dvskier

I had a 1997 SN and now have a 2004 196. Can't beat the wakes and reliability. You'll generally find the Nautiques have been taken care of also.

2,000 rpm, bow up, no water!

All of the info should be in the regional guide. It is in the Southern region.

More like 70 hp.

Take a look at the turn balls. Looks like we went the right direction on many things.

Yep, same here.

Fly to Kansas City, rent a car and drive to Wichita. Did it before, see the rolling hills of the heartland.

McMaster has everything you need.

I've been on Radar bindings for 4 years, no issues at all. I've replaced the laces before but that's all.

Excalibur = 330 HP in USA, perhaps 350 in Canada?

Was it a bowling ball? Never seen that before!

The "Scrutinizer".

This is called a "dirty neutral" and it's caused by warped clutch plates in the transmission. I use a drill pump kip that I got from Overtons, cost about $15 and it comes with an assortment of hoses. The small hose works perfect for extracting transmission fluid, you should get the boat up to operating temperature prior to extraction.

Keep your fingernails trimmed close or you’ll punch a hole in the top. Treat it with kid gloves, I keep mine on a plastic hanger when not in use. Don’t need a dry suit any longer.

92 in SC (water temp)

That would be Mystic Waters owned by Lynn Cranes. Austin operates the ski school. He has a 2018 Madtercraft and will accommodate you well. Many PBS run there, course is certified and they have hosted Pro slalom events. I can not recommend this site too highly. The best coach in the world!

Won Big Dawg today.

4 pairs of Revo sunglasses, one cellphone, one 18v rechargeable battery, gas cap.

Mostly v drive wakeboats. Hmm how could that be? Those guys are so cautious?

Yeah, I had the 97 SN with burgundy masters colors. It was a great boat with the GT 40 engine, very reliable. Pulled a 4-3-2-1 pyramid for show skiing a few times with no problem.

Might need a new prop.

Wow!

Lyric would work best for you.

Big lake in a storm is for sure as worst case scenario for any small craft especially a low open bow boat. I have a 2004 SN 196 and I would adjust rpm to 2,000 and proceed. At this power setting I have never taken a roller. I don't cruise around in the ski boat as I also have a 24' pontoon at my dock for cruising. I would think an additional bilge pump located aft most would be very useful as that's where all the water will go, to the very back of the boat. If you slow the boat down to pump the water out you'll surely take on more water and capsize the boat. Overall you simply can't be too careful when it gets nasty.

@dnewton Just make up your mind that you're going to do it and practice pulling out on both sides for a few passes. Proper hand placement will really even out the pull. I was in the same situation as you. Any habit can be broken with determination, don't be discouraged. It feels completely natural after about a dozen passes. You can do it.