PerfectPass Stargazer Question - River Currents

[bergermaister]

So I'm just a click away from ordering probably one of my best and longest waited upgrades yet - PerfectPass Stargazer. I'll do the install myself but after reading a few forums around the web I'm wondering about the GPS control vs. Paddle wheel.

I probably spend 70% of my time on the river so I'm running with or against the current. A guy on the Centurion forums from my area said that his speed can be off as much as 4MPH with the Stargazer because of the river current and he's considering going back to the paddle wheel. I still think I'd prefer the GPS setup over a paddlewheel and just adjust the speed accordingly. If it is off it would probably be more noticeable at surf speeds than wakeboarding speeds would be my guess?

Wondering who else out there is running the Stargazer GPS setup and is in a river with some current. Is it noticeable? Do you have to adjust accordingly whether you are going upstream or down or?

[cab13367]

Berg,

I too primarily ride on a river which can easily have a 2 mph current. So if you are using gps based cruise on a river with a 2 mph current and set the speed at 10 mph to surf, you will actually be going 8 mph RELATIVE TO THE WATER when going down river and 12 mph when going up river. That is a pretty large variation.

I have a paddlewheel based PP and am very happy with it's performance. I just check it against a portable gps at the start of each season and forget it. I find that it needs very little if any adjustment from season to season.

Al

[bergermaister]

So - I guess that's one recommendation to go with the paddle wheel instead? I'll have to check if PP even sells that style still. Install will take a bit more - one more hole in the boat!

Anyone else have experience with the GPS unit on a river with current? Anyone?

Bueller? Bueller?

[bergermaister]

Wow - they have fast customer service. Here's what they gave for options:

"Yes, we still make the paddlewheel based systems. Cost for the WakeboardPro is $1099 USD. Another option is to go with the StarGazer Wake Edition (GPS based) and you can also purchase a paddlewheel $100 USD extra and for the times when you are running in the river you can plug the paddlewheel in and you will get the speed reading through the paddlewheel and then when you are back in a lake then you can unplug the paddlewheel and you will get the speed reading through the GPS.

It’s up to you as to what you prefer to have."

So for an extra hundy I can get both paddle and GPS - best of both worlds? Or save a hundy and just go paddle wheel.

Still looking for any other suggestions.

[Shooter]

A hundred bucks sounds like a deal to go both ways. I don't think I could pass that up.

[bergermaister]

Trigger pulled! PerfectPass is an awesome company to deal with as so many others have said. They are even overnighting the StarGazer to me (no extra charge!) so I can install before my trip on Thursday.

If the GPS doesn't jive with the river currents for another $100 I can add the paddle wheel at anytime. For now I'm going to go with just the GPS and hope for the best. That should speed up my install time too. No water temp without the paddle but oh well, I have another thermo I can use for that.

PP said that when both are installed and plugged in the GPS will take priority over the paddle wheel. So if I end up adding the paddle wheel, just unplug GPS on the river and we're good to go!

Haven't been this excited since, uh, the ballast project a month or two ago :rolleyes:

[cab13367]

Install will take a bit more - one more hole in the boat!

Don't you already have a paddlewheel for your existing speedo? Can't you just swap the paddlewheel assemblies?


Trigger pulled! PerfectPass is an awesome company to deal with as so many others have said. They are even overnighting the StarGazer to me (no extra charge!) so I can install before my trip on Thursday.

If the GPS doesn't jive with the river currents for another $100 I can add the paddle wheel at anytime. For now I'm going to go with just the GPS and hope for the best. That should speed up my install time too. No water temp without the paddle but oh well, I have another thermo I can use for that.

PP said that when both are installed and plugged in the GPS will take priority over the paddle wheel. So if I end up adding the paddle wheel, just unplug GPS on the river and we're good to go!

Haven't been this excited since, uh, the ballast project a month or two ago :rolleyes:

Sounds good. Let us know your impressions using the GPS cruise on the river.

[bergermaister]

Don't you already have a paddlewheel for your existing speedo?
Old boat - thin little paddle wheel is off the transom. The hull is actually molded for it to fit in. Don't know if it would plug in or not?

I have the double speedos and both have adjustment dials. I never really understood the theory behind this and thought it kind of silly to be adjustable because it seems like they are always wrong!

[Shooter]

Please post up your opinions on the gps. I have been eyeballing the qps upgrade kit for my PP. I like the idea of having it both ways. Haven't been on any of our local rivers this year, but that is due to the low levels.

I agree with PP having great CS. One of the best companies I have dealt with.