Surf wave brainstorm

[csuggs]

Has anyone looked into the new innovation from Malibu called the Surf Gate?

http://www.malibuboats.com/news/surf-gate/

I know I'll probably get some flack from some of the "old school" surfers here . . . but this is just a brainstorm so here goes. I pretty much have no room for ballast on my Sunsport unless I take up valuable floor space or storage space. We get a pretty good surf wave using MBU's (mobil ballast units = people), but we don't always have the crowd for that and I get embarrased asking my friends to come along for the ride because I need weight!

So here's the question . . . if the Malibu Surf Gate really works, then what about modifying the swim platform on my Supra with side fins to mimick the surf gate? Would this be too much stress on my swim platform mounts? What do you guys think?

Here's a pretty cool video on the subject. A little long, but good especially if you dig the Dave Matthews Band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AYgP...eature=related

At one point in the video you can actually see the boat sort of "crabbing" along, not tracking straight. So I guess the wave is achieved by puching the boat sideways a bit, displacing much more water than when tracking straight.

[chrisk]

I think you would still have to weight your boat, and the idea behind the surf gate is that you don't have to weight it side to side. So if you put ballast in the ski locker and under rear seat and some up underneath the bow seats, then the idea would be a properly functioning "surf gate" would allow you to shift back and forth between waves. The gate doesn't create a bigger wave, it just changes the shape of it.

If you decide to pursue this, and successfully pull this off, I would love to look into it as well.

[csuggs]

Yeah - you're probably right. All this new technology makes me want to replace my Supra with a newer model.

[chrisk]

Yeah.. but where's the fun in not having any obstacles to overcome?!

[86 century]

I would still like to try adding a wedge like that to our boat.

Not sure how much beefing up the transom would need to hold.

Now that the weather has gone to hell its time to start looking at some winter projects.

[Supra-in-steamboat]

I think the platform mounts would be a bit stressed. I am sure anything (wedge, fin, etc) properly reinforced can be added to any Supras transom...it then comes down to the boat operator, and operating conditions. I am sure a modified set up would drive differently. I think a modified "surf gate"set up could also stress the rudder and maybe center fins on older boats as well. No doubt it would work though. Great read. Super cool idea. Tabman, any ideas?

[Jetlink]

Not hydro dynamics but it's a very similar principle as aerodynamics of which I know enough to be dangerous. But as said before, to compensate for a slower speed, you either need to increase the angle of attack or the shape of the wedge.

[86 century]

My thoughts on the idea are to make the angle of attack adjustable to compensate for lower speed(less flow).


Can you give us(me)some examples of the more efficient wing shapes.

All I have to start with as far as shape and size is the malibu wedge. The hulls are quite different so I don't know how well it will work.

[CornRickey]

I maybe mistaken but the wedges are designed for higher speeds like wakeboarding. Is the pitch adjustable? I'm assuming you can not put it down all the way but this would turn it into more of a drag brake than a downward force concept. I'm thinking (using my aircraft knowledge also) the whole wing would need to be redesigned with a greater surface area and greater pitch to compensate for the slow speed of wakesurfing.

[Jetlink]

Well, you could increase the angle of attack like I said thereby making the wedge/wing take a bigger bite of the water and exert a greater downward pressure, you could also change the camber without changing the angle of attack to compensate for a slower speed requiring more downforce. Check out this link and play around a little and see what I am talking about. If you have any questions after that, I will do my best to answer them.

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/foil3.html

Just quickly playing around with it, I was able to find a foil that exerts almost 4600 pounds of downward pressure while only creating 950 pounds of drag to overcome.