jercrane

@ScottScott on her second set she got em all! She’ll be running them straight with gates before we leave! Love it

Kicking it after first two sets at Jodi’s today Trying to muster the strength for one more set while I watch my daughter rip the course for the first time. Great low key spot.

About 62 sets I figure And put 85 hours on the Nautique Just pulled it.

Just hit 42 yesterday Dockstarts only from here.

Anyone have an idea of what to expect for water temps in the Orlando area/Jodi’s in mid November? Do I need to plan on dragging any neoprene down there with us? Hard for me to judge these days as it’s mid thirties at home with mid forties water temps.

For posterity in the future if anyone else comes across this post. I found it ... very easy in the daylight. ;) Just following the lines from the through hull all the way through the system is the key. Again ... very easy with daylight. Little more challenging at 10PM with a headlamp and 40 degrees. The other thing I did which helps with access and view a lot is I removed the lower section of the engine cover as well. That bottom 10-12 inch, carpeted section that the box cover pivots on. Kind of a pain to get it up off the bolts solo but its doable. Once that is out of the way the whole process takes me about 10 minutes to drain and 10 minutes to reassemble. I also discovered this makes removing the belt shroud MUCH easier. I know this seems probably kind of duh to most of you but ... Never said I was smart. :) I do listen well though! thanks all

@ErikBerghiller thanks! Great info. Thanks for putting in the time to deal with the peanut gallery here. I love your approach. Simple will always beat complex. Always Very excited to see this become a thing. Best of luck.

The most amazing part of that video is all the skis sitting on that concrete dock pad. Makes me want to cry.

@Horton welcome to marketing in the modern era.

#whynotboth

@fu_man its not thermal protection its wind protection. It essentially makes your existing gloves 100% wind proof. I find thats all I really need for a set. I mean don't get me wrong my hands aren't "warm" but they are warm enough to be functional for the 6-8 passes.

@BraceMaker wait so do you tarp over the standard cover? I just have the regular black SN cover on it. Nice protected cove though so we actually get very little wind.

@OldboyII yeah I've just gotten used to it. I tried leg straps but wasn't worth the hassle and they slide down mid set. Now I just do this bottom up squeeze thing. Start at bottom of legs and press up with hands, once you get above the waist squat down and open the neck to let air out, then in squat position I kind of flap like a chicken to push the extra out. Has worked pretty well for me.

@vtjc I do have power and wifi that reaches the dock. I actually have one of these in the boat next to the engine box with the box propped open. https://www.amazon.com/Caframo-Engine-Compartment-Heater-Silver/dp/B00MEMRGZE/ref=sr_1_1 I'm hoping draining plus this gets me to the end of the month. Also since I'm a pretty neurotic I got one of these and put it in the engine box. https://www.amazon.com/SensorPush-Wireless-Thermometer-Hygrometer-Android/dp/B01AEQ9X9I/ref=sr_1_3 plus https://www.amazon.com/SensorPush-G1-WiFi-Gateway-Anywhere/dp/B01N17RWWV/ref=sr_1_1 That allows me in those moments of panic to just check on the current temp in the boat from my phone. I use that to monitor our lake house temps through the winter in general since we don't winterize the house. Yes I know ... I have issues. Just be glad you aren't married to me. For so many reasons.

Ski setup Drysuit - O'Neil Boost baggy with layers as needed (usually just sweatpants and a long sleeve poly shirt Nitrile gloves under regular ski gloves Camaro socks - https://www.camaro-watersports.com/en/diving/shoes-socks/262/titanium-0.5-seamless-socks O'Neil neo surf hat - https://www.amazon.com/ONeill-Neoprene-Beanie-Black-Large/dp/B0087ZUXXO/ref=sr_1_5 Post Ski - Pre ski setup Cooler in boat with hot water to warm gloves before and feet and hands after Wool hat leather gloves (better steering and throttle control with leather) Puffy jacket Gore tex shell leave drysuit bottom on legs With this setup I'm pretty good down to about 45 degree water and mid 30 degree air. I've tried adding snow ski goggles to the mix but I find they are useless as soon as they get wet.

@John Brooks You do this as a temporary protective measure? I need to do this like once a week for a month. If it gets really cold maybe twice a week if I need to protect it overnight on a weekend too

Its not the closed system. They went away from the closed system on the 6.0L a couple years ago I think.

@oldjeep good tip on the plunging thanks Should I be dumping the strainer as well, in your opinion? I'm a "rather be safe than sorry" guy so I'm open to any suggestions. Mind you I'm not fully winterizing here. I'm just doing this overnight for the next couple of weeks when the temps are going to drop into 20's. So it needs to be reasonable enough I can put it all back together in 15 to 20 or so.

Getting pretty cold this week in the northeast. I went to drain my 2018 SN 200 6.0L for the first time last night and got stumped by one item in the list of steps in my manual. I am good on 2 through 6 but can't for the life of me figure out where #1 is. Engine oil cooler inlet hose? Per the note in the diagram I think the routing is different than illustrated so I'm a little stuck. Any chance someone has a picture they could post of this hose connection on a 200. I really need to study this engine better. Probably didn't help that I was doing the whole thing in the dark with a head lamp. Poked around in some old threads but didn't have any luck. Hopefully someone can give me some guidance here.

http://www.boatdeckflooring.com/nautique.aspx

I don't care about the 55's and making it more realistic. What I do care about is that its simple, easy and fun. This seems to capture the fun aspect but I'm not sure about simple. My concern is the current mounting solution. Having to remove my mirror (which I use constantly) then mount this big thing on the window and take it off again to cover the boat. I just know I would use this twice and then it would sit in the shed after that. Why not a pylon mount? Mount it with a similar clamp to a boom clamp with a telescoping arm to raise it up just above the top of the pylon. Then it would also be easier for someone in the observer seat to control it.

also a few DIY vids on youtube if you are so inclined https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=seadek+carpet+replacement+

http://www.seadek.com/blog/carpet-stinks-make-the-change-to-seadek/ This is actually my plan when my carpet gets too nasty.

Founding member of the Bates College Water Ski Team here. We started the team in 1994. I think the team is still going today but its had some fits and starts. Its a club team and doesn't really get any funding from the school. We were lucky enough to have a the US Junior Trick champion attend Bates. His family was incredibly generous and donated a boat to the team. Skiing in Maine in the spring certainly builds character. We hit the water the week after Ice out every year. Usually setting the course with slushy ice still on the water. Loved the collegiate tournament vibe. Long road trip with the team then camping on site. Skied some of the most amazing sites and some whacky ones. Ever ski Avon in CT? now that is a short set up! Not one of my best tournaments. :D I do miss the late spring days heading out with the team every afternoon and taking sets until dark.

I love the concept here. We are constantly battling with the course on our lake and honestly it just wears you down. I'm not super crazy about a big contraption mounted to the boat that has to come on and off every time I want use it and then cover the boat after. Now imagine a future world where this takes off and gets integrated into a boat design. Now we'd be talking. Shoots out of a hole on either side of the boat at the top of the gunwales. Imagine if it became like Zero off just a standard feature on a 3 event boat. Heck it could make a nice training aid in a course even. You could have a little setting that offsets the shot a certain distance up course from the ball using a properly mapped zero off course. Giving skiers like me a target to ski at to learn how to get early on the ball.