Thoughts on 'Switchblade'

[Bullfrog 9]

I am a new owner of a 2011Enzo SV233. Love the boat and trying to dial things in. It has a 'Switchblade' installed which when fully engaged really sucks the back end down. How do others feel about the Switchblade? It seems like an expensive option but rarely hear anything about them on any forums. Are they worth it? I'm really interested to hear other opinions.

[Rhale 80]

Love my switchblade. It makes a big difference on our surf wake. I never use the auto feature though, manual control and set it around 3-4 and the wave gets huge!

[jtryon 24]

i've wondered about this too, but more from a trailering point-of-view. does the switchblade tuck up or store for trailering or cruising on the lake? it obviously helps the wake as i've seen many say, but out of the water all i can think of when looking at it hanging back there is "truck nutz"

[Rhale 80]

LOL, one bolt and it comes off for longer distances. I believe it says anything over 20 miles. Thing weighs a good amount though, we only remove when we go to Powell which is 2 1/2 hrs away but never for our local lake.

[jiriki 13]

Rhale, just curious.. what ballast do you run with it when it is set to 3 or 4? Engine size?

[DarksideR 1,679]

I don't think anyone whose ever owned a Switchblade before has said it was a bad thing. Except when maneuvering around tight docks and such.

[adambomb2000 35]

I'll chime in here too. I have an '06 230 with the blade. I take it off for all trailering. Like Rhale said, one bolt and it slips off. Pretty heavy unit to be hanging off there bouncing down the road I feel.

 

Settings on mine are 0-7. 1 is supposed to be neutral. Supposedly 0 actually lifts the transom slightly to help reduce wake for, say, slalom skiing.

 

Pretty much never go higher than 4-5. Wake gets too tall and pocket short. I have never tried lots of forward ballast and cranking up the blade to 5, 6 or 7...maybe worth an investigation.

 

I run 1100s in the lockers, 580s under midship seats and blade between 1-3 depending on rider.

 

In the process of installing an A-plate along with the Blade as I still get some whitewater / spray on the dark side even with the Blade.

[adambomb2000 35]

PS - what Dark said...

 

My boat is a pig when it comes to docking / loading (hitting trailer straight). Backing up is even worse because the Blade flops to one side and effectively become a rudder steering the transom in one direction.

 

Still wouldn't not want it in spite of those things...

[jiriki 13]

5.7 black scorpions for those with 1100's and switchblade?

 

I have 1200's right now but not installed. I'm a bit pensive about it.. not sure if my 5.7 can handle so much weight plus switchblade.

Edited July 14, 2015 by jiriki

[Bullfrog 9]

Agreed, backing up is a nightmare as the switchblade picks a side and that's the direction the boat goes. My Switchblade has 0-5 settings and I'm told it is like having a 1500lbs sac in the back. I have no ballasts midship or front which might be the reason I have a short surfing wake. Please let me know how you make out with the 'A plate' as I too have wash out on the one side.

[ssgviper 7]

On the Switchblade web site it says there is no need for ballast bags with their switchblade. Now everyone seems to be running ballast bags with it. What's the dealio?

[Cdifranco 463]

On the Switchblade web site it says there is no need for ballast bags with their switchblade. Now everyone seems to be running ballast bags with it. What's the dealio?

Sounds like a marketing ploy to entice people who are against listing their boats. Of course I'm sure you can make a surfable wave with out any ballasts but who wants surfable when you can have an unreal wave with ballast.

[Stretch 409]

On the Switchblade web site it says there is no need for ballast bags with their switchblade. Now everyone seems to be running ballast bags with it. What's the dealio?

I'll take overused marketing phrases of the wake industry for 800 Alex.

[mattymids 2]

My brother in law and I have one on our 2008 sv240 and its great. ours is manually set, 7 different positions you can choose. You can actually surf without any weight and the switchblade engaged, but it is still way better with the weight added. we have a custom enzo sac and bow weight. on the #1 position what i believe to be "neutral" it is not engaged and the boat can plane like normal. for travel, we usually just tie it off instead of removing it.

[Sata3000 15]

I have an 06 sv230 I have Enzo sack in the dark side locker and run the blade at 3 1/2. I also add some add some bow weight and run at 12 mph. I plan on extending the fixed plate to 14" to help with the spray on the dark side

[Bullfrog 9]

All of those with the Switchblade, do you also have a trim tab or just a fixed plate? I have just a fixed plate and I am seriously thinking of getting a 'asymmetrical plate' discussed in another thread. My fixed plate is fairly small compared to some of the pictures I've seen on this website.

[mattymids 2]

no one in our crew rides goofy, so we don't have to worry about that. but we did add a larger fixed plate when we added the switchblade, before we did, we were getting alot of spray on the port side. I would think that adding a asymmetrical plate if you are planning on riding goofy would be a good idea.

[Rhale 80]

Agreed with all the above, we run a Enzo sac (1450?) on the port side with a fixed plate since we're all regular surfers.

 

We've never tried with much bow weight, but we did have 11 peeps (8 adults and 3 kids) in it at Powell last week and I only filled the bag about 80%. With all the peeps and the blade the wave was freaking huge! My teen son tried once and then wanted the bag drained!

 

Can't say we've noticed any spray issues with ours but maybe the 23' to 24' makes a difference(?)

 

We're running the 6.2 liter Black Scorpion with a 1579 prop at 2700' elevation with no issues on the hole shot

[Rhale 80]

The claim for no ballast would probably be for wakeboarding only, you still need to list to one side to really get surf wave dialed.

[DarksideR 1,679]

5.7 will do fine as long as you're not under propped or at a really high elevation. Bigger motor of coarse would be better, but it'll do.