jpwhit

Right, as barometric pressure changes, air is sucked into and pushed out of the tank. The air being sucked in brings in the moisture that's in that air. It's a tiny amount, but the longer the boat sits unused over the winter, the more water that accumulates. I can see that a metal tank will tend to condensate more than a plastic tank. Even without condensation, if you have ethanol in the tank it will absorb the moisture out of the air. The fuller the tank, the less air volume in the tank. The smaller the air volume the less air to expand and contract and therefore less air that flows in and out and brings in moisture. Liquid gasoline does not expand and contract with barometric pressure. And the change in volume of liquid gasoline with temperature is inconsequential. I almost never fill my tank either to keep the weight out of the back of the boat. But winter is one of the few times I do. In the spring, it doesn't tank long to burn off the extra weight and I'm not going for a PB first thing in the winter anyway. But if you've been doing it a different way for a while and haven't had any water in tank issues. Then it's not really an issue. Actually, since you said you run ethanol fuel during the season, that will clear the water out over time. This is more of an issue for folks that run ethanol free all the time.

The 1868 was the original factory prop and tournament approved prop on the 5.7L 200 when it came out. But the boat ran fairly high RPMs with that prop. Around 2013 they switched the factory default prop to the 654 and that was also the tournament approved prop starting the year they switched. It brought the RPMs down to a more reasonable level. I tried the 1868, 422, and 654 on my first 200 (2011 model) and I ended up also running the 654. It just felt best with that prop. The 200 I have now, with the 5.7L also has a 654 on it.

I run ethanol fuel most of the time, because as long as it doesn't sit for a long time it helps keep water out of the tank. And in newer fuel injected boats, the fuel system is designed to stand up to ethanol fuel. I do put non-ethanol fuel in for the boat when I'm not using it during the winter. But for me, that's just mid-November through February. Ethanol fuel isn't nearly as stable as non-ethanol fuel over time. The ethanol tends to absorb and retain moisture. But you should always fill the tank for winter storage. If the tank isn't full, then there is a lot of air in the tank. The air exchanges through the vent and can cause condensation in the tank during the winter temperature changes. A full tank prevents condensation during the winter. If the fuel level is really low, then metal components in the tank, such as the fuel pump assembly can corrode if they aren't submerged in fuel. I do run non-ethanol fuel exclusively in any engine that have a carb. Such as all my lawn equipment. If I had a boat with a carb, I'd run non-ethanol all the time.

It can also be the Throttle Base Assembly failing again. How many hours on the boat?

You can tighten the pivot bolts on the tab itself to create some friction, that keeps it from moving on it's own.

I've patched the one in my 200 twice now. Have over 2000 hours now and the patches have both held w/o any issue.

@Jody_Seal, I've already updated my ECM with the new CAL file. That's why I was explaining that @griff1008 would need to buy the revised part and have his ECM flashed. I did keep mine running for quite a while by rebuilding the TCP with parts from prior broken ones, but I eventually ran out of good pieces and got tired of it, so just went to the revised part and updated the ECM.

Your Throttle Control Position Sensor (TCP) needs to be replaced. However, since the maker of the original TCP has gone out of business, and the part has been replaced by a newer TCP, your ECM is going to have to be re-flashed with a new calibration file. https://nautiqueparts.com/product/potentiometer-assy-2/

That sounds like the transmission pump squealing to me. Pretty hard for seals or a bearing to make that kind of noise that loud. I suspect it's time for a transmission rebuild.

Can you post a link to the other thread?

Take both boats to a truck stop and weight them. If the trailer's aren't the same, use the same trailer.

I'm pretty sure you can send your current one to Livorsi for rebuild / repair. That may be the easiest and cheapest option. I'd give them a call. (877-548-5900)

Does anyone have a good picture of the 2014-2020 ski racks.

@Laz there is only one spring.

The PTM 140 is best wide mirror IMO.

My dock has those. A friend that's building a new house and dock saw mine and wanted some for his new dock. So far he hasn't been able to locate a source. So if you do find a source, my friend would like to know.

I've never had a course in a river, so I can't offer much help with dealing with the current. But I've maintained a couple of courses on a public lake for years. I'm not sure I understand the purpose of individually anchoring the turn balls, but using a traditional mainline for the pre-gates, gates, and boat guides. Even in a lake w/o any current, I think keeping the individually anchored turn balls in alignment with an anchored mainline is going to be a nightmare and time consuming.

I helped a long time family friend buy a "general use" boat 2 years ago to go with their new lake house. We ended up settling on an XT22. We are over there using the boat fairly often so I have first hand knowledge of how it performs. It surfs pretty well, and the ski wake is acceptable for recreational skiing if you're not very picky. I should set some context for my earlier post in this thread. Since this site is very slalom specific, and the majority of people here do ski the course, that was the context for my earlier statement. A lot of people here when they talk about crossover, they are looking for a boat like the Sunsetter LXI, which is certainly slalom course capable. I don't think a crossover boat that is slalom course capable and can surf at a reasonable level is practical.

I don’t think crossover boats are practical now that surfing has become so dominant. When it was mainly skiing and wakeboarding you could bridge the gap with weight in the form of ballast. Now modern boats in both disciplines are relying on very specific hull designs. Sure you can throw a bunch of weight and a shaper on a ski boat and “surf”. But compared to a modern surf boat that would be about the same as telling a course skier they should be happy running the course using an I/O. I gave up on the notion of a crossover long ago. If you want to ski the course and surf at a descent level. The practical option is 2 boats.

Boat marketing is irrelevant imo. They don't put any real money into it, otherwise you'd see national media advertising. If anything it's to sway people between brands, people already know what they're interested in doing before they come to any of this material.

If you're not being towed in gear at idle before the pull-up, you should try that. I have to be very careful on the deep water starts to keep my lower back happy. I find that a 2-step start, "in gear" followed by "Pull" once I'm moving pretty well makes a big difference. I also intentionally let the boat pull me far forward on the ski during the pull-up rather than resisting the pull. Just to the point of almost going over the front of the ski. Really reduces the stress on the deep water starts.

Coble Ski School in Lillington, NC. https://cobleskischool.com/

On one of my submerged courses, I made my PVC booms instead of using standard insta-slalom collapsible PVC booms. They are nearly completely sealed. Just a couple of small holes drilled into the PVC to let air out and water in. A very small section in the middle with a sealed air chamber to keep the middle of the PVC from sagging. Stays in the lake year round and on the bottom for more than 6 months of the year. No issue with muck getting into the PVC. @75Tique I have my pull-up lines going to the pre-gates. I never have to mess with the anchors. Saves a bunch of time. Some of my pull up lines are 500ft of vinyl covered SS cable. I'd happily go longer if needed to keep from having to mess with the anchors or hook the course with a grapple.

I mentioned feeling like falling off the ski in my post. I think that's what you're talking about. That completely goes away after a little while of getting use to the RTP. I don't think it really means that much other than the feeling is just different than how a double boots feel.

I have two courses in a public lake at my lake house. I don't have to take the balls off very often, but I do switch between the courses based on water level. In my experience, keeping the mainline and PVC pipes is actually helpful. What I do is attach pull-up lines at each Pre-Gate diamond. I use stainless steel cable for this for a couple of reasons. One, it sinks very well without having to have weights so there is less chance of it being snagged by boats and fishermen where it goes into shallow water. Second, it's also a color that doesn't stand out like yellow poly rope often used to make courses. I run these pull-up lines up onto shore and around a tree. If you don't know where they are, you'll never see them. The fastest way to raise the course is 2 people with fins, masks, snorkels, and a ball storage line. The ball storage line has loops where half of the course balls are clipped to the loops in the correct order. I use stainless steel d-rings for ball attachment. I keep the d-rings on the balls so that I can use them to attach to the storage line. The storage line also has a section at one end that the swimmer can clip around their waist, and then another few feet of line with another d-ring that you clip to the mainline so you don't lose it if you happen to drop it. We drop each swimmer at the pull-up lines at each end of the course. They both work towards the middle, pulling themselves along the mainline. Having fins and being able to pull along the mainline really speeds the process up. We can have the course up and ready to ski in 10 minutes w/o the swimmers being exhausted. Taking the balls off and letting the course drop is done in reverse. But it's very helpful if the swimmers attach the balls in the right order as they take them off. We've tried to find and attach balls to individual anchors. In practice, we find it time consuming and much more frustrating.