Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/570649
46 | Boating Industry | October 2015 www.BoatingIndustry.com /// Market Trends /// of the boat on the transom are engaged in the water during wakesurfing and are completely free of the water during wakeboarding. As Nautique developed new boats, the company has looked at new ways to integrate the way the water is flowing around the hull with the Nautique Surf System to get the maximum from both systems. "That gave us the entire area of the boat to work on shaping the wake- surf wave and optimizing it for the load of the boat and also for the Nautique Surf System, which had been introduced two years prior," said Meloon, who added that having the Nautique Surf System adapted in allows for clean in- stallation of the transom of the boat. "It maximizes the wave that we can get by reducing the amount of lift we have at wakesurf speed so that the boat and factory ballast creates a bigger wave that what you could get in the past, and it brings the wave together the way it interacts all the way around the boat so that it's cleaner, provides a better platform for surfing from beginners all the way to the advanced pro." (Read more about the new G-series boats at BoatingIndustry.com/ NautiqueGSeries) Tech control With the popularity of wakesurfing has come new technology to appease the rider. One of the most significant technological advancements has been wakesurfing remote controls that allow the user to shape his or her own wake. Tige introduced the Surf Link Remote in September 2014, which was an industry first at the time. With a click of a button, users could use the remote to adjust the shape, style, length and height of their surf wave. "We were the first ones to give the rider control of the surf wave behind the boat," said Gutierrez. Since then, several manufacturers have come out with their own ver- sions. Nautique released the Nautique Surf Select with its new G-series boats and released an app for Pebble Watch, a waterproof smart watch. The app allows surfers to control different aspects of the boat and provides real feed- back from the helm. Surfers can also control stereo volume, skip tracks and choose to switch from one side of the wave to the other immediately or after a three-second countdown. "That allows more of a beginning surfer to press the button, get ready to make the change and know when the boat is going to switch so they can be in the right place to make the transition," said Meloon. Malibu Boats also introduced the Surf Band Remote Wave Control, which has patents and IPs behind it. The rider-controlled surfing band acts as an athletic wrist watch and allows the rider to control settings, alerting the driver to any changes. "Now you're taking something that used to be in the driver's hands that's now in the rider's hands, and so he can control every aspect of his surfing wave," said Springer. Malibu has stayed on top of other technologies that are appealing to to- day's water sports consumer. For instance, the company released a rearview camera at IBEX this year. The camera allows drivers to see what's behind them when docking or if they lose a rider. "Today, many of the things that you see on a car you now find on boats," said Springer. "A lot of the new technology that is being intro- duced is causing people to say 'My boat is antiquated, I'm going to buy a new boat.'" Malibu also introduced the Viper 2 control system to its boats in 2014, which is a soft-coated system that can be updated. Boaters can now put a thumb drive into the system and update the software with any new changes or features Malibu has added. "We have a platform that we're adding to each year, and what our hope is it causes people to either get into the sport or it causes people who have bought a boat three to five years ago to say 'They've added so much new technology, I need to upgrade,'" said Springer. "If a person has a boat from 2008, 2009 or 2010, it's not even near the same boat that is out there today Several manufacturers have developed surf remote controls in the past year.