07 LSV Surf Gate

[martinarcher]

It would be cool to see someone integrate some Lencos into a platform only design like that. There are lots of waterproof connectors that would still allow you to "unplug" the platform if you needed to remove it.

[C28]

Here are a couple of photos of the base plate unit off of the boat . AS you can see on the shot of the back side (the side that faces the boat) I reinforced the attachment with a 2" wide strip of aluminum, I notched the wood but in hind sight that was not necessary due to the fact that there is about 1" from the base plate the the transom where it attaches to the swim deck bracket.

You can see the soft rubber pads that I thought would give the contact point some cushion but I opted to install the 3M clear bra material on the transom instead of using the pads

The last shot shows the 3 bolts that hold the base plate to the swim deck bracket (this is before I attached the rest of the base plate supports

[Badger]

I've sent a message to C28, but posting a couple of questions here. I really like this design as being something to try without being permanent.

1. In the very last picture showing the 3 bolts, are these going through any holes on the platform, or the mounting bracket attached to the boat? I went out to look at my platform on my '04 Sunscape and don't have any pre drilled holes where I could run a bolt through. The triangular shaped window created by the platform mounting brackets could possibly work for the left-most bolt. And the right, top bolt could possible go between the platform bracket and the boat. But I'm not sure where I'd put the bottom-right bolt, except for replacing the platform attachment pin with a longer bolt.

2. I see the aluminum plate and channel. Is the rest something like 3/4" angle iron? I don't have easy access to a welder, so would probably have to take this somewhere to be fabbed up.

3. Are the brackets just attached to the wood with lag screws? I know this thing has got to see some serious forces and just wondering how the wood is holding up?

Thanks,

Ken

[C28]

1. In the very last picture showing the 3 bolts, are these going through any holes on the platform, or the mounting bracket attached to the boat? No they just go through the center of the bracket. 1 in each corner of the triangle if you will

I went out to look at my platform on my '04 Sunscape and don't have any pre drilled holes where I could run a bolt through. The triangular shaped window created by the platform mounting brackets could possibly work for the left-most bolt. And the right, top bolt could possible go between the platform bracket and the boat. But I'm not sure where I'd put the bottom-right bolt, except for replacing the platform attachment pin with a longer bolt. - Like you said the no holes the bolts located in the 3 corners sandwiched tightly do not allow the base plate to move. You see where the bottom is double thick on each side so there is no where for ti to go.

2. I see the aluminum plate and channel. Is the rest something like 3/4" angle iron? I don't have easy access to a welder, so would probably have to take this somewhere to be fabbed up. Yes the flat 1/4 x 2 x 8" is steel that's what I welded the 5/8" nuts to to allow the L bar to slide into to hold the gate plate to the base plate on the hull side the only other steel it the 2 3/4" angle iron supports and the 1/4x2x3" that the angle iron is welded to on the bracket side

3. Are the brackets just attached to the wood with lag screws? I know this thing has got to see some serious forces and just wondering how the wood is holding up? - No just SS wood screws, and everything is coated in 3 coats of resin. I looked and the 2013 surfgate and it only uses wood screws I have 20 hrs on the setup and so far its just as advertised (just remember to take them off before returning to the dock I had a serious rooster tail the first time I forgot to remove the goofy side)

[White Lightning]

Excellent job!! I really like this concept. Did you think about fabbing it out of aluminum?

[C28]

There is always room for improvement. I did this with the materials I had on hand to make sure it would work on the 07 hull first. I think the wood is a safe option since they are stowed in the front area and have no sharp edges but I dont have access to good metal tools and if you do then Im sure it would be a more durable product. After all wood and water well we have all had floor issues

[Launch22]

Very nice. I'm going to start building one tomorrow. I tried a redneck "NSS" last weekend. I just could not get it dialed in. The water wanted to shoot up and over it. Thanks for the info!!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Fman]

And one more

Great looking mounting system, could you use something other than wood for the gate and any other place you have wood in your mounts? Tap plastic sells that starboard material up to 1" thick in black, I would think it would be plenty strong and never rot out like wood... maybe its me, but putting wood on your boat just seems a little 80's...

Edited June 26, 2013 by Fman

[rugger]

Great looking mounting system, could you use something other than wood for the gate and any other place you have wood in your mounts? Tap plastic sells that starboard material up to 1" thick in black, I would think it would be plenty strong and never rot out like wood... maybe its me, but putting wood on your boat just seems a little 80's...

Fman's suggestion for black plastic is a good one. That'd save time and money.

Or since you've got the shape dialed, you can fiberglass over it and match the blue gel coat. The sanding is the most labor intensive part of gel coat, but that'd look sweet and last.

[Badger]

Thanks for answering my questions....just a couple more if you don't mind.

What's the approximate length of your gate?

The removable rod: Did you make that, or am I going to be able to buy that somewhere with a hole for a cotter pin already in it?

Coated in resin? Like a polyurethane? or more of a fiberglass resin?

[C28]

The top is 22"

The bottom 27"

The rod length 20"

I used a scribe to follow the couture of the hull and cut the plywood to match (use a cardboard first)

The rod is just a 1" wood dowel, I found stainless pins and drilled the holes to match the pin size

I just used fiberglass resin that I had left over after filling in the bottom of the swim platform

[Badger]

Thanks again.

For the rod, I actually meant the metal rod that goes through the welded nuts and acts as the hinge mechanism. I see the hairpin style cotter pin attached at the bottom and was just wondering if you made or bought that?

[C28]

Ah it is a Stanley gate drop rod $ 10 from the box store. I cut a 1/2" sch 80 PVC nipple to keep the rod high so it is easy to remove and keep the bottom of the rod from going below the bottom of the boat

[Kalamazoo]

Really great work. I'm looking forward to hear about how much impact it's had, any additional versions and/or a v2.0?

[Kalamazoo]

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.

In this pic you have the plywood double layered around the swim step bracket. was there a particular reason like stability/rigidity, or was it for ease of installation (bolt head clearance, etc)? I was thinking about a single 'layer' of 1" HDPE.

[C28]

The inside plywood is a spacer to match the width of the platform bracket where it attaches to the swim deck. in the photo above (where the screws attach to the swim deck) you can see that the bracket is 3/4" wider on each side. I wanted to match the width to keep the support uniform on the bracket.

We have about 150 hrs on the "system" now and zero issues. It is perfect with a small crew where we are missing the additional people ballast.

[Kalamazoo]

The inside plywood is a spacer to match the width of the platform bracket where it attaches to the swim deck. in the photo above (where the screws attach to the swim deck) you can see that the bracket is 3/4" wider on each side. I wanted to match the width to keep the support uniform on the bracket.

We have about 150 hrs on the "system" now and zero issues. It is perfect with a small crew where we are missing the additional people ballast.

@C28 and others...i'm ready to start putting together my attempt at this mod. i'd like to hear thoughts about the mounting 'plate'. here, a total of 1.5" of plywood is on either side of the bracket which applies the force to both sides of all three 'legs' of the triangle-shaped bracket. I was thinking a simple 1/4" steel plate that matches the triangle, then bolted to it, then the arms, etc welded to the plate. so my question is do you think that having a setup like this with all forces being applied to the welded 'hypotenuse' of the bracket will be OK, or perhaps will the stresses be too much for the welds alone to handle? thanks!

Edited February 19, 2014 by Kalamazoo

[Launch22]

Nice

[C28]

K,

There is not a ton of pressure on the angle so yes a thinner plate material will work. In my design I wanted to take advantage of the materials I had on hand and the 3/4" plywood worked. If you use the steel just coat it with a rust preventive I used paint and resin because I coated everything at the same time.

Lets see the final product.

[mrothwell]

would there be a structural issue with drilling a couple small holes in the swim step mounting brackets? Those are fairly strong, and I would think that putting a 3/16th hole in it would not compromise the integrity. I was just thinking of that rather than sandwiching the bracket.

[C28]

M - I agree a couple of small holes are no big deal, I just did not want to do any harm to the boat so far everything I have done on the inside and out has been with the "What will the next owner want" so I have bolt on parts which provide a complete original boat if the next guy wants it that way. Even my ballast pumps use the factory holes. Well I must admit to removing the "ice chest" to make room for the enzo sac, but that can be reinstalled if needed.

[idaman]

Best design I have seen so far. Congrats. I am contemplating this design, but would like to incorporate some actuators for on the fly adjustment. I see $$$$ flying out the window now.

[BlitzedVLX]

Best design I have seen so far. Congrats. I am contemplating this design, but would like to incorporate some actuators for on the fly adjustment. I see $$$$ flying out the window now.

Can the lenco 102 actuators be used with a simple trim switch or does a custom controller like martin made required?

[teamerickson]

This is great and I may go this route. My issue is my LSV has the weird step on the transom. I wonder if there would be any issues if the gate was kind of triangle shaped? Like maybe 6 inches near the transom and 18 inches at the outer edge?

[BlitzedVLX]

C28,

Does it make a big difference with the swim step filled in? Could you please explain the process you took to accomplish this.