Surfgate style tabs on my 24v or not. Thoughts?!

[duffymahoney]

They are too long to fit on the boat. But I pull the boat out of storage next week and I will re-measure. Again my plan is to put the boat in the water and see if it will get to surf speeds with full ballast.

[Ruger761]

Got a few minutes last night and got curious. So I thru something quick together. It's prob no where near optimized but it should tell me if its worth going any further with it. I just need little warmer weather and water to get a test run in

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[bigskymudflaps]

I looked at this idea for my 2007 RZ2. I really like the idea of producing a good wave without weighting just one side. The listing thing is a bit of a pain. I spent a ton of time and cash making it fast and easy to go from one side to the other. I can fill, drain, or switch huge (by rz2 standards) bags in less than 5 minutes. Can't wait to see what we end up with when someone does it well.

What I narrowed it down to was a Bennett trim tab system just like our taps plates. Bennett has a ton of selection of tabs. The longest tabs are 12" and they go about as wide as you want. I'm sure you could bolt or weld an extension on a factory tab to get extra length. Malibu's tabs look like fiberglass wrapped plywood. Of course the mounting hardware that comes with the Bennett tabs is only tested for the 12" length, but you probably won't be pushing the limits at surfing speeds if you extend them a little.

At Bennett, you can also get really cool looking hydraulic rams that are all stainless. Other options I liked are that they are simple to mount and they can be automatically retracted when the boat is turned off. They have some kind of reset that pulls the tabs in when the boat ignition is turned off. Malibu's safety system pulls the tabs in when the boat exceeds a certain MPH. I think you would run the risk of tearing the tabs off at high speeds or while turning at speed. Last, Bennett has a nice indicator / switch that lets you know the position of the tab.

Adding a hull extension like a convex vx would be cool as well. Looked into that one as well, as Tige won't be making one for the older boats like my rz2. It's quite a project to do it well. The molding of the fiberglass, gelcoat, and mounting all pose major issues. Good luck.

[duffymahoney]

I will probably use lenco rams with some of that white plastic and just put my own hinge on it. Kind of like malibu. I think I might do the mock up and try it first. Build something and screw it to my swim deck.

[adamsjstt]

I tested the surf gate on my RZ2 with a piece of ¾ plywood and some all thread. I mounted it to my swim platform brackets and was sold right away. I had a thread but can't seem to find it. I was running a u shape sac up front and 600# seat sacs in the rear lockers. I normally surfed with a custom sac on one side but with the gate weighted even the wave was longer and just as tall. I will recommend this to anybody. It only took me about 15 min to mount my test piece.

[Stingreye]

Adamsjstt' RZ2 Surfgate thread

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...768#post640768

For a Manual Ghetto Gate (or R&D) that would be easy to retract and you would help prevent damage if pressure got too high (TallTigeguys concern on platform mounted side pressure). Smart Tabs has the gas shocks that collapse at a certain weight/pressure against the piston.
http://www.nauticusinc.com/smart_tabs_ss_price_list.htm The gas shocks could be used them replaced with automated after the setup is found that works best.

[Ewok]

Do it Duff! I'd love to come up and see it in person this summer!

[duffymahoney]

Anyone have access to a Malibu with the gate? I want to know how long those gates are?

[duffymahoney]

I ran into a snag. I guess malibu's gate only activates after 7mph. That way they can still turn at lower speeds. So my idea of lenco would be hard. I don't want the driver having to do the trim tab out and in everytime we start and stop. So it would need to be on some sort of speed based switch.

[NICKYPOO]

The guy who did the teakgate had his set up in that fashion. What did he use?

[duffymahoney]

He built a computer to run it. That is a little above my skills.

[talltigeguy]

I am not sure that steering is that big of a deal when the boat comes off plane. Suppose you have the tab sticking out to the starboard side, then that is the side that you turn to as you come off plane. The surfgate would essentially act as a side mounted rudder that would push the rear toward the port side. While idling back to the rider, you would have to compensate for that effect...

Did you guys read that anyone had problems with their static surfgates and steering?

[NICKYPOO]

I was thinking the same thing, tall. If you're still going to continue with a run, what's it gonna hurt to leave it extended? I'm sure it will effect handling but, how bad can it be?

Malibu has to be getting their electronics from somewhere.

[NICKYPOO]

Perhaps teakgate guy would build you a computer?

[shawndoggy]

look at the lenco automated trim tab switches. The instructions say that they can be tied to an rpm signal to cause the tabs to retract.... maybe you can rig it to pull a signal from the neutral switch, so that when you go to neutral the lenco computer brain thinks you've turned the boat off and retracts the tabs?