In the old days of waterskiing, boat drivers had to be nearly as skillful as the riders themselves. The tremendous force exerted on the boat by a skier cutting back and forth across the wake made holding a consistent boat speed difficult at best. In fact, the potential for driver variance was listed as a deciding factor for waterskiing not becoming an Olympic event after it debuted as a demonstration sport at the 1972 Munich Games. Then in 1995, MasterCraft became the first manufacturer to offer PerfectPass speed control as an option, and the sport has never been the same.

PerfectPass
There are several PerfectPass systems available that cover a wide range of budgets and skill levels. The most basic is PerfectPass Cruise ($675), which is a simple rpm-based system. To engage it, the driver attains the desired speed and presses a button to lock in the selected engine speed. If the skier falls, the driver pulls back on the throttle to regain manual throttle control, and the system goes into Auto Resume mode. When the next run begins, it automatically takes over when the driver reaches the previous cruise speed.

PerfectPass Star Gazer Wake Edition ($1,195) and PerfectPass Star Gazer Three Event Tournament Edition ($1,395) are geared for the serious skiing enthusiast or professional. These systems use GPS satellite signals to deliver incredibly accurate information to the cruise controls, which need no calibration. Although these upgraded editions still use rpm, they overlay the GPS info to create a super-smooth pull.

The Wake Edition has both speed-based and rpm modes for wakeboarding as well as a simple slalom setting. The Three Event features precision timing with a classic mode that uses six or eight magnets located in the buoys of the slalom course, or an advanced mode that only uses one magnet at the entry gate of the course.

Zero Off
Zero Off is the newest player in the speed-control market, but has quickly become a leader in GPS-based, drive-by- wire speed-control systems. One of the huge advantages for tournament use is that magnets are no longer needed to provide the accurate timing that’s required. No calibration is needed and you never have to input factors like skier weight or adjust for currents or wind. As a result, virtually all the major pro events like the U.S. Open, U.S. Nationals, Masters and many others use Zero Off exclusively.

Zero Off comes in two versions: the Wakeboard & Trick and the 3 Event. The Wakeboard & Trick ($1,290) is the more basic package and just requires the user to press a button when the proper speed is reached. The cruise control holds the set speed to within a tenth of a mile per hour. Both systems allow the user to program in 10 courses and 10 custom rider profiles. The 3 Event ($1,590) also lets slalom riders map out the course and displays the timing of each buoy on the screen. It also includes a special jump event algorithm to handle the wide variance in skier load.

Mercury Smart Tow
Mercury’s Smart Tow is a cruise control that operates using the proprietary SmartCraft CANbus system. Available on inboards, I/Os and outboards equipped with Mercury’s smooth Digital Throttle and Shift (DTS), the system is an advanced rpm-based cruise control that also allows drivers to input the level of acceleration intensity. So if you have kids just learning how to ski, adjust the Launch Control to setting one, advance the throttle to full and Smart Tow eases up to the desired rpm gently. Wakeboarders, who have lots of lift from the wide board, will probably prefer the easier settings as well. Slalom skiers will likely opt for the more extreme pull that settings 4 or 5 provide. On the higher settings, the quick extraction is achieved by overshooting the set rpm for a short time, then allowing the boat to plane before automatically reducing rpm until the desired setting is reached.

Sea-Doo Cruise and Ski Mode

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Once the target engine speed has been attained, the driver can fine-tune speed by adding or reducing rpm at the press of an up or down arrow. Another handy feature is that it operates as a cruise control for any speed higher than idle, allowing the driver to dial in the perfect no-wake speed when traversing pesky slow-speed zones.

Yamaha Cruise Assist
In 2008, Yamaha was the first to introduce an electronic throttle in select PWCs and sportboats. This allowed them to offer Cruise Assist, a speed control that operates much like a car’s cruise control. This simple-to-use system is available on Yamaha’s more advanced sportboats, such as the new 242 Limited S. It couldn’t be easier to operate: You just press a button when you reach the desired speed and keep on cruising. Speeds can be tweaked with the press of a button - eight positions up or down.

For running in slow-speed zones, Cruise Assist also has No-Wake mode, which gives drivers a choice of three speeds to dial in the correct velocity.

Sea-Doo Cruise and Ski Mode
Sea-Doo’s Intelligent Throttle Control (iTC) is an electronic system unveiled in model year 2009 in both its PWC and Sport Boat lines and provides a smooth, accurate application of power. Sea-Doo also offers an advanced cruise control system on select models, such as the new 210 Challenger SE. In Cruise Mode, drivers can select the perfect speed and still be able to adjust it on the fly. Because Sea-Doo Sport Boats have up to 530 hp, their rapid acceleration could be too strong for even the most powerful skiers’ arms to handle. In Ski Mode, drivers can select the amount of ramp - the rate of acceleration - in increments from 1 to 5, so beginners and experts alike can have the perfect pull every time.

Clash of the Cruise Control Titans
In model year 2008, the cruise control dynamic for skiers changed when Nautique offered a new brand called Zero Off that used GPS to regulate speed. A battle ensued between the two main players for dominance in this arena and while it was being settled, things got a little confusing.

Tournament and professional training boats often sported both systems, which required two different ECMs (engine control modules).

PerfectPass and Zero Off decided to forgo a potentially lengthy, costly legal battle and instead agreed to a division of labor. Basically, Zero Off gets the drive-by-wire applications, and PerfectPass gets the cable-based throttle installations for GPS-based speed-control systems. The actual agreement looks like this: