jpwhit

When Nautique says the hulls are the same, that typically means the hull is made in the same mold. It doesn't necessarily mean the running gear is the same. I'm thinking maybe the sport 200 didn't come with tracking fins. Yes, you just need a 12v power source to get the Linc screen to power on. A jump starter pack would be a convenient option if you had one handy. A lot of people never set the keypad code. If that's the case, you can just push the start button. There are 2 blue lights on the bottom of the keypad. First press of start turns on first light and that's the equivalent of the key being in the ACC position. 2nd press is the same as ignition key On position and 2nd blue light comes on. 3rd press is the same as pressing Start on a push button start car.

When looking at boat info on the internet, you're getting a lot of opinions. From someone that pulls / teaches a fair number children and women to ski the course at slower speeds, and from someone that has been doing it recently with MasterCraft, Nautique, Malibu boats. My strong opinion is Malibu isn't the best choice for that use case. I think the latest Prostar is the best (2014+), the first generation 200 is 2nd best but close, the Malibu is a distant third.

I've never seen an automotive / marine engine filter in shrink wrap. They typically just come in lightweight cardboard box. So that seem fine to me.

Surfing is for passing the time between slalom sets. And for when you have friends visiting that aren't into more serious water sports. What we really enjoy about surfing with a boat full of people, is that it's very social. The surfer is close enough that they can communicate with people in the boat. Our lake house is on a very large lake that's not near any cities with significant population. The slalom course is in the back of a very long twisty cove in shallow water. Everyone surfs out in the deeper part of the cove and then everyone comes and rafts up near the slalom course to watch people ski. We don't have any conflict to speak up between the slalom skiing and the surfers, wake-boarders, and tubers. To get a good wave for surfing, you need deep water. So anybody that knows what they're doing, knows better than to try surfing in the shallower parts of the cove. Maybe we're the exception, but most people on our lake actually do seem to know what they're doing. It also helps that it's a very friendly community and everyone makes a real effort to meet most of the other boaters on the lake.

I would permanently install another bilge pump in the very back of the boat. I would use one of the automatic ones that runs for a couple of seconds every 2-3 minute and determine if there is water based on the amount of power the motor draws. They are much more reliable over the long run than pumps with a float switch, they also have the benefit of getting almost all the water out. If there's not enough room for a traditional bilge pump in the very back due to the fuel tank, then I'd use a ballast pump mounted in the engine compartment and just run the suction hose to the very back of the boat. If you don't have the MTS ballast tank / pump option, then you could use the power feed to run this new pump. Then you could clear the water right from the touch screen.

When you change engines to a different HP, do you have to do anything relative to the Zero Off calibration?

Some outboards have a mechanical limit on how far down the outboard can go with the power trim. You may want to check if there is the ability to change that to give you a wider range of trim options. Reducing overall weight and/or increasing speed will both always reduce the wake. Sometimes pretty dramatically. You may not have to speed up all the way to 34, if you're not already skiing at least 32mph, I'd give that a try. Moving weight from the back of the boat towards the front of the boat will make a much bigger difference than simply adding weight to the front. Look and see if there is any weight in the back that can be moved forward. Battery comes to mind if it's in the back. Something like an anchor if you can't leave it, move it to the front. Technique can also make a huge difference. If you're not keeping the ski completely on edge through the wakes, then you're going to get a lot of jarring. Mentally it can be hard thing to do, especially if you're dealing with knee pain to force yourself to keep cutting hard through the wakes with the ski on edge instead of going flat.

Two common places where water comes in on the 200 is the muffler as @Gloersen point out. The other is screws in the hydrogate will wiggle out over time and water comes in the empty screw hole(s). I'd check the hydrogate first just because it's easy. Look for missing screws with the boat out of the water. If the boat is tilted on the ramp, and there is enough water in the bilge, you'll see a stream of water coming out of the hydrogate screw hole.

Any Marine shop can do a dump for you All current boats use the same eControls ECU.

I think the relay under the dash is a main power relay driven by the keypad. If that's correct, it'll click when you push the start button the first or second time, whenever the 2nd blue light comes on on the keypad. Things like the Linc display will power up when that relay energizes.

If you have or are willing to buy a fuel pressure gauge, then checking the fuel pressure while starting will quickly rule out if you have any type of fuel pump / fuel delivery issue. Pressure should be in the 50-60 psi range. You may be dealing with two issues. The engine codes may be due to an intermittent or transient issue that's not actually causing your no-start condition. Just something to keep in mind. I agree with @aupatking, the safety lanyard switches tend to fail much more frequently than ignition coils. And it's easy to rule that out by jumping the switch rather than having to buy a part. I've never actually had to replace an engine coil on a vortec engine. My impression is the electronic ignition modules fail more often than the coil. Not that the coils never fail.

The cap and rotor are not marine specific. So it's fine to get them at an auto parts store or order them from Amazon.

I'm assuming this is a PCM EX343. If so, that engine is known for having the distributor cap and rotor button wear out and cause ignition issues. If you haven't changed those recently, you probably should. That distributor also tends to have issues with the ears that the distributor cap screws thread into breaking off. If you have that issue, Dorman makes a plate to deal with the problem. Link to it on Amazon below. This wouldn't explain the engine codes you're seeing, but it's a common reason for no spark on that engine. https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-90449-Distribution-Repair-Plate/dp/B00BQAJNWO/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2QNCXCAAWQNX8&keywords=dorman+90449+vortec+distributor+repair+plate&qid=1674531455&sprefix=Dorman+dis%2Caps%2C89&sr=8-1

Hard to keep straight which ones have 1 and which have 2 relays. Given the additional code for the main power relay, I think you're having an issue with power getting to all parts of the engine power box. Which would also explain the lack of spark. Could also be a grounding issue in that same area. My suggestion is to use a meter and start checking you have 12V at the right places in the engine power box. At the fuse locations is a good place to start. You can also check the fuses are good more thoroughly with them removed. By check their resistance with a meter. With a fuse pulled out you should have 12V on one side of the fuse connection. With the Relay's pulled out, you should have 12 on one of the 2 relay coil pins. The other relay coil pin goes to the ECU and will be pulled to ground by the ECU when it wants to energize the relay. That pin may float somewhere between ground and 12v when the ECU is not trying to energize the relay and will be very close to 0V when the ECU is trying to energize the relay. Such as during starting. Where you attach the negative lead of the meter can help determine if you have a grounding issue. It's best to initially use the negative terminal of the battery. If everything reads correctly using that ground point, then do the measurements again using the engine block as the ground point. If that reads correctly, then repeat a 3rd time using a ground point somewhere inside the power box. Without being at a boat to look, I can't really remember where to find a ground point inside the engine power box. But if there is an obvious ground bar, then that's a good place. If the reading change as you change your ground point. Then there is a problem with the ground where you get different reading. A couple of tenths of a volt difference is ok. More than that indicates an issue. Just to make sure, you have checked that the safety lanyard / switch is ok? I don't think that'll cause the relay open engine codes, but it will kill the spark.

SPN 1348, FMI 5 is typically caused by a failed fuel pump relay. Since the code is for pump #2, that's the relay for the high pressure pump inside the FCC. Pump assembly 1 is the low pressure fuel pump. Both relays are mounted on the engine power panel. I think the relay for pump 1 and 2 are the same. If so, you can swap them and see if the code changes to pump 1. That's an easy way verify for sure it's the relay. It's less common, but if its not the relay it can be a wiring harness issue.

I guess it's winter doom and gloom time :) Personally, I try not to spend my mental energy thinking about all the ways my favorite activities could perish. Instead I try to focus my energy on what I can directly control to promote the things I like doing. For water skiing, that's using the off-season to make improvements to the lake house, fix up the boats, get plans on the family calendars to get as many friends and families committed to spending time at the lake this coming summer. Whatever happens in the boat market, I'm confident I'll figure out a way to get what I need. Way too many variables to try and figure out what "may" go wrong. Over the Thanksgiving Holidays, I taught 2 teenage family members to surf. Neither had ever done any watersports before. It takes some ingenuity and scheming to get a couple of teenagers into the water on a 55 degree day in November. That's where I spend my energy, on scheming to get what I want... Especially now that I achieved by life long goal of early retirement this past April.

@jgills88 I don't think that study is very relevant to skiing. It's pretty much focused on organized group sports where kids are dropped off by parents. A lot of those parents just think of that as a form of childcare. In practical terms, most kids skiing are doing it as a family activity. And it tends to be small group oriented. And like @Horton, the way I kept my kids engaged was by making it interesting with other kids their age being involved. We accomplished that by spending the summer with 4 other families RVing at the lake 5-6 weeks every summer. My twin girls just turned 30, and they are still extremely committed to skiing. They started when they were 6 years old. Now we have a lake house, and both my girls and their husbands, along with a couple of their nephews and their spouses, as well as some of the kids they grew up with skiing all spend many weeks and weekends at our lake house each summer. My first grandchild is expected in April and many of the young families that spend time at the lake house are expecting kids soon as well. So the next generation is just around the corner as well.

For boat gas cans where I use a jigger hose, I use gas can caps like these. https://amazon.com/Replacement-gallon-thickened-coarse-threads/dp/B0BG64PLF7/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2WO8UZ602Q0ZS&keywords=gas+can+cap&qid=1670417190 They are less likely to leak and are just easier to deal with.

I use the same large size jigger that @Gloersen uses on our club's 200. If you buy a 12" long section of 3/4 inch copper tube and hose clamp it into the end of the hose, it'll fit into boats that require unleaded. The large hose is fast, it'll transfer a 6 gallon can into the boat in less than a minute if you keep the can 3-4' above the boat.

@BraceMaker the way ZO feels is due to the details of their control algorithm. Not because of how quickly they can change power settings. And instantaneous control of torque doesn't just apply to adding torque, it equally applies to reducing torque.

@BraceMaker, I was sitting here trying to think of a worse way to do speed control for an electric boat, but you've got me stumped with that one. That would take a powertrain where you have near instantaneous electronic control of massive torque, and negate all of it through a bunch of mechanical components.

This is what I use. I have a BassPro 5 minutes from my house so I just pick it up locally. https://basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-e-z-siphon

I think you'll get more info and responses on teamtalk.mastercraft.com

Typically 6 passes through the course.

@RAWSki yes, everyone brings their own gas. We also go by 1.25 gallons per set.