Malibu adds tuck-away stern thruster to US boats

The system uses a water-cooled electric motor fitted to Malibu’s Power Wedge III system that is used to help shape the wake that the boats generate for riders. That means the thruster can come up out of the water while the boat is up on the plane.

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The system is controlled via a button built into Malibu’s throttle control, with the technology able to spin the boat around in its own length. The US boat-maker said the new system reduced the amount of time needed to retrieve a fallen wakeboarder or wake surfer by up to 30 per cent.

There is no word yet whether the new thruster will be made available for Malibu boats built at the company’s Albury, NSW factory for the Australian market.

“With the thruster fully integrated into the transom, it doesn’t compromise storage space or require extra batteries,” Malibu said.

“It also operates completely independent from the steering wheel so you don’t have to take your hand off the throttle to use it.

“When you’re at slow speeds and idle, just hit the button on the throttle and your Malibu instantly pivots to the right or left.”

Malibu Boats is coming off the back of a record second-quarter result for the three months up to the end of December, reporting earlier this month that it had posted a 7.0 per cent jump in profit to $US20.1 million ($A30 million).

Malibu recently changed the way it looks at its Australian business, and now integrates the results of its far-flung operations in with its US division “as they have similar economic characteristics and qualitative factors”.

The company’s big jump in profit was largely down to the successful integration of recreational boat brand Cobalt and high-end saltwater fishing specialist Pursuit, both of which were recently bought by Malibu.