Cost of a Wally Sinker

[Keith_Menard]

Can someone settle an argument between my ski buddy and me?

 

How much is a full sinker course? The way I read it, you have to buy the wally course and then the wally sinker kit, he reads it as you just by the sinker kit...

 

One of those is about $2500, the other way $5k...

 

So who is right?

[Shakeski]

I think if I remember it is just the sinker - so $2500 gets you a sinker kit with course (just the sinker version)

[thager]

I know of an accu-sink system (no course) that may be for sale. PM me if interested.

[jercrane]

You have to buy the Wally Course AND a Sinker kit. If you also want pregates you need those kits as well.

 

Full Wally sinker system with pregates requires the following

Kit 1 $2,233.75

Kit 1a $521.50

Kit 2 $2,505.00

Kit 2a $455.25

Total price = $5,715.50

 

If you get just Kit 1 and Kit 1a you will have a fully functional course that requires leaving up or submerging manually.

 

I know this since I am trying to justify upgrading our Wally course to a Wally sinker by adding kit 2 and kit 2a. We currently submerge manually on our lake by removing the buoys.

 

https://shop.wallyskier.com/WallySkier-kits_c4.htm

 

Also you need to buy your own PVC pipe locally and make 2 anchors yourself.

 

 

[Bdecker]

Don’t forget the upgrade to the bigger Wallypump. A must if you are plumbing it to shore.

[Clydesdale]

@jercrane we’ve got a portable course on a small lake and it’s a pain to deploy many times a year. Can you tell me more about how you sink the course? Does it go to the bottom, or do you use Sub buoys? I’ve thought about doing this on our lake but visibility is only a few feet in mid summer and I’m afraid I might never find it again!

 

[WoodySkier]

Call Wally, he’s a super nice guy.

[jercrane]

@Clydesdale to sink we currently just remove all of the boat guides, main turn balls and gates. We leave the mini-course buoys attached as it helps make it easier to bring up but isn't enough buoyancy to keep the course afloat. We attach a sub-buoy to the two pregate pvc pipes on either end. The sub buoy is just a small float that we adjust line so it sits about 4 feet below the surface. Something easy to spot from a boat. We also mark the subs by more or less triangulating off 3 landmarks on the shore. It's usually just a minute or two of driving in circles to find the sub on one end or the other.

 

To bring it up we use a small 13 foot Whaler since its a super pain to try to do the following form an inboard. We use an extendable boat hook to grab the sub. Then pull that up and attach the pregate green balls. Then we hook the boat hook under the main line just past the V and drive forward "running the line" through the hook. It's important to keep the line down a couple feet while you do this. We learned this the hard way wrapping the mainline on the prop a couple times. Luckily the mainlines are tough (assuming you have cable and not poly). Also important to just idle along the cable. You need minimal momentum when you get to the next PVC

 

When we get to the next PVC we attach the gates and continue the process again on the other side of the V. When we get to the long PVC they come up pretty nicely with the Mini course balls pulling the opposite end up as you pull the mainline up. The worst part is we then have to hand over hand along the PVC out to the turn ball and attach that. The pipe is covered in algae and pretty slick. This part sucks and really is the only thing about the process that has me considering adding the sinker kit.

 

We do this all the way down the line until done. Then we generally give one of the anchor a pull with the Whaler to take any slack out of the line and straighten things out. Oh important to note we also have permanent sub buoys on each anchor so we can do this. Again about 3-4 feet below the surface to prevent strikes form random boats. We alternate the end we take the slack out of to prevent the course "walking" down the lake over the summer. The final step is to remap the course in ZO since we usually move the anchor 2-3 feet at least to take slack out.

 

Whole process of raising takes about 15 minutes now with my regular ski partner since we have it dialed. When I do it with my wife and the kids it takes about 20-25.

 

Sinking takes less than ten minutes.

 

If you want more details on an actual sinker I agree with @WoodySkier, Wally is super helpful. Give him a ring.

 

[jercrane]

Also its worth mentioning that if you have a permanent location for your course but need to submerge there are better approaches than the portable. It's a lot more work than the portable for initial setup but the ongoing raising and lowering is much easier. I got the schematic for this from @Bdecker at one point. We currently have this setup on a second permanent course we use on the shoulder season.

 

You essentially set anchors for each ball and have a pulley system with sub buoys. This is setup is very ease to raise and lower by simply running down the course with a boat hook and clipping or unclipping balls. It's a big job to build one of these setups though. We used our portable as a template to get the dimensions and spent a lot of time with scuba tanks mucking about.

 

Debating whether to replace our main ski site with this setup vs going full wally sinker but need to give it another season or two to make sure the neighbors don't flip out before investing a bunch of time to put in a permanent course.

[VTskier]

@jercrane one thing to note is that you have the clearest water in the world, so finding the subbuoy is easy. There are some bodies of water that will need a drag to retrieve the anchor line by perpendicular travel to the course. We use a duck decoy that is permanently floating above the sub at our fill buoy for the Wally sinker. This would work to locate the sub on any style course. While requiring a course to be raised and lowered daily, NH apparently does not require decoys to be removed.

[jercrane]

@VTskier very good point

I'm still shocked no one messes with your duck.

[VTskier]

@jercrane It’s crazy badass duck. You still pulling that course up there on occasion? I sank mine for winter.

[Keith_Menard]

@jercrane would love to see the schematic!

[VTskier]

@"Keith Menard" I bought the full Wally sinker with pre-gates two years ago. You are easily $6500 by the time all is said and done. There are some upgrades that really matter including the air bladder sleeves at about $28 per. As @bdecker mentions, the upgraded pump if you have a long fill line from shore. Personally I would substitute a stainless 2.25” snap hook anywhere a ‘plastic clip’ is mentioned in the plans.

 

But for sure, if built properly, exactly as Wally instructs, it will work flawlessly. Wally is eager to help. 10 mins max up time, while you have coffee and plan your perfect set.

[Clydesdale]

Thanks @jercrane, @skimtb , and @VTskier great info. I’m in a shallow lake in Maine so vis in mid summer is about 2 ft if I’m lucky. I like the idea of a guideline run to my beach, or.... maybe a whole flock of decoys!

[VTskier]

@Clydesdale After we realized the decoy was legal, we wondered about making a whole course out of them....

[jercrane]

@VTskier nope we're done with the portable now too. We're skiing on our second permanent course occasionally but maybe only a couple more times.

 

@"Keith Menard" I dumped the Excel doc I got from @Bdecker into a google sheet.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10SLLm6iC0sEtZ-o03jIAwD3axrPeSUYSfCszdA2ypeI/edit?usp=sharing

It's super detailed. The "buoy setup" tab has the detailed schematic of the buoy design. It's pretty slick. Some hot tips I got from Brian ...

- use braided poly cord not twisted or it snags in the pully ... more expensive

- use the highest tolerance pulleys you can find. Any wobble in the pulley wheel can cause jamming

- the counter weight needs to be long and skinny

[Bdecker]

@jercrane - while I’d love to take credit for this, the real genius behind the design is 2018 Men’s 9 National Champion, George Adams!