What is it?

[Schmitter]

Does anyone know what the black plate bolted to the bottom of my 04 Outback is? It is at the very back of the boat and overhangs the boat a little bit, but does not go out past the platform. It looks like it has a bend in it and on my boat the lip points up. If I unbolted it and flipped it over, would it smooth out the wakes any? I only slalom ski, so I am looking for the smallest, smoothest wakes possible.

thanks in advance,
Schmitter

[skidunn]

This is a wake plate to smooth the chop from the prop wash. I have an '03 Outback LS and I am also looking at improving the wake to ski better. I have been told by other owners the Outback was the way I should have gone because the LS has a different hull which creates a larger wake to help get towards a better wakeboard wake. This is designed more for the all around family boat but it's not great for either. I did get a suggestion to get the optional hydraulic plate to help assist but I have space issues for garaging the boat. Good luck for looking for flattening the wake.

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SkiDunn
'03 Outback LS

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[jburnside]

Schmitter,
Skidunn is correct, that is your "fixed" wake plate. The Outback hull was specifically designed for slalom skiing. So I think you are producing the best wake available from any Moomba model. I would not recoMmend flipping the plate upside down as this will simply force the back of your boat farther down in the water creating a larger wake. Or at least that is how it works on my Outback LS. I have the hydraulic wake plate on my boat and it does allow me to tweak the shape of the wake while driving. But as Skidunn explained it is a bigger wake than what your boat will produce. These boats (inboards)seem to be very picky about weight placement, and with wake size depending on speed of the boat. How many people are typically with you when you ski, and how fast are you running while skiing? Also, rope length plays a part in how big of a "bump" you feel when crossing the wakes. There are some good course skiers on this board that can help you fine tune your wake. Good luck.

[Schmitter]

Thanks for the replies. I ended up calling Moomba, and they said that it helps keep the boat tracking straigt. If I were to flip the plate, it would be tough to keep the boat straight. It also keeps the prop wash down.

On a side note, I have found that bumping the speed up a couple to 34 or so helps out remakably in keeping the wake to a manageable level. I typically aki at 15 off, and 34 is a good speed for me. My concern is that at slower speeds, to a beginer at slower speeds, the wake is somewhat daunting.