MDB1056

I cringe when I see a post about an injury like that. Agree with many comments here. Don't know there is a best set up. Glad to be an old guy (61) and not skiing competitively any longer. Just run the course for fun and form but not getting crazy at only 34 and maybe 22-28 tops. Hope to still be crankin it in another 20 years. My goal each day is to be able to ski again tomorrow. Hope you recover soon and get back out there.

Wow.... very smooth

Thanks everyone for the comments. Took it out tonight for first shakedown run after getting it in running order with all new hoses, impeller, plugs, belts, fluids, and steering. A blast to drive and really a fun little boat. Tracking seems great. Agree with Wski1831, feels like a small sports car compared to my Hydrodyne Comp, daughters 90 PS 190, and ski buddy's 92 PS 190. The powerslot really jumps - hole shot is great. Never drove one before. For a solid fundamental slalom boat for non tournament skiers I think it's fine. I see me keeping this as likely selling the Hydrodyne. Will put up some pictures soon!

Curious what ballers opinions are of the skiability of the older MasterCraft Stars & Stripes boats. I just picked up an 83 powerslot as a project and haven't been able to ski it yet. Always loved them style wise and in their day they were dominant. Old reviews and current owners say slalom wake is great. My other boat is a 92 Hydrodyne Comp. The Stars & Stripes are certainly not high tech but for a good workhorse slalom boat they have a real following. Curious of real skiers opinions of pro's & cons of these old girls.

Prayer is the ultimate power. Praying for you my friend.

let's try this again

sorry - here is the pic

I'm guessing the experts in this forum can easily answer this. I'm a LFF skier and my front and heel rubber continuously seem to get "twisted" to the left . I get that the front foot is going to twist but it's so pronounced that it's like impossible to get the rubber back into position, Especially the heel. I got rid of the wrap & laces on the front bootas the twist got so pronounced that the corner of the laced wrap which normally should be well around the side of the ankle was drilling a hole in my ankle. The full no lace wrap fixed that but as you can see in the picture (center ski) the rubber in the front boot is still all noticably twisted left. Been skiing since a kid but was off then for 35 years and moved back to a lake a few years ago and it's been happening since. OK ski guru's - what am I doing wrong here? Any help apreciated.

Thanks @DaveLemons . Figured these were easy questions for this group.

I recently picked up a used portable course but am confused about a few things on set up. I'm sure the more experienced crowd in here can answer easily. 1. Are the entry and exit gates wider than the boat guides? From measurements on diagrams I've seen it shows entry gates 98 1/2 inches wide but boat guides only 90 inches. I've always looked at courses and seen nicely aligned gates and guides all the way down indicating all the same size. 2. What is the correct distance from the centerline of the boatguides to the buoy?. I want to make sure I have the arms correctly set / extended. I found a listing of 37 ' 8.4" . Is this correct? 3. Are the lines to the buoys usually clipped directly to the small eyelet in the buoy or to a small loop of rope or something attached to the buoy. Clipping direcltly woudlnt seem to work well as the eyelet holes on the buoys are very small. Thanks much in advance for your help!

I ride a 2012 HO S2 which I think is great for the course and free skiing. It doesnt like to ski flat & straight but anythinmg that does is not fun. It's a very forgiving ski that you can push as far as you want in the course at 34, which is as fast as I ski at age 60 anyway.

@thager notes the 91-94 Hydrodyne as great boats. They are built well but as a 92 Comp owner I would caution they have wood floors & stringers. I'm just finishing up a replacement of my flooring and two outboard stringers and it's a HUGE job. My boat will be better than new when finished as everything is now epoxy resin sealed and completely waterproof. Leaky heater over time was the main culprit, so I do not recommend heaters s the cores can leak just like in a car, except in your boat it's much less detectable. Other than that great boats agreed and drive like a dream.

Any tournament boat is not going to do well in chop so from my chair thats a non issue as that's where driver experince in getting through it comes in. Look at older tournament boats for how they perform for what you want, not the occassional chop. Im a HUGE MC fan and woudl encourage that direction for a few reasons, and would also encourage you to look at earlier years as well. My daughter purchased a 1990 prostar190 that we've been using a lot for the past year and it's a FABULOUS boat that in a course can perform as well or better than most new ones. Great wake for slalom at all shortline levels, very well made, Ford 351 is bulletproof, and the boat will last forever. My uinderstanding is that the 88-92 hulls I think were the same, with a change in 93. So I'd loook at Prostar 190's 88-94 if I were you. There are some screaming deals out there. The one my daughter found I told her if she didn't buy it I was going to. Great boat, original dual axle trailer, 550 hours, $6K. It was dirty as owner had been ill and it hadn't been cleaned up but it was very sound mechanically and cleaned up great! My 2 cents

I still have a 2000 CDX-1 of that vintage that I still think is an awesome ski . Narrower than that ASX and it really cranks when you push it. Like those old Venom bindings too. Good workhose bindings for us non high end skiers

Admittedly I'm an old school skier and have always used neoprene bindings. Still running older HO animals. Been flirting with the idea of trying others but you can easily spend a lot on bindings that could end up not making any noticeable difference in performance. I don't have a comfort problem with neoprene. Feels fine and I don't feel any lack of control or comnnection, so I'm wondering what do you REALLY get out of new bindings other than they're newer. Granted I'm not a serious skier pushing 35 or greater in the course. At age 60 I'm thrilled to ski 28-32. If I got to 35 I'd likely die of excitement. I did notice a set of HO Approach bindings on SIA for $100 that looked intersting

WOW! Talk about unanimous. While I'm new here I've still not seen any topic where Aall the commests are so completely agreed. Just erase this whoole thread lie it never even happened. Yes - be grateful you have a driver that lives there with you!

Thanks again to everyone for all the great comments. I'm fortunate enough to have a yard big enough to be able to lay it all out to make sure I can connect it correctly before trying to install it. Otherwise my luck I'd have parts at the bottom of the lake

sorry - but the flailing arm thing brings to mind a visual of Joe Cocker slalom skiing. YIKES

VTX is a great looking ski!

THANKS to all for the great information. The course will come in and out on days used as it is public water but a very quiet lake. It's man made so muddy bottom and not very deep. Average 12-15ft. I'll look into the ruber coated river anchors as I've heard from others too those work well. As I've not had a portable course before I'm sure it will take a while to get used to putting it in and getting it out. After all I've read and seen I would think it would be a LOT easier to do both using a pontoon boat as you've got gates on both sides you can open plus the front , plus plenty of room for the pipes, mainline spool, buoys , etc . I'd think the driver could simply keep the boat in idle in reverse and a couple folks in front could install off the sides etc - mainline spool in front could just unwind etc. Going to give it a try! Has to be easier than trying to load it all in the tow boat. Thanks again for the input. I LOVE this forum!

Your "skinny" bunks set up looks WAY too skinny. Simple set up is to measure them to match your trailer bunks for same position. Agree with earlier comments 100% on getting 2X6 and carpeting for best support etc.

Dragger for over 40 years but last summer went to double boot just to see if it helped with rear foot stability and better control. It's not as easy to get up as dragging in my opinion but I do feel the rear boot helps with control. Maybe it's just a mental thing. The good news is I'm fine getting up either way

Have read differnt things about what anchors are best / easiest for a portable course. Woudl apprecaite any input on your experinces.Recently picked up a course down in TX that has metal anchors hinged with the two triangle points that are supposed to catch on the bottom etc. Haven't set it up yet but wanted to get feedback first as if I'm going to replace them I'd rather do it now.Thanks for any advice!

great info here from skialex and skijay and others!

While I've not tried a comp vest I'm wondering if I even should as just turned 60 and spend about 50% of my time in the course and 50% free skiing. Is it wiser to stay CGA for those os us not pushing 35 and beyond? If so is there a recommendation for a good (thin) CGA? Any thoughts appreciated. help