Perfect Pass users......questions

[redthumper9]

Those of you that have added the perfect pass, I have a few questions.....First of all, will it work on an AR240? Secondly, can someone briefly run down the operating procedure? For instance, from the time the rider gives the thumbs up until he falls or quits. We are getting more into watersports and it may be a useful addition....especially when someone else is towing me.

 

[__ScottyDont]

So I was in your situation this past winter, determining if the $$$ was worth it. Bottom line up front is absofrickenlutely. I can't speak specifically to the AR240 but I installed it on my 210 and essentially the same operating procedures apply and the same "general" problems do as well.

The biggest problems I was having was that the boat seemed to plane out right at the speed I wanted to tow people. I would constantly surge the throttle down to come off plane (going to fast) and bump the throttle up because now the guy behind me is barely being pulled (going to slow) This was a recurring problem that required a lot of practice which I was able to handle but that's not why I bought the boat. It was not to sweat over whether I'm pulling people properly or wear myself out trying to do so, it was to relax, enjoy and have fun as well as watch others have fun around me. And most of all, it was to be able to be pulled (by designated people allowed to drive my boat of course) and enjoy myself comfortably as well. These were huge improvements that are difficult to determine an exact return on investment.

Operationally speaking, from start to down, you start the boat as if you would any other day and engage perfect pass setting it to your desired speed (or bringing up a user from memory) from there of course you let your rider in the water and tighten up the slack in the rope. This is where the beauty happens. You throttle up, generally to the highest RPM you could ever need (mine is roughly 7k to 7.5k rpm's depending on chop) the boat accelerates and accelerates and then you hear a beep roughly 1 to 2 mph before reaching your speed. The boat passes your speed and immediately throttles down. The boat will then and from there on out, compensate for speed losses and increases by slightly bumping the throttle up or down by fractions so small that you would never be able to do manually. A very smooth pull occurs from this. Suddenly, boom, your rider falls. You have one of two options. 1) immediate throttle down (disengaging the perfect pass until you hit your target speed) and slowly maneuver over to your rider in the water. OR 2) simply press the on/off button to disengage perfect pass and maneuver back to your downed rider and start the process all over.

I think many users on this board will speak very highly of the system from personal experience. Where I have seen the most value is when I myself want to ride. I was able to take some who had minimal experience in a I/O and teach them the entire system in sub-30 seconds. Its very simple to use.

Cheers, Scott

 

[redthumper9]

Thanks Scott.....what you mentioned is exactly an issue I was having this weekend. While surfing, I would get the rider up and when getting close to 8mph, the boat would plane out and jump to 16-18mph if you didnt thottle back immediately. I handled this ok, but when people were trying to tow me, they didnt get the hang of it.

So in a nutshell, if I set it to say.... 11mph, once I throttle up and get close to that, I hear beeps and it takes over? How many users will the memory hold?

 

[__ScottyDont]

Yep, it would totally take over and keep you within 1/2 mph either way. It works great! I can store eight users according to the manual (linked below)

http://www.perfectpass.com/sites/all/themes/perfectpass - Copy/images/StarGazer-WakeEdition-Mechanical.pdf

 

[Scottintexas]

I love mine and don't even use the user modes, I just hit the + - to adjust whatever rider I'm pulling next, it's easy,
I can't imagine surfing or wakeboarding with loose throttles (still have to fix those) and keep correcting them, let alone keeping speed in turns,

 

[scokill]

Like others have mentioned, turn on, set speed, throttle up as normal, beep, let go. It takes a little practice as you want to overshoot speed a little to keep enough throttle cable in reserve so when you turn it can throttle up and hold speed. We usually throttle way down (PP disengages) and turn around to get downed boarder. I will say that it is disappointing to see people hammer down to turn around and pick someone up and throw wake everywhere. Unless someone is in danger we would turn around as to no create rollers and go pick up at reasonable speed.

 

[redthumper9]

Thanks for the info. So who has installed one on a 240 series? I have a 2010 AR240.....was looking to add more tower speakers and another amp along with powder coating my tower this winter. I may spring for the PP first.

 

[Julian]

Perfect Pass is a marriage saver! You want to be towed at 18mph....you get 18mph! Towing at 10mph for surfing, and it holds 10mph! Love it! The folks at Perfectpass will be able to answer your question about working with a 2010 AR240 easily....my guess is it won't be an issue.

 

[itsdgm]

I agree with @Julian. It's a marriage saver for sure. No longer do I get the 6-40 mph wakeboard runs. I set the pp system. Jump in the water with the rope and all the wife has to do is start the engines and throttle up until she hears the beep. It's so much safer pulling riders because the driver doesn't have to jockey the throttles, now the operator can look for other boaters/obstacles and look for the best water. Only regret that I have about my pp system was that I waited too long before I purchased it.

Side note, I wonder if the new 2015 boats will have a place on the dash for a pp gauge to install? Just thought of that.

 

[jetboater4life]

Perfect pass is my favorite mod. It was also the most expensive but worth every penny. I've found that when wakeboarding at around 19-21 mph it will overshoot so when I hear the beep I pull back on the throttles to help it align better. I don't have this issue with other speeds. The reason being is that the boat is coming off of plain and the acceleration curve changes drastically so for wakeboarding I need to help it out just a bit.

 

[JimG]

I am new to this forum and new to Yamaha ownership, having just purchased a 212X in December. I had Perfect Pass installed largely based on the advice of a few friends and what I have read here. My friends with Perfect Pass, who have it installed on boats that aren't Yamahas, use RPM mode for skiing and speed control mode for wakeboarding. We do both in my family, but I note from the manual that the Yamaha version of Perfect Pass doesn't have a RPM control mode -- only speed control. My question is does speed control mode work OK for pulling skiers, or is it better to use Yamaha's Cruise Assist RPM control? Thanks for you help!

 

[KXCam22]

I use speed control for everything. I doubt that you could use RPM control effectively since the boat has 2 motors. Speed control is great and controls both motors to keep the boat at whatever speed you want. I use it alot for just plain cruising as well. Cam.

 

[Scottintexas]

Welcome on board @JimG we're glad you found us, I have PP also and works GREAT for both tow sports and just cruising, it's been one of the best mod's for my boat,

 

[KXCam22]

JinG,
The best thing about the PP is that your wife and kids can tow YOU perfectly. It is a life (read WIFE) saver! Cam

 

[JimG]

Thanks guys --I appreciate the info. The biggest reason I bought it was for the marriage saving qualities!

 

[jcyamahariders wife]

We usually throttle way down (PP disengages) and turn around to get downed boarder. I will say that it is disappointing to see people hammer down to turn around and pick someone up and throw wake everywhere. Unless someone is in danger we would turn around as to no create rollers and go pick up at reasonable speed.

Since I was a newbie driver I was one to want to hurry and turn around to get the person. I almost put myself in few dangerous situations when the boat was filled with ballast. Lucky while riding with @sx210owner and surfing I noticed my mistake to throttle completely down first then go to turn ! Hope to get perfect pass so my husband stops yelling at me from the water ! lol @jcyamaharider

 

[jcyamaharider]

Since I was a newbie driver I was one to want to hurry and turn around to get the person. I almost put myself in few dangerous situations when the boat was filled with ballast. Lucky while riding with @sx210owner and surfing I noticed my mistake to throttle completely down first then go to turn ! Hope to get perfect pass so my husband stops yelling at me from the water ! lol @jcyamaharider

Strange you don't listen to me when I tell you to do the exact same thing..... Must be that "the husband doesn't know anything when you are married to a person for a long time syndrome."

 

[ar240owner]

Lol !!!

 

[scokill]

Since I was a newbie driver I was one to want to hurry and turn around to get the person. I almost put myself in few dangerous situations when the boat was filled with ballast. Lucky while riding with @sx210owner and surfing I noticed my mistake to throttle completely down first then go to turn ! Hope to get perfect pass so my husband stops yelling at me from the water ! lol @jcyamaharider

Yes, disengaging with ballast takes some skill and practice...heck driving with ballast takes some practice!