Got to ride new Malibu 23 vls with Surf gate
 

Nothing short of amazing. Stock ballast with wedge and an extra 600 pounds in rear lockers evenly weighted. Surf wake forms at 7.5-8.0 miles mph, goes from a bunch of wash to this long and very tall wake with a nice curl to it. The tab on the opporiste side you are surfing extends out once you reach 7.5 mph and closes back when you come to a stop. Boat not all tilted to one side and passengers moved around while surfing with little to no affect on the wake. Platform was just under the water line sitting still. Takes about 5 seconds to shift the wake from one side to the other on the fly. Surf gate is for real, IMHO.

Thanks for sharing. I haven't seen one in action but I think surf gate is a great invention. It appeals to probably 90% of the potential buyers of wakeboarding boats, at least the one's who have any interest in surfing. It might not completely make the wave snobs happy but then again they probably account for less then 5% of potential buyers.

Congrats to Malibu on this stellar innovation! Haven't ridden behind one yet but from what I heard sounds like Surfgate is the real game changer this year!

Thanks OP for the feedback. Havent heard one person complain about this setup, neighbors are getting one shortly hope to try it out soon.

Not to ruin the mood, but I got to experience surfgate on a 21 VLX and it kinda worked, not game changing or super-impressed with it though. Certainly not a substitute for raw displacement.

Rode the 23 a few weeks ago. I was super impressed. The 21 is pretty small if you are trying to get a wake snob quality wake, with or without surfgate.

got to ride a new 23lsv with the gate on sunday, weather was not so great, but it was ok, not a lot of push, somewhat flat, but cool concept. the guy who owns te boat has a few other bu's we got to ride his 23 lsv 2010 with 3500 listed on the port side as well, much better wave, better push and def out performed the surfgate, but the 2013 only had stock ballast and 500''s (aprox) in the back lockers. he is a harley dealer in our area and has family that has a bu dealership, so he gets the cats meow of bu;s to choose from. i dig the concept we where at yough lake in pa and i am not a regular there. We had a few boats there, and his group where all great. I really want to ride the gate slammed

Ya, what's up with all these demo's using stock, or barely over stock ballast? We need to hear about people slamming the F$@# out of these things to know if it's actually game changing or not.

Hopefully we see more reviews before winter hits. I could use a boat that puts out a big wave without all the hassle of placing and tilting.

/surfsnob

the problem is having 5k of weight in the boat also, plus people, i think it will be remodified next year. great start though

I got to ride a 23lsv last night also. Stock ballast, power wedge, 400 x 2 sac in the lockers. Here's my thoughts.. mostly agreeing with the OP

Big pluses -

- Moving around doesn't really affect the surf wake. There was 4 in the boat and we played with moving towards the front, one side, etc. What this means, is surfing becoming way easier for average users. No more forcing people to move around to one side and lay across the sunpad. People don't have to sit still anymore. Makes for a more relaxing experience.

- The boat drives nice, straight, and doesn't feel unsafe as a boat with 1500+ lbs of weight on one side. Easier to circle back whatever direction and go over your rollers. I know this isn't a problem for most on here that know how to drive a boat, but again, general public in mind, it's a huge improvement in safety

- Switching sides on the fly or between riders is as simple as a button. Also, the boat is already weighted evenly, so you can switch from riding to surfing as fast as you can get your board on. I went for a quick surf set, fell, then swapped boards and ropes and was wakeboarding within 3 minutes. This is a HUGE plus.. as no longer do you have to determine your riding order by regular surfers, goofy surfers, or wakeboarders.

I think for recreational boaters & surfers, this is going to be a huge decision maker because its so user friendly and safe. At a less than 3k option on 70k+ boats, it's going to be a no brainer that most people who even think they might surf will add it. I'm not saying this surf wave isnt the end all and be all of wakesurfing or the best out there, but its up there as a contender. I'm sure with some various weight configurations it could become a pretty awesome wake for the surfsnobs.

This is exactly why it is a game changer. It might not make a pro wave but then again 95% of buyers don't care about a pro wave. They care about making things easy, what is safe and what their wives approve of. As far as an added feature that is going to sell a lot of boats and get people into surfing this is as game changing as anything else to date.