Another DIY Surfgate try

[tchancey]

The boat does pretty well with traditional listing, but I figured I'd see how this works. I'll let you know how it goes!

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I'll take any tips from those that have tried it. For example, I'm thinking it may be too deep & far away from the stern...may do a little tweaking.

[mnpracing]

cut the leading edge of the paddle to better match the contour of the transom. Then use some weather stripping on that leading edge to protect your gelcoat.

[turbonine]

-Make it snug up against the transom like mnpracing said
-Make it taller. I would go 3" above swim platform

Be prepared to run a lot more weight since you will be running evenly weighted and burn a lot more fuel. Also be prepared for a much longer pocket.

[tchancey]

Thanks for the tips! I won't have a chance to test it until the weekend so maybe I'll make a couple of tweaks before that.

I had visions of running less weight, not more but I guess we'll see how that goes. If it ends up taking more weight & fuel then I'd sure better like the end result.

[tchancey]

V2.0

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[turbonine]

Looks good. Have you tried it yet?

[tchancey]

Looks good. Have you tried it yet?

Yep, we tried it out yesterday. First I gave it a shot with no ballast. It helped, but it wasn't enough to go wireless.

Then I filled a 750lb sac & put it in the floor in front of the back seat. That made a pretty good wave. I was able to throw the rope, but the wave didn't seem quite as good as when I list the boat with around 1,500 lbs in it. I think you were right...I may need *more* weight, not less. I hoped to reduce the amount of time filling/draining sacs.

It was nice that since we were evenly weighted we could switch to other water sports immediately.

I'll keep playing around with it. Either more weight and/or a bigger gate next time.

[Ruger761]

What did you think on how it affected your steering? I tried it once and it was a pain to turn against. I ended up going with more of a NSS plate style.

[tchancey]

What did you think on how it affected your steering? I tried it once and it was a pain to turn against. I ended up going with more of a NSS plate style.

It didn't seem too bad. It only sticks out 20 degrees and it's not real deep, so the drag didn't seem substantial. Also, I tend to turn counter-clockwise and at off-plane speed so maybe I avoid the issue that way.

How is the NSS plate working for you? I assume that takes more installation work to pull off.

[Ruger761]

Cool post some pics of your wave if you get a chance.

So far the NSS plate is doing good. I did make a quick prototype first out of wood. It worked good until the wood swelled. Now its made out of plastic and steel. I did make it where its removable without drilling any holes. I would have like to had the plate a little larger but my hull doesn't have a lot of room back there.

here is a few of the unpainted pics I have of it.

photo 5.jpgphoto 6.jpg

[tchancey]

Looks good Ruger! How does that attach to the platform bracket?

My wood design is also just for prototyping. I'll either upgrade to plastic or buy something like the wake-shaper if this proves to work well with my hull.

[Ruger761]

It has 1 bolt that goes through the swim platform bracket where the R-Pin was, then has a clamp that goes around the flat bar, clamping it to the platform bracket. Next thing I would like to work with is the Taps plate or adding some sort of wake shaping plate to the back but haven't had time to do so yet.

[tchancey]

Just a quick update in case it helps anybody else trying similar tweaks...

We went out yesterday & started with a more traditional setup. I put a 750 lb sac in the port locker & a 400 lb one in the bow walkway. The port side of the swim platform was around 3" under water & the starboard side was above water. I left the DIY surfgate off & gave it a try.

I could surf wireless, but I had to stay in a small pocket very close to the platform.

So I had my wife stop the boat, we put the gate on & tried it again leaving all other variables the same.

The difference was pretty big. I had a much longer pocket. The sweet spot was further back & I could ride anywhere from the platform to several feet back. I'm sure there's more progress to be made as I try other configurations (listed vs. evenly weighted, more weight, etc.) but I can say this was definitely worth the small amount of money/time it took. I'll be building a more waterproof version soon.

[dakota4ce]

I run a massive listed setup in my 24Ve (custom sacs in the 1800# realm) and still run a home made surf gate opposite. What I have seen is that it creates the cleanest face I have ever seen. Theres just a tad of fuzz without, clean as a whistle with it. It also adds length to the pocket--just a tad but it all helps. I have the original fiberglass swim platform untrimmed, which may have something to do with this. However, it is worth the trouble.

I had a g23 owner and an x20 owner behind it last weekend and they were impressed. Maybe depressed a little too

[rensink]

dakota4ce, we need to get together some night on the water!