Malibu Boats Revolutionizes Wakesurfing with Surf Gate Technology

LOUDON, Tenn., July 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Malibu Boats, the global leader in state-of-the-art water sports towboats, has designed a break-through wakesurfing innovation, Surf Gate (patent pending), which promises to revolutionize the sport. Malibu is unveiling the new wave-making feature at the Red Bull Wake Open in Tampa, Fla., this weekend.

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"From now on, every time you drain your sacs for thirty minutes just to switch sides, you'll wish you had Surf Gate," said Brian Grubb, Malibu team rider. "It's so cool to be able to switch waves with the press of a button and transfer from left to right. The wave is perfect and big on both sides too. This is the future, and it can only be done with Surf Gate."

Malibu has chosen Grubb to drive its new Wakesetter 22 MXZ, the official towboat of the Red Bull Wake Open. The Wakesetter 22 MXZ was the original test boat for Surf Gate and is the most successful new product launch in Malibu history, in terms of units sold.

The fastest growing activity in water sports, wakesurfing has evolved over the past decade from a niche activity to a legitimate competitive sport. In order to wakesurf, it is necessary to have an adequately weighted boat – one weighted to either the left or right side, which produces a larger wake. Prior to Surf Gate, wakesurfing required boaters to empty ballasts on one side of the boat and subsequently refill them, displacing passengers and shifting weight accordingly. Surf Gate alleviates this time-consuming process. Extreme leaning of the boat is no longer necessary. Additionally, Surf Gate enables riders to cross the wave and perform previously impossible moves.

"To create a surf wake without leaning the boat is a big advantage," said Dan Gasper, director of product design. "We've been working on ways to create surf wakes to avoid hull shape changes so as not to create a negative effect to our great wakeboard wakes. Surf Gate is the culmination of our efforts."

Commanding 30 percent of market share in its category, Malibu is the world's top-selling towboat manufacturer. Surf Gate will be available on all 2013 Wakesetter models.

"We're thrilled to offer this proprietary innovation to enhance the sport and build on Malibu's legacy of industry leadership," said Nick Skally, Malibu's director of marketing. "There's nothing even close to this on the market."

Founded in 1982, Malibu Boats, LLC, produces and sells 2,500 boats per year across North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia through a dealer network, making it the world's largest provider of watersports-focused boats. Malibu's boat line consists of The Response, The Wakesetter, and The Ride and includes the Axis Wake Research brand.  A privately held company, Malibu has approximately 450 employees with manufacturing facilities in California, Tennessee and Australia.

Media Contact: Laura Bower, APR
[email protected] /865.524.5376

SOURCE Malibu Boats