pcmcon729

My boat has never been anywhere near as bad as the neglected boat mentioned. But, I would likely use a power washer to remove the heavy stuff, then use, "Mary-Kate On and Off Hull and Bottom Cleaner". Wicked strong stuff. Active ingredients are : Hydrogen chloride, Phosphoric acid, Oxalic acid. Must wear respirator, long rubber gloves, and long sleeved shirt. After clean, use 2 coats of good quality PASTE wax to help prevent that sort of staining again. Dirt is generally afraid of my boat.

I had my 2012 Pro star, which I bought new, on the market, but pulled it off to buy some time to see what the 19 SN is all about. I had a production spot saved for an 18, but gave it up. Likely get a 19 Nautique 200. Long story short, voted for new.

I'd have to agree with @Edbrazil . Those old Connelly Hooks had beautiful workmanship. A buddy of mine up on Lake Winni still has the one he bought new, and refinishes it with the same care that goes into his 58 Century Coronado, both of which he's had since the 70's.

I agree that print on paper is becoming less appealing to younger generations, but extremely sad non the less for both the subscribers, and the sport. I remember flying out of Boston 10+ years ago, and seeing it front and center on a kiosk, with Jamie B on the cover. I almost believed for a moment that our sport was mainstream. Cool for non-skiers to see that. Here in NH, it's one of the few connections to skiing that we get during our long cold winters.

BOS is much appreciated as well.

I think @Horton is pretty damn close, although, I would drop the HO A1, and Sixam, and add Connelly Concept, as everyone had one. The Goode 9100 was an absolute game changer. When I got the 9100, not many folks in the northeast had one yet. I felt almost like I had an unfair advantage on that ski.

@bojans I have 2 different ski friends that just sold their newer boats (Sept). My 2012 Prostar has been listed for over a month. Few tire kickers, but hasn't sold. Info for selling something with higher hours- My 2016 Ram truck has 34000 miles which equates to 1100 Hrs on it's hour meter. McGinnis Ski school had a CC 200 with 6000 Hrs on it (sold and now has new boat). Skied perfectly well. Lots of buyers get freaked by higher hours, but the info provided proves that these engines are built to last for a long time under heavy use. Best of luck.

I skied tournaments for 20 years. Although I no longer compete, I still go to a few to keep my SR driver's rating current. I can tell you that the camaraderie is far more prevalent than the heat of competition. Also, the overall experience, for me, was an amazing one. I had the opportunity to travel around the country and visited places I never would have seen. I met great people who did nothing but encourage me from the first event I ever participated in, right up until the last. I would not have come close to being the skier I became without competing. As hard as I trained, and gave it 110% at the tournaments, I had SO much fun, and still enjoy the company of so many people I met along the way. By the way, Than B actually looks exactly like the photo on in the upper left of his postings.

Than would often times be the boat judge while I was driving in tournaments. We would be having so much fun and laughing in the boat, that a certain tournament director told me he was going to schedule us separately as he feared that I couldn't possibly keep the boat straight while laughing that hard:0

Generally, the actual door of a standard garage is 9'w x7' h. The door fits against the back side of the opening. With the framing, trim, and door seal strips, the openings are 2-4" narrower than the door itself. If you don't place the trailer/boat in the garage regularly, just for winter storage, etc, you can connect ratchet straps at the top of the guide poles, and flex them in a few inches to make backing it in easier. Only flex them, no need to bend them. My MC 197 trailer is 8'9" wide. I designed and built my own house a year ago. The garage is 3 bays wide. I designed all finished heights to be almost 8', so bimini will clear. Bay 1 is a 9'W door. Bays 2 and 3 share a 16' W door. On the back side of the garage is a 12' W door, so I can back thru bays 2 or 3 easily and directly to boat launch. I did this as I regularly take my boat off my lake to go to other lakes to cross train.

Trophies are a great form of, "Reward and Recognition". Especially for young, beginner level skiers or those new to tournaments. I was a half way decent skier in the 90's and early 2000's, and yes, they started to just fill up boxes. But, I can tell a story about every one of them. Besides, I found a better use for them. I have a large number of nephews and nieces. I taught every one of them to ski. The first time they successfully skied behind the boat, completely without a boom, skis connected, or other assist, they were handsomely rewarded with one of my old trophies. Most of them are now in their late teens and early 20's, and they still talk about it. With my daughter, each breakthrough, (one ski, deep water start, completion of course) I add a new brass plaque to her big trophy. Ask her if she will ever part with that fine piece of hardware....

Zara59, Welcome to the water skiing, we're happy to have you! I have 2 simple bits of advise. This is one of those things that can be over analyzed. First, follow these 4 steps:

Once the line is tight, inhale lots of air into your lungs. This makes you float a tad higher.

Squeeze shoulder blades together.

Tell boat driver to hit it!

(Key tip) As soon as the boat starts to move, PRESS your less, and pop hips forward. Most beginners allow legs to collapse at this stage, and roll over the front of pop the handle.

 

The second part of this, is basic strength building. You tube, "Walking lunges". This will give you leg strength. Also, cable pulley rows, shrugs, upright rows, all in the 15 rep range. Follow this advise and you will be ripping the pylon out of the boat in no time:)

Let me know how it goes.

 

I have owned 2 boats with PCM, and put 1200 hrs on both. Zero issues. I have owned a number of Indmar, but flipped them annually, as they were promos. For the time I ran them, no issues. The current ride has a 2012 Ilmor. I am on my 4th circulator pump. I have also had a leaky manifold freeze plug that I found were steel, and not stainless. There are 20 on the manifolds alone, half being on the inside facing the block. They are now installing stainless. Also, the hoses going from the thru hull fitting all the way to the raw water pump, are suction hoses, and as a result, have a coil of wire inside to keep them from getting sucked closed. Mine were steel, not stainless, rotted out, got sucked into the raw water pump, destroyed it, and overheated the engine. They now have hoses with stainless wire coils. The boat is only used in fresh water. I am not at all impressed with these annoying issues. Next boat will be powered by PCM.

Thanks all. Good info.

Horton, Would you consider 12" spacing, "Wide"?

Hey Than. Yeah, it's me. Always read Ball of Spray, but just registered to chat. Cool site, and good info. Enjoy torturing myself looking at the pics of everyone enjoying perfect weather, as a snowmobile rips down the lake a few feet atop my buoys. Anyhow...

So, if I drop my new bindings on the new Goode, on the closest holes, they are 12" heel to heel. Again, my old ski, they were 11 1/4" apart. Does anyone have any compelling reason why I should change this and make them closer? I'm thinking just ski it and see what happens (once ice is gone).

Hey, I've been out of skiing for a number of years, until my daughter got me fired up about it again last year. I just got a new Goode XT, and am mounting D3 T-Factors on it. This is the closest resemblance of what I used to ski on, when I was skiing well. I had my old bindings spaced 11.25" heel to heel, as this is what I was coached to do many years ago. These bindings would need to be modified to match that spacing. I'm 5'9". Can anyone share opinions on today's standards for spacing?