HighAltitude

Great video! Can't wait to put some of this to use in the spring when I start skiing again. Based on what you are saying, how do you think this correlates to binding placement? If most of us really aren't that good at moving our weight forward, do you think being stacked with the bindings a bit forward is, in general, a better position for most people?

Chevy Volt was replaced by the Bolt. @oldjeep Enjoy your gas powered engines for as long as you can! It's not just Ford and GM, but literally every auto manufacturer out there who is moving away from internal combustion engines. Electric and autonomous driving is where the entire industry is going. That's a simple statement of fact. How long it takes and the impact to the boating industry is clearly debatable... but IMHO I see electric towboats being a serious percentage of overall sales in 20 years.

The question was...are we closer to having an electric tow boat? Answer... yes we are. Nautique's GS20 is proof. Are we going to see it in the next few years...probably not. For those of you that say they are never going to own an electric boat, I think that depends on how old you are, Bottom line, the boat industry will follow the auto industry. Just look where the auto industry is going. Almost every manufacturer has said they are moving away from the internal combustion engine. GM's announcement this week is proof positive that the auto industry is in a period of massive and rapid change. Probably the biggest change since the auto industry started. When the electric motor is all that is offered by car companies, a gas powered boat will actually cost more than an electric boat.

That's sick! Crazy dangerous with all those rocks.

@skiinxs What three blade prop do you use? I had a 3 blade on my 196 and never noticed a difference. Then again, my neighbor's '06 Prostar wake feels the same as my '14 200, so what do I know? :)

My boat house is wired for 220 but I currently just use 110 down there by not wiring the second line in. 200 amp would require even thicker gauge than I currently have so that's a show stopper unless I want to rewire. I'm hopeful that in the future as batteries get better, charging stations can draw significantly less power. Honestly, I could live with a system that would only give me 6 sets back to back and then need a recharge but who knows what will be possible. A 220 charging station with batteries, solar and a 110 line in might be all I need.

Still working on the best prop for my 6.0L 200 at altitude. Currently running a 654 with a slight cup mod to reduce RPMs at 34 mph. Have tried a 1868 but didn't like the high RPMs. The 668 has a beautiful wake and it's pulls me and my family (all under 150) out no problem. Unfortunately, my 250 lb neighbor can barely get up. I plan to sell a couple props next year and buy a three blade to see if I can beat the 654.

My lake is at 7000 ft and we have plenty of sun here in Colorado. It would be so nice to not prop down and still get full power. An electric boat is probably the only reason I will ever sell my 200.

I bought a used purple promo 200 in Colorado a few years ago. It's sweet! Haven't looked what he has sold lately but he has went dark purple for a few years.

I still think a system like the HO EXOForm was ahead of it's time. I think that there are real safety benefits by keeping both feet together whether in the ski or when the binding releases. Unfortunately, this system was far from perfect and it never really took off. Bottom line... the sport involves risk. Make the wrong move on any system and you are going to get injured. What would be nice is to see a compilation of data on waterski injuries so that a data driven design could be brought to the market. I still don't see that happening but it would be a great goal. Right now, I think most bindings/boots are being designed on gut feeling by engineers/designers who incorporate what they feel is the most likely way to get injured. I would not be surprised to see that injury rates/types differ greatly between the 36 mph, 39 off crown and the 30 mph, 15 off group. l also think age would be a valuable safety aspect to look at. I.e. do older skiers have different injuries from younger skiers. Thus, the answer to a question like this is so personal that no one can say there is a safest system out there.

What a novel thread! Probably the first binding thread on BOS. :D

@C5Quest Fly for United out of Denver. 757. I mostly sit reserve (by choice) so I consider myself semi retired. :p Are you (were you) a east coast or west coast C-5 guy? A lifetime ago I flew Fred at Travis in the 21st and 312th.

Starting to try yoga as well as my other stuff listed above. Surprised I didn't see more responses that include yoga.

Running, tennis, golf, snow skiing. Flying is what I get paid to do, but it's pretty fun so I count that as well.

No one ever grows old and regrets moving so their children can get the best education possible. Good luck with your search.

You are going to drive yourself crazy trying to buy your way to a better game. The TXI is just fine. I'm not a good skier but have realized that if you can work on your technique you simply won't notice much of a difference between most decent boats. I used to believe the boat made the difference but after getting a bit better I simply can't tell when I'm behind my 200 or another boat.

63 IMHO. When I talked to HO on what size ski I mentioned I skied from 30-34 MPH and was 145 lbs. He said, no doubt in his mind I should be on a 65. With 40% less weight and the hope of being in the high 20's next year, the 63 just seems to make the most sense. With that said, my wife weighs 105 and has been skiing a 65 inch Radar P-6 for many years. She skis at 26 mph and is very happy with that ski, Needless to say, she pops right up.

Still loving my EXOForm's. I love that my feet stay together when I release. With that said, I know there were plenty of injuries with these bindings. Seems like they had problems with larger guys and high tension settings. At 145 pounds they work really well.

What speed are you skiing? I never found the System 8 to be twichy at 30 mph. It's a decent ski that will allow you to progress. Seemed like 30-32 mph was it's sweet spot. I agree with the Omni suggestion but if money is an issue I personally would get an older Radar P-6. I felt like that ski was a bit easier on the body but would still allow you to progress nicely.

Finally took a measurement today. 7.029, 2.511, .532 no wing. 145 lbs, RFF, 32 MPH/28 off to 34 MPH/15 off. on a 2018 65" Syndicate Omni with EXOForm bindings. Incredibly smooth on both sides.

I have the same issue. Even worse because I use my Subaru Outback to pull it out and that damn car can't back up too far or water comes in the back. I'll probably grab my neighbors truck and really sink the trailer to avoid the problem. Luckily I only pull it once a year and it's a quarter mile drive.

54 water temp yesterday. It's supposed to snow on Mon with a low of about 29 here in Colorado. Glad I just installed a engine compartment heater. Hopefully can get a few more sets in later this month.

Colorado. Out my front door, 1000 acres of open space with great running, mountain biking and horse trails. Out the back door, slalom course that's always open. Less than 2 hours to world class ski resorts. Ah...paradise found!

Skied two more times since my last post. Still super impressed. Yesterday was a rough day with about 15 MPH of wind straight down the course with the resulting small waves that you could feel under your ski. The ski had a hard time finishing. I backed down to 32,3 and was still able to ski. Today had perfect conditions. Ran a 32.3 to start. Two 33.1s and four 34.2s all at 15 off. Made every pass! Up until today, I had never ran 2 34.2/15 off passes back to back. Really feel like this fin is helping make the ski keel much more consistent. Water temp was 56. Still need to take some measurements and post.

Got my fin today after a long delay because my first one was stolen out of my mailbox. Couldn't be happier!! Took my old fin off my 65" Syndicate Omni and installed the CG fin strictly by sight, no measurements what-so-ever. I didn't put on a wing as most of my skiing has been wing free. I've been working on going from 32 MPH to 34 mph/15 off this year and progress has been slow but steady. The CG fin immediately improved my skiing. I went from completing maybe 1/6 passes to making 3/4 passes and they didn't feel out of control. In fact, one of the passes I was so early that I let off the gas and blew the pass. For me the difference was that the turns seemed slower (more tip engagement on the preturn/turn?) where before the turns seemed fast on the point of being out of control. Also, very symmetrical on both sides. It's been a bit of a crazy year as I decided I needed a safer binding system and then decided to buy a new ski 6 weeks later. All of that change took some time. Although I love my new ski and bindings, there were a lot of sets just dialing in those. The fin was an instant success and I'm so glad because I have a few weeks left in my season and plan to try and set a new PB before it's all over. I've bought a lot of equipment over the years (golf, tennis, snow skiing, waterskiing) but this is the first time I ever felt like I just bought myself a better game. Any chance you can start building drivers for golf? :)