h2onhk

even if you'd pick the best of the worst you are still way ahead

'07 196. Replacing raw water impeller and port side knock sensor. Few small spots of pin stripping to replace from light dock rash. Also replacing the hydrogate decal from "slalom-wakeboard" to the correct "slalom-trick/jump" decal. Also noticed that the anti-freeze that I put in the block has been leaking out into the bilge area. Have no idea where it's coming from. Checked both knock sensors, all hoses, freeze plugs are original and not leaking, exhaust manifold plugs, etc. I dried out the bilge and put a layer of shop towels down to try to pinpoint the leak. almost looks like its coming back where the transmission bolts up. Never noticed any water in the bilge during ski season. Only a slight trace from the packing gland drip which is normal. Any thoughts?

@RazorRoss3 check out the gopro video in this thread about 1 page down.....it shows how they got started. crazy! Short link crap....long link....my bad

@guppy73 ... I can relate to your situation. My wife and I started with a 97 Malibu Sunsetter V-Drive as our first boat before kids. It was a decent slalom free skiing wake and we could wakeboard and surf behind it as well. We then moved into a 05 Mastercraft X2 that was great for wakeboarding but the slalom wake suffered. Then our first daughter was born. It was clear this boat was not the boat to teach a little one how to ski. The bow rise was very high and the wake wash was terrible at slow speeds. 2 more kids later we switched to a Malibu FXi crossover direct drive and had more success. We could run the course, wakeboard and surf, but the entry level wake was still pretty scary for a 6 yr old who was learning to slalom and cross the wake. And 4 yr old was just learning on trainers. My kids grew more interested in slalom and trick skiing the last couple years so we changed boats....again....to our Nautique 196. Best boat purchase we made so far. Fits our watersport needs which is the key. Finding a boat, new or used, that fits your needs and water lifestyle. Keeping in mind that you influence your kids and your kids will influence you on how your family enjoys the water!

Northern Ohio....Check. Air 61, water 39. Vest and board shorts only which is a requirement if you want the FILO crown. Keeping it in the family this year. Wife won it late November for being the Last Out. I snagged it yesterday for being the First In. And yes it was on a trick ski. My little 25hp Lund just can't quite get me up on a slalom.

My previous boat was a Malibu direct drive with the G3 tower. Rope came in contact with the tower at -28 on down. looks like the new tower design has corrected this problem but does it impede the drivers visibility? After owning boats with towers and now a boat without I have to say I love simplicity of not having one to mess with.

the new 2017 Miss Swiss ad to show up... ;) and maybe going to a release shell vs. my high wrap after seeing the pic @rockdog posted in "The Mental Game" thread

@horton this may be a good subject for a poll. would be interesting to get ballers perspectives on how they go about purchasing their tugs and were number of hours comes into the equation. Only Promo? Only New? 0-400hrs not knowing original owner, 400-800 hrs only knowing the original owner, 800+, don't care because I can fix anything, etc, etc. just a thought.

holy crap that was hilarious!

@horton this site lead me to change boats (again), upgrade my ski, upgrade my handle, upgrade my bindings, buy my wife a knew ski, upgrade my daughters ski, change my handle grip (which went against everything my mind told me was correct about skiing) and think/talk about skiing waaaay too much. All since September of 2015. Wife thinks I'm insane. But I keep telling her she got a knew ski out of it annnnd it got me into 35off! And as a huge bonus, I have 3 little first mates (8, 6, &2) that are all getting more interested in chasing buoys. BOS rocks!

@horton. I like it.....we need a prototype and if the test market is successful and expands to automotive we could retire next year

how is that 1 and 3 even humanly possible.....holy crap that's getting after it! Good for her!

Ski It Again is an awesome sight. Unfortunately if I switch boats again my wife tells me I may have to put out a personal ad on craigslist. " This is the one honey....our forever boat, I promise" isn't working anymore.

Just read @Than_Bogan post on experimental tech.

@A_B buoys or no buoys?

Just glad to see boat manufacturers continuing to innovate and invest in R&D of 3 events boats. R&D isn't cheap whether you are making paperclips or fiberglass molds. If Nautique, Mastercraft, Malibu, and Centurion are going to continue to try and improve/invest in what are already considered outstanding boats/hulls/technology, kudos to them!

@blinddog, low pressure high volume air is the key to remove the water without damaging the core

I always took a small shop vac and reversed the vac hose so it would push instead of vacuum, then stick the vaccum hose on the end of the "to heater" hose and blow low pressure high volume air until i saw all the water come out of the "from heater" hose. Once all the water was out I would dump antifreeze in the "to heater" hose and use the shop vac again to blow the antifreeze through the heater core until I saw the antifreeze come out of the "from heater" hose. This worked on a couple different model boats. Temps were I'm at would get close to or below zero each winter. also make sure the antifreeze you are using is rated for the exposure temps.

Lot of good insight and thoughts around free skiing. I like the thought of going a length beyond the PB just for the feel. And I completely agree its a great way to get in ski shape earlier in the season to prep you for the course and to stay in shape during the season.

We ski a portable course on public water. In the past when the course was not in, free skiing was always a default to 15off, which is typically my opening length. This summer i started free skiing deeper line lengths all the way up to my PB at 35off. I found that even though there were no buoys and I'm sure that I was making my turn too late, I could work on my form without feeling rushed. It seemed to help. Curious what others thoughts are on this and if it helps or hurts you.

My first ever 32 pass this summer came when I pulled out a little later. Allowed me to stay high and not have slack out of one. Had a hard time repeating it until I mentally convinced myself that I was not going to have a really late gate by doing so. Standing tall on the glide and handle position right before the turn in played a big part. If i reverted back to my old of habits of riding the tail and arms out with rope chest high I screwed up the gate every time at 32 and 35 and would struggle getting back ahead at 28.

If the water depth by the shoreline was conducive, would a couple layers of snow fence attached to T-posts driven into the bottom work? 2-rows say 4-5' apart? The fence would extend from the bottom to above the water level thus helping dissipate the entire wave and backwash. I realize this wouldn't work for dividing a lake but may help in some trouble spots on the shoreline as long it didn't pose a risk to the skier.

also winding down here in Northwest Ohio. Last evening was very nice with water at 68 and air at 82.....sad when you turning on NAV lights at 6:50. Hoping for a few more runs before antifreeze. Weather turning colder this weekend

I used a can of spray oil (liquid wrench maybe?) and stuck a long piece of 1/8" polytube on the end of the straw. Stuck the poly tube down each end of the winch tube to about the middle and applied the lubricant. worked pretty good and didn't have to drill any holes.

I have an older KD7000 slalom from the early 90's that is heavier and seems to handle rough water/chop better than my newer D3 if my form goes to crap (riding the back foot)....but if i focus on good form the D3 still turns better in the chop than the 7000 ever did in the smooth. Just have to know your limits. Rogue boat rollers worry me more than 10mph wind chop. @skibrain is that a hobie 18? you the jib man running trapeze for counter balance? really cool photo!