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2 Attachment(s)
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.
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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..
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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?
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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!
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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.
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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.