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aftermarket surfgate


duckhunter1

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has anyone tried to build a suck-gate with a very small paddle?  I guess the variable angle from quickshift wake would do the experiment as well...

I didn't take pictures, but I built a suck-gate for my VTX last weekend.  7x9 paddle at 75 degrees. 

For the regular side with the boat listed (Full MLS except for starboard + 1k bag in rear + bow triangle), there was almost no push close to the boat.  You could ride very, very far back, but not a lot of push there either.  It seems the list + suck-gate worked too well.

 

 

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Got the chance to try out our homemade "suck-gate" and the results were excellent.  Here are a few pics:

 

sGate1.jpg.a12eecaf974b900452d46768586da

This is where we first attached it.  The paddle is basically at the "W" of the "Wakesetter" logo.  Hard to tell because Cumberland water is so clear, but the paddle is half in the water and half out of the water at rest.  The boat is an '05 VLX.  We had 5 people int he boat and all 4 factory ballast tanks full, manual wedge down.  We later moved the gate further down under water.  It fits below the "indent" in the VLX hull, and that seemed to make the wake a little longer, and basically eliminated all spray.  Rope tied to it in case it decided to un-suck.  :-)  It never did come un-attached from the boat.

 

sGate2.jpg.372a0cb0ea6011fbaa32982a87ada

GoPro perspective suction mount to the transom.  Hard to tell how nice and high the wake is, but you can see how "clean" the surf side is, vs the opposite side wash with suck-gate installed.  PP set to 11.2 MPH.

 

 

 

 

One more pic that shows the wave a little better...

 

sGate3.jpg.5a0ebaf10b8973b061fa5bc567084

With some more weight it is really going to be good!

suckgate2.jpg.d4479d54637363c0daabdefea4

This was the design we ended up with.  Amazon aluminum handle, two cutting boards from Wal-Mart's kitchen section, two thru-handle bolts, and 6 screws on the face of the paddle to attach it to the handle.  Not sure the angle, we "eyeballed" it to around 75 or 80^.

 

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On June 22, 2016 at 10:31 PM, Arctic Slalom said:

planning to test this weekend:

IMG_6209_zpsxcoya8gc.jpg

 

 

FWIW, I've used this gate for about 2 weeks and it works great.  Wave is longer, but it does take a little of he push away.  Last weekend, however, I broke one of the little black levers which engages the suction cup.  It just broke off.  Game over. 

 

I went back to Harbor Freight and dropped another $7.99 on a new dual cup suction device. 

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On 7/15/2016 at 3:03 PM, Arctic Slalom said:

 

FWIW, I've used this gate for about 2 weeks and it works great.  Wave is longer, but it does take a little of he push away.  Last weekend, however, I broke one of the little black levers which engages the suction cup.  It just broke off.  Game over. 

 

I went back to Harbor Freight and dropped another $7.99 on a new dual cup suction device. 

 

The black levers are going to be the weak point.   Mine broke last week so I went back to HF and bought 2 so I wouldn't be down long if it broke again.  One of the others on here mentioned that the aluminum handle on amazon must have stronger thumb tabs because the handle is rated for more weight.  IDK if its true or not.   I'm thinking about going to HD or Lowes and finding some kind of aluminum that is similar size to the HF handle thumb tabs and using a non-broken tab to measure and cut similar stronger tabs and drill and install on the HF handle.

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great idea!  yup, thumb levers are the weak point of HF design, no doubt. 

I'm on handle no. 2. I'll update here when we break it (if I'm not too busy hauling gas to boat). 

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This really works! But I can't get the black hod suction cup to stick reliability. It works great till I get everyone in the boat and set up, then keeps popping off. We are taking off slow and the suction clips are stiffly on the flat portion of the hull. I even reduced the angle of the paddle. 

 

What am I doing wrong? What can I do to get it to stay? 

Anyhow here is what it looks like on video with and without it. 

 

 

OMnCfsm1vBk

Edited by Air Tahoe
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4 hours ago, Air Tahoe said:

This really works! But I can't get the black hod suction cup to stick reliability. It works great till I get everyone in the boat and set up, then keeps popping off. We are taking off slow and the suction clips are stiffly on the flat portion of the hull. I even reduced the angle of the paddle. 

What am I doing wrong? What can I do to get it to stay? 

 

Great video, I like seeing the birds eye view of the water flow.

The reduced angle might be the key to keeping it on.  My paddle is at 45 degrees and has never come off (even with the cheap harbor freight handle).

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Finding and referencing the sweet spot/flattest spot on the hull has helped me. I spent the better part of 10 minutes in the garage pull and sticking to find it. I now use the Malibu logo on the rear of the hull for a general guide. With that, I still have a hard time getting it to stick unless I put it on at the beach before we ballast up! Putting it on while floating is like trying to climb a greased rope! It may just be the video, but it looks like your gate is positioned pretty far forward from where I have mine. The front of my plate is about 18" from the aft portion of the hull. My gate angle is a measured 80 degrees with a 7"w and 10" long gate and I have never had it come off. Bottom line is your hull may be a lot more rounded it that area than other MY's. Good luck, Bill.

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Thanks Bill. We have tried everything with the materials we have at the lake (limited). And all sorts of different areas and cleaned the hull and even tried a little vaseline at the end. Ordered two other handles, the metal one and harbor freight and will try again in a few weeks and hope that they hold better. The black HOD handle from Amazon didn't hold. This was a 7x9" paddle at 80degrees driving 8.8mph. 

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well on the harbor freight handle issue you I have picked up some square aluminum stock from ace hardware that is the same outer diameter as the original plastic handle so I cut it down to the same length, drilled a offset hole in the end for the pin except when I did this I offset it just a little more than the factory lever that way it gives a little more suction power. I took a cut off wheel and cut notches out of both sides that the pin does not go threw and it seems to be working good. Haven't drove the boat with it on but tested it on a boat at the shop and seems to have awesome hold and the levers are easy to operate

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On July 22, 2016 at 5:53 PM, jbower said:

well on the harbor freight handle issue you I have picked up some square aluminum stock from ace hardware that is the same outer diameter as the original plastic handle so I cut it down to the same length, drilled a offset hole in the end for the pin except when I did this I offset it just a little more than the factory lever that way it gives a little more suction power. I took a cut off wheel and cut notches out of both sides that the pin does not go threw and it seems to be working good. Haven't drove the boat with it on but tested it on a boat at the shop and seems to have awesome hold and the levers are easy to operate

Pics of your handle fix please!

Edited by NCVride
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I got a hold of the metal suction cup handle on Amazon (Metal link) and the Harbor Freight handle. Both have significantly stronger suction cups. The rubber is twice as thick then the HOD handle (poor quality)and they take a bit of strength to crank down the cups. So much better then what I was trying to use. The HOD suction cups are junk. I'm pretty sure that is why we could not get it to hold consistently. I know what NCVride is talking about. That is part of the problem of the HOD handle, the levers don't pull the cup top tight against the plastic handle, so the cup flexes. The HF handle seemed better, but the metal handle on Amazon all but eliminates this issue and it has pin clips to keep the pins from sliding out and loosing a lever. Much better design for $16. 

To create space between the wake gate and the suction cups it really helps to use a spacer or extra paddle material works even better to create a wide enough gaps to access the suction cup lever. Otherwise it will be to skinny for your hand.

Make sure your leash is a foot or too longer then the boat so that if it pops off (like it did to us at first) it won't scratch up your swim deck or hull. 

Here is a video showing 3 handle options and there advantages/disadvantages and the results of the wake gate: 

 

 

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From looking at the hod and the HF handles I would say both were made on the same Chinese street, but just different street addresses. If my HF one ever breaks the aluminum handle will be the best fix.

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Unfortunately, I became a member of the "broken Harbor Freight lever club" yesterday.  I made these replacements out of some scrap aluminum I had.

IMG_2475-lr_zpsnbja9agq.jpg

IMG_2476-lr_zpsrre8otej.jpg

IMG_2474-lr_zpsq1wl7kpl.jpg

  • Like 2
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Here is my quick fix that seems to be working good 42CF3C19-7F1E-4FC5-9F42-F9ED474B1E43_zps

 69DB45CD-8BB0-4570-AE28-2399235ACCC4_zps

35 minutes ago, MadMan said:

Unfortunately, I became a member of the "broken Harbor Freight lever club" yesterday.  I made these replacements out of some scrap aluminum I had.

IMG_2475-lr_zpsnbja9agq.jpg

IMG_2476-lr_zpsrre8otej.jpg

IMG_2474-lr_zpsq1wl7kpl.jpg

I had done something similar to this my first round and found that the thin aluminum is a little hard on the fingers when trying to use them

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11 minutes ago, jbower said:

 

I had done something similar to this my first round and found that the thin aluminum is a little hard on the fingers when trying to use them

Mine doesn't seem too bad, it's made from 1/8" aluminum (1/4" total).  Of course I haven't tried it in the water yet, only on the trailer.

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I guess I bought into a good production run of handles, knock wood. I was fighting it getting it put on in the middle of the river earlier today, but she works like a champ. I am starting a local production for another LSV, a Tige and an Enzo next week. It worked great on my friends Tige I have no doubt it work great on the Enzo as well.

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24 minutes ago, wdr said:

You guys putting those things on with hammers? Mine seem sturdy enough, are they breaking on install or removal? 

I believe the reason they break is because we are installing them under water.  These things are designed to pull a vacuum.  A liquid doesn't really expand or contract much so it's pulling much harder on the suction cup when installing. 

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Sounds reasonable. I push mine against the boat as hard as possible which I see purges some air bubbles out of the cups. This may help to keep it from breaking but I could be wrong. I can always tell when it is going to stick because I can feel the pressure on the handles. Hopefully it will hold, but for $8.00 dollars I can't be too put off. 

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  • 1 month later...

We are really loving our new suction gate. It hasn't fallen off even once now that we switched to the different handle. The results speak for themselves. The wake is amazingly fast compared to before. Everyone that rides has commented on how much better it is. The biggest bonus is not having to list the boat to one side anymore. Perfectly balanced, suction gate on the opposite side of the rider, leashed attached just incase. Cost me about $35 to make and a 3-4hrs. 

Here is what it looks like while running: https://youtu.be/c9s1f0SHoHA

 

Edited by Air Tahoe
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