Zero off cruise on river

[wheels 151]

What are you guys doing with zero off cruise on river to compensate for tide movement? Does the centurion have a setting for river? On Malibu I could change to paddle wheel cruise from zero off. I do not believe centurion had that option?

[Skibumm 184]

I thought that zero off had  river mode now.

[Lak3surf3r 714]

Ive never seen a river mode on the RI firmware (which is the same firmware across all Ri models) We just end up going + or - 1mph ish. Its a lacking feature not being able to toggle to a paddle wheel or in to a "river mode"

Edited May 3, 2017 by Lak3surf3r

[DarksideR 1,679]

RPM mode?

[sporte77 5]

I've been investigating this issue.  I am also on the Columbia River.  GPS speed is a pain in the A**. 

Without a paddle wheel, every time we go out - I have to screw with guessing and calculating.  On the river, we have tide movements of anywhere from 0-3 mph; we have wind (affecting RPMS); we have current.  So, I thought - "I'll just add 1.5mph going downstream & subtract that going upstream.  But having driven the Fi21 for 4 months now - I'm constantly screwing with the speed based on time of day (tides) & wind.  Changing speed (especially for someone who doesn't drive your boat much) is a pain every time you turn around.

Anyway, I think I've found a solution - but Centurion (in my short term as a convert from Malibu) has been mostly unresponsive answering my questions.  My dealer is great - but has no idea on this issue - and has the same crappy response times from the factory as I do.  So, I usually end up calling Centurion directly.  Here's a copy of the email I sent.  I think this would work.  Of course if I call Murphy/Enovation Controls - they'll just tell me to talk to Centurion.  Usually Centurion tells me to call the dealer....

---------Email to Centurion-------------------

"….. questions of GPS vs Paddle Wheel retrofit possibilities on an Fi21.
My goal is to disconnect the GPS (because it’s a pain in the river to get a consistent wave due to changing current, winds, tides).
Will you please forward this to engineering?
Is it possible that Airmar’s UDST800 (ultrasonic speed,depth,temp) could replace the current Airmar Temp/Depth transducer - if we disconnect the GPS puck?  That way, the speed input is provided by the transducer instead of the GPS.
I think the interface would support it.  Please let me know?  My alternative is to mount an ugly, stand alone paddle wheel & raymarine i40 display.  Yuck."--------

---------------------
Ok - so the basic systems/brains on these boats are a common interface (NMEA, etc.).  So, the ZeroOFF boat brain that's tied into the BUS of the display and engine controls shouldn't care if it's "GPS", a paddle wheel, or an ultrasonic transducer that measures speed.  It's simply a value that goes into the speed input as a signal.  When I called Centurion, one of the customer service guys thought the Fi still has a paddle wheel plug on the harness.  He theorized that if you plugged one in - then unplugged the GPS - the system would use that input.  I haven't gotten a response from Centurion's engineers yet.

I wish they were more responsive.  My '12 Malibu had RPM speed and a paddle wheel control - which I could dial my wave in exactly every time.  YES, a sunflower seed can stop your paddlewheel.  I don't care.  When I go under one of our many bridges - my GPS cuts out and the boat almost stops.  You all know, your speed is critical to dial in the wave and is sensitive within 1/2 MPH.  I know Malibu is a lot bigger and has many more employees (which correlates to their higher price!) - but this issue is something that anyone who operates on a river would PAY to have resolved.

[h20king 794]

I ride on the Columbia and willamet below Bonneville so we get the current and tidal exchange and don't find it to be a problem. While filling sacks I drift down stream paying attention to how fast we are moving then add that amont to our speed traveling down stream. Going against the current speed is normal

[sporte77 5]

Oldish' post - but I ended up installing a Raymarine i40 display and a transom mounted paddle wheel to show true water speed.  While you can just add/subtract the 2-3 mph everytime you go up or downstream - this made is easy to just glance down and adjust.  I usually start off at speed of 12 for surfing - then adjust shortly after.  The install was pretty clean - but tight - because the only place to put the wheel was between the stinger and the plate.  May end up having the dealer put in a thru hull wheel sometime - so there won't be as much erratic readings in the chop.  I decided to try the transom mount first - because it was the least risk - as far as hole size/screws - vs. thru hull.  Also, transom mount was less cost for this experiment.