NICKYPOO's DIY Surfgate

[NICKYPOO]

So I was messing around last night with some DIY Surfgate designs. I had a simple platform mount envisioned and drew up what I had in my head on the actual tab I figured I could use. It is just a piece of 1/2" marine ply I had lying around which was actually just a mockup panel from when I did my ballast/trunk mod. I started looking around for some marine hardware leftovers and grabbed an old Wake Designs board rack that I had from my old Metcrap tower. I was trying to figure out a way to use the plate/pin mount when it dawned on me that I could actually just use the whole thing. I spread the forks out and then hooked one of the fork ends through the lifting ring and the whole thing dropped right into place like it was built for this purpose. The fork end hooks perfectly on the ring and the mount rests right on the platform edge. I grabbed my piece of ply and cut out a notch for the transom and a couple for it to hook onto the other forks ends and it popped right into place. So here it is, just hanging from the lifting ring. No other attachments. No screws, no glues. I can shove on it laterally to the point that I'm skaking the whole boat and trailer. Its uncanny. I figure with a decent bungy cord for safety, it's good to go. At least just to see what it'll do.

[NICKYPOO]

Here's the good news, it reversible! Just pop off the tab, mount it back on upside down and spin the whole thing 180* and hook it on the other side.

[NICKYPOO]

This whole set up is silly. An old Wake Designs rack, a scrap piece of plywood and a bungy cord. It's so stable and easy to operate though, I have to try it. How can I not? Not to mention I'm out exactly $0.00 so far. I'm sure I'll be doing something at least slightly classier (how classy can a surf tab be?) but for a proof of concept test rig, it makes me smile. I've been sitting on that old rack for...like 12years now. I knew it would come in handy one day.

[Bryan]

Can you utilize the bungees that are already on the rack for your mounting? Maybe something as simple as a screw or bolt in the middle underside of your platform that you could stretch the bungee to hook onto. You won't need much, just enough to keep some tension against the side of the platform which in turn will keep th hook pulled tight against the lifting eye on the boat..

[NICKYPOO]

^^^Yes I can, it just doesn't work very well. Besides the fact that those bungies are at least 15 years old, there's no actual hook on them. Considering all the time and money I've got invested in this thing, I'm gonna but a really nice bungy cord on it.

[Ruger761]

Nice and simple. I like it.

[NICKYPOO]

Done! I spent $1.50 on rubber bungy at the Depot. It's ready to rock!

[TeamAllen]

That is pretty ingenious!
It's amazing those parts work so well. A+

[Goodtimes619]

HAHA thats great I hope it makes a Fat wave

[NICKYPOO]

So, it works. Kinda. Made the wave very long, very clean, yada yada yada. Same basic result as everyone. I only did one run with it though as it was filling my boat with water. Bad. Thank god for binge pumps. I learned what I needed to know from it. I didn't surf it but I had the same feelings as her (wife) when the run was done. It made the wave cleaner and longer but slower. And it tried to sink us. We had to slow down below 10 to get enough size back into it for her to keep up. It certainly showed promise. I think with a smaller panel for less affect and perhaps a lip to redirect the spray, it might be useful. An HOD gate s probably the way to go.

Only got one pic. 9.8 mph, taps 8, 1000ish in the trunk. Rider 5'7". Water was pretty choppy right there. We were headed back into the good stuff. When I showed her the pic she said,"Supid rope." I assured her that she gets a pass on that because she had just gotten up. Anyways...

[Ruger761]

So far everything Ive tried on our hulls, nothing beats a good old list. But got to keep trying ideas one is sure to improve the wave

[NICKYPOO]

Ya, I hear Duffy chuckling in the background. It's tough for us old d-drivers. Without some decent VAB, it's a bit of a struggle to get all that potential out of that hull. I'm not getting anymore ballast in the corner anytime soon. Not without completely pulling the floors out and putting it all under there. Its already all liquid from the back seat to the transom, gunnel to gunnel, hatch to hull. "You should just get a v-drive." We still have other things that we love to do behind the boat.

[TeamAllen]

You've got that right!! You have to have your priorities straight.
I ski right foot forward as well. Regular surfing, but reverse on the ski.

[skiguy]

I made a DIY surfgate for my older Malibu DD last year and discovered you have to tilt the gate a bit to deflect the water away from your boat. I basically matched the angle of the side of the hull and that did the trick.

[TeamAllen]

so like this?