BrennanKMN

I think 'nice' is a subjective term. I will say having a few extra features helps though. I had a 1997 TSC1 Ski Nautique - one of the best hulls around according to many. I sold it and got a 2007 TSC3 Ski Nautique 196 with Zero Off. The wake is very similar, but I'd say my bubble butt was better. What I will say is ZO is a night and day difference for me as a skier. I was just starting to run 36MPH 22-28 off (moving up from 34MPH) and our lake has a short setup that requires turning in 100 feet before the 55s. PerfectPass Star Gazer always struggled with getting a consistent speed before 1 or 2 ball. Having the exact same pull every single time made a HUGE difference for me. I went from running 36@22 maybe 20% of the time to running 36@28 80+% percent of the time in 12 months. As long as the boat had ZO I don't think I'd care much. I might get lucky any pick up a few more balls, but I highly doubt it would give me the 12 ball jump having a consistent pull did. If I had a lake that was more accommodating to my PP boat I would have kept it. It's all about getting the job done. If you have an older boat at it is getting the job done correctly, I don't see any reason to upgrade. If you have an older boat that is not performing correctly then it might be a good investment for you. This goes back to the 'nice' and subjectivity thought. What does getting the job done correctly look like for you? Good wake, open bow, accurate times in a course, easy to drive, just a pylon and an engine? All of that depends on what your goal is. If you're not running the course just about any DD boat would be a great ski boat. The course makes a whole host of new problems appear for skiers.

"HA, looky here guys, that guys got a roll bar on his boat." I understand the function, but I don't want one on my boat. Completely ruins the sleek looks of the DD (and closed bow) tournament tow boats I fell in love with in the 90s. The look like any other boat on the water to me, which isn't anything special anymore.

I was just going to post what @MS did. https://news.delta.com/checked-sporting-equipment-will-fly-less-delta Makes Delta even more attractive than it already was compared to the competitors.

I previously had a 1997 SN bubble butt and it was and still is the best slalom boat I have ever skied behind. I sold it because I wanted to get into a ZO boat. I considered doing a re-power for about 6 months but ended up deciding against it. The main reason I didn't re-power it was resale. Once you re-power a slalom tug you have basically limited your market to hard core slalom skiers. For the average joe there are just so many unknowns with a modified boat. For every 1 guy out there running the course and actually caring about speed control there are 20 more than don't give a rats ass about it. I have seen several re-power boats come up on here and SIA for sale and they often take MUCH longer to sell than a fairly priced 2008+ ZO boat. For those that will run their hull into the ground then a re-power is probably a good idea. If you are not that type of person I would consider alternatives. Not to mention the cost of affordable factory ZO boats has come way down now that they are 10+ years old.

One of the best Nautiques made in my opinion.

I keep track of both my best run under any condition and my best run when skiing down the line in succession. They are pretty close for me. I also have a 34mph and 36 mph PB, oddly enough they are within 1 ball of each other. I am sure if I skied tournaments I'd keep track of that PB too, but I enjoy skiing and goofing around with my buddies more. That is why I am fully on board with @TEL making a new PB is way more fun than telling someone it doesn't count because they missed the previous pass.

18 miles - roughly 30 min.

I oiled my teak platform 1 to 2 times a year and it always looked great. Especially when wet - which it usually was when I looked at it. If the 1-2 hours a year it takes to maintain a teak platform is too much then so be it. In the time it takes for me to drain the oil during an oil change I could have my platform oiled. I hate my fiberglass platform. It hurts on bare feet, scratches easily and gets crazy hot when dry.

Drag back and fourth with a grappling hook. I made a grappling hook from a 4 pieces of rebar bent up in a U shape welded together. Drag that across where the mainline would be and you'll find it. That is how I find my course every spring.

I am digging these 'cold & rainy' conditions myself. Less bozos on the lake! One of the many reasons I much prefer using the boat before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. All the crazies pack it in for the season.

There are 4 other courses within 10 miles of Minnewashta that I know of too. Hard to beat the choices in the SW metro. Unfortunately 2 are submersible and the rest favor early mornings and late evenings for conditions.

Pull the intake hose, stick it in a bucket of antifreeze and run the engine for 30-60 seconds after draining the block and heater core is my preferred method. Like everything else there's 10 different ways to do it.

I used mine when I winterize the boat. Need to bump the RPMs up to 1200 or so to get enough heat to open the thermostats without waiting for hours. It's a good feature to have in my opinion.

Only reason I got a new boat was to get Zero Off, now that I have the latest technology in speed control there is no reason for me to get a newer boat until something game changing comes along. The minor changes in wake, drivability, engines, etc are not enough of a change to warrant a new boat for me. Same reason I don't get a new car very often. My old car has to either be not functional for the tasks I used it for, have a huge repair cost that isn't justifiable or a new car has to have some game changing feature. Cars haven't really changed in 10 years so I still have my old car. Ski boats haven't really changed since 2008 so I have my old ski boat. The manufactures haven't created enough of an incentive to upgrade yet.

I am currently living in Ashburn, VA (about 45 min west of DC) for a year. I have all but completely written off skiing this year. Trying to get anywhere for a set or two would take nearly an entire day between driving, traffic, skiing and the return trip.

I usually hand over and the rope out the back while I am sitting on the platform/transom just before jumping in. This accomplishes two things for me - checking the rope for knots before tightening it and being slow enough to not hook and fling anything out of the boat. If I don't do the above I have a coil sitting on the motor box with the loop on the pylon and the handle in my hand. While on the back of the boat I'll fling the rope off the side of the boat holding the handle letting it fully unspool.

Wish I was in town - I would have like to have made it. Glad to see a few more of my peers showing interest in the sport. I have yet to see another 20 something in the west metro skiing. Wake boarding dominates around here.

Teak. That is still the one thing I wish was easier to change on my boat. I miss my teak platform.

Maybe it is because I am a smaller guy (160 lbs), but I very rarely have an issue with anyones pull ups unless it's behind an I/O. I think most deep water start issues stem from poor technique vs. poor driving. As far as your question. Get into your ball position with your ski at a shallow angle and hang on. A fast pull and you'll be up on the water quick and a slow pull and you'll just need to ride out the ball position a little longer. Lots of upper body strength and good grip allow you to absorb most pulls.

I had a TCS-1 and now I have a TSC-3 for ZO. I still have a soft spot for my old bubble butt. I always will. I don't think there has been a boat to beat it yet. That was a hard boat to part with.

Damn good looking boat! Best of luck to you on your adventures south.

I could never do the 'imagine a ball that is 6,10,300 feet in front of the real ball' deal. So instead I opted to look at the pylon. I personally think that works better. It ensures you're not looking at the ball or whatever else is over there so you don't ski directly at it. It also helps you keep your body square to the boat. Further more it think it helps distract you from the speed. You can cut hard and focus on the pylon. I also disagree on the wakes comments. With a proper cut those wakes will not be an issue. To fix that I'd get out of the course. Personally I think some open water training will yield the best results here. Just a few sets of cutting drills will drastically improve course performance. Time out of the course will always benefit a person just learning the course. We often get to fixated on balls to consider open water training. Pull out wide, coast, drive your hip in towards the wake and let your ski fall under you until your hands and hips connect. Look at the pylon and ride the cut across and coast. Repeat side to side until you can cut through the wake on an edge. Right now she is basically on a flat ski.

I love their trailers, but when I needed help they would only go through dealers. Having that middle man always screwed up the message and made it very difficult.

See if you can watch/help your local marina. Even if you don't want to do it having the basic understanding of how it is done may help you one day.

I think half the fun for me is being with like minded people who take skiing serous too. I don't enjoy talking about skiing with a 'weekend warrior' because they are just not passionate about it like we are. The passion can be easily confused with 'too serious', but passion is what makes it fun for me.