07 LSV Surf Gate

[C28]

OK,

We surf alot 98% of the time and we have our wave dialed, but to get the pro level wave we need alot of weight so I opted for the combo route as follows

stock MLS including the front

1100 in the locker

550 in the bow along the surf side

1000 # of lead under the surf seat.

Full wedge

custom smooth under side swim deck

This has performed well and even the skim guys love it on both sides.

Now with the modern advancements of hydrodynamics (thank you Malibu) I have seen the light and set off to adapt my surf machine (2007 23 LSV HH FAE) to the new technology.

I studied the DIY surf gates and "LIGHTBULB" I had thought of a simple way to make a manual surf gate and loose the 1000 # of lead. I had concerns about the comments of how it effected the driving but what could be any worse than what I already had. SO with a sheet of 3/4" plywood and cardboard I set off to create a easy removable and durable sufrgate. Here is the play by play and indeed I found the oppacet in drive-ability - It is easier to drive than when I had the rubrail at the water line.

Photo Log

The idea

This is for the goofy side

The base which is attached to the swim deck brackets with 3 bolts can be removed in less than 2 min

The Gate

The pin holds the gate and the rod determines the angle of push

I will need to post the vid so you can see the full effect. The base stays in place and does not change the wakeboard wake. it takes 30 seconds to install and once removed there is nothing in the way for the kids to hit on the swim deck

[C28]

Sorry need help posting from photobucket

Edited May 3, 2013 by WakeGirl
Helped with image link

[Bradley Thornton]

Nice!!

[C28]

Another link

[C28]

And one more

[WakeGirl]

I edited your posts to bring the images in. You need to click the little image button in the toolbar, then enter the url that is in the "Direct" box on the PB image page. That will insert the image url in bbcode img tags in your post.

[malibudog]

I used a similar pull pin approach with a swim platform bracket, and love how easily it connects/disconnects. If you do switch sides and only want to carry one fin in the boat, you can put hinges/rod connections on both sides of the fin. At least in my case, they did not have any detectable negative effect on the water flow.

[racer808]

What angle from the hull out does the gate need to be at to delay convergence? 90? 180?

[C28]

Thanks Wake, for some reasion I always have issues with photos

I Jak, I did make a seperate fin for the other side they are flat and store very easy up in the battery area (thats where I moved the table also)

Here are some water shots from last month

[TrickyNicky]

Nicely done C28! Very simple.

PS: This guy ^^ looks like he wants some boots

[C28]

Here is the wave with all of the weight before the surfgate at 12 MPH

[yabetcha]

Looks great! Can you give more detail how you attached it to the swim platform brackets- "can be removed in 2 minutes" Can you remove it while in the water?

[C28]

The entire unit is held in place with 3 - 3/8" bolts that go through the center of the swim deck bracket. This consists of 2 parts, mounting plate that you see in the first photo and the "fin".

The fin can be removed in 30 seconds and yes that can be done while stopped in the water. The mounting plate must be unbolted so that needs to be done out of the water.

The mounting plate for both sides stays in place all of the time. I do not remove them, they are 3/4" of an inch inside the edge of the boat so they have no effect on the wake at any speed.

Here are some shots before paint and resin coating.

I should add that I installed a layer of 3M clear bra material on the boat to eliminate any chance of scuffing the gel coat, I think you can see it on the black part.

[Jimmypooh]

I love that the design does not touch the hull and no drilling on the bracket. I started the same ides last fall but never finished it. The only difference I had was that mine is made of aluminum instead of wood and stainless.

Great Job!

[TrickyNicky]

Those last pics cleared up a lot. This is very very similar to what I was going to do as a step 1 to SG. The main difference being I was going to use this setup so I could mount to the "transom plate" instead of into the actual boat. This way I could test out different mounting points for actuators and when I found what worked best I could mount to the actual boat. In the end I skipped the step and jumped straight to my final iteration which should be complete this weekend! One of the reasons I didn't go this way was because of the geometry of the actuator passing through your two support beams ( I was going to try with 1). I do love the fact you don't have to drill in the boat and it's not mounted to the actual platform itself. I expect a similar design will be very popular for those that don't want to get too nitty gritty and drill into the boat. Very excited to see how people will modify and/or improve on the simplistic-ness of this. Thanks a lot for sharing. I love all the DIY SG's.

[jcon44]

nice, Have you been able to use it a few times? Anything you would change if you could?

[mrothwell]

So, you do not have anything physically attached to the hull, correct? Do you have anything between the ply and the hull to keep it from rubbing??

Thanks for the pics. I like the design.

[C28]

J44 So far no failures with good results and its easy to store. I have added 1/16 cable ties to the clips so they do not get dropped overboard, I also added a spacer to the Jbolt so it does not slip below the bottom of the hull (I will probably cut 1-1/2" off of the bottom and eliminate the spacer as time go on this summer). In v1.0 the angle aluminum was only 1" and looked like over time it may have some give so for the finial version I used 2" aluminum angle.

M - you are correct there is nothing attached to the hull, On v1.0 I had a felt pad where the ply touched the hull but then I thought about what good success I have had with the 3M clear bra material along the transom and in the bow so I applied the 3M clear bra from the swim deck brackets and wrapped it around the corner of the hull (you can see the wax outline of the upper 3M on the photo with the black gel below the rub rail). I have not removed the base plate yet to check the 3M but from experience it takes alot of abuse.

[yabetcha]

I agree, your last pics really clear up the questions I had. Thanks for posting!

[bamabonners]

This is the best DIY surfgate in my opinion. it doesn't attach to the boat in any way, uses the reinforced platform bracket, and it is easily removed and stored.

I may need to remove my ladder and put this (we surf port side)...

[Sensation]

This is good stuff. I've been waiting for someone to develop a manual self contained unit which mounts on the swim platform brackets that is easily removable. I love how it follows the KISS (keep it simple stupid) engineering model. Nicely done.

[WakeGirl]

Man, by the time I get another boat you guys are going to have this design dialed in. Nice work.

[bamabonners]

I have already talked to my dealer today about this. The platform brackets are through bolted so they should be real secure. They have some of that composite board that we are going to try this with.

[C28]

Just make sure that there is no flex in the material you are going to use. Even with the 3/4" plywood there has been some movement

[malibudog]

McMaster Carr has 1" x 12" x 24" sheets of UHWM Polyethylene in both white and black for about $65 that will also work great for the fin itself. You can cut, drill, saw and router it just like wood, it has very little flex, and it won't rot. Here is a link: http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/119/3589/=mlptq3 McMaster part number 8752k217 white, 4296A47 black.

McMaster also sells a starboard type product, which is a little less expensive: http://www.mcmaster.com/#starboard-sheets/=mlq3rh

I used Trexx decking for the support bracket. So far, it seems to be wearing like Iron.

Edited May 4, 2013 by malibudog