Adding a hydro gate

[Lvnspeed]

Has anyone ever added a hydro gate to there Nautique? I was out in a friends 206 (2007) his came with a hydro gate with the same amount of ballest and passengers as I have had in mine for surfing and his wake was better with the gate in the down position. IOt was a littel taller and deffinatly harder it that makes any sence.

So I was wondering how hard it would be to add this to my 2005 206?

[TRBenj]

RE: Adding a hydro gate

The 03-05 boats (and the 06+ without the hydrogate) function the same as having the hydrogate in the down position. They have a lip at the end of the keel- either fiberglass or a fixed plate. I think your mind was playing tricks on you! Non hydrogates lack the "up" position that improves the trick wake and adds top speed.

That being said, I do believe some dealers can add the hydrogate to boats that lack them. Florida Inboards can do it too. Call around.

[pj]

RE: Adding a hydro gate

This could be a terminology mix-up too. Were you referring to the hydro-gate lever being pulled back or "down". That would correspond with the actual hydro-gate mechanism being in the "up" position.

[Lvnspeed]

I was talking about the handle being the position towards the back of the boat meaning the gate in down

[AuMDLST]

Your 05 - for lack of a better description - has a hydrogate in the down position.
Take a look at the stern of your boat - at the very back/bottom place your hand flat
against the hull - palm side up on hull about twelve inches toward the bow and draw
your hand (moving bow to stern) back to you - you will feel the "lip" that turns downward
at the very most stern part of the boat - basically that is the hydro in the down (less wake position)

[BrennanK]

I was talking about the handle being the position towards the back of the boat meaning the gate in down

If the handle is closest to the rear of the boat, then the gate would be in the up position. If I read the above post correctly...

[harddock]

Let's try this again... can a hydro gate system (handle, linkage, and gate mechanism) be added to a boat not factory equipped with one? like a 98 Ski Nautique?

[SkiTower]

Let's try this again... can a hydro gate system (handle, linkage, and gate mechanism) be added to a boat not factory equipped with one? like a 98 Ski Nautique?

the hydrogate is a moveable plate to replace the molded 'bump' on the bottom of the boat. For the hydrogate to work, you'll need to have the channel and bump on the bottom of the boat, and then take the bump off. Removal of the bump will essentially allow the boat to sit lower in the water running, enlarging the wake. So the lever back actually lifts the gate. I don't know if 98's have the channel, but it's not something that can be added to just any boat.

Personally, I don't see enough of a difference to justify the trouble and expense to add it. But to each his own.

[cotton]

Personally, I don't see enough of a difference to justify the trouble and expense to add it. But to each his own.

2nd that!

[Adrian]

Let's try this again... can a hydro gate system (handle, linkage, and gate mechanism) be added to a boat not factory equipped with one? like a 98 Ski Nautique?

No. The shape of the hull of a 98 SN is very different. You can see it in this pic I posted years ago:



The hydro gate does not fit in a TSC hull.

[SGY]

Doesn't surprise me that the HG equipped 206 has a better low speed wake. With the HG, you essentially remove the lip at the transom when the HG is in the up position (lever pulled back). You can't do this with your 2005 206. I suppose you could have someone grind the lip off your transom and add the HG. But, my recollection of the TSC3 hull is that it also has some other changes compared to the TSC2 hull. Not sure how the lack of those changes on your TSC2 hull will interplay with the HG. In other words, I'm not convinced the HG is a simply a bolt on item. I'd call CC and see if they can shed some light on this for you.

Not sure I'd want to start messing with my hull or transom.

[Hollywood]

All boats prior to the hydrogate essentially have it molded into the fiberglass. The purpose of the gate is to allow the user to remove the lip or "hook" on the keel section to produce less transom lift. In the above photo the blue boat has the gate DOWN and the red boat has it UP, which way the handle corresponds I don't know.

The original HydroGate came on the 2004 SV211, in 2006 it was available on the 196 and 206. Beyond that I really don't care (wake boats).

If you have an '06 SN that didn't come with the HydroGate option you simply don't have control over the gate. It's down there though (all 2006 196 and 206 hulls are exaclty the same) you just don't have control over it, you'll notice it's simply in a fixed down position. I would think you could add the rest of the hardware to gain control over the gate if you desired.

No HydroGate option...