There’s a saying that smooth seas never made for skilled boaters. It might ring true, but smart trim systems can certainly help.
Enter Zipwake. Since its founding, the Swedish company has brought a fresh approach to vessel dynamics, delivering plug-and-play solutions that bring superyacht tech to everyday craft as small as 20 feet in length.
In 1994, Niclas Olofsson visited a shipyard in Fremantle, Australia, on behalf of his employer, KaMeWa. Olofsson, equipped with a doctorate in hydrodynamics, noticed two brand-new 90-foot monohull ferries sitting idle at a nearby quay. He asked why. The company that had ordered the vessels refused to take delivery because the vessels couldn’t make the minimum required speed of 28 knots.
He told the shipyard he had an idea. After a day’s hesitation, the shipyard figured it had nothing to lose. Olofsson suggested welding an improvised interceptor blade across the lower edge of the transom to generate lift at the stern and improve the running attitude. The ferries surpassed the speed requirements.
Eight years later, Olofsson cofounded Humphree and launched the interceptor concept for commercial shipping. But he had a bigger vision: to offer an affordable product that could help more people around the world enjoy their time on the water. He founded Zipwake AB in 2015.
At the root was Olofsson’s desire to address the shortcomings of conventional trim tabs against the forces of pitch and roll on a boat’s hull. When Zipwake launched its first Dynamic Trim Control System, the market quickly took notice. Designed to be intuitive, automatic and fast, the system gave recreational boaters a new level of control.
At the core of every Zipwake system is its interceptor. Unlike traditional trim tabs, which pivot flat panels into the flow of water at the boat’s transom, interceptors deploy straight down from the after edge of the hull, creating lift faster and more efficiently. Actuated by submersible brushless DC servos, they can make adjustments in as little as 1.5 seconds—five times faster than conventional trim tabs.
Paired with GPS, three-dimensional gyroscopes and an intuitive control interface, the system offers fully automatic operation with manual override via tactile control wheels. The system also provides continuous feedback of boat speed, pitch and roll angle, as well as the interceptors’ positions, on a sunlight-readable color display that mounts virtually anywhere at the helm.
Zipwake’s product family consists of two primary lines: Series S for boats between 20 and 50 feet long, and Series E for boats up to 100 feet. Both lines include a range of interceptor styles: straight, chine, V-shaped and tunnel-mounted, along with distribution units, control panels and integration modules. Each system comes in a kit for straightforward installation. Standardized cabling and modular components mean experienced do-it-yourselfers can install Zipwake products or have a professional do it with little time in the boatyard.
Beyond comfort and handling, there’s also performance to consider. Zipwake’s motion-control features adjust the vessel’s operating attitude, which lessens water resistance, increases speed and reduces fuel consumption.
Zipwake’s new Pro Series represents the company’s most powerful and refined system to date. The Pro Series introduces significantly faster actuation, enhanced roll and pitch control, and a new user interface. Its interceptors move five times faster than before, giving the system improved responsiveness and precision.
I recently had the opportunity to take the helm of various Zipwake-equipped vessels ranging from a single-outboard center-console to an inboard pilothouse cruiser, engaging and disengaging the Zipwake system at different speeds and conditions.
Active Pitch Control continuously adjusts pitch to maintain a preset running angle. Even when rapidly changing course from a head sea to beam to following sea, the system kept the bow in perfect trim and at the optimal angle throughout the maneuvers.
Active Roll Control is designed to dampen the boat’s roll automatically. We shifted our passengers from one side of the smaller single-engine center-console to the other while underway. The Zipwake system automatically adjusted the balance, and kept the boat level and stable.
Balanced Turn, a coordinated turning mode that keeps the hull stable while making sharp turns, also worked as advertised.
Additional features of the Zipwake system include the ability to switch to an emergency steering mode. By using just the interceptor blades and the dial on the display, the skipper can control the vessel in case of a loss of steering. Wake-shaping mode can fine-tune the wake profile for tow sports like wakeboarding or wakesurfing.
The new control unit has been refined and polished to deliver a smoother, more intuitive user experience by ensuring the right information is presented at the right time, clearly and efficiently. That’s true whether in manual trim mode, full auto or precision turn control. The Pro line is also plug-and-play, supporting NMEA 2000 and HTML5 interfaces, and multifunction display integration. It’s waterproof and rugged, designed for real-world conditions.
Ultimately, Zipwake’s strength lies in its ability to blend technical sophistication with real-world usability, a combination that translates to a smoother ride with fewer adjustments required at the helm and better performance under shifting loads and changing sea states.
Based on what I saw and felt, Zipwake helps boaters focus on enjoying the overall experience of being on the water with family and friends, rather than constantly adjusting for a smoother ride.
The Lineup
Zipwake’s Series S offers compact, fast-acting interceptors in straight, chine, V-shaped and intermediate models for boats from 20 to 50 feet. Each system comes as a kit with a control panel, a distribution unit and plug-and-play cables. Series S uses interceptor blade strokes of 30 mm. Series E aims at boats up to 100 feet, with larger interceptors and more lift force. Dual server models and a 60 mm blade stroke give it better motion control on higher-speed or heavier vessels. Zipwake Pro Series, in both Series S and Series E, is the newest and most advanced. It has five times faster interceptor actuation plus Active Pitch Control, Active Roll Control, Balanced Turn, Wake Shaping, Emergency Steering and an intuitive control panel.
