Nauticurl

[jwl019]

On 6/5/2017 at 5:53 PM, isellacuras said:

Initial results are good. I think I will need to prop down if I continue to run it. I run a 1235 and have no problem when listed but with the gate and both lockers and a bow bag filled, the boat struggled to reach 11mph. I dropped a little weight in the rear and it was good to go. I need a little more time to play with it. We were only out for a couple hours on a crowded Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow I start a 5 day trip so I will report back with a more detailed review. 

I am finding out the same as far as may need to prop down.  I filled my 910# Wakemakers bags and a 600# bag on the front seats along with all stock full, I could not even get to 10.5 mph until I dumped some out of the rear bags.  I finally made it up to about 11.2 and running a little over 3,000 rpms.  I will be playing with mine a bit more this weekend as well.  Overall, I like the Nauticurl and it really is not as bad to steer the boat at slow speeds like my homemade gates that attached to the rear platform.  With what little I played with it, the pocket was shorter, which was the first thing I noticed.  I will have to play with weights and the position of the Nauticurl to really get it right.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x4fe58jqxakzo45/20170610_162605.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sqpj2f7h0wezz66/20170610_162610.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b2gxim2q1o9tqc0/20170610_175152.jpg?dl=0

 

 

[isellacuras]

1 hour ago, dalt1 said:

Waiting on your review. Wanting to order one. Been bout 8 days now. You get to use it more?

I did get a chance to play with it.  I am not 100% sold on it.  There are positives and negatives.

So you have to understand that I slam my boat pretty good for surfing when I can.  My listed recipe is 750 in the locker, 200# of lead under rear corner seats on surf side, 550 on the seat, 440 on the surf side in the bow, and all 4 stock tanks full except non surf side and people are "encouraged" to sit as far over as they can.  This plus some fine tuning produces a legitimate wave for a 21.5' boat on both sides in my opinion.  When weighted as mentioned above, with 3 or 4 average size guys, I turn about 3200 rpm with a 1235 and have no problem getting to speed at about 11.2-11.6.

Last week I ran 4 tank MLS full, 750's in rear lockers, 200# lead in back and a 750 in the bow (I Just got a 650 sumo triangle for the front but need a 1"NPT to tsunami pump or to plumb a 3rd Johnson which is on my short list)  With that much weight, I was unable to get to 11mph so I had to drop a bit of weight from the rear, was limited in how much wedge I could use (1-2 clicks max before I hit the wall) and I dunked the bow a couple times but never real bad.  I mounted the gate just below the first body line from the bottom of the boat as far back as possible, so maybe a foot up from the bottom.  I did play with angle and mounting depth a little but I didn't notice a huge difference with the subtle changes I made. The goofy wave was good.  Seemed longer but softer.  It was easy to ride but didn't have the shape that I AM USED TO. I felt I was able to get further back but lacked my normal ability to pump hard for my almost non existent lip tricks.  Keep in mind, I am a big guy and have to sacrifice a bit of length on my listed wave for a bit of height to create a more powerful wave.  For my smaller friends, I can lengthen the wave 3-5 feet pretty easily.  As for the regular wave, my wife and kids ride on that side and they were all able to ride it but they do not need the size of wave that I want/need.  It did not look good to me, however.  I will usually ride heel side or switch on the regular wave but I didn't like what I saw so I didn't even try.  Looking back, I should have.  I did not feel that I had the control to be able to dial in the wave as the 1235/350 combo is not enough to power the gated wave to speed with full use of the wedge. 

It was real nice to not have bags in the cabin.  There was much more room for us to spread out and this was only with my family of 4 (me, wife, 12 and 8 y.o.'s).  When I have 6 or more on the boat, the space will be a very much appreciated.  Getting the gate on and off was easy.  There were a couple times that the cups didn't want to release but nothing major.  I found it easier to get off with finesse than strength (haha, no pun intended).  I have the gate tied to a fender that sits on my sun pad in case the gate comes off while under way.  when not using the gate, it sat in the middle of the floor as opposed to under the seat where it should have gone.  It being on the floor was a toe stub waiting to happen but the compartment under the seat on the port side where it goes, was filled with pumps, shoes and water toys so putting it away wasn't an easy task.

I will spend some more time playing with it.  I think I could add a ton more weight and get better results.  Not sure I want to change props to a 2315 (read: Buy a new prop) or the like just to surf.  Surfing is not really a priority for me.  I do it quite a bit but that is only because my family and a couple of my friends enjoy surfing.  I would much rather foil or wakeboard 90+% of the time.  hope this review helps.  I am not good at getting my thoughts into words through the keyboard.  If you have any specific questions, let me know.

 

[dalt1]

23 hours ago, isellacuras said:

I did get a chance to play with it.  I am not 100% sold on it.  There are positives and negatives.

So you have to understand that I slam my boat pretty good for surfing when I can.  My listed recipe is 750 in the locker, 200# of lead under rear corner seats on surf side, 550 on the seat, 440 on the surf side in the bow, and all 4 stock tanks full except non surf side and people are "encouraged" to sit as far over as they can.  This plus some fine tuning produces a legitimate wave for a 21.5' boat on both sides in my opinion.  When weighted as mentioned above, with 3 or 4 average size guys, I turn about 3200 rpm with a 1235 and have no problem getting to speed at about 11.2-11.6.

Last week I ran 4 tank MLS full, 750's in rear lockers, 200# lead in back and a 750 in the bow (I Just got a 650 sumo triangle for the front but need a 1"NPT to tsunami pump or to plumb a 3rd Johnson which is on my short list)  With that much weight, I was unable to get to 11mph so I had to drop a bit of weight from the rear, was limited in how much wedge I could use (1-2 clicks max before I hit the wall) and I dunked the bow a couple times but never real bad.  I mounted the gate just below the first body line from the bottom of the boat as far back as possible, so maybe a foot up from the bottom.  I did play with angle and mounting depth a little but I didn't notice a huge difference with the subtle changes I made. The goofy wave was good.  Seemed longer but softer.  It was easy to ride but didn't have the shape that I AM USED TO. I felt I was able to get further back but lacked my normal ability to pump hard for my almost non existent lip tricks.  Keep in mind, I am a big guy and have to sacrifice a bit of length on my listed wave for a bit of height to create a more powerful wave.  For my smaller friends, I can lengthen the wave 3-5 feet pretty easily.  As for the regular wave, my wife and kids ride on that side and they were all able to ride it but they do not need the size of wave that I want/need.  It did not look good to me, however.  I will usually ride heel side or switch on the regular wave but I didn't like what I saw so I didn't even try.  Looking back, I should have.  I did not feel that I had the control to be able to dial in the wave as the 1235/350 combo is not enough to power the gated wave to speed with full use of the wedge. 

It was real nice to not have bags in the cabin.  There was much more room for us to spread out and this was only with my family of 4 (me, wife, 12 and 8 y.o.'s).  When I have 6 or more on the boat, the space will be a very much appreciated.  Getting the gate on and off was easy.  There were a couple times that the cups didn't want to release but nothing major.  I found it easier to get off with finesse than strength (haha, no pun intended).  I have the gate tied to a fender that sits on my sun pad in case the gate comes off while under way.  when not using the gate, it sat in the middle of the floor as opposed to under the seat where it should have gone.  It being on the floor was a toe stub waiting to happen but the compartment under the seat on the port side where it goes, was filled with pumps, shoes and water toys so putting it away wasn't an easy task.

I will spend some more time playing with it.  I think I could add a ton more weight and get better results.  Not sure I want to change props to a 2315 (read: Buy a new prop) or the like just to surf.  Surfing is not really a priority for me.  I do it quite a bit but that is only because my family and a couple of my friends enjoy surfing.  I would much rather foil or wakeboard 90+% of the time.  hope this review helps.  I am not good at getting my thoughts into words through the keyboard.  If you have any specific questions, let me know.

 

Thanks for your time to write this up. I have the Wicked Wakes now, considering the change for storage purposes only.  Anyone else have opinion on the difference. I too foil 90% of the time. Surfing is for guests who wouldn't know good wave from bad anyway.

[TimbrSS]

Not on a 'Bu, but I was out on a '14 Centurion Enzo FX44. Full factory ramfill ballast (2500 lbs) PNP 700's in rear lockers and a 300 or so bow sack, along with another 400# lead in the nose. 11.0 - 11.6mph.  We Used the Nauticurl and it's a really nice product. It seems nicer than most of the suck gates I've seen. The wave was very nice, pretty comparable to my GSA 247. It didn't make the boat too difficult to maneuver back to the rider. I'd definitely buy one if I was in the market for such a device.

[isellacuras]

Got a chance to play with it some more. Didn't run maxed out weight. I'm coming to realize that I could get a good shape by dropping quite a bit of weight and using more wedge.  If I could use 50% wedge and still get to 10.6-10.8, that was the sweet spot for regular side. The more list I could run, the better the wave.  I was also at 400ft ASL the last couple days as opposed to 900ft last week.  I'm not giving up on it yet.  

[JulioEstevez]

Used it 3 times so far...

The second one is about to break also..

I wrote them an email to see what they can do, send replacement parts and rethink their design...

[MadMan]

41 minutes ago, JulioEstevez said:

Used it 3 times so far...

 

The second one is about to break also..

I wrote them an email to see what they can do, send replacement parts and rethink their design...

Those look just like the ones on the Harbor Freight panel carrier that always break. 

[jwl019]

49 minutes ago, JulioEstevez said:

Used it 3 times so far...

The second one is about to break also..

I wrote them an email to see what they can do, send replacement parts and rethink their design...

They sent me 3 replacement levers for mine this past week when I emailed them about mine breaking.

[MadMan]

The reason these break is because they are designed to pull a vacuum in air, (expand the air in the suction cup).  This doesn't really work with water, it won't expand like air.  So it places too much pressure on the levers and they break.  It's understandable for the commonly available panel carriers that were intended to be used out of the water to break, but this thing was designed to be used in the water and it doesn't appear that they considered this when they designed it.

Edited June 24, 2017 by MadMan

[jwl019]

1 hour ago, MadMan said:

The reason these break is because they are designed to pull a vacuum in air, (expand the air in the suction cup).  This doesn't really work with water, it won't expand like air.  So it places too much pressure on the levers and they break.  It's understandable for the commonly available panel carriers that were intended to be used out of the water to break, but this thing was designed to be used in the water and it doesn't appear that they considered this when they designed it.

Probably that and the fact that lever has a seam right thru the area it breaks in, making it a weak spot anyway.

[JulioEstevez]

Yeah the lever has a seam at the wrong spot... the guy from nauticurl responded quite quickly that he is sending me replacement levers. ?

I'll see if i can get some machined in aluminum because the new ones won't last very long

[isellacuras]

2 hours ago, JulioEstevez said:

Yeah the lever has a seam at the wrong spot... the guy from nauticurl responded quite quickly that he is sending me replacement levers. ?

I'll see if i can get some machined in aluminum because the new ones won't last very long

If you are able to source aluminum levers let me know where.  I would like to have a set on hand if anything were to happen to the plastic ones. 

[MadMan]

11 hours ago, JulioEstevez said:

Yeah the lever has a seam at the wrong spot... the guy from nauticurl responded quite quickly that he is sending me replacement levers. ?

I'll see if i can get some machined in aluminum because the new ones won't last very long

It's pretty easy to fab up some from c-channel aluminum fro m Lowes.

[1984ta]

Just ordered a floating Nauticurl and it appears they now come with black anodized aluminum levers.  Good to see a company make changes when they need to.

[csparks13]

Nauticurl will also be selling the handles so you can upgrade the older model. I sent them an email on Sunday and they replied same day. Great company to deal with. 

[riot138]

I hate to dredge up an old post but has anyone used this on an 06 or 07 LSV with the chrome malibu letters on the back of the boat.  I've used this a few times so far and I've read that the gate should not be fully submerged but 1/2 in 1/2 out of the water but the letters in the back make this impossible for me.  The gate is at least 2-3 inches underwater.  Has anyone removed these letters and had better results mounting it just below where the letters were? Would it be better to move the wedge up in front of the malibu badge as opposed to way below?

Edited June 9, 2018 by riot138

[TNWake]

11 hours ago, riot138 said:

I hate to dredge up an old post but has anyone used this on an 06 or 07 LSV with the chrome malibu letters on the back of the boat.  I've used this a few times so far and I've read that the gate should not be fully submerged but 1/2 in 1/2 out of the water but the letters in the back make this impossible for me.  The gate is at least 2-3 inches underwater.  Has anyone removed these letters and had better results mounting it just below where the letters were? Would it be better to move the wedge up in front of the malibu badge as opposed to way below?

I have messed with the position quite a bit, I have a 04 23 LSV. The recommendation may say to have it 1/2 in and 1/2 out the water but the best results I have seen have been when I have best mimicked the position of the Malibu Surfgate. The top of the Malibu Surfgate is at the top of the swim platform. When I put the Nauticurl on I try to have the top of the Nauticurl even with the top of the swim platform and as far back as possible. This should be further down than any of your letters should be and I have had nothing but an amazing wave at this position.

At this position though ensure your suction tabs are fully engaged. When they are fully engaged you should be able to really tug on the Nauticurl and it shouldn't move. 

[riot138]

1 hour ago, TNWake said:

I have messed with the position quite a bit, I have a 04 23 LSV. The recommendation may say to have it 1/2 in and 1/2 out the water but the best results I have seen have been when I have best mimicked the position of the Malibu Surfgate. The top of the Malibu Surfgate is at the top of the swim platform. When I put the Nauticurl on I try to have the top of the Nauticurl even with the top of the swim platform and as far back as possible. This should be further down than any of your letters should be and I have had nothing but an amazing wave at this position.

At this position though ensure your suction tabs are fully engaged. When they are fully engaged you should be able to really tug on the Nauticurl and it shouldn't move. 

Thank you, I will try that!

[AJwakedevil]

Yep, positioning works well level with the water if not submerged slightly. mine sits a few inches under water. Also, No need to list really at all. I get more push when level. Listed LOOKS better (maybe a better curl or a little taller by an inch.. .but overall push suffers a little

[isellacuras]

I set mine at an angle which actually creates lift on the non surf side. When i have it just right, i get a spray over the top of the gate. That spray arches over the gate and lands just short of the spline (on the non surf side) coming off the back of the boat.  I'll need to take pictures next time out. I have talked about my set up a lot and i run mine different than most, if not all. I run listed but use weight in the non surf side to get it just right. I ran listed with no gate for years and actually prefer a listed wave to a gated ( aftermarket or Malibu surfgate) wave. Adding the nauticurl tab the way i do, allows me to have the listed wave i like without leaning to the rub rail while at rest. I no longer need to have a bag on my seats either. In my 2012 VLX i run all 4 stock tanks full, 750 as full as it gets in surf side locker, 650 triangle about 1/2-3/4 full with 150# of lead stashed around the bow tank. I will add to the non surf side (usually about 25%) to dial in the spray. When the spray is right, the wave is right. I run wedge about 60-75% and 11-12mph. I adjust weight, wedge and speed with fine tweaks to get it right each time out. My boat is very sensitive to weight  and condition changes. 

[Nitrousbird]

I'll stick with my $85 (shipped) Wake Mate.

https://shapethewake.com/collections/frontpage/products/slim-style-wakemate

Not as pretty, but a lot smaller and works great.  Works as well/better than my huge Ronix wedge clone I had to velcro on.  And doesn't cost $250+ like this thing...

[isellacuras]

On 8/6/2018 at 10:39 PM, isellacuras said:

I set mine at an angle which actually creates lift on the non surf side. When i have it just right, i get a spray over the top of the gate. That spray arches over the gate and lands just short of the spline (on the non surf side) coming off the back of the boat.  I'll need to take pictures next time out. I have talked about my set up a lot and i run mine different than most, if not all. I run listed but use weight in the non surf side to get it just right. I ran listed with no gate for years and actually prefer a listed wave to a gated ( aftermarket or Malibu surfgate) wave. Adding the nauticurl tab the way i do, allows me to have the listed wave i like without leaning to the rub rail while at rest. I no longer need to have a bag on my seats either. In my 2012 VLX i run all 4 stock tanks full, 750 as full as it gets in surf side locker, 650 triangle about 1/2-3/4 full with 150# of lead stashed around the bow tank. I will add to the non surf side (usually about 25%) to dial in the spray. When the spray is right, the wave is right. I run wedge about 60-75% and 11-12mph. I adjust weight, wedge and speed with fine tweaks to get it right each time out. My boat is very sensitive to weight  and condition changes. 

A couple pics from yesterday. First you can see the spray  not the best angle for the picture of the nauticurl device but it gives an idea of the angle and how deep i set it.  The wave has some decent length with a lot of push out back but the third picture doesn't really represent the height real well (note the spray in the bottom right).  The fourth pic gives a better idea of the height.  Rider is 6'+  

 

[Dodger40]

Thanks for those pics. I haven’t tried that angle yet.