CorianGate mod

[martinarcher]

Mark,

Awesome job! I'm glad to see the control system worked well for you. It sure looks like you got everything together in no time. Excellent work. I love the commentary on the videos and look forward to seeing you pulling off transfers with the wireless key fob! I appreciate the comments on the controller too. Feel free to lengthen the switch wiring if you need, no harm there. The GPS and LCD cables are shielded signal cables so they shoudn't be cut but the switch cable could be lengthened without too much trouble if needed.

Again - nice work with the build and the documentation!

[mica]

I have a 250lb fat sac I could try putting up front - I'll see what that does.

Did you try listing the boat at the same time? I was gonna try that today and see what effect that has.

mark

Hello,

No I did not try to listing the boat. But I'm sure it will help also!

The bow weight will also make your wave longer like this you will be able to surf much far away from the boat...

Enjoy you new surf system!!

Mica

[NorrisMike]

Very Cool install!! I agree you could use more bow weight. Try putting a 750 or more up there and you will be amazed.

[MarkJames]

Well - I put two 300's in front (I had those prior to the 750's in back). That did, indeed, help - but it made it so that it was almost impossible to turn the boat around without taking water over the bow. I cut back to one in front and that seems to have made all the difference. It sure is nice having the gates retract at slow speed. Martin Archer did a nice job on the s/w that controls the gates.

There are so many ways for things to go wrong - mostly user error - that it's impressive that he managed to work his way around all the ones I've encountered so far. Anyone who has ever programmed for others knows that it's really hard to make things fool-proof cuz fools are so damned clever.

Thanks again!

Mark

[MarkJames]

I mounted the display today and thought I'd put some pics up to finish this thread.

I had an old suction cup mount around that was just about right. I removed the back from the display box, drilled four holes in it for M3 SS screws and mounted the display permanently to the suction cup base. I think it turned out pretty well. Sorry the display is a bit glare-ey and smudgy when I took the pics.

[teamerickson]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is so good I don't like you!

Edited August 19, 2014 by teamerickson

[MarkJames]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is so good I don't like you!

hahahaha!

I like you, though... so it's ok.

If you decide to do a similar mod lemme know. I created the tabs and other assorted parts in Vectric Aspire and can send you the files in .eps or just send you the diagrams with dimensions - whatever you like. Martin Archer's controller makes the hookup really easy. An hour or two of running wires and tying cable ties and it's all done.

Mark\

[Fman]

Is wake logic Martin Archers design?

[martinarcher]

Mark,

Looks great! That is one way I figured would work well for the display mounting with a RAM style mount using some small screws through the back. Nice work!

I'm glad the software is working well for you!

[MarkJames]

Is wake logic Martin Archers design?

Yes it is. He's selling them AFAIK

[martinarcher]

Mark,

Did you end up hiding the GPS puck for the system under the dash?

[MarkJames]

Mark,

Did you end up hiding the GPS puck for the system under the dash?

No - I didn't.

I bought my VLX back in 2010. I live on Shawnigan Lake in BC. 2010 saw the beginning of a LOT of wakeboard boats here. The boat and dock was taking too much abuse from the wakesurfers so I bought a Basta (then Nyman) boat lift.

The lift worked great but the position of the paddle wheel on the bottom of the VLX was almost a perfect match for the bunks on the Basta. I wrecked 2 or 3 paddle wheels in short order. At the time a company that I can't remember the name of was selling a GPS replacement that worked identically to the cruise option you have on your Wake Logic controller. It allowed me to replace the paddle wheel with GPS by simply intercepting the watertight coupling from the paddlewheel to the MaliView.

Back then the GPS sensors weren't as sensitive and were somewhat larger. I'm pretty sure they had to be 'in the open'. At first I mounted the puck on

the starboard gunnel with industrial velcro. But a quick slalom ski proved that to be a bad idea - the slalom rope peeled the puck off pretty quick. So I re-routed it to the bow port side of the boat and put it along the edge of the bow-rider seating. It's visible but it's black and the boat is black so you don't really notice it. The wiring tucked nicely behind the upholstery so I'm reasonably happy with it and no holes had to be drilled. I'm not a big fan of making holes in my boat. Drilling the transom actuator mounts made me feel queasy . I suppose if a bunch of rowdy kids were in the bow they might knock it loose but it's just velcro (although the really strong industrial velcro) so it goes right back.

I put yours in the same position on the starboard side. It has a great view of the sky there - I get 8 sats locked within a few minutes. I was gonna tuck it under the glass but wasn;'t sure if it had a 'face up' side or not. Do you know? I'll pop a pic of it later Where did you mount yours?

Mark

Edited August 20, 2014 by MarkJames

[martinarcher]

Cool deal. The side with the Wake Logic logo should face the sky since that is where the antenna is located.

[MarkJames]

Ahh... so it IS directional. Good to know.

I was asked for the cad files and dimensions for the tab so I put them all in a shared dropbox folder. Feel free to use them as you wish.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pboagt685ffzax0/AAAapzD5VPeDHPiJaJ8l6Zjea

Mark

[Mrsamman]

Mark your gates look amazing. Great install. Martinarchers wakelogic looks awesome. Brilliant design.

[R1200196]

Very nice work but I do have a question.. Websites did you go for parts do you have a list of what you used?

[MarkJames]

Hi there,

I replied to this in a pm for someone but I'll repeat it here.

I found the best price for my actuator (Lenco 15059-001) at iBoats.com. They were about $184 each. You also need the Standard upper mounting bracket and Standard Lower Mounting bracket (2 of each). The Actuator comes with a 5/16 stainless bolt to attach the actuator to the bracket. Some people use Delrin pins to connect the lower but I didn't. If you want the extra safety of the Delrin pin you can order a pair of those too.

The hinges I used were just 4" stainless hinges from Victory (they were the ones that my local dealer sold). I would have used SS piano hinge if that was available. I think it's important to try and cover as much of the vertical attachment length of the tab with a hinge if only to keep water from rushing through and making a big splashy area.

You'll have to decide if you want to activate these manually (4 on-off switches), or more effectively ( 2 x 3way switches) or with a prebuilt controller (Lenco trim tab controller) or with something more sophisticated like Martin Archer's controller. I used the latter. His controller extends the tab on the proper side as you come up to speed and then retracts it when you slow down to pick up the surfer. That sounds trivial but it's a big deal. It does a lot of other stuff too that you could read about in another thread. Oh - you'll likely need relays along with the switches as they actuators can draw a fair whack of current when they extend under load as the boat is moving. A regular switch probably couldn't handle the current.

Hardware to mount hinges and actuators etc. are all job specific so I don't have anything to say about that. The SS hardware all told cost me about $30.

Hope that helps,

Mark

[R1200196]

Thank you so much where do I find this controller? The Martin Archer's controller.

[MarkJames]

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/user/7666-martinarcher/

[rlee]

Mark - curious now that you have had some time with the gate, do you notice any noticeable stress on the transom? I was always told that the transom needed to be re enforced. I am ready to jump in and do the project myself over the winter. Would you be willing to mentor me through it?

[MarkJames]

Mark - curious now that you have had some time with the gate, do you notice any noticeable stress on the transom? I was always told that the transom needed to be re enforced. I am ready to jump in and do the project myself over the winter. Would you be willing to mentor me through it?

Nah - there's no appreciable force on the transom.

To put it into perspective there's a guy on the lake where I live that teaches wakesurfing. He's got a Mastercraft - I think it's the X version (I don't know the Mastercraft line) - the one with the split bow. He designed his own system that basically uses cutting board material connected to a stainless or aluminum bracket he welded up to attach to the underside of the swim grid. While working on it he tested the force by having it connected to the transom and then held it out with his foot at various angles to figure out how far out it had to stick. He then used a scale and found under 50lbs of stress measured. Granted you've got to take his measurements with a bit of a grain of salt - the force is gonna be more than 50lbs as the scale was smaller than the tab so you'd have to factor that in for a PSI conversion. But the fact that he could readily hold it out with his foot has to tell you something. I've read somewhere - I believe it was on the malibu site - that the force is well under 300lbs.

Remember, too, that the hydraulic ram is rated for 750lbs max. If you assume that it's not more than 50% loaded, and I would doubt that Malibu would load something like this more than 50%, then the most you have on it is 375lbs. Divide that into the 22" height of hinge at one end then to the ram support at the other end and the load on the 1/4-3/8" thick of fiberglass is minimal. I'd be far more concerned about 3 or 4 people standing on the swim grid at the same time.

If you go by what happens to the steering then you're really gonna think something bad is happening back there. When fully extended your steering on the gate side goes to nothing. You literally cannot turn to that side at more than 1-2mph. You'd have to turn the other way to pick up your surfer if you couldn't retract the gate.

When I pulled the boat at the end of the season I checked the gelcoat for cracks/crazing and saw none. I'm pretty comfortable that the transom can readily take the load.

As for mentoring you I'll be happy to answer any questions you have but I've only done this once so I'm way far from 'expert'. I'm happy to offer up what I learned.

Mark

Edited November 16, 2014 by MarkJames

[rlee]

Awesome! OK - Im going to start my own build thread for an 2012 AXIS A22. I currently use a manual gate. I will post pictures as I go along.

First Step - Purchase stuff!

[MarkJames]

Awesome! OK - Im going to start my own build thread for an 2012 AXIS A22. I currently use a manual gate. I will post pictures as I go along.

First Step - Purchase stuff!

I found my rams on iboats.com - I found theirs to be the best prices but by all means look around. Make sure you buy the mounts too if you're ordering online - the ram doesn't come with the mounts and you need both tab end and transom end for each ram.

mark

[rlee]

Mark - I noticed that your ram and hinges were completed with bolts going all the way through. Lenco tab videos show just a screw. I assume the bolt through route is stronger..?

[MarkJames]

Mark - I noticed that your ram and hinges were completed with bolts going all the way through. Lenco tab videos show just a screw. I assume the bolt through route is stronger..?

I originally bought #12x1" ss screws to secure the hinge to the transom cuz that's how they showed it on the site from the ram mfr. When I drilled the pilot holes I went through the transom. The transom turned out to only be 1/4" -5/16" thick in the mounting area. That's why I switched to nuts and bolts. It would have been much, much easier without having to use nuts and bolts. If your transom is thicker there then by all means take advantage. You'll still have to access the stern compartments to get to where you run the cable through for the ram but it's 8 less holes you have to deal with if you can secure it within the fiberglass.

mark