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

[Ruger761]

That sounds like a green light to me! Im hoping to get out for a test run on Saturday weather permitting. Was 31 this morning again and talking rain on Friday. Will be interesting to see an older DD hull vs the Ve to see what the gates do.

[NICKYPOO]

I bet there is a reason the gate and nss aren't very tall and don't go very high and that is to keep spray down.

Man, I hadn't even thought of that. Great observation.

[NICKYPOO]

Last night my wife asked "so how long until we dont have to mess with clamping this thing on everytime?" I interpreted that as a green light to purchase the lenco actuators. :P

I think that general premise is directly responsible for one hell of a lotta boat mods all over the world.

[cpropes2005]

I think Duffy might be correct about the taller plate. I tried a taller gate where the top hinged section was the same size as the bottom section and I got a ton of spray off of it. I think it was mainly because I cut the gate straight so it didnt match the sloped transom of my boat so there was a pretty good gap for water to get between the gate and the transom which caused the spray and the wave actually didnt feel like it had as much push as the smaller gate. I think there is a sweet spot for gate length, height and angle that will require a fair amount of experimentation on any given boat to get the best results. Sorry no pics this time.

[Ruger761]

I think you are right on the money whey you say its going to take some experimentation to get it right. But everything Ive seen it does require it to fit the hull pretty tight to minimize the spray. I was able to get out yesterday for a last minute cruise around the lake but didnt get time to test anything out. Which was a shame lake was almost glass all the way across but still cold. This next weekend was going to be a day of testing but looking like rain again So you'll have to keep us posted on your results so it makes me jealous. Hows the steering with your gates you have tested? And have you been running a level boat or still listed slightly?

[cpropes2005]

Steering is ok as long as you turn with the gate. Turning against it makes for a wide circle and it seems like there is a bit of counter steer required to go in a straight line. It wasnt really an issue for me but my wife didnt really care for the extra effort on the steering. I am toying with the idea of trying something along the lines of the Nautique system just to see how it compares. I know that system would have less steering issues but I am not sure if it would work as well for the wave.

I have been running pretty much level. My end goal is to not have to think about my ballast at all. I want to be able to just fill everything until I hear the overflows and then use the gate to set it for surfing or wakeboarding.

[duffymahoney]

I think the gate has to be the same angle as the hull where it attachs. I think 8-10 inches tall and 18" inches long is my plan.

[Ruger761]

I have been running pretty much level. My end goal is to not have to think about my ballast at all. I want to be able to just fill everything until I hear the overflows and then use the gate to set it for surfing or wakeboarding.

I like that goal, take all the guess work out of it and make it so much easier. Ya not sure how the nautique system would do. Ive seen 1 pic of someone trying it, not even sure where I saw it now. But if I remember correctly they used all thread thru a hole on the swim deck support to hold it. I'll see if I can find where I saw that.

18" does seem to be the size everyone is running.

[NICKYPOO]

I ran my ballasts full on both sides pretty much all season last year. All my list was generated from whatever crew I had. If we were a bit light, I would just drain one side a little. Otherwise, it was all full all the time. It's nice.

The more I look at it, the more I really like the idea of the NSS.

[Ruger761]

Finally found it. Scroll down about midway.

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=797009

[cpropes2005]

Thanks for the link. I have read a bunch of stuff about diy surf gates but that is the first diy NSS i have seen. It looks like he was still running with a pretty good list so it is hard to tell how well it was really working. I think will be pretty easy to make a simple test setup though so I am going to give it a shot just and see what happens.

[duffymahoney]

The volvo penta tabs that work just like the NSS are awesome, but they won't fit. They are too tall.

[NICKYPOO]

The volvo penta tabs that work just like the NSS are awesome, but they won't fit. They are too tall.

They do work the same but, the actuating system is way different. The NSS setup appears to use a traditional type RAM while the Volvo setup is much more compact. Not sure how it works, but it is slick. I wonder if they can make a short one?

If you flushed out the mounting location, could you fit the 18" (300mm) version?

[Duncan]

They do work the same but, the actuating system is way different. The NSS setup appears to use a traditional type RAM while the Volvo setup is much more compact. Not sure how it works, but it is slick. I wonder if they can make a short one?

If you flushed out the mounting location, could you fit the 18" (300mm) version?

300 millimeters is only 11.8 inches (i.e, 11 13/16 "). The 450 mm version is 17.7" (i.e., 17 23/32 ").

[NICKYPOO]

You are correct, Sir.