Accuski VS. Perfect Pass

I've been wanting to get a speed control system for a long time now. I'm close to doing it. I've read alot of topics on Accuski vs. PP. The most recent thread I've read was from two years ago. The strong points I've gathered from the threads are this:

Accuski-
1. Easier to use, easier user interface.
2. Auto Pull Up option
3. 10 presets
4. Less Expensive

Perfect Pass-
1. Used more widely.
2. Boat re-sale since everyone knows about PP.
3. Harder to use, not user friendly. Not a user friendly interface.

Accuski did have problems in the past before they went with the Paddle wheel option. I've heard they're ECT 9.0 solves all the problems from the past. Also, Borg-Warner now makes them and the quality has been great.

Here's my question: Do they pull the same or which is better? What experiences have all you had with each or just one? Any other drawbacks or advantages to either one?

Thanks in advance for all your help guys! As you all know, this is not an impulse purchase. I'm sure alot of you contemplated or saved for quite a while before pulling the trigger too.

i have had pp in 3 different boats and not one problem

Mike- I'll be calling you on Friday about boarding this weekend!

accuski is horrible! the attuator is to short and it will not hold speed with a weighted boat. there is no customer service . a piss poor company with a piss poor product!

don't know anything about accuski or their service, but have been running pp pro for 3 seasons. i love it/them. when i had a problem, i called pp directly and had the problem solved w/in minutes. by a real person on the phone! great product from a company who stands behind it

"3. Harder to use, not user friendly. Not a user friendly interface." ?????????????

Lets see:
Step 1: Turn on
Step 2: Drive
Step 3: Adjust by pushing arrow
How much easier can it get?

agree, PP is very easy to use. I love mine although I have never used Accu ski and I don't know anyone else that has either.

My perfect pass never worked right. They finally told me to patch the 2" hole in the bottom of my boat and relocate the paddlewheel after they told me to put it there in the first place.

Now I have an X-2 and the mastercraft speed control system is always dead on.

J-Rod ~ Don't spread rumors about PP.

a rumor would be something that was false. PP really sucked on my boat! But I'm glad it works well on yours becuase I plan to ride behind it!

I have never owned the AccuSki but so far my experience with PP has been outstanding. The customer service has been top notch. I have called them directly many times and they have always taken the time to answer my questions and provide solutions. So far they have gone above and beyond the call to make sure I was happy. They even overnighted me a few parts at their own expense to make sure I was up and running by the next trip. I do not think you could go wrong with the PP, unless it is installed incorrectly as mentioned.

(Message edited by tod on June 30, 2005)

Installed incorrectly or have a LSV from what I've heard!

this may be a dumb question, but does PP work on older carbed engines and also on I/Os

Mispella,

According to PP, if you have a V8, then it will work.

Does that mean that it will not work on a v6 I/O???? Edit just call thay said it will work if your throttle linkage pulls the carb open not pushes.

(Message edited by gambo2166 on June 30, 2005)

actually, sorry to sort of hijack this thread but I have really been thinking about PP for my 04 glastron as well.. it has a 5.0L v8 and I'm so tired of having to constantly be the driver because maybe one other person in my crew is capable of driving the boat competently. Does PP work ok on a carb engine? a grand is a lot to drop on the boat and I would rather not waste that kind of money.
but if it means that I can take more rides behind my own boat instead of being lake chauffeur, then it would be worth it!

Thanks

Chris, "I have called them directly many times and they have always taken the time to answer my questions and provide solutions" doesn't sound very much like a trouble free design! Were your probs installation, failed parts, or operation?

Let me pose a question to this board.

If there was a company that could produce a product similar to PP for say around 399 to 599, would you consider purchasing it over PP.

I'm thinking a simplified product that doesn't have an LCD, just three multi-colored indicator LED's, a beeper for tones, and some buttons.



How it might operate:
0. When the unit is powered on and ready to function, the "System Ready" LED would be lit. This is just an on/off green LED. If it's on and green, the system is ready, if it's not lit at all, the system is off and will not function.

1. Once powered up, the unit always initializes to the "reset" state. No auto-pilot functions enabled. The System Engaged LED would be "Red" and the Speed Adjustment LED would be off since the system is not engaged.

2. Once the driver gets the boat to the desired speed, then the driver would press the "up arrow" button once similar to how you set a car's cruise control. The system would beep when it was set. The System Engaged LED would turn "Green" indicating the system is now on Enaged. The "Speed Adjustment" LED would remain off because it is at the target speed.

3. After that the boat would hold speed making the adjustments necessary automatically. When the boat automatically accellerated, the "Speed Adjustment" LED turns green. When the boat decelerates, the "Speed Adjustment" LED turns Red.

4. Minor adjustments (1/10th mph) could be made by pressing the up or down arrow keys "setting" the new target speed. The Speed Ajustment LED will change as the user accelerates or decelerates. Each 1/10th adjustment beeps the beeper.

5. Pulling back the throttle cancel's operation and puts the unit back into the "reset" state. The System Engaged light goes back to "Red" and the "Speed Adjustment" light turns off.

This could be put into a regular small circular package for standard dashboard installations.

PP can be installed on a carbed engine. I have one installed on my 4.3l v6 merc... works great... also an I/O~!

PP Pro Wakeboard (PPPW) operational steps:

1. Push the On / Off button while boat is in neutral and not moving.
2. PPPW will confirm -> Control ON
3. Check set speed and adjust as desired using Up and Down buttons (if you haven’t already programmed riders individually).
4. Pull boarder out of the water.
5. As you approach set speed PPPW will beep and take control of throttle.
6. Pressing Up and Down buttons will adust speed as needed.

You just steer from that point on. My boat, fully weighted, runs between .1 and .3 MPH of desired speed. Just doesn’t get any better or easier than that. Boat can be turned off and when ya start it back up PPPW is right back with ya.

There is much more functionality besides what I’ve stated above that is a bit more complicated, but not too bad. Ya just need to RTFM and go through it. I’ve got all of my crew’s names and speed pref already programmed in, for instance. Water temp, engine hrs, etc. It covers everything and I simply LOVE it.

That's good to know about the V6. I asked if it would work on my friend's Bayliner, and they said it would if it had a V8. Maybe they've updated the capabilities since?

i don t know it has been on my bayliner for over a year now. It works the same rather it is a v8 or a 4cyl. they just dont have specific installation directions for anything but the v8s!

"Now I have an X-2 and the mastercraft speed control system is always dead on. "

I wonder who makes the "MasterCraft speed control".......oh yeah PErfect Pass

John,

My PP Cruise is very similar to your picture. I've had it for three years now, and never had a problem. Nicest part about the cruise model it cost about half as much as the digital pro.

John-
I'm assuming that you would be the one creating the competing market. I would love to have something like that, but the fact of the matter is that people like to know how fast they are going. I specifically, have a bad spedometer that really isnt that accurate and with wind, etc it's really nice to know what speed you set it at, not just what it looks like. Plus you would get better consistency that way. If you came out with the same idea, but with an LCD screen, I would be your first customer.

An 7 segment LCD with the format NN.N is very much in play.

my concern on my boat is that the speed is very hard to control especially in turns. when i drive my buddy's malibu that has perfect pass installed, the speed adjusts on the fly very well. Also, when a rider pulls out hard on my i/o, the boat tends to slow down. I called PP and they told me that they have installed it on hundreds of boats like mine, but I wonder if it will really be worth it? (it's not like they would say anything negative about thier product) I know that my boat is very hard to control when we load it with ballast/people etc... will taking the jump and throwing down close to a grand be worth it?

yes

Drumnwake, I also have an 02 sx195: When I Called PP 8/04 they seemed to be a little concerned with the Space under the Engine and they weren't sure on location for Paddel whhel. So I sent them Pictures.
I had 2 concerns:
1) I never got a Solid YES it will work.
2) Never got a good answer to if their Replacement Gauge would in my Dashboard.

Here is the Answer I got from PP:
Looked at your photos. It is hard to tell from your photos what we are working with.

The bottom line is this: If you can get access from inside motor box near manifold, etc, you should be OK as the hole is drilled from below. As long as you have access to tighten the housing from inside you should be fine. You need to install it approx 7 – 10 inches from the center line.

You will need about 6 inches above the housing in hull to install & remove paddle assembly insert.

I would love to Hear that you installed and it works great.

I also thought about using the Cruse Model(no Paddel Wheel) I'm just not sure if it would be effective with ever changing RPM's of a}} I/O.

Mine is installed slightly in front of the engine. Again I have a 2000 bayliner 1850lx with 4.3l 190hp merc. IT works great, well worth the money, and would not go back to not having it! I did not get the in dash gauge though as I have a piece of plastic between the driver and the gauges, plus it would be one heck of a reach to make adjustments. If you look on there website they have the gauge that is required for the judges at comps, this is what I use for a gauge. works great... I can take ppics later today if you would like!

John-
I'm serious, if you actually get a working model with an LCD display let me know, I would love to be the guniea pig for this.

drumNwake420 ive had the pro model on an I/O for about three years and it is well worth the money but look to get a lower pitch 4 or 5 blade prop to compliment the PP and youll just crap at the difference in the boats pull, the consistency is unbelievable and you will be able to learn more tricks since you can almost train a monkey to drive in a straight line and trim up. I do recommend the pro model though as you wont be able to adjust the kdw and nn settings with the cruise model. Cruise might be great for an ib or v but we are a bit underpowered compared to them guys.

Kraig,

I have a MC with an older model Accuski (Protour Model) on it. It doesn't have the paddlewheel. I like it and got it because of the presets. I keep the boat at my parents house so they use it some. I figured the Accuski would be easier for them to use since it has the presets.

I don't mind using it, nor have I had trouble teaching others to use it. However, it stinks for wakeboarding because my model doesn't have the paddlewheel.

I personally haven't tried a AS with the paddlewheel. I think it should work fine and I think you will find the two units very similar in pull quality. The biggest advantage to PP is the fact that many more people will be used to it. You'll be the only person you know that has a AS. SO you'll have to teach everyone how to use it. The systems are very different in regards to their interface. I do think AS is better, but more people are familiar with PP.