Perfect Pass or Speedo problem on 06 Air Nautique 226

[shepherd1000]

Well, rather than bring in my boat to the dealer, I contacted CorrectCraft directly. They promptly sent me a new paddlewheel speedo unit. But after also speaking to Airmar (the company that manufactures the unit), I decided to only replace the paddlewheel and not the whole unit with the bracket and wiring. Here's why: the person at Airmar to whom I spoke told me that the paddlewheel itself needs to be replaced every two years for boats that travel greater than 11 mph. My paddlewheel is only 1 year old though, I told them. But--and here is the interesting part--I've been recently trailering my boat a lot. Well, the paddlewheel turns at speeds of 60-70mph while the boat is being trailered on the highway, so this may rapidly accelerate the degradation of the paddlewheel's bearings and ferromagnetic properties. What does Airmar recommend to prevent this? Answer: Tape the paddlewheel to immobilize it during trailering. I thought I'd pass that along to all of you who trailer your boats. So I've replaced the paddlewheel, but since I also had to apply some sealant to some screw holes in my hull, I've got to wait a day or two before trying out the new paddlewheel to see if the problem with my erratic speedo readings has been solved. I'll report the results tomorrow.

[NautiqueJeff]

You're really supposed to pull the paddlewheel unit and install the blank that came with your boat before pulling the boat down the road. Hardly anyone does it though.

[shepherd1000]

Hmmm...I never received a blank with my boat.

[NautiqueJeff]

It should've been in there. It is just a quick quarter turn and it pops right out.

[shepherd1000]

In where? On my transom mount paddlewheel unit, in order to pull the paddlewheel, you have to unscrew the set screws and pull down the bracket holding the paddlewheel. This allows you to access the shaft/axle for the paddlewheel that has to be pushed out in order to remove the paddlwheel. But by pulling down the bracket far enough to expose the shaft/axle, you damage the sealant between the bracket and the hull. So, it's surprising that they'd make that recommendation.

[east tx skier]

Somewhere, I have some pictures of something a guy with some welding skills rigged up for his trailer. Basically, it's an arm with a plunger cup on the end of it that locks into place with a pin. When the boat is on the trailer, he lifts the arm up until the cup covers the paddle wheel.

The problem I've had with tape is that I can never remember to take it off before putting the boat in the water. It usually doesn't take long to come off, but I don't like leaving junk in the lake like that.

I think the pictures are at a relatives house, but I'll post them if I get the chance.

[shepherd1000]

Interesting idea. But it sounds like something that could just break off if you forgot to disconnect it prior to putting your boat in the water. The tape idea seems simple enough, and as long as I remember to put my drain plug back in, I should remember to also pull the tape off prior to putting the boat in the water.

[east tx skier]

I'll have to wait for the pictures to be sure, but I recall that it was placed so if he forgot, the cup would pivot or somehow the boat wouldn't hit it coming off the trailer. Again, I'll need to see the pictures, but that's what I remember.

The plug that came with mine from Perfect Pass (presumably from Airmar like the speedo) just unscrews bilge side, correct? Seems easy enough. But probably something I'd forget to undo before the boat was in the water.

Considering I hardly ever use speed mode, it's a wonder why I even have the thing installed in the first place.

[shepherd1000]

I'm not sure what plug from PerfectPass you're referring to. Do you mean the bilge drain plug?

[east tx skier]

Part of the airmar through hull speedo kit that comes with PP WB Pro and Digital Pro includes a plug or blank for the paddle wheel. You remove the speedo from the through hull housing and put the plug in (for trailering I suppose). I don't know if it unscrews, but that seems logical.

On my last boat, it sat in the glove compartment for four years (never used it). Up to the new owner now.

[shepherd1000]

Okay, that sounds very different from the transom mount paddlewheel speedo that I've got.

[shepherd1000]

Well, I took my boat out this morning, and the new paddlwheel sure enough fixed the fluctuating speed problem I had with my boat. And now PerfectPass is again able to maintain a steady speed. Odd--my dealer said he's never in four years heard of a paddlewheel becoming malfunctional, yet the people at Airmar said it's a routine mainentance issue that requires paddlewheel replacement every two years.

[BigRob]

gateway boxes have a tendency to go bad too.
so ask your dealer what he fixed under warranty and post it here.

[BigRob]

sorry did not see 2nd page

[shepherd1000]

BigRob, if it had turned out to be the gateway box, I would have been really ticked off. The reason is that in addition to my replacing the paddlewheel, I didn't mention that PerfectPass also just replaced my PerfectPass display. The reason they had to replace it was that the LCD was becoming increasingly unreliable. Sometimes the characters were all garbled, sometimes the display would be just plain blank, and sometimes it would be all black. The new display works just great. But if I had had to replace my gateway box, then I would have replaced every component of PerfectPass!