You're happily towing your athletic X Games-aspiring teenager behind you, and he's having the ride of his life. You're beaming with confidence at his newfound prowess, but when he makes an aggressive cut, the boat suddenly feels like someone tossed out the anchor as your speedo-meter needle plunges. Quickly trying to compensate, you gun the throttle forward, and the gauge rockets way  past the "happy speed" to which you've been so carefully adhering. Despite all your best efforts, the next thing you know, the changing speeds have resulted in your teen's ride ending via a spectacular, blooper-reel-worthy face-plant.

Although the overall physics involved in towing for watersports are relatively simple, the problem comes when a skier or wakeboarder makes a hard cut into the wake or launches into the air. The quick change in resistance makes it difficult to maintain an even speed that recreational skiers require and competitive riders demand. For newer drivers, the experience resembles walking a pack of large dogs that are dragging you all over the sidewalk. Drivers with many years of experience do a pretty good job of anticipating and not over-correcting, but even they don't always get it exactly right.

If only it were easy. If only, at the click of a button, you'd have it all under control. Not too long ago, boaters were forced to endure a steep learning curve before they could master the art giving a rider a tournament-worthy tow. But fortunately, most watersports boat manufacturers have made the process a lot easier for drivers of all skill levels to maintain the perfect speed by giving owners the equivalent of an "easy button." With the advent of speed control systems that use computers to make adjustments to your boat's velocity, now anyone can maintain speed like a polished tournament professional.


In A Nutshell

Speed control for a boat is much like the cruise control designed for cars. While driving on a long trip, for instance, you may see a stretch of road where there's not a lot of traffic, and once you hit the right speed, you press the cruise control button and can lift your foot off the gas.

Similarly, speed control systems take the guesswork out of your boat's speed. Basically, once each rider has determined the sweet spot for their style of skiing, you can preset that speed or RPM with the mere click of a button, and then you can monitor it on a gauge while running. You can even make incremental, real-time adjustments if a rider so chooses. Most speed control systems use computers to automatically correct even during hard turns and choppy wakes - smoothing out the jerkiness that can occur on less-than-perfect runs.


How They Work
 
Most watersports boat manufacturers offer their own type of speed control devices. With Malibu's Precision Pro Speed Control (www.malibuboats.com), for example, you simply push a button labeled "cruise," and you're in the cruise- control setup screen. The user pushes the up or down arrows to change the "set" speed on the cruise system. Once a desired set speed is chosen, all that's required to activate the system is a push of the red button. The driver then accelerates within 5 mph of the desired set speed, and the system will sound a beep - putting a message up on the display indicating the cruise has been engaged, and no further action is required to maintain the set speed. If the driver wants to increase or decrease speed by a small amount while the system is engaged, then simply pushing the up or down arrow again will work, and they'll see the "set" speed change accordingly. An especially handy feature if you regularly have the same group of skiers is that you can save a rider's desired speed - and with a push of the button, the computer will remember those settings.

Another example of a boat manufacturer's system is MasterCraft's Digital Throttle Control (www.mastercraft.com), which allows the boat's throttle to "talk" directly to the engine electronically, using throttle-by-wire technology instead of a traditional throttle cable. Through this electronic communication, the engine reacts far more quickly and accurately to the commands from the throttle. The digital throttle control system allows boaters to toggle within 0.2 mph or 20 RPM increments of their ideal skiing, wakeboarding or cruising speed. The main component of learning the system is to understand that the throttle is more sensitive to movement, so drivers will need to be both calculating and smooth when operating the throttle. Once a driver gets a solid feel for that sensitivity, the learning period for this device is about over.

There are aftermarket speed control systems as well. Mercury Marine produces the SmartTow speed system, and PerfectPass offers a wide selection of aftermarket speed control systems for both novice and professional watersports enthusiasts. PerfectPass's Cruise system (www.perfectpass.com) uses an RPM-based pull for watersports, a 2-inch in-dash switch that works like an automotive unit - with on/off, resume and increase/decrease functions. Drivers throttle up to the desired velocity, press the engage key to set the boat's speed, and then the PerfectPass system takes over. If the skier falls and the throttle is pulled back, the system disengages and goes into Auto Resume mode and will take over once the previously set speed is reached. Speed changes can be made by pressing the increase or decrease key.

Mercury Marine's SmartTow system (www.mercurymarine.com/smartcraft) combines an RPM-based cruise control with a Launch Control, which determines the hole shot intensity you want. There are five Launch Control profiles for the level of acceleration you desire: Profile 1 (Easy/Light Cruise), Profile 2 (Wakeboard/Tuber), Profile 3 (Wake-board/Ski), Profile 4 (Ski/Light Slalom) and Profile 5 (Slalom Ski). An advanced GPS version allows drivers to create their own launch profiles.


Peace of Mind

An additional benefit to speed control systems is that they can increase your overall safety on the water. Just think of all the distractions you're forced to endure on a typical boat outing - navigating your course, watching for other boats, checking for skiers or wakeboarders, monitoring the depth of the water, and maintaining your speed with varying waves and water conditions.

Speed control systems grant a reprieve from all of those endless back-and-forth adjustments you have to make on the throttle to stay up at the same speed, which is hard enough even without a rider behind you. It becomes especially essential as the skill level of your rider increases and they become more selective about the speed they want. Speed control systems allow drivers more time to focus solely on steering, resulting in a smoother, safer ride.

Don't be fooled into thinking these devices somehow diminish your skill as a driver. They're used by virtually everyone who's serious about skiing, from talented amateurs to competition drivers. While pros usually opt for the more expensive models that have more setting profiles to match the kind of ride they want, even the most basic systems will improve the towing capability of your boat. But perhaps the best part of speed control is you can look and feel like a pro - all at the simple press of a button.