braindamage

My response is that it can be done…but my gut and head says that it won’t. Does anyone have the actual statistics of the quantities of DD ski boats sold? I’m not sure, but my guess is that it’s something less than 500 annually in the US. This is out of the total boat market of 13,000 (from NMMA). If my estimate is close, then it’s ~5% of the total US registrations. I doubt it’s a good business model to build a low cost niche boat that most consumers would consider a luxury purchase. Previous attempts also seem to support that it won’t happen.

@Bruce_Butterfield you make my point exactly. It takes two to tango, so my note wasn’t intended as a message to only one side of this. My post is more about the posture of the posts that I see on this thread, from all sides. A lot of outrage, anger, bitterness, and justification of each side’s position. I don’t have a ready solution, and if I did, I wouldn’t post it here as it would be torn apart. I’m just sad because I love this sport and am worried that this type of dispute can escalate beyond a reasonable conclusion.

@sunperch the point I’m trying to make is that the response is disproportionate, and is shown through anger and bitterness, which doesn’t create any reasonable environment for resolution or compromise. I don’t have the history, so I hear from a lot of the posters here that this is the “straw that broke the camel’s back”. This is an understandable situation. I simply hope that this straw isn’t what splinters the waterski community, which is undoubtedly shrinking into yet smaller and competing communities…which will accelerate the degradation of participation already in motion. Or as my dad used to say…”cut off your nose to spite your face”. And because the over-arching social and political environment promotes anger and outrage as the normative response, it is unlikely to be resolved through understanding, grace, and compromise. That’s why I say it’s “sad”.

This thread reminds me of what happened to a private golf CC near me. Members got into a major fight over a relatively small issue…lawsuits, bankruptcy, and soon they have no CC. Sad…

@UWSkier ?

I’m banking on self driving cars to do that for me!!

Find job…or retire. Workout. Snow ski. Watch football. Have drinks with ski buds and talk about skiing next summer.

I skied 8 times in October. All is winterized and I’m spending 16 days in Belize.

My LXi was definitely not a rattle trap. The fit and finish was excellent.

@Dacon62 , @6balls and @UWSkier nail it. Largest boat to be AWSA tournament certified. I had one and it was the perfect ski, kid friendly, and public lake friendly DD. I still have pangs of regret from selling her.

Wow. 15 pages and almost 6 months, not one mind changed and no common ground established. For sure a microcosm of our society at large.

One of the best I’ve ever seen!

I imagine in my head a roller coaster like thing in a figure 8 in my basement…

Pop in hip, numbness, knot…yeah. You need a doctor, or at least a chiropractor or ART therapist.

@turbogoose Perfect fit!

When your job is at risk and all you hope for is that they fire you in April/May so you can have a great ski season.

My ‘00 SSLXi with PP would lock in around 6 sec. when I upgraded to zbox and the 9.?? Firmware it went to about 5. I think you need an upgrade.

‘99-04 Sunsetter LXi is the best for slalom and reasonable open bow playpen. Not so easy to find and they go quickly.

I like the back seat. I’ve never seen that before. Is that aftermarket? When did they go to no wood?

She’d be pretty with a bit of elbow grease

Wow! She is sweet!

I always like to resurrect things. I’ve done it with a ‘78 Jeep CJ5, an ‘00 Sunsetter LXi, and an old cabin built in the ‘50s. It’s a great experience, I learn a ton, and I know every inch and issue. I say go for it, join PlanetNautique forum, spend this summer planning and the off-season rebuilding. You’ll have a great boat that you know and love. If you have kids, get them involved. Nothing better!

My ego. Margaritas

As soon as you get higher on the boat you will have to grapple with the pace of the turns. I have a buddy that gets plenty high but doesn’t have a quick enough pace between turns to run the course. You can also calculate this on the vids.

I’m with @UWSkier . I have an iPhone 6 with a battery case that is my “ski phone”. Other than my wife making fun of me it works great!