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DIY Suction Cup Gate


BCJohnsontx

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Well, I took several of your ideas here from the forum and tried my hand at making a DIY Harbor Freight suction cup wake gate for my 2006 Malibu 23 LSV. Pictures are below. I used an old cutting board for the support frame and a scrap piece of starboard I had laying around. The main part is about 11" x 10"  and is tapered to the 10" section. 

It looks great, floats and the hole near the front makes it easy to reach the levers and provides a tie off point for a buoy to help find it when it comes off the boat. 

We tried it out this weekend and it worked great for about 1 surf. It seems to attache to the boat fine and solid, but the pressure from the water pushes the gate down the hull until the rear cup slides off the back, then the front cup slides around the corner so the gate chills behind the transom. 

We cleaned and waxed the boat really good last week, so I am wondering if the hull of the boat is just really slick and I need to remove some of the wax back there. 

Questions for the group here:

  • Anyone else have issues with the Harbor Freight suction cups not sticking or sliding down and off the rear of the hull?
  • When I get my wakemakers piggyback ballast kit, I will need to move this up above the step on the side of the hull and I have the puffy MALIBU decal there. Anyone remove this on their boat yet to make their shaper/gate work?

Thanks!

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One more update here, because I only have factory ballast today, I am putting this just below the yellow paint line on the rear of the boat on the lower stepped black part of the hull. Its relatively flat and seems to stick there well at first. 

Malibu rear hull.jpg

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I used a harbor freight suction cup on the first wake shaper I built and it stayed in place without a problem on my 07 VLX.  From your description is sounds like you are placing it in the same general location that I do.  You definitely DO NOT want wax on the area of the hull where the suction cups attach or it will slide.

I did build a second one trying out a different angle and area and used a suction cup handle from Amazon on that one and it seems to suction to the boat more easily that the harbor freight one does.

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Thanks, 

I am going to give this another try this weekend. Anyone have a good, safe way to remove the wax from the hull in the areas where I want to attach the gate? Mineral Spirits, WD-40, etc?

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5 minutes ago, BCJohnsontx said:

Thanks, 

I am going to give this another try this weekend. Anyone have a good, safe way to remove the wax from the hull in the areas where I want to attach the gate? Mineral Spirits, WD-40, etc?

White vinegar, or any of the off the shelf water spot removing sprays.

Edited by oldjeep
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Thanks everyone, 

I wiped the hull with some vinegar, but I am still having the issue of the DIY gate sliding down the hull and around the transom side. I am thinking about reducing the size of the face of the shaper to reduce the amount of drag on the device, or figuring out a way to add 2 more suction cups. If none of that works, I will just go and buy one, but that seems like giving up and I hate that!

 

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On 6/28/2020 at 8:15 AM, BCJohnsontx said:

 

  • Anyone else have issues with the Harbor Freight suction cups not sticking or sliding down and off the rear of the hull?
  • When I get my wakemakers piggyback ballast kit, I will need to move this up above the step on the side of the hull and I have the puffy MALIBU decal there. Anyone remove this on their boat yet to make their shaper/gate work?

Thanks!

No need to move it up onto the yellow of your boat.  As you add more weight you may have to move it further forward (towards the bow) on the black for your boat.   With the wakemakers kit I place ours below the fuel fill cap.   

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I tried washing off the wax on the back part of the boat with vinegar and Dawn dish soap, but the DIY suckgate is still sliding down the hull, even at 9 mph. I am going to need to find stronger suction cups than the red Harbour Freight version or find a way to add 1-2 more cups. I could also reduce the size of the face of the plate. Its about 12" tall by 10" wide at the moment. I guess I could also put some big holes around the edges to maybe reduce the drag a bit more. Or all of the above!

If all else, fails - I am out $300-400 for a store bought one I guess. 

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45 minutes ago, BCJohnsontx said:

If all else, fails - I am out $300-400 for a store bought one I guess. 

 

On 7/3/2020 at 2:21 PM, Nitrousbird said:

You know you can just buy one for $80 shipped that works?

https://www.shapethewake.com/products/wakemate

If you have to remove wax to use the suction cup then the suction cup isn't very good.

Or you could get this one that @Nitrousbird linked earlier.  

 

Are you getting both suction cups to engage? I have used the same Harbor Freight one for 4 years and it still holds great.  

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@blk93jeepzj Yes, they are engaging and holding to the hull, but the force of the water is pushing the whole contraption down the hull and then the last cup slides off the back. The front usually stays on and it end up on the transom. 

If I can't update the design for another suction cup or 2, I might just try reducing the face since its actually kinda large compared to the others I have seen.

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I recently bought the wake shaper 138 from Ronix and mine is doing the same thing yours is. Good until I get up past 9mph then it comes off. I must have tried it 25 times this weekend and every time it seemed stuck until we got up to speed. Frustrating. Curious if anyone has any other advice. I haven’t put a coat of wax on for awhile so that shouldn’t be the problem. 

Edited by Kris8
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8 hours ago, Kris8 said:

I recently bought the wake shaper 138 from Ronix and mine is doing the same thing yours is. Good until I get up past 9mph then it comes off. I must have tried it 25 times this weekend and every time it seemed stuck until we got up to speed. Frustrating. Curious if anyone has any other advice. I haven’t put a coat of wax on for awhile so that shouldn’t be the problem. 

You have to feel the suction on the gate prior to taking off.  It should be tight and not slide around.  

My $80 Wake Mate, the 2nd time of the day I put it on, is a bit more sensitive to not staying put.  Just have to set the suction cup a couple times to get it to properly stick.  

I also just recently purchased the Wakesurf Wingman, which is a Mission Delta copy.  
https://www.ebay.com/itm/193571074688?ViewItem=&item=193571074688

Though I paid less than what they have it listed for now.  I broke my Wake Mate (forgot it was on, loaded on the trailer and cracked it).  Though I have repaired it stronger than it originally was, I ordered this before I did that but haven't had a chance to try it out yet.  Just another alternative to wasting your time doing a DIY suck gate.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update: Decided to add a 3rd suction cup to the front and see if that is enough holding power to keep this from sliding back to the transom. If that doesn't work, I still have 1 more I could add. :)

I thought of drilling some big holes around the edges like some of the commercial suckgates have, but not sure how that would help or hurt the overall action. 

I am going to test this weekend and I will report back on the progress. 

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37 minutes ago, BCJohnsontx said:

Update: Decided to add a 3rd suction cup to the front and see if that is enough holding power to keep this from sliding back to the transom. If that doesn't work, I still have 1 more I could add. :)

Looks like you have had better luck with the HF suction cup levers than I have. Broke another one this weekend and am giving up on it. I have to sort of "burp" the cup and when I put the lever down it takes a lot of force. That is when I know it will hold.

@Nitrousbird Have you gotten a chance to try the Wingman? I'm trying to decide between the Wingman and Wake Mate.

Edited by BearCreekBum
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@BearCreekBum Yeah, not sure about these HF cups. My thought was maybe to try the much hyped Amazon Yellow or Stainless cups next. For reason, even through I spent a lot of $$ on the boat, I really don't want to spend any money on my SuckGate :)

 

 

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3 hours ago, BearCreekBum said:

Looks like you have had better luck with the HF suction cup levers than I have. Broke another one this weekend and am giving up on it. I have to sort of "burp" the cup and when I put the lever down it takes a lot of force. That is when I know it will hold.

@Nitrousbird Have you gotten a chance to try the Wingman? I'm trying to decide between the Wingman and Wake Mate.

I've used it once (weather and a lake vacation surfing boats other than mine have prevented me from using it more).  The Wingman is better.  It's suction is stronger and the wave seemed slightly better than my Wake Mate.  Could have been in my head or boat was loaded better, but it wasn't worse for sure.  The build is nicer for sure and worth the additional money.  Both are cheap.

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Well, even with the additional suction cup, the darn thing slid right off again. I just ordered the big bad yellow suction cups from Amazon so I will re-build the DIY'er and try again soon. I really hope this works since the Yellow ones match the boat color!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HNRB2CJ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1V0RZ8Y1EYY6R&psc=1

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Think it maybe time to pony up an purchase a manufactured model.  Sounds like a better plan than (potentially) more time and money wasted trying to DIY.

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3 hours ago, BCJohnsontx said:

Well, even with the additional suction cup, the darn thing slid right off again. I just ordered the big bad yellow suction cups from Amazon so I will re-build the DIY'er and try again soon. I really hope this works since the Yellow ones match the boat color!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HNRB2CJ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1V0RZ8Y1EYY6R&psc=1

Throw in the towel, it isn't worth it.

Wakesurf Wingman, $132, Mission copy that works well:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/WakeSurf-Wingman-The-Ultimate-Wake-surf-Wakeboard-Wave-Shaper-System/193571074688?hash=item2d11bc3280:g:360AAOSwRg9d1EAH

Better buy fast, last one available and they claim no more will be made.

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Well, I probably should just buy one, but I am one of those types that is more interested in solving the problem and figuring out WHY? then actually really needing the thing for the wave :)    I have a very computer oriented day job so I need lots of excuses to drill and hammer things. 

I will give it another round or 2. I am a bit concerned that even if I bought one, I might still have this issue. 

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9 hours ago, BCJohnsontx said:

Well, I probably should just buy one, but I am one of those types that is more interested in solving the problem and figuring out WHY? then actually really needing the thing for the wave :)    I have a very computer oriented day job so I need lots of excuses to drill and hammer things. 

I will give it another round or 2. I am a bit concerned that even if I bought one, I might still have this issue. 

IMO, put that effort into better use on the boat (or elsewhere).  No reason to reinvent the wheel, time is money, or whatever other saying you like to go with.  I have friends who get stuck in this mode I have to (more often than I should) remind them to just stop - their time is worth more than what they are doing.  You likely won't have an issue if you buy one.  

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Well, looks like the yellow suction cups were the ticket! We ran the DIY shaper all day with no issues and it Never Came Off!  We were able to switch sides with no problem and the wave was huge and clean. I didn't get a great picture of the wave, but with the shaper and the new ballast, the sweetspot to surf ropeless was much bigger and better. 

 

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