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Manual Surfgate


pawter1970

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HI Gang,

I've recently been using a manual gate with suction cups and was wondering if anyone has had issues with getting to speed (10MPH) when using it. My concern is I have a 2010 VLX with the 450hp LS3, 1235 prop and thought it would be plenty of power but with a crew of 4 adults and all ballasts full + 2 x 750 sacs in rear trunks + wedge all the way down + manual gate my boat has a hard time getting over 9mph unless I get the a couple guys to go sit in the front bow to get to speed. I still need to try again with placing the manual gate perhaps more forward as I currently place it very close to the transom and it may drag the transom downward too much. Wondering if anyone has experienced this using a manual gate.

 

Thank you crew

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12 minutes ago, pawter1970 said:

HI Gang,

I've recently been using a manual gate with suction cups and was wondering if anyone has had issues with getting to speed (10MPH) when using it. My concern is I have a 2010 VLX with the 450hp LS3, 1235 prop and thought it would be plenty of power but with a crew of 4 adults and all ballasts full + 2 x 750 sacs in rear trunks + wedge all the way down + manual gate my boat has a hard time getting over 9mph unless I get the a couple guys to go sit in the front bow to get to speed. I still need to try again with placing the manual gate perhaps more forward as I currently place it very close to the transom and it may drag the transom downward too much. Wondering if anyone has experienced this using a manual gate.

 

Thank you crew

1235 isn't going to cut it.  What elevation are you at?  The 2315 may be good or you may need to go to the 2937

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If surfing is your primary I'd check out the acme 2951 & possibly the 2937, it will also allow you to add more weight, you're gonna want 750 plus in the bow.  The 2315 or 2949 could be good options but they seem to lack the pulling power of the other two props I noted

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3 hours ago, pawter1970 said:

 

Thank you Racer808, I never had power issues with my current prop even when loading the boat with people but was only listing the boat one side at the time, I'll look at propping up for sure.

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Definitely start by adding bow weight. I'm running the same setup as you on an MXZ with a 1235. Except I'm running 540lbs over MLS in the bow. But I only have the L96. I found the bow weight gave me some of my power back. Not to mention how much it improved my wave. You should be able to hit higher than 9MPH with that setup and 4 adults. Especially with the LS3. I'm able to almost get on plane with more weight in a heavier boat with less power. Mind you comparing a VLX to and MXZ isn't really apples to apples. What elevation are you at?

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2007 VLX 340 Monsoon, 1235 prop.  1100 port, 750 starboard, 200 lead rear port, 200 lead at front of walk thru, 100 lead on floor surf side, 200 lead bow, and full MLS at 1400'.  Gate at front of Malibu emblem and no wedge at 11.6mph puts us at 3400rpm with 4 peeps on board and throttle to spare. As i move the gate towards transom, the flatter and smoother the wave becomes and the boat works a little less harder. With wedge down, I have to put spotter in the bow or a couple depending on number of passengers.  We have surfed this setup at 3300' as well without trouble.  I agree that more bow weight will make the world of difference.  I am looking at putting another 100 of lead up front as well.  Good luck.

 

Dave

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You should be able to get over that speed hump no problem with the 1235. I have an a22 with ls3 and the 1235 prop and I can plane out with 5k of ballast all the way up to 24mph relatively quickly. 

My ballast is 900 factory, 600's rear, 950 bow bag. 800 floor sac, 450 sac towards the back seat ontop of the floor sac, and 500 in lead spread through out. I then will have at least 4 to 5 people in the boat. With all that weight, I can hit 24.4 mph from a dead stop in around 18-20 seconds. I tried the 2315 prop and it pulled that weight up to speed even quicker. I mostly run with no wedge, but if I do, I put the extra 450 sac in the bow and it planes out just fine.

i would look into changing your plugs. The first set of plugs I had would cause pinging and the engine would pull timing while also taking away power. Ever since I replace new plugs every 200 hours and run only 91 octane. The Indmar ls3 pulls like a train and you shouldn't have any problems planing out with that weight. 

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Thank you for the great feedback everyone, yes it seems like there is a lot of variances that can be adjusted like surfgate placement and more weight in the bow. Also higher octane gas as mentioned by kx250frider617, I haven't use premium gas in the boat for the past couple of summers so this could also make a big difference. I'd like to avoid adding bags in the bow for convenience reasons. I think I will start by placing the surf gate more towards the front and do some testing without the wedge down. Oh and put some premium gas in and change my plugs and fuel filter, boat has 400hrs so it is most likely due for a change.

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On August 24, 2016 at 9:09 AM, pawter1970 said:

Thank you for the great feedback everyone, yes it seems like there is a lot of variances that can be adjusted like surfgate placement and more weight in the bow. Also higher octane gas as mentioned by kx250frider617, I haven't use premium gas in the boat for the past couple of summers so this could also make a big difference. I'd like to avoid adding bags in the bow for convenience reasons. I think I will start by placing the surf gate more towards the front and do some testing without the wedge down. Oh and put some premium gas in and change my plugs and fuel filter, boat has 400hrs so it is most likely due for a change.

I thought the LS3 had to run premium. I know it has  been discussed a million times on here and I'm too lazy to look in my manual to confirm again. But if that's the case than you're likely pulling timing and not making 450HP on regular fuel. Put premium in it and I'd bet you notice a big difference. You should really be seeing a lot better performance out of that LS3 with your setup. 

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You should be running premium in that motor.  Running regular means it is cutting power where you need it most - down low and up high.  You probably aren't saving any fuel costs by running regular as it is burning more fuel.

As you get the rear of the boat heavier, it changes the prop angle, making it less efficient.  A 15" prop (even one equivalent in performance to your 1235) will help a little.  As will front weight. 

 

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Yes the LS3 requires premium but our marina only offers 89 octane, not doing this to save $ (premium at the station is actually cheaper..) it's more of a convenience instead of having to pull the boat out when I need to fill up,  I've thrown in Octane Booster once in whilst but again power has never been an issue until now when using manual surf gate which ads more weight in the back end. I'll test it out with premium for sure and see the improvement. Thanks again for the inputs, much appreciated.

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We dont use the wedge with a Mission Delta.

With 4 adults

1k in each trunk

Had to reduce to 200 in the bow and not quite full ski locker

Actually removed the wedge cuz it was dragging while up and throwing a rooster

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 8/31/2016 at 5:51 PM, pawter1970 said:

Yes the LS3 requires premium but our marina only offers 89 octane, not doing this to save $ (premium at the station is actually cheaper..) it's more of a convenience instead of having to pull the boat out when I need to fill up,  I've thrown in Octane Booster once in whilst but again power has never been an issue until now when using manual surf gate which ads more weight in the back end. I'll test it out with premium for sure and see the improvement. Thanks again for the inputs, much appreciated.

Cans? We do it for a friends boat on a lift all the time, make your friends bring their share, get the spouts from tractor supply and install yellow pressure valves in can plastic hand holds in handles for fast fast filling

Edited by granddaddy55
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