Prostar Hull Revisions

[jpattigr]

BTW, my wife drives all 3 boats (196, PS and 200) regularly and does a great job driving all 3. But when I almost bought the Prostar, she was not excited, so we keep the 196 that we love!

[aupatking]

I loved my PS. It didn’t track like a 200. It didn’t sit in the same place (driver wise) between the boat guides as a 196. It didn’t sit as high off the water (feeling) as the TXI.

I very quickly got used to it and pulled a lot of 32 up to 38’s and a few through 38 and 39, with no complaints.

The hull of the PS sits on top of the water. The 200 is a plow through the water. The 200 has a horrible wake for children, or really anyone going less than 30 (slalom). The Prostar has a great wake, even at 19 mph.

They are different boats using different design theories. The wake is better in the Prostar, the tracking is better in the 200.

If you’d drive the Prostar enough to get used to it, you’d like it just fine. If your wife is a good enough driver to get you through 38 now, she’s plenty good enough to get a Prostar between the boat guides. Especially with some driver seat time

[RAWSki]

I always have trouble jumping from a ProStar to a Nautique​ or from a Nautique​ to a ProStar. But both are very capable and easy to drive straight with a little practice. I still put some weight in a Nautique too just not as much. I usually ski better behind a MC. But that is probably because of @MISkier 's and @Rook 's driving.

[escmanaze]

I guess I would have thought that most guys that are running 38 are also guys who darn near always have access to a pretty decent driver.

 

@Buxrus says that he's running 38, but he is very commonly dealing with various "less than ideal" drivers.

 

I would think somebody like that would be the exception, not the rule.

 

Am I wrong? I don't run anywhere close to 38, so I don't really know what kind of world that is. I could easily be wrong in my assumption.

[6balls]

@escmanaze if I have a novice driver...I run 28 off openers, maybe some 32 off passes but I'm not taking them to 35 and 38. I've run 38 behind a lot of folks that are far from pro's but are solid.

At 38 I don't typically feel like it's the boat, it's the driver(and a lot of me)...meaning I'll take any nice boat with a driver familiar with it, that pulls some shortline skiers.

As a driver I can be reasonably dialed in with any of the boats in relative short order, each having their own unique traits...and some may be preferable but all are workable.

As for the PS specifically...my brother was a bull at 34 mph, and his son Mitch is no picnic sometimes at 36...and I could drive them both.

As for rudder grinding...I think they all should have adjustable rudders...no grinding. They should come with nice weights with suggestions on placement whether empty or with crew, based on R and D...to ensure the best performance of any given hull.

[aupatking]

@6balls I wanted to give that an awesome and an insightful, but I am only allowed 1 so went with what I think is the better of the 2

[DW]

@escmanaze - not always easy to find a good driver, in reality like any endeavor only a relatively small percentage are really good. In the end, getting out on the ski and in the water is the most important part, the rest is a bonus.

 

On the thread topic, the setups between the Prostar and the 200 are very different - prop rotation and skeg to pylon location I would think are keys to those 2 being very different behind the wheel.

[Broussard]

@DW I venture to say that hull design is the biggest key in the different feel behind the wheel. The ProStar hull is designed to ride higher in the water in order to generate a smaller wake. This leads to the boat feeling "free-er" from the drivers' perspective. The 200 sits lower in the water which causes more drag and displacement. This helps the boat to track better but is detrimental to the wake, especially at slower speeds and longer line lengths.

[DW]

@Broussard - just commenting on a couple of distinct differences that would make them drive differently. Do you know if anybody actually measured the difference in displacement between the two boats?

[swc5150]

My previous 196's also tracked easier and smoother than our Prostar did, and they didn't have 200-like wet surface area. Nautique just has some magic formula for making boats drive smooth, from throttle to wheel. But, MC found the magic solution for the best wake long to short, slow to fast. If only they could be combined.

[VONMAN]

When I first moved to Florida I was skiing a guy on a small lake with a Malibu TXI nice boat. Great wake. First two times out on the course I was just a skier no driving. The third time out it was just him and me. So jump in the drivers seat and do a practice run, no skier. My ski buddy gets in the water for his set. Well kids this boat is all over the place, I stop and apologize up and down. He's had the boat for eight years and to him its normal.

Now I was in a club for 13 years in Michigan, we would get a new Malibu every year and one of my jobs was to make the boat track like it was on a rail. Early Bu's meant filing the rudders or later Bu's setting the rudder tab. The next time I came out skiing I brought tools along to set up the rudder tab. Bingo! new boat that tracked straight and true. How does that happen?

Or how bout running a boat with a full gas tank. Or passengers in a boat that have no concept of weight distribution. Fun times when the back of the boat is overloaded with fuel and the wake is higher and a sharper hit. Or over loaded not level stern and the wake is soft on one side and a wall on the other. Both have happened at ski tournaments.