Surfgate Tristar 190

[Jbeams2]

Anybody have issues getting their surf gates below the water line? We have an 89 tristar 190 and when the surf side is listed, we can't get the surf gate to stay below the water line on the opposite side because of the small amount of flat surface to mount the suction cups. Anybody have similar issues or ways they have solved this problem?

Thanks in advance,
Josh

[cmitchell12]

so you are listing the boat by placing the ballast on surf side and it is bringing up the tab on the opposite side? is that what you are explaining?

[dvsone79]

Weight it evenly.

[cmitchell12]

Yeah like dvsone79 said, distribute the weight evenly and it will put the tab back in the water. The whole purpose of the tab is to not have to list the boat, this is called delayed convergence. However, when mine is evenly weighted, sometimes having a person move to the surf side corner of the boat will help clean up the lip of the wave.

[Jbeams2]

cmitchell,
thanks for the response. We will definitely try weighting it evenly all in the back. Is there any tricks or tips to making the pocket a little longer? Last time we were surfing, we could let go of the rope for a short bit but we were super close to the boat. That was also with listing it and no surf gate because the surf gate wouldn't stay below water.
We also had no weight in the front of the boat. I have heard if you put a little weight in the front, it will help the boat to plane out some causing a longer pocket.

[Jbeams2]

Thanks dvsone

[Jbeams2]

so you are listing the boat by placing the ballast on surf side and it is bringing up the tab on the opposite side? is that what you are explaining?

Yes. We put ballast on surf side and the surf gate was coming too high out of the water on the opposite side.

[88 PS190]

https://youtu.be/oT4ztgD5508?t=38s

[cmitchell12]

cmitchell,
thanks for the response. We will definitely try weighting it evenly all in the back. Is there any tricks or tips to making the pocket a little longer? Last time we were surfing, we could let go of the rope for a short bit but we were super close to the boat. That was also with listing it and no surf gate because the surf gate wouldn't stay below water.
We also had no weight in the front of the boat. I have heard if you put a little weight in the front, it will help the boat to plane out some causing a longer pocket.

Yes. You need to add weight to the front to make it longer. When you have the tab on there the wave will be twice the size that it is with it just listed. You will really have to slam the boat with ballast. I dont know how much you are currently running? but I will run 3 of the 750 fat sacs in my boat. one in each back locker and one in the front. plus i always have 4-8 people in the boat as well, along with 4 batteries on board for starting/stereo. I will also say that I surf the channel of my lake a lot. Usually from 40-60' deep. it is amazing how much bigger my wave is in the channel vs being in 15' depth.

ballast is your friend. always remember that. with more weight will come a need for changing out your prop to handle the added weight and this i can say is a must do. call OJ prop or Acme and have them help you out based on how much ballast you are running.


do you have perfect pass installed? or any other speed controller?

And last but absolutely not least... Be careful. You are in an older boat that has a shallow free board and is only 19' long. the more weight the more it will become susceptible to dipping the bow under when you come off tow. the boats also handle like pigs with all the weight in them and take more distance to stop, etc. so remember that when approaching your rider after they have fallen. not trying to insult your intelligence on boat operation but i have dreams about what can go wrong in situations like this and it is worth sharing

[TStine]

And last but absolutely not least... Be careful.

Words that are wise

[Jbeams2]

Thanks cmitchell. Great info.

[Rugger]

Did you build your own surf gates? Or are you using a suction gate?

Weight fairly evenly, but it still helps to cheat with more weight to the surf side.

[billboat]

Cmitchell

You wrote that repropping is a must when ballast is added. Is it a must for performance (getting on plane) or to avoid damage to the drive train?

Thanks

[Shaun R]

You can make a wave big enough to go rope less but that's about it. Surfed a few times behind a Prostar 190 with 800lbs in the back, 400lbs between the observers seat and doghouse, suck gate on the size. Big enough to surf rope less my first time and have some fun. It's not a surf boat by any means but it was fairly easy to setup and let people try something new when the water was bad.

[FoggyNogginz]

Cmitchell

You wrote that repropping is a must when ballast is added. Is it a must for performance (getting on plane) or to avoid damage to the drive train?

Thanks

Bill - As we add ballast, it is often optimal to go with a prop that has less pitch and more diameter to improve efficiency and stay within the WOT RPM range. Verify your RPMs at wide open throttle, and then contact OJ or ACME to get their feedback and try out a new prop or two. If you are not able to get to the recommended WOT when under load (or if your boat exceeds this range) then you could damage the engine. However I find that most people change props to optimize performance when pulling or surfing.