Mission Surf Gate reviews?

[Indyxc]

Keep the reviews coming guys. I saw the website a while ago, and am excited about buying one.

[Lance B. Johnson]

Well I went out and tried your guys recommendations. Unfortunately It was a big fail. The resulting wave was AT BEST about as good as the one I used to make. This is what I did:

ALL stock Ballasts full.

700-800lb rear surf locker

400ish under the surf side observers seat

200-400 in the bow surf side (tried many variations)

The wave was a bit longer, but the push was much worse. The 'sweet spot' was much longer, in the sense that the best push was uniform over a longer part of the wave.... But that doesnt really help when the push is so bad that I have to fight just to stay in wave.

I drained the non-surf stock ballast and slowed it down a little bit. That helped a little bit. The result was a wave that had a decent push and maybe just a smidge longer than my previous setup. Definitely not worth the hassle of externally filling up 2 more ballasts with 800lb more and how much harder the boat was to drive.

There is 1 thing I did learn out of the day though...... With my last setup the perfect wave was between 9.6 and 10.2 (depending on day) which everyone said was too slow. However, I used my phone gps to find out that my speedo is off by .6-1mph (depending on the speed). So even at 9.6, that is more like 10.4 and at 10.2 that was more like 11mph.

So I guess my complaint remains.... The wave my boat creates at the best combination I have tried, is at best a strong push but not a long sweet spot. Which is what I'm hoping this surf gate will help.

I know you can get a good great wave with that hull. Just curious how long have you been surfing?

[Lance B. Johnson]

[Lance B. Johnson]

my favorite part about that last pic is i think its march and water temp would be in the 50s. My wife is a trooper.

Anyway if you really think mission gate will solve your issues ( it might) then by all means. My only arguement here is that your boat IS completely surfable as is.

[timelinex]

Well the boat is most definitely surfable. Even with the wave I make, its most definitely surfable. I can stay in the pocket and behind the boat without a rope till the sun goes down, if that was the point. My frustration is not being able to make a long wave that pushes. Obviously it is possible, as your picture shows.... But my wave looks nothing like yours with the weight I tried. I admit that it's probably something I'm missing or doing wrong. With all the extra weight and faster I got a wave that looks like yours but shorter.

Maybe instead of changing the distribution, I should stay with the weight distribution that works but add more weight in the center of the boat just to sing it more (without messing with the angle that works)

[Malibuzer]

Well the boat is most definitely surfable. Even with the wave I make, its most definitely surfable. I can stay in the pocket and behind the boat without a rope till the sun goes down, if that was the point. My frustration is not being able to make a long wave that pushes. Obviously it is possible, as your picture shows.... But my wave looks nothing like yours with the weight I tried. I admit that it's probably something I'm missing or doing wrong. With all the extra weight and faster I got a wave that looks like yours but shorter.

Maybe instead of changing the distribution, I should stay with the weight distribution that works but add more weight in the center of the boat just to sing it more (without messing with the angle that works)

One thing you need to know is that Lance does not use a gate or other type of device. He is a listed type guy. I am sure he will share his weight setup with you. Unless it is some sort of listed trade secret.

[dexcopper]

Well the boat is most definitely surfable. Even with the wave I make, its most definitely surfable. I can stay in the pocket and behind the boat without a rope till the sun goes down, if that was the point. My frustration is not being able to make a long wave that pushes. Obviously it is possible, as your picture shows.... But my wave looks nothing like yours with the weight I tried. I admit that it's probably something I'm missing or doing wrong. With all the extra weight and faster I got a wave that looks like yours but shorter.

Maybe instead of changing the distribution, I should stay with the weight distribution that works but add more weight in the center of the boat just to sing it more (without messing with the angle that works)

[dexcopper]

Timelinex I know what you mean. My 09 was surfable listed and I could stay in the pocket just even trying a 360, as soon as I was a foot or two farther back, not enough push to get me back in the pocket.

That mission surf gate made the wave both taller and longer. As I said before I only had a half hour or less before I was freezing so couldn't get it dialled. Despite that it was MUCH better than my listed wave.

Build quality is awesome, way sturdier than I expected. And no more shifting people.

Completely worth the money IMO.

[timelinex]

One thing you need to know is that Lance does not use a gate or other type of device. He is a listed type guy. I am sure he will share his weight setup with you. Unless it is some sort of listed trade secret.

He already has helped. I just think that without being there it's hard to diagnose an issue. It might be something small I'm doing or just missing. We also have similar boats but not exactly the same situation (different years, different wedges, different water conditions etc..). So only so much he can do from XXX miles away!

I keep trying to try different amounts of weight everywhere and it all keeps going back to me gett back behind my original setup with the short wave and going "oh hell yea, thats what a push is supposed to feel like". lol

Edited September 29, 2015 by timelinex

[Lance B. Johnson]

One thing you need to know is that Lance does not use a gate or other type of device. He is a listed type guy. I am sure he will share his weight setup with you. Unless it is some sort of listed trade secret.

Not at all! I already did

And really I am not promoting one over the other. Just trying to help him understand that his boat is surfable and maybe he understands now that some people actually prefer it that way

Others don't and thats cool.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Lance B. Johnson

[LSVSharks]

Timelex,

I also have a 07 23 LSV. I just bought the Mission surf gates today. We have zero water in our lakes but I hope next year I can get the boat dialed in for wake surfing. I have to go to Canada to take my boat out.... How sad is that.

Brad

[timelinex]

Timelex,

I also have a 07 23 LSV. I just bought the Mission surf gates today. We have zero water in our lakes but I hope next year I can get the boat dialed in for wake surfing. I have to go to Canada to take my boat out.... How sad is that.

Brad

Were you ever able to get a nice long wave with a strong push, without the gate? If so what was your ballast combo.

Your in San Jose, can't you just take it to the Ocean! Or too wavy?

[TimbrSS]

I got to test my Mission gate yesterday. Again, it's well engineered and installs easily. Adding it to the listed setup just made the wave flatter: \ instead of (

I began to add more weight to the starboard side, which definitely helped. With about 6-700# more on the strbd side than my listed setup, the wave seemed pretty similar. Still a bit flatter on the lip, but height, length, and push was similar. I ran out of time, but should have added more weight stbd to take most of the list out of the boat. The wave may have been even better. It did get a lot harder to steer with all the weight on the strbd side. I don't know if it makes sense to use 2x the weight as listed to make the same wave.

[TimbrSS]

Update. Used the previous setup, and then totally filled the Stbd side sack, It's an 1100, but probably gets 750 in it, and of course the factory 250 tank on strbd side. Moved 200# lead from port side to the nose. Probably had a 5* list still. Wave was a little bigger than my normally listed setup (with all hidden ballast, probably the same as with a full crew or some extra weight on the seat), but wave was still flat. It was cool that I could cut 90* down the wave, which I can't do as easily with my curvier listed wave. I felt it had a little less push, maybe 80%. Boat is very hard to steer with the Mission gate on, way harder than the full listed deal.

Final verdict: I'll be listed for life. (or until I make an automated GSA style system). Manual gate gets results, but takes 2x the weight and IMHO, not as good as my listed setup, and almost dangerous to steer. Also a pain to store a manual gate on the boat, and twice as bad if you get 1 for each side. If you are going to do a manual gate, the Mission gate is the most professional one I've seen. Install is super easy, and no ratchet straps, velcro, cutting boards, bike ramps, etc. Mission has a 30 day return policy, so I'll be sending it back.

[missionllc]

Hi guys, thanks for the reviews! We really appreciate the feedback. We're having a blast getting these out there in hopes that it will make it a little easier for everyone to have fun surfing!

Those 247 hulls definitely require more ballast or passenger weight to offset the extra displacement. For reference, here are few recommendations we give to get set up:

Ballast... Weight the boat evenly left to right with 60% in the back and 40% in the front. More ballast in the back increases the height and more in the front increases the length. You'll definitely want to get that transom to dig-in to generate more power. With the 247's you might want to go with 80/20 weight distribution and a slightly faster speed.

Speed... Start at 10mph and work your way up. Slower speeds generate more height and faster speeds generate more length (at the expense of height). With a decently weighted boat you should settle in around 11.2mph but that all depends on the length, shape of your hull, and your preference. Do not exceed 12mph.

Wedge.... Generally we don't recommend using it since it seems to create turbulence that disrupts the shape of the wave. Some of our users with power wedges have noted that they have good results with it halfway down. Give it a shot and see what you prefer.

Steering... Yep it is different at idle speeds; especially steering away from the SURFSIDE Panel. We recommend steering towards the Panel to pick up the surfer. Definitely get the feel of it before you begin pulling surfers.

Returns... Yep if you don't dig it, we're happy to take 'em back. We want you to be totally stoked; that's our mission.

Have fun ripping it up and give us a shout if you have any questions... sales [at] missionboatgear.com

Cheers!

[Tweeder06Wakesetter]

Just purchased a mission surfside panel. I have an '06 VLX with stock ballast (1 bow, 1 center, 2 rear). Can anyone suggest the best setup for running this panel? My guess is:

Bow, center, and port tank rear full

Starboard rear tank 3/4 full

Wedge at 3/4 deployed

BTW I surf on the port side

[dexcopper]

If anyone is interested, I just posted a classified ad. Sold my boat, selling the goofy side panel for my 09 VLX (according to mission site, fits 2009-2014 VLX)....

[Sporte77]

Hi Guys-

i built a gate just like the Mission.  Mine is NOT pretty as Missions.  But only cost $100 to build out of hdpe plastic.  I'm thinking about buying Mission's version because it's easy to attach, looks "not homemade" & I'm assuming it folds??

With regards to my experience with these aftermarket gates - here's my experience:

i have a 2012 VLX.  Before the ghetto gates I got a huge, nicely shaped wave.  But it was shorter and whitewashed.  Lots of push though.  I didn't like the wave at first because it was flat near the swim platform (where my old pocket was).  At first I hated the gate because it had no push.  But I found the push 5 feet further back.  So I had to force myself to ride differently and pump more.  Sometimes I ditch the gate.  I love playing in the short steep pocket.  I'm guessing the gate would be more beneficial for a 21' boat (VLX) - because we don't have the longer hull to make a longer wave. 

[95echelon]

On 3/10/2016 at 11:44 PM, Sporte77 said:

Hi Guys-

i built a gate just like the Mission.  Mine is NOT pretty as Missions.  But only cost $100 to build out of hdpe plastic.  I'm thinking about buying Mission's version because it's easy to attach, looks "not homemade" & I'm assuming it folds??

With regards to my experience with these aftermarket gates - here's my experience:

i have a 2012 VLX.  Before the ghetto gates I got a huge, nicely shaped wave.  But it was shorter and whitewashed.  Lots of push though.  I didn't like the wave at first because it was flat near the swim platform (where my old pocket was).  At first I hated the gate because it had no push.  But I found the push 5 feet further back.  So I had to force myself to ride differently and pump more.  Sometimes I ditch the gate.  I love playing in the short steep pocket.  I'm guessing the gate would be more beneficial for a 21' boat (VLX) - because we don't have the longer hull to make a longer wave. 

What was your setup pre gate?

[Sporte77]

29 minutes ago, 95echelon said:

What was your setup pre gate?

Listed with no gate setup: Full factory/MLS ballast (4 tanks), plus wedge full down, 750# bag full in surf side locker, other locker bag about half full (300#+\-), 750# bag on surf side seat, 400# bag in bow, usually only 3 adults in boat, or 2 adults plus little kids.

i just found out Mission gate doesn't fold- so that's a deal breaker for me (since what I built is the same/doesn't fold).  I really wish the "surf shaper" guy was more responsive to inquiries.  His product (aluminum, adjustable gate) looks perfect for my needs.  But I'll not buy from someone who isn't reliable.

[Brad B]

Does it fit on teak swim decks like for an '03 WS23LSV ?