S1Pitts

If I was looking at buying a used 200 that came with the boatmate trailer it would be a deal breaker. I launch and load every time I ski so I would not tolerate a poor design such as this. Thanks to all posters for the heads up.

@MarcusBrown For myself, this is the next level from your previous podcasts and Spray Makers. Adding the visual makes it amazing and much easier to fully grasp the concepts. Thank you for this magnificent instruction. @Horton We need a much stronger button than "like". Maybe a golden buzzer type button for exceptional posts?

Sorry @Sethro I should not be responding to posts before I wake up. @chaloux Where are you residing in Canada? @LOTW after 40+seasons my driver (wife) is pushing me to install seat heaters to compliment the traditional forced air heater. Things you have to do when 50% of your season is water under 60F and air temps in the 40's-50's on ski mornings.

This one is even cheaper and 2yrs newer so into a 200 hull. Hrs are higher but not ridiculously high. Avg is 120hrs/yr and I was doing 100+hrs/yr back in the day when I skied very day. SIA Link here Ad does not define Cdn or US currency @Sethro where in Canada do you reside?

@KRoundy Yes that is correct. I did not have the drain hoses just pulled the brass drain plug and replaced with a nipple. Upside is I just have to disconnect the red hose from the shower temp valve box and lower it under the oil pan to drain that side of the block.

@KRoundy Mine as well as most I have seen use the block drain port on the side of the block to get the hot water. I used the appropriate brass male pipe thread nipple with the hose barb end matching the blue hose size. In my case the passenger side of the engine but I have seen them on either side.

@tjs1295 Looks like you do have to give a address for the survey. I am Canadian so it rejected me but that makes sense. I have just learned from a reliable source that the Canadian federal government, who have jurisdiction on all waterways in Canada, are drafting legislation to regulate surf/large wake/boating activities on all waterways. Our local lake stewardship is drafting bylaws to potentially reflect the legislation and here are some of the items on the table. 1 Designated surfing areas on the waterways, Traveling between these areas must have ballast/wake generators disengaged and on plane or a dead idle when traveling. 2 600ft from shorelines minimal. 3 Restrictions during high water periods 4 Restrictions on hours of the day when surfing is allowed. 5 35ft water depth minimal 6 Noise regulation for sound systems.

@Steven_Haines Your puck can likely be updated. Much cheaper than buying a new puck.

@VONMAN So jealous. Please post your journey on riding this ski.

Put in a lazy ski for 2-3 miles down the lake today while basking in warm sunshine (50F air, 42F water). I just love that first ski of the year feeling. Now I have to wait an entire year for it again.

The carbon pro is probably the only hull I would consider updating from my 97 BB Nautique . The one I have skied behind had analogue gauges and a ZO stand alone HMI controller that probably (hopefully) will have support much longer from EControls than the different ZO integrated HMI units currently being used by the boat mfg's.

@spud nailed it. I have had PP send me mechanical parts N/C to help me keep my SG/Zbox install running at a level I am happy with. Their customer service is second to none. Perhaps they are building a loyal customer base for something coming down the road? Who knows. @ReallyGottaSki has a solid point. I will keep investing in my 97 BB as my main tug because for now I need a boat and if I am being honest, I would not ski any better behind a newer hull. I can get a lot of maintenance/updates/refurbishing done to the 97 for a fraction of the cost of upgrading to a new hull. The "glass dash" is my primary reason for not even considering it. There is virtually not one part of the 97 I cannot service/repair or update myself.

We have a blue and a red one here on our lake. I have heard the red one has less than 500 hrs and has been garage kept. They bring it out every now and then.

@VONMAN I was thinking that exact same thing as well as the added noise. Have you ever heard a quiet jet boat? I think they went jet to get these barges into shallower waters. I know of several lakes where there are no barges because they have shallow ramps and cannot launch Edit: Thinking about it...I was dropping off a prop at a repair shop last fall for some tweaking. They had almost 400 props in there for repair and 99% of them were from barges.

I think one of those Connelly Big Daddy's would be worth a try by someone with skills.

I am using a ML Ergo Radius to add life to my US Gear Radius and only use it for special occasions. After flipping back and forth for a season I cannot really tell the difference any longer. In one season the ML is showing as much wear as the US Gear which has 3 full season on it. Not cheap but at least the Ergo is available.

@Rednucleus I am sure she will be there. You my quiz her on her knowledge of the pros which is quite good concidering she is a non-skier. However she is a most excellent boat driver. We really enjoyed last year's trip down and looking forward to this year. BTW She would never watch any skiing if it was not for the excellent coverage and up close/personal format of TWBC.

@swbca !00% endorsed by my 'honey'. I concider myself very fortunate.

You will not find a better reason for procrastinating the honey do list. Watch them all live. 😁

You can directly relate to 7 of the 8 posts above.

Surf boats ignoring the high water protocol, (that has been in place for decades), on our lake in the spring (NO WAKE SPORTS) are leading to a total boat ban during high water periods. Skiers were allowed to ski during high water periods so long as they idled out ,traveled down the center of the lake, and used dedicated ski boats. Yes we are being penalized and lumped into one. It's bad enough we have to deal with them during the summer/fall months but now we skiers are losing the spring skiing too.

@Hortonis correct about the slalom wakes. My friend bought this hull last year. You have to start at 32 off 34mph to get a wake that is crossable and by 35 off you are hitting spray. Recreation long line is ok but that's about it.

@swbca I have the sequence plate installed on my D3 R2 currently and have used it on a 2020 Omega and a Denali C85. I have skied the R2 and Omega without the plate and modified the single boot plates to get the exact boot placements to do an A/B comparison to determine just what effect the sequence plate has on the ski. The R2 felt virtually the same but the Omega had a different feel and I prefered it without the sequence plate. The Omega acceleration felt simular but it drastically changed the turns to a hard hooking type. I really liked the C85 but was not able to try it without the full plate. The sequence plate locking tab has very small pins to index it on the plate. The locking tab being made of plastic I think these pins would shear quite easily if there were large loads being applied to them. Looking at the underside of the plate there is evidence of the pad wearing under the "ends " so I believe there must be some movement of the plate allowing the ski to flex. How much it changes will probably be different with each ski design. The plate is supplied with the standard Radar binding scews with plastic washers. I tighten the end screws snug but not super locked down .

I have drilled my Radar carbon plate(s) to accomodate bindings. The boot placement slots on the plate are a little coarse so getting the boots right for me was a challenge. Just so you know the material around the hole needs to be relieved so the head of the screw buries into the carbon and does not damage the top of your ski. I use a gasket hole punch to remove a clean circle of the rubber pad, layout and drill the holes. Then use a Dremel milling bit 3/8 dia that has a flat end mounted in a drill press to carefully mill the clearance for the head. It is easy to go too deep and leave the plate a little thin under the bolt head so use the depth stop if your drill press has one other wise go slow checking how much has been removed. OEM removes 50% of the plate thickness. Wear gloves/face mask and vacuum as you drill/mill. Carbon dust and slivers are dangerous.

Just make sure the oil used has the SM/SN designation. This ensures the zinc additive. Last I looked the newest version of Rotella dropped the SM/SN, Make sure to check your Rotella being used. We cannot afford to loose these engines.