kirkbauer

I'm doing 32mph and I think I'm about 20 off -- it's a 15-off ski rope at full length, but I go one loop less than that (so I'm not sure if that's 3ft, 5ft, or 6ft less?). I'm used to skiing pretty fast (I reduced my speed last year from 36 down to 32 based on suggestions here) and I chose the rope length to try to make for the softest wake crossings.

I skied in high school and then I did almost zero skiing for about 20-25 years. I'm about up to the end of my first full season back to the sport. I could use some gentle feedback for things I can work on next season. What I think I need to do is commit better to the cuts. I think that I am either unable or unwilling to cut aggressively enough and I stop the cuts too early. This creates slack in the rope which obviously is problematic. So, in my mind, if I could cut more aggressively and continue it a bit longer, then I won't generate as much slack, and that means progress.

Yes, correct, this was a Lake Havasu boat and it seems it spent more time on the trailer than on the water. It was a 2015 with 110 hours total time. Contrary to other opinions on here, I'm told it was custom-built for this boat. Now I don't know how that works -- perhaps by "custom-built" it means they modified an existing design for much larger boats?

As I understand it, the trailer was custom-built for the Prostar but the original owner liked a flashy trailer.

I recently purchased a Prostar and it came with a very nice custom trailer -- three axles, six-wheel surge brakes, spare tire, ladder in the front, removable tongue, etc. But the thing is that I don't have an indoor space to park the trailer, and I won't be using it much since I have a dedicated spot for my boat on the water. So I'm curious if anybody is interested in either (1) buying my trailer or (2) trading your more basic trailer plus cash for my trailer. I'm located in central Georgia.

Well, that's the thing, it has never been dry so I don't know how much water gets in with each usage. I'll find out if/when I even get it emptied.

Thanks, everybody. I guess my situation wasn't as unique as I thought! It's just the first time I have seen a "marine railway". There are some good ideas, but I'm trying to decide on the best way forward. Should I try to get the water out after every session, or should I just try to get it out for long-term storage? I use the boat almost every day "in season" and then I don't use it for 4-6 months.

I have a unique situation. I have a boat garage with a dolly and tracks going down into the lake. All I do is lower the boat into the lake, and then when I'm done, I use an electric motor to pull it back up out of the water. The boat sits at a slight angle, with the bow higher than the stern. I have never used the trailer since I originally launched the boat. Every boat I have had in the past has the drain plug at the stern of the boat. But the Prostar has it in the center of the hull. This means that I never get all of the water out of my boat, since the only time it is level, is when it is in the water. Once it is in the garage, the drain plug area is dry, but there is still plenty of water under and behind the engine. This was my first season with the boat. When I winterized it, I put some antifreeze in with the bilge water to make sure it didn't freeze and cause issues. But I'm wondering if I'm going to have some long-term negative effects of never being able to completely empty the bilge. Does anybody else have concerns about that?

Thanks, everybody. I have had a lack of skiing due to weather, travel, and driver availability, so I'll get working on this soon.

OK, here is a new video. Early on I tried a lean and you can see how far over I can get. Then I tried to do more gradual turns using my hips instead of my rear foot to turn the ski. I also tried to stand up more "stacked" and I think my stance has improved, however I still see that I'm leaning forward sometimes. So obviously I need to keep working on that. The wake seems worse and I'm not sure why. I'm going to try to actually use the ballast tank on the observer side since only my wife is in the boat for this run. Perhaps I should consider a different speed and/or rope length? I feel that I get very unstable going over the wake.

This is great. I have plenty to work on. I'll check back eventually with a progress video. Thank you!

OK, please be gentle. Even though I've been skiing for almost 40 years now, I took a 30 year break, and am only just getting back into it. I have a new boat, new ski, I'm out of shape, etc, etc. Also, I have never done a course before, and, unfortunately, probably won't be doing one any time soon. But, what I would like to do is work on my technique for getting better and quicker cuts. I took a video today and I hesitantly am sharing it (because I'm probably doing all kinds of things wrong). Feel free to skip to the half-way mark -- the beginning of the video I was waiting for some smoother water. The first thing I notice is my hands/arms. I do this thing where I lift them up, trying to manage the slack in the rope from the turn. It doesn't seem right to be, but I'm unclear what I should be doing instead? PS - I'm skiing at 32mph, and the rope length I picked to put me in the best spot for wake crossing at this speed. However, for this video, I have a bunch of extra people in the boat, so the wake shifted, and therefore I'm not crossing at the best possible spot.

OK -- great news from this morning. I got up on my 1st, 2nd, and 5th attempt! Prior to today I've only had one successful deep start without a second ski or the harness. We used a lot less power, I leaned forward sort of touching my toes, got my ski down to more of a 30 degree angle (flatter). I came out of the water in a crouch position and then stood up. It wasn't super easy or quick but it was manageable. I assume that as I get lighter and in better shape, and knock the rust off, we can gradually increase the throttle and get me up more quickly over time. I think I can explain how I got here too. When we first got the boat, we were using way too much throttle and it was pulling me over the front. But in my mind, more power means easier deep starts. So I didn't think about pulling way back on the power. Instead, I adjusted by putting the ski more in front of me and leaning back more. That just made my grip strength the weak link. So I'd either go over the front if I leaned forward, or I'd lose the rope if I leaned back. I felt like I was learning how to ski all over again, and I was -- I was trying to get up with a whole lot more acceleration but without the strength to resist that pull and still hold on. The solution was pulling me out much slower, and then I could lean forward again without going over. Which is what just happened. I really appreciate all of the help you guys have been incredible.

I certainly think it's possible that my technique wasn't great and I was strong enough and light enough to compensate. A guy on my lake has a Nautique direct drive so I'm trying to get him to give me a few pulls on his boat that he is very used to pulling skiers behind. That will hopefully narrow it down to me vs the boat/driver.

Hmm... all I can find online is that the top speed is 36 for men and 34 for women. I had no idea it had changed -- again, I'm not a tournament water skier. I'm sure when I was a kid my dad skied at 36 so I just followed suit.