ski course question - left in the lake for 5 years and curious on how to bring it back to life

[robmc9]

Owner of the course moved away 5 years ago and we found out last night he left the course in the lake but sold the buoys. Not knowing anything about ski courses, but as of this summer we now have 3 kids (11 - 13) all skiing SL so we are excited on getting the course up and running again. The question is we have no idea whats needed or how to even find the course. All we know is the course has both Jr and Sr layouts and we are stoked on getting it back up and working. Assuming the course is under 10' of pretty clear water but over the years the sand bottom has probably consumed the where about's. Any insight would be appreciated. The lake is in Northern Saskatchewan with only 50 cabins and from the sounds of it the owner who left it in the water was the only one who used it.......

[EricKelley]

I have had good luck dragging a grappling hook perpendicular to the known direction of the course. Pull it up and start putting buoys or milk jugs on it(temporarily.) You will have to access how much work it needs. If all the hardware was in decent shape before my guess is there won't be much to do. You could get a diver friend to find it if you wish.

[mfjaegersr]

https://forum.ballofspray.com/discussion/21739/finding-a-slalom-course

[Andre]

Depending on the mainline,Stainless vs Poly rope, and the PH of the water,you may have to recrimp the jonctions of cable.PVC pipes should be ok if not full of mud, may also need to change the bungees if they're rotten...A lot depends on what shape it was before sunk the last time...

[DaveLemons]

Depending on the weight of your grappling hook you need to drag it slow enough so it stays in the bottom. Knowing where the course was would be critical, otherwise you would have to drag the whole lake. Rennet as you pull it up from the bottom it is either poly line or cable. Either of these materials do not mix well with your propeller.

[MDB1056]

Depending on how deep the water a simple fish finder can quickly help locate things down there. I'm sure several on your lake have them on pontoons or fishing boats.

[skihacker]

I always use a "dinghy" boat to do course work with a trolling motor, the speeds are much better suited to dragging the bottom and working your way down a mainline, you wont care if it gets munged or dinged up either.

[Deanoski]

Use a grappling hook as mentioned above drag it

 

pull it up

 

just have pre make rope or bungee

attachments for the pvc arms We use paddle boards when doing coarse work fast and easy Plus keeps the boat clean

[georgea0731]

Instead of a hook, I used the archer with the 2 long tips, go slow and easy and it should caught the line. We went straight across somewhere in the middle and you should hook it. Having lines ready with buoys will make it go faster. I used the little black hooks from skier to skier, but have switched to fishing stringer SS snaps on both ends. One for the eye let and one for the buoy. Once you get it started, we just hand walked it from one end to the other. Ours is in 15-20 ft of water. It's been sunk twice and had to have all new buoys put on it about 5 years ago. In recent years, there's a lot of growth/build up on the PVC poles, so I've thought about having a spare and replacing one at a time by cleaning the outside and inside with a high pressure hose. Good luck.