Talk about thread hijack ;)
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Talk about thread hijack ;)
hahaah, pretty much! I would look at it as a compliment! As you are the one that pretty much opened the "flood gates" on the surf gate, at least for me, I am just paying homage to you!Quote:
Originally Posted by CornRickey
Sorry CornRickey. I was too lazy to start my own. You da man.
Surfin USA
I'll be hitting this project head on over the next few weeks. From initial measurements / drawings I can accomplish this on my 86 Sunsport with drilling only a few holes in the boat. I'll be utilizing the outside mounting bolts for the swim platform as the hinge mount and installing Bennett or Lenco actuators to move the gates. Thankfully I have enough leftover teak to make this happen.
End result should be clean lines to the platform, no impact to conventional running (gates in). Now to finally fixed-plumb ballast.
Attachment 15057
One thing to think about. I have a friend that has done a full powered surfgate install with the lenco actuators and all. He still runs into problems with the retracted gates interfering with his wakeboard wake.Quote:
Originally Posted by ckracing
i may be biased but I think the NSS style surf blades like I did would be a better choice and just as easily powered...
Something to think about. Obviously I have first hand experience with powered gates and my manual blades.
Most people with "ghetto gates" aren't testing the effects of the *retracted* gate on things.
Unless you have the ability to index the gate out to the relative same place every time then slight adjustments as needed for weight changes this would be a real pain in the rear. Without this ability you are setting up the wake every time you deploy the gates.
Malibu's gates are all or nothing. My friend that copied Malibu did the same with his actuators.Quote:
Originally Posted by CornRickey
So that is likely what copying Malibu would yield.
They probably did a ton of r&d and decided on a average angle. I tweak mine about everytimeI go for the day.
I finally got to test my rough draft of a gate yesterday and love the results. Here is a before shot, with 650lbs up front and 1350 on the surf side:
Attachment 15097
And after, with 650 up front, 800 on the surf side and 500 on the non-surf side:
Attachment 15096
I rode it first and it took some getting used to after surfing for two years without it. There was definitely enough push to ride comfortably, and the pocket was noticeably longer and much cleaner. I used to have to ride close to the platform and can now ride twice as far off or so out without losing it. It's nice to be able to drop back now and pump in to try tricks, whereas before I didn't have any area to do so.
Driving impressions: it was nice not to be driving a listed boat, but the gate actually takes some getting used to. Since we surf regular, the gate is on the starboard side and thus the boat wants to turn toward starboard. Once you get up to speed it is ok, but when you go to neutral it's impossible to turn left. You also have to hold pretty strong to keep the boat straight for the same reasons. I got used to it after driving for a few hours yesterday but initially it was weird.
Some improvements will be made and more testing done, especially with weight and deployment angle, but overall I'm very happy with it.
Do you have pics of your actual gate installation?
Surfin USA
here are a couple that i took when building it, they don't show the attachment though. it is very basic since it's a trial to make sure it worked--basically two 2x4's cut to length and angled to butt up close to the hull, a long gate hinge (longer than the one pictured) to hold the piece of wal-mart cutting board (HDPE), and reinforcement brackets (different than the one pictured) holding the wood together. i wanted to use a turnbuckle as pictured for adjustability. the attachment points (not shown) are a short turnbuckle up top from the tie-down u-bolt to a screwed-in eyelet, and a ratchet strap to an eyelet on the bottom piece of wood to the ski ring in the middle of the boat above the platform. the two pieces of wood install snugly around the swim platform rail but put minimal pressure on the platform itself.
Attachment 15110
Attachment 15111
things i will change: a better way to cinch the bottom eyelet without using a ratchet strap. i will also space out the front hinge from the wood because the swim platform railing contacts it currently and doesn't allow the wood to go as far in as i need it, thus causing the hdpe to just barely protrude from the hull at the very bottom. i was worried this would rip off while under way, but it held up without issue to 3 or so hours of surfing. other than that, i want to weight it down more and try different combinations of side-to-side weight. attempted speed for this was anywhere from 10.0 to 10.7, but 10.3 seemed optimal. we normally surf at 11.2-11.5, for comparison. that was another nice thing, we barely had to get on the throttle before PP took over with this setup.
Did you get any spray from the gate on the non surf side? My first attempts yielded a decent wave but a fountain like spray from the gate that made it all the way over to the surf wave and washed it out..
I don't get any spray with this setup. I was worried from seeing other builds and test results because some have seen spray on the platform, some have seen it near the gas cap and/or fuel vent which obviously isn't desireable. I wish I took pictures of that, but it basically just made a little rainbow of water that came back down on the non-surf side. I wonder if your gate angle is too much or too little?
Back to the original topic.......I have had a couple inquires on purchasing gates over the past couple weeks. I do build them. The catch is they are built to the hull of a '03 Supra 22 SSV and comparable. Anything different would be the responsibility of the buyer for fit and finish. The exception is if you can get your boat to my shop for a couple days then we can more than likely get you set up. I'm located in the Tacoma, WA area. A set takes about 4 days to build. As for timing.......once by boat (my template) leaves my shop for the cabin it doesn't come back until fall so If you are interested in ordering a set or a single you need to get in contact with me ASAP. I am anticipating taking it out around Labor day. As for this thread.....feel free to ask question about my design/product ect. I'll answer most of them but asking for specific measurements, templates I would rather not. I think my videos show enough for the diy'er to get it done. If you want to show everyone your gate then go ahead and make a new thread for it. This keeps down the need to read through 10 pages of posts to find the info on the original topic. I hope everyone understands. Thanks and bring on SUMMER!
my apologies, i thought this to be an informative thread about gates and never saw that it was "your thread" because i didn't read from the beginning. i'm obviously not selling anything, just trying to help a fellow boater out. i'll keep the pics and such out of this one.
No apologies needed! I hate the idea of several good ideas getting barried in a single long thread. I've received several contacts asking if I'm still using them. Physics hasn't changed and they still work great! Unfortunately I'm not able to fabricated any until my boat is back in my shop for the winter because I use it for mock up.
I did get the opportunity to surf behind a '14 MB Tomcat this week end. It had the flooding ballistic in it which is awesome with 950lbs a side. Unfortunately the wave was lacking in the stock configuration and Ali i could do was concentrate on keeping going.
More that ever I feel the addition of the gates (or what ever apparatus you use) is by for the best addition for surfing. Not only safer but also cheaper and faster.