Zip wake tabs ??

[Juls]

Originally Posted by gbin

So how does someone know if their boat can accommodate a Zipwake system?

In my case, I have a 2020 Ranger 620FS Cup rather than a 621FS Pro. I've tried looking for information online a couple of times to figure out whether I could add this to my boat at some point in the future, but I've come up completely empty each time.

Gerry

Call your Ranger dealer. He will know the answer to that question.

I had called Ranger about having the tabs put on my 2019 621 FS, and was told that they couldn't be mounted on that hull.

I don't know if the 2020 FS is the same hull as the 2019 hull, or is the same as the FS Pro.

Maybe it's the Pro's other features that make the Pro "the Pro", over the Cup package.

I haven't seen a 2020 cup boat in person yet, so I can't answer that question.

[bloodman]

Originally Posted by bbheli

They would mount in the same area that pocket would be if it had the pocket. If you can add a trim tab you should be able to add a zip wake. Post the transom picture. There are several options for that reason. The Pro version just has an integrated pocket. The zipwake takes less room than a traditional tab also.

You cant add a trim tab either. Do you have first hand knowledge of this or are we on a wild goose chase of conjecture.

[mtlivewell]

I know first hand that they dont offer them as an upgrade on the 621 cup edition. Maybe could find something outside of Ranger. My question is do I really need them or will I regret buying the cup and kicking myself down the road.

[bloodman]

Originally Posted by mtlivewell

I know first hand that they dont offer them as an upgrade on the 621 cup edition. Maybe could find something outside of Ranger. My question is do I really need them or will I regret buying the cup and kicking myself down the road.

IMO if you have the money get the pro with the tabs

[bbheli]

Originally Posted by bloodman

You cant add a trim tab either. Do you have first hand knowledge of this or are we on a wild goose chase of conjecture.

The pocket if not there would have to have a surface. Most anything is possible, trying to help the guy out so if you need to be condescending go elsewhere.

[bloodman]

Originally Posted by bbheli

The pocket if not there would have to have a surface. Most anything is possible, trying to help the guy out so if you need to be condescending go elsewhere.

The FS and Pro are completely different in the back and its not just the pocket. Nothing condescending implied or intended.

[Modog]

Zipwakes require a flat surface to mount the interceptors. The Cup hulls are too rounded where the tabs mount. I wonder if a guy could get something molded or machined (plastic) to fit the curve of the hull and give the Zipwakes a flat surface?

[gbin]

Originally Posted by bbheli

Can you take the picture more from the back vs the side. I don't believe that you should not be able to mount a tab. I can't tell if that is a pocket or not from the reflection. It is worth the effort you will love the difference in performance with these.

Ask and ye shall receive. Everything looks too flat to me to tell anything from that angle, bbh, but 1st photo shows full stern from the rear, and 2nd photo shows stern on starboard side (where it's presently better illuminated).

Originally Posted by Juls

Call your Ranger dealer. He will know the answer to that question.

Extremely regrettably, Juls, I have found that it's pretty much impossible for me to get definitive technical advice from Ranger or my dealer these days.

It wasn't this way when I was deciding what boat to buy and figuring out how to get it configured early last year, but now if I contact Ranger they flatly refuse to answer any technical questions about it and instead just tell me to call my dealer. Even tried to get around their unwillingness to connect me to anyone there who would be able to provide technical support by asking for their Parts Department. Talked to 2 different parts guys on 2 different occasions this summer who both told me that no one at Ranger is ALLOWED to provide such advice, anymore. It has to be a dealer and that's that.

That would be OK with me, I guess (though I wouldn't like it), except that if I call my dealer - I talk with the manager or his service manager, there - they sometimes give me information that I already know or later learn to be incorrect, and other times tell me they don't know the answer to my question but they'll contact Ranger, find out and get back to me... and then Ranger BRUSHES THEM OFF, TOO rather than provide the requested information. These are the reasons why I've tried so hard (but as I said, unsuccessfully) to talk with someone at Ranger, itself.

Not exaggerating or kidding in any way. I just went through all of this very recently when I wanted to learn more about possibly switching to lithium batteries in my boat, but that's only the very latest instance. The specific subject doesn't really matter; this is how it is for all Ranger Boats technical matters now so far as I can tell. Maybe if I were to call around to other Ranger dealers I could find one that's much more knowledgeable, but all are quite distant from me and I don't know how I would find one that provides trustworthy information nor how I would tell that's what I indeed found...

I'm quite unhappy about this, as you can imagine. Although I love my boat, I picked the one I did in no small part because of Ranger's formerly stellar reputation for customer satisfaction and service, and were I to do it over again now I WOULD NOT BUY ANY BOAT FROM ANY MANUFACTURER IN THE WHITE RIVER MARINE GROUP (Ranger, Tracker, Nitro,...) because of this fundamental change that they have apparently made at their boat makers. Nor will I recommend Ranger to others, anymore. It's really a d@mn shame.

Gerry

[gbin]

Originally Posted by Modog

Zipwakes require a flat surface to mount the interceptors. The Cup hulls are too rounded where the tabs mount. I wonder if a guy could get something molded or machined (plastic) to fit the curve of the hull and give the Zipwakes a flat surface?

Given what I've sort of learned previously and now seen in this discussion, I'm now wondering this, myself. I'd probably go with aluminum rather than plastic, though.

A business opportunity for some enterprising person out there!...

Gerry

[gbin]

Originally Posted by mtlivewell

I know first hand that they dont offer them as an upgrade on the 621 cup edition. Maybe could find something outside of Ranger. My question is do I really need them or will I regret buying the cup and kicking myself down the road.

Sorry, I didn't mean to bury your question (on YOUR thread, no less! )...

I myself won't recommend Ranger anymore despite loving my 1-year-old boat made by them, as I mentioned above, but I can tell you that even being a foot smaller than what you're considering and without wake tabs, my 620FS Cup handles the waves on big water (Lakes Erie and Oneida) impressively well. I just figure it would doubtless handle them even better with a Zipwake system, and if I understand correctly, such a system would eliminate the need for me to consciously trim while motoring, too.

Gerry