WIRiverRat

Was out skiing behind a buddies new boat the other week and noticed it was significantly harder than normal. Was really having a hard time running 28off which is usually a gimme pass. The other day he took two kids out skiing at the same time and noticed one rope was significantly shorter than the other while using the same model rope from the same manufacturer. So they took a tape measure to it and found out the rope we were using was 7ft short. This was the top of the line rope from a very reputable manufacturer. I have not measured my ropes in year, just assuming they were all correct as I had not seen an out of tolerance rope in a long time. So next time you are struggling with a pass go ahead and just blame it on the short rope.

I always kept my ski boat on a lift but I used to keep a 26 foot sea ray sundancer on mooring whips in very busy water and they worked great. You could have a surf boat go by or a 50 foot cruiser and that boat never quite touched the dock in 5 years. It was amazing how much abuse those whips can take. It is very crucial you set your static lines to the dock correctly so that they boat does not move backwards or forwards but after you play around with them for a few days and find the optimal position they are great. You will have no problems keep a ski boat safe.

Luckily it is not the warden who issues the permit. It is good to have them on your side though as we did have a meeting with them to discuss the course and any safety issues. At least down here they were reasonable to work with. Here is the DNR website with all the information and forms: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/boat/slalomBuoys.html If you need to prove to your local warden that a temprorary slalom course (removed at end of day) does not require a permit here is the DNR website that says that. https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Waterways/recreation/water_ski.html

You need to get a Waterway Marker Application and Permit approved through the DNR. Be aware this permit is about $900 to apply for and is non refundable if they deny the permit (our local DNR worked with us closely before they made us pay to make sure it would likely be approved). As part of that application you need approval from all riparian land owners (note the permit can only be issued to the riparian owner so if that is not you then you will need one of those land owners to agree to hold the permit for you) You will need to write a narrative of the course, provide maps of the proposed location of all buoys, depth maps of buoy locations, and drawings of the structure underwater. I have all of this documentation made up so PM me if you want me to send it over so you have a template to work from. It was a 9 month process to get the permit but I think that would be cut down drastically now that we know how to do it (the DNR didn't even know the process when we began).

Jetsetr, Once you pull that course in and out for a few months and decide you want to get a permanent solution in place let me know. We just got a course permit over on the west side of the state and I now know all the regulatory hoops you have to jump through to get the state to approve you. Its always great to hear of more courses going in public water. I believe there are only two permitted courses on public water in the entire state.

I'm going to see if I can't get the local show ski team to pull me through my course with their dynaski next week (they are at the state show ski tournament this week). They have both a twin rig and a single engine dynaski. I'll report back how it goes. In the meantime for what its worth I have skied behind these boats and driven these boats (2005 was the last time I show skied), and I don't think a twin rig will be a very good slalom boat. Here are my recollections from driving/skiing it (I never took one through the course or took a serious slalom run behind one). The boat had tons of power, it was made to pull large acts like pyramids with 20 plus people at once. For a slalom skier this kind of acceleration is not needed. I don't know of anyone who needs more power to be pulled on a deep up from any of today's inboards. Because the boat had so much power is was actually quite difficult to dial in a speed exactly. The boat either wanted to go idle or very fast. It could have been the rigging on the boat that made it this way but pulling show ski jumpers one pass may be at 28mph and the next at 30mph. The wake was small, but very wide and very steep. Add to this that the pylon is in the back of the boat instead of the center and the wake is a little wider at all line lengths because you are effectively 5ft further back on the boat. Tricking was not much fun behind it. The speed seemed to vary between 15mph and 20mph because the boat was trying to plane off or fall back down. Because of the twin motors the table was very turbulent. Very steep wake made wake tricks a bit tough. Back then the general consensus was if it was a big act with lots of people break out the hydrodyne, if it was something that required finesse and tight speed control use the mastercrafts. I'll try to get behind one next week and report back from the slalom course. I'll bring a stop watch to have the spotter time in the speed. Hopefully I will be amazed and see a bunch of 16.95s.

Pete, The hulls from these show ski boats look totally different than the pictures of the single rig 17ft 6in and 20ft boats you showed before, are they different or just stripped down for show ski use? There is a local show ski team in my area that runs a twin rig and a single but I believe those hulls are at least 20 years old. I am sure I could get a ride behind one but I don't want to give you obsolete feedback as I assume things have changed quite a bit (they do have newer motors). I have driven the show ski boats as well (again 20+ year old hulls with newer motors), but this was 12+ years ago, but I found the twin rigs were harder to get a constant speed out of than a single rig. The boat either wanted to go 15mph for a swivel skiers or 45mph for a barefooter. In between there to get it dialed in to exactly where you wanted within .5mph could be a little challenging. Could be that there was so much power available it is hard to really fine tune a speed. Could also be an older hull, and older controls and things are easier now. The wake on that old twin rig was less than desirable for slalom skiing, but those boats were weighted to keep from flipping, the second engine adds a lot of weight, and two props makes for a very different table behind the boat. As for the swim platform size I would take a guess that it at minimum needs to be half the size of my nautique platform. I'll go get a measurement this afternoon for you. If you find yourself down in my area (la crosse) I'd love an opportunity to ski with you in the course. I think you are making some really cool boats and there has been huge advances in outboard tech that most of us are totally unaware of. I could get a ride and drive the local ski teams single rig (or twin) in the next week but I think your boats have changed enough that I would not be giving you anything valuable. I will say with the abuse show ski teams give your boats they do seems to last forever with the hulls seeing multiple motors over their lives.

Maybe the Mercury speed control would be good enough. The way I see it you will not convert many people who are skiing 38off to an outboard, but you may convert those looking for a crossover. Do those people really need zero off or stargazer, or just a pretty darn good pull? Dynaski Pete, if you come up with a boat and want some slalom skiers to give it a go and provide some feedback I'd love to pitch in some gas money and see what it can do in the course. At one point years ago I did have a drivers rating so I hopefully wouldn't run over too many buoys.

Would an old perfect pass work on an outboard? I may have just about all the parts to scrap together an old perfect pass 6.5. Its not as good as the GPS control but its better than nothing. No idea if there is room to mount that servo motor or if the new outboards need drive by wire reqiuring something altogether different.

I don't know of anything in north eastern Wisconsin. I am in La Crosse and have a course. I'd love to ski one. With speed control I think it could be darn close to an inboard. We put on a few 'fun tournaments" that are just sanctioned as practices so we can pull them with anything. If you want some feedback I am sure we would be happy to pull one of our tournaments, you would have people of all abilities to try it out.

I really like that interior. I think this is a very good alternative to all the V-drive "cross over" boats that will most likely slalom better and be much less expensive while still giving the same amount of storage. A boat that can take the whole family to the beach but also be a pretty good slalom tug. So the question is where can one be tried in a slalom course to see how it really performs?

Dynaskipete, What does the interior layout of the 20ft boat look like? The other day I was discussing a new boat with a newer skier who is just getting in to running the course and he wants to get a crossover boat for the family. He was thinking about a V Driver Mastercraft which will not be a great slalom wake. However he really like the seating arrangement of the wrap around seats. With an outboard I would think that type of seating arrangement would be possible while still giving a better pull than a V Drive. Maybe this is the do everything crossover boat. Living in Wisconsin and having show skied behind dynaskis I am now very curious to slalom behind one. I have never slalomed behind an outboard except a 74 bayliner many years ago.

Here is mine just to freak out everyone who thinks you need a dually diesel just to tow a ski boat. Here is my 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee (with a 5.7L hemi) towing my other boat, a 36ft coablt that weighs in around 15,000lbs wet. It goes about a mile a year that way and I would never tow it more than 25mph but it has absolutely no issues taking it in or out of the ramp. I do also have a Ski Nautique 196 that I sometimes tow with my Volvo s80. That handles things with no problem (it does have a 3500lb tow rating). No need for the biggest truck in the world, these ski boats really don't weigh very much.

I just took my first ride on my new C-65 with the CG fin and wow was it fast. It was my first run of the year and the water was 38F and air was only 50F so take that for what its worth but I just about crapped myself when the ski rolled on edge and took off. I am coming off an old D3 Custom X but was demo'ing the NRG last fall and this ski/fin combo feels like a whole different level than those skis. Very excited to see what it can do once the water warms up and I can feel feelings again while I ski.

OSUwaterskier, I have a 98 nautique and just bought that same pair of JL speaker for it. How did you mount them properly? With the cloth cover on the nautique and the non-removable grills on the JLs I can't see a way to mount them flush which will not provide very good sound. I am thinking I might have to return them and get something where the grill comes off.

ShererSkier/and or swc5150, if you want to make the drive down to La Crosse this summer you are welcome to come join us for any one of our "tournaments," sounds just like what ShererSkier is looking for. They are sanctioned as practices everything is handicapped and it is head to head format. Cost is usually about $5 for some gas and once skiing is wrapped up we have a few beers and grill out on the dock. If people want to ski more once the "tournament" portion has ended they can. We do host this on public water so you can get an occasional fisherman going by but that is just part of the challenge. I think we are doing 6 of these events this summer, let me know if you want to come down and join us this year.

I drove past this jump being transported down I-90 today. Had to do a double take as its not everyday you see a ski jump going down the freeway. I once transported a jump on a 12 hour trip and swore never to do it again. At least it looked like professionals were hired for this job.

Today may have been our last run in Wisconsin this year. Had to get the annual near thanksgiving run in. Air was 31 and water was 33F. I wore a hat that was frozen solid by the time I finished my quick run. Definitely a little cold with just a wet suit.

A while ago Jeff Surdej posted membership numbers for USA Waterski by state on this site. If someone can find that again I think some of us were surprised to see that the largest participation did not occur in Florida, California or any other state in the south but in Wisconsin. So what is that state that ranks 20th in population and spends a good amount of its year covered in snow doing to attract so many members? The answer is show skiing... Now I am not saying we should all go out and join a show, far from it. But what does show skiing do that gets so many members? Every week they ski in front of people on a public lake and after every show an announcement is made that sounds something like "if you liked what you saw today and want to learn how to do that yourself come join us and we would love to teach you." If we look at three event skiing a good majority of the people skiing tournaments are now on private lakes where no one sees them. No kid is watching them everyday getting excited or interacting with them to even have a chance to learn from them. Now I can't blame the good skiers for going to private water as the regulations make it very hard to get access to quality skiing on public water or in most cases even put a slalom course in. If we worked to get more access for skiers on public water and helped to make it easier to get slalom courses and jumps out there you would see people get interested and start to grow the sport again.

I used to own a sportster as my first boat. From a purely skiing boat I thought it was awesome. Wakes were tiny, plenty of power, spray was pretty minimal, and I was able to pull people in to 38off with no issues tracking. If you want an inexpensive slalom tug you won't go wrong. Creature comforts were pretty minimal in that boat. Seat cushions are much thinner than the response, carb'd engine (some of the later years were available with EFI), trailer was much cheaper with only two bunks and no brakes. I did have the LX with an open bow but would almost never let anyone sit up there as you would instantly take on water with any wave coming near you. If you are in the market for a no frills ski boat at an affordable price it would be near the top of my list.

On the zero off vs StarGazer debate, I have notice that on the '17 prostar if I ski at A1 I can hardly tell the difference between that boat and the nautique. I can run in to 35off on either of those boats just fine. On the '16 prostar I always feel late and super rushed, and we are putting it on A1. The last time I skied that boat it took me 3 tries to run 22off (I couldn't tell you the last time I missed that pass behind any other boat) and I never did make a 28off. Does anyone know if there was a software revision to zero off during that time. The two pro stars are identical besides from one year newer but to me feel like they ski totally different.

In our little ski club we have a 98 BB Nautique, a '16 pro star, and a '17 pro star. Every single PB has been set behind the Nautique. Might have to do with Star Gazer vs Zero off but it is interesting how well a 19 year old boat stands up against the new ones. I do much prefer the larger space in the pro stars and the sight lines with no dash when driving though.

Discount inboard marine offers a full kit. I've had it in my SN 196 for years and works great.

Jeff, It would probably be rather cost prohibitive to do 101 buoys but search the forum for "heavy metal" and you will see how we made our course this year. Our river goes up and down 8ft and we are on public water, I have no had to replace anything this year since we installed it in June or do any maintenance, everything is self adjusting. To recap what we did was drive a pipe 7ft in to the ground with a weight inside, the weight moves up and down with the water fluctuation. Stainless steel cables and some chain to the buoys.

To anyone in the Minnesota or Wisconsin area that would like to join us for a great time next Thursday the 31st in Lacrosse please come down and ski. A few of us in the area have decided to play hookey from work and are doing a head to head handicapped "tournament" starting at 9am followed by bloody mary's, beer, and a cookout once we are done skiing. I use the term tournament loosely because this is sanctioned as a practice, we are on a public river so roller are a possibility, gates are optional, and a mulligan is provided every round. So if hanging out with fellow ballers sounds more fun than work shoot me a message with your average score, bring $5 to chip in for gas and come have a good time. Winner of the tournament gets a special trophy of a horse's a$$.