So I was able to try out my "prototype" surf gate yesterday, and I should have done this months ago! We were surfing under normal weighting for my Saltare (500 in the rear locker, 750x2 on either side of the engine, and 2x200 bags on the rear seat we can move around based on the stance of the surfer) along with 4 people adjusting their seating accordingly. I surfed at first w/o the gate as usual, there was a lot wash from the non surf side, interference, mostly the swim step cutting into the water underway. I installed the "wake gate" and the difference was night and day! Installed the wake was much cleaner, still tall, and the pocket was waaay longer! At one point I recovered from probably 15-18 feet back, my friend has vidoe on his phone I will try and post it when he e-mails it to me.
I modeled it from yours Cornrickey, just using cheaper materials, lol, an old cutting board to be exact! It worked great, and there are a few improvements right of the bat I can make to make it better moving forward. For starters, I was not able to find the adjustable turnbuckle you used on your Cornrickey anywhere, so the surf gate installed simply rests along the rail of the swim step from the pressure of the water against it underway, basically at the same exact angle of the hull of the boat, I believe being able to adjust the gate outward to lets say 10-15 degrees will make a huge difference! I did find those turnbuckles you used bunji169 but I could not see an effective way to incorporate them into my design, and I was also worried all the play with this open eyelets would be a problem, you will have to let us know how they work. Also, the gate could be longer, at this time it falls short of the end of the swim step, I think those two things will make a huge difference! Also, possibly building a new swim step, and raising it up a little bit but I like my fiberglass one now, and I think between the two things I mentioned, it should not be an issue.
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