TomH

There's a fair chance you need to drop your rudder to pull the prop-shaft. Some boats had the rudder offset just enough for the shaft to clear, but most are in line. Dropping the rudder is easier than dropping the strut, and is less likely to give you engine alignment issues when you bolt it all back up (but you should still verify alignment after you replace the bushings). I also think getting the bearings out will be easier with the strut bolted up to the boat. I had to pull my strut to get some glass damage repaired and I replaced the bushings with it off the boat, and having the strut loose just made everything a little harder. I used the method Ron Tanis shows of using a sawsall to split the old bearings, and then drifting them out. Throw the new ones in the freezer, and then press them in using some threaded rod, large washers, and some lube. The biggest pain will likely be getting the transmission coupler off the prop-shaft. Mine had to be pressed the whole way out (even after the taper released) as the key had corroded in the slot pretty well. If you're pulling the shaft, you may want to look into installing one of the dripless shaft seals while you have everything apart.

Skidim has them - just ordered some a few weeks back. Your shaft is almost certainly a 1-inch, so you just need the ID of your strut which could be 1-1/4, 1-3/8, or 1-1/2. My 94 dyne was 1-1/4. Just crawl under there with a caliper and measure it.

If you go that route, I'd still add a flexible brake-line to avoid having to disconnect the brake lake/re-bleed, and just find a way to strap it to the trailer without disconnecting the line

@adkh2oskier I think a good welding shop could fabricate one that would work right at the triangle. My dad had his fishing boat trailer converted, and they did it with plates welded to the top and bottom of the tubes, then bolted down either side.

Unless you modify or move your winch mount, you won't gain any length putting the swing behind the triangle. You said you only needed a foot or so, would putting the swing at the triangle get you short enough?

tattoos aside, that is the strangest looking pair of feet I've ever seen. Why are the 2nd and 3rd toes so freaking long

It should lift it ok, but you're nearing the capacity - a 4,000 lb+ would be better for the new SN. I'm not sure what the Seattle market is for lifts versus here in Minnesota, but that lift is pretty overpriced compared to our local market, considering it's a manual winch and has no canopy. For that price I picked up a similar capacity lift with canopy and dc electric motor last summer, and prices this year aren't too far north of that. (We may have a bigger supply of used lifts around here though)

@UWSkier What kind of floor prep did you need to do after you pulled the carpet? Sand the glue off and paint or truck bed liner? This is on my short list of mods over the next year or two.

A hot water extractor sucked it right out of the carpet of our boat when we first bought it.

my father-in-law has a set on his fishing boat lift that he keeps at my place. They've only had one season of use, but worked well. I just wish they had a little more elevation/lift - need to make sure you install them accordingly to work well. We kept the wheels on all season. The only reason I could see to take them off would be if they interfere with getting the lift tight to the dock. I've got the type on my lift that lever up when attached to the cradle (like what Eljaybee linked), which I like, as they'll go up a bit higher when needed (which helps clear my shoreline without dragging on the way out).

So we need to be this far apart to not catch the Covid. Social D3nstancing

I never had issues with contacts while skiing, but my particular brand (think they were Accuvue Oasis) would blur out with a drop of water on them, but would blink out in ~10 seconds. The only time I ever would wash any out would be occasionally on barefoot deeps. Like others though, Lasik was a game changer, and am sorry I didn't do it 10+ years ago.

We were over $1k this last year being the first summer on the lake, so kayaks, paddle board, inflatable mat, etc, but I'd expect the norm to be under a grand (hopefully).

Just moved in a little over a year ago, so used lift/dock was in order for $4kish all said and done. Previous owner's dock was a pile and not long enough. I'll probably spend another $1k this year adding some additional wheel kits and replacing some decking.

sunrise a couple weeks back sunset footing run from late summer

I'm cheap and didn't want to spend what would have been almost $500 from Lake Lite for my 24V lift set-up. I grabbed an Aleko 20W/24V panel, waterproof charge controller, and connectors for $70 and change (12V panels are cheaper/easier to come by). Another $20 at the hardware store for some EMT conduit, aluminum angle, nuts/bolts, and hose clamps let me fab up the mount for the side of the lift. It ran all summer long without a single hiccup with almost daily use. Whatever you do, get a charge controller like others have mentioned, as it'll protect the batteries and keep the panel from discharging them over-night.

@thager yep

Comfort Lake - Wyoming, MN. Pretty good lunch set today. Hell of a nice change from what we woke up to this morning where it was 34 degrees and so foggy we couldn't see 10-feet past the dock....

Personally, I'd look for an old/cheap Burley trailer (many had a flat lower frame that would be easy to build from) and modify that, as it'll haul much better, and won't throw off the bike's balance. Just look for a trailer with big enough wheels to roll well.

99 SSLXI In MN, so not horribly far away

That's pretty cool. My boat pulled 8 hours of barefoot clinics the past two days - and took down ~25 gallons....Mostly kids this go-round/lower speeds, so the GPH probably lines up pretty well with your graph when you figure actual time at speed.

We've had some kids take those wakeskis over the ramp, and while they're doable, they all are more successful on traditional jump skis. Their tails don't lend much support with the rocker, so landings with the weight back have a tendency to kick the skis out from under. While still not super inexpensive (but a bit cheaper than other new options), the new Flyman jump skis are worth a look for younger jumpers. They're skis intended for the freestyle market, but he does build sizes down to 60" so could be an option for kids. On a side note, I just snaked a pair of 66" mint Kidders w/bindings for $50 a couple weeks back (that apparently I won't be reselling since my 9 yo fell in love with them). So you can find them cheap every now and then, but it usually involves someone having absolutely no idea of their worth, and constantly keeping an eye out on CL and Marketplace for them to pop up.

There's a time and a place for it, but small lakes are where it gets and should be contentious. I'm on a long/narrow 200 acre lake, and I'd say it's the bare minimum size where they can safely operate without being complete jack-asses, so long as they stay down the middle. Once they lean towards either shore, it's game over for the shoreline here. I know some will argue that storms can do more shoreline damage, but I'd say that's really only true on larger lakes. I'm on the north end of ours and basically get the worst a storm can dish on our lake. If a surfer runs parallel to my end, it's far and above bigger than anything I've seen winds/storms kick up, and also has much more energy to it. Thankfully, our launch is pretty shallow and deters most of the bigger boats, so we really only see 4 surf boats (and 3 live on the lake), and so far they're all pretty courteous and well versed in skier's etiquette (helps that most of them are pretty serious wakeboarders - so they get it).

These two photos show the pylon base and where it bolts through the stringers for those curious. My wife's cousin's hubby took one down to the core last year and should be wrapped up with the rehab and repower sometime soon here. He's tossing an Evinrude 200 hp G2 on it.

Those Suzukis back then were solid engines (and not that rare in certain areas). Dad has had a 150 since ~91, and all it's ever needed (beyond routine plugs/wires/fluids) was a high pressure fuel pump after 15 years.... still runs like a beast. As others have mentioned, that Sanger is a solid boat - great for barefoot, good for slalom, and tracks well. Pylons in the Sanger were much more solid than the Centurion barefoot warriors.