it, but it was funny not having it for a couple of weeks. It felt like we went back to the dark ages. All of a sudden no one could give a decent pull even though it was the same people who were pulling before we ever had PP. It will spoil you and save in a ton of frustration. The system I have is old school with the paddle wheel. It only has the little red indicator light and no digital readout, but it is simple and works great. I would never go back now.

[WakerideN]

My servo motor recently crapped out and I have since fixed it, but it was funny not having it for a couple of weeks. It felt like we went back to the dark ages. All of a sudden no one could give a decent pull even though it was the same people who were pulling before we ever had PP. It will spoil you and save in a ton of frustration. The system I have is old school with the paddle wheel. It only has the little red indicator light and no digital readout, but it is simple and works great. I would never go back now.

my wife says any boat we own will have two things. pp or cruise control of some sort and a heater. so that i cannot bitch about speed and if I do at least she will be warm.. lol

[Joeprunc]

Well is sounds like the jury is out for putting PP in, I'm meeting the gent today afterwork, he ended up upgrading to Stargazer & Z/Box...its a skiing thing

Does anyone have experience between the Stargazer and old school paddle wheel designs? Likes or complaints about the two. Like Fiveflat said it may just take time tinkering with.

Has anyone installed PP on a throttle by cable boat? Any tips? After reading thru the manual, it looks like the Digital Pro 3 Event is quite the piece of machinery. Setting for rider weight, pull factors, throttle factors, timing, magnets...looks like its going to be a fun project. And yes it has the wakeboard mode also.

[hossdog]

Well is sounds like the jury is out for putting PP in, I'm meeting the gent today afterwork, he ended up upgrading to Stargazer & Z/Box...its a skiing thing

Does anyone have experience between the Stargazer and old school paddle wheel designs? Likes or complaints about the two. Like Fiveflat said it may just take time tinkering with.

Has anyone installed PP on a throttle by cable boat? Any tips? After reading thru the manual, it looks like the Digital Pro 3 Event is quite the piece of machinery. Setting for rider weight, pull factors, throttle factors, timing, magnets...looks like its going to be a fun project. And yes it has the wakeboard mode also.

I replaced the PP cable on mine when I replaced the servo motor and it was a cinch. Really straight forward. The instructions are pretty good, but if you need help give them a call and they are really helpful.

[TigeTrojan]

As far as GPS vs. paddle wheel: Even though the skier's speed in relation to the water would be faster or slower based on current if you were using GPS, the skier's speed in relation to the balls would be affected just the same with a paddle wheel.

I'd rather have the water moving a little faster underneath me than go blowing past the balls at 40mph

[wired1236]

Also keep in mind that when you are in ski mode on the Stargazer PP, it by default uses RPM as a base and not the GPS. You set the baseline RPM for each speed you program for. See the manual.

[Joeprunc]

Well I picked up the used PP for $400 and had to spend about $350 more in parts & shipping. $750 to get a whole system together still beats the new price tags.

[Moki]

It's not that hard to install. The toughest part was drilling a hole in the bottom of my boat. Once I mentally got past that, it was a piece of cake. It is a must have for wake surfing and a happy marriage (if your wife is the driver)

[laserfish]

Moki is right about installing the paddle wheel. Boring a 2 inch hole in the bottom was nerve wracking. Measure 20 times and drill a 1/16 inch hole to be sure. After that, it is a cinch.

[tigeidaho]

I have never had pp before and made it a must when we bought our 23v. Today I learned the value of it. My wife didn't grow up around boats and had never pulled a rider before today. PP made for perfect pulls and no stress on her. She had so much fun driving that she can't wait to do it again. I will never own a boat without it again!!!