Nautique99

@horton EP is the now-defunct ski brand that I learned on as a kid

@mwski Irrelevent (I know), but I just wanted to shout out the title of your thread. "Help an Addict" Outstanding. In fact, I'd argue that the entire "Forums" section of BoS could be renamed "Help for Addicts". That's essentially what it is. I mean, that's why we're all here, right - discussing boats and slalom skiing in the dead of winter? Need that fix, man! 😆

I'm 6'4" 210 lbs and I ski most of my passes at 34/-15 and 34/-22. In the past 6 years, I have owned two 68" Vapors. My first ski was the one I learned on - it was a 2017 Vapor Pro Build, I was a beginner skier at the time, and I progressed in the slalom course from 28 mph to 34 mph at -15'. Last year I got a new ski, a 2023 Vapor, 68". Phenomenal ski, I absolutely love it. Performs great at 34 mph. I find it very stable, and very nimble - it honestly feels perfect. I ran -22 a handful of times last summer and began taking stabs at -28 at 34 mph. I'm sure the Senate feels good too, but I like that the Vapor has more "upside" as I (hopefully) continue to progress and get into shorter line lengths. Sure, the Vapor was a little slushy at 28 & 30 mph, but above that I never found it to be an issue.

Love it!

And +1 to the title of this thread. Zane was an outstanding coach. Incredibly passionate and knowledgeable, a great coach for skiers of all levels. We all got a ton of good stuff out of it. And it was super fun. Honestly - reach out to him, have him come out & coach at your lake. @Zaneh2oski <——— right there

THIS is how we grow the sport.

Another +1 on Stokes. I've had 3 brands of competition vests (including a Masterline Eagle) in the past few years and Stokes is by far the most bouyant. And it is just as lightweight and as slim of a profile as the others. I'm 6'4" 210 lbs and the XL fits me perfectly

Stokes vest is awesome, I just bought one. I've tried a couple brands: Last summer I bought a Masterline Eagle - which is a really nice vest, but it fits a little weird. I just unboxed my Stokes and tried it on, and the fit is absolutely perfect. Some people say they run a little small, but I ordered my "typical" size and it's perfect. Seems to be a great build quality too. Get the Stokes.

I honestly thought I was the only person who measures random lakes on Google maps - thought I had some weird / unique quirk 😆 Apparently I'm just a waterskier - what a relief!

@Horton What a great post. As a parent, I always think about how to get my kids excited about skiing, how to pay this forward to the next generation. Truth is, any of us only ski because someone else made the effort to get us excited about it. We need to do the same for these kids!

Btw, the boat is a 1997 Malibu Sunsetter LX with 1500 hours on it, before the engine rebuild. Priced at $20,900 Located in Ohio. (it's listed on Ski-It-Again in case anybody is interested in seeing the listing). The price also seems high for a having a rebuilt motor. I don't view that like a "new" motor.

You guys bring up some great points. Questions that I don't have answers to yet. I was looking at buying a used boat, and learned that the engine was completely rebuilt last fall. The current owner said they blew the motor by overloading it - boat full of people and 5 full ballast bags - trying to pull a wakeboarder. But I'm not sure what exactly went wrong in the motor, what parts had to be rebuilt, or why. I know the work was done by a reputable engine shop, and I have the shop's contact information. Appreciate all of your insight - I think I have to call the shop and get better information. I know what to ask him now. Thanks again all!

How risky is this? Anybody have experience with rebuilt motors?

@Horton it's a 2022 Vapor The decal is on the top of the ski, in front of the front boot. The marker is on the side edge.

I bought a Vapor Pro Build from someone but it has a decal (almost like a bumper sticker) that I want to remove. Also I want to take off some permanent marker from the side of the ski. I think Goo Gone and / or rubbing alcohol would do the trick, but I'm not trying to ruin the finish on the ski. I just want to restore it to a "stock" look.

Thanks everybody for following the page, we're having a blast with it

@tlarocque I own a 1999 Air Nautique. The slalom wake at 15' off is pretty bad, and at 22' off it's just awful - the bulge where the wakes come together is brutal. Shorter tham 22' off it's better, but this is not a pure slalom boat - far from it. If you want a multi-purpose / family boat, it's very nice. But definitely not a great slalom wake.

O'Neill Boost drysuit & Stokes Evo 2 vest (pre-order). Thanks PerfSki!

@morfoot What an awesome story!

Issues could be minimized it we just apply a layer of foam or something to the phone mount, right? Anything that you put between the phone itself and the mount that would help to absorb vibration. That said, I've used the same iPhone 7 with my Wakeye mount for the past 4 years and the camera still works great

At least he wasn't towing with one of these

Nice review! I just ordered a pair of those Speedo socks. Thanks for doing the work Steve

I should add, the boat is rock solid though - I love it.

I have a 1999 Nautique with a similarly old & crappy trailer, and I have blown a trailer tire twice. It really sucks. The first time was bringing the boat home from out of state when I bought it. The second time I was taking it to a lake with my wife and kids in the car. And here's the kicker: the jack in my F-150 isn't tall enough to get the trailer off the ground to change the tire - I ended up having to call a tow truck. Since you probably can't get the trailer serviced or tires replaced before you bring the boat home, my advice is to buy a large jack to keep in your car, and bring it everywhere just in case. I bought this one. It's a beast, but it's well worth avoiding the hassle - take it from me!

@SlalomSteve As you probably know, I looked into several neoprene sock brands / types recently. (I even bought some NRS Boundary socks that I'm eager to try out with my drysuit, but admittedly I'm concerned about them being too tacky to release properly from a rubber boot) One big distinction I found is whether or not socks are fully waterproof, or if water permeates like it does thru wetsuit material. (customer reviews are helpful) If the goal is to pair the socks up with a drysuit, you need truly dry socks. The cuff of the drysuit goes over the sock, so if water is coming thru the sock, it will go right into the drysuit. If pairing it up with a wetsuit, it doesn't matter. Regardless, this is beginning to seem like more trouble than it's worth, so I'm buying into the "cooler of warm water" theory instead. Or just tough it out and have cold toes! Small price to pay for getting to ski.