HMan66

I used Teflon tape on mine and it does a good job.

If you’re free skiing, I would speed up to at least 28-30 mph and shorten the line to 32’ off to get in front of the wakes. The ski starts to ride too deep in the water at slower speeds and it will wiggle. You want to be up on top of the water with the ski gliding. Good luck!

Anyone have opinions on wing angle relative to skier weight and boat speed?

Guilty. Bad habit from 40+ years of free skiing where “big spray” was the name of the game. I’ve spent this whole summer just working on better form. Course skiing is such a different animal.

Jesus, what’s in the water where you ski? 🤣

I got a 5.7 long block from michiganmotorz.com. You just need to swap over all the externals.

I’d use an air die grinder with a red abrasive pad. Harbor Freight stuff. Worked like a charm when I did mine.

I just did mine and used pressure treated lumber with hot dipped galvanized lags. I glued the carpet on the hull side of the bunk, then wrapped around and stapled.

I guess to keep the course as visible as possible to the general boating public. I blame the “high buoys” for my lack of successful passes 🤣

On our floating course I’ve only seen mussels on the anchor lines. With a floating course you get the mini course as well so flotation shouldn’t be an issue. In fact, the turn balls all sit higher than most skiers would like, but we’re on a public lake. On private water you could fill the turn balls with air and water to get them to sit lower.

I’m working on that too. I’ve gotten coaching from @twhisper a few times and he always wants me to “stand tall” into the turn. Also to keep my shoulders open to the boat during acceleration. Constant work in progress. Terry’s a natural athlete and a beast behind the boat. Super cool guy too. Saw him run 5@41 from the boat as well. Amazing.

@Killer I ended up setting it at the recommended setting of 5. No pre releases, and it’s released when it was supposed to.

And I do take video and I see the same things. I guess my point is more: What keeps us from progressing when we know the problem and the solution?

How much does your mind affect your skiing? Why is it that we can visually see the positions we want to be in on the water and in the course, practice them on land, but have a hard time achieving them? For instance, (I'm a lefty) I tell myself that 1-2 ball is just my gate pull out. 2-3 is my drop pull out. Easy right? Yet, I still suffer the same issues through the course...poor stack, getting pulled over the front of the ski at the 2nd wake, etc. Theres a youtube video of Seth Stisher running 32 mph @ 15 off that I've been trying to emulate for 3 years now. His position during acceleration is perfect. I can't seem to get anywhere close to that type of lean even though I'm physically able. So is it trust? Confidence? Lack thereof? Fear?

Exactly. What happened to INT?

Are you talking private lake course skiing, or waterskiing in general? There are 2 courses on public water within an hour from where I live near Knoxville. One of them even has a Facebook page, Big Creek Slalom. The other is at Melton Hill Lake. Theres no club fees or cost to ski at either one. Donations for course maintenance are always welcome. When I was in my 20’s skiing the California Delta (back in the late 80’s), slalom courses were like Bigfoot and Unicorns. You heard about them, but never saw one. And the stories of the people that guarded them from Joe Schmoe running the course in his Tahiti with the Merc 150 were stuff of legend. I didn’t even know there were clubs you could join to be able to use the course. Even though I knew people that knew people, the invite, or info about the club never came. It was like some secret society. So we free skied, made hard cuts and big balls of spray. I tried to teach my daughter to ski a few years ago. She was up for a few seconds and face planted. That was that. She likes wakeboarding and jet skis though, so she does like being out on the water. Fast forward 30 years and you can connect with people and clubs all over the world with a few clicks. Rarely do you see anyone out free skiing on the public lakes anymore. As skiers, we always had to be up early for the glass and you only wanted 4 people in the boat max. You don’t need perfect water for wakeboarding or wakesurfing. I don’t even see that many wakeboarders anymore…mostly wakesurfing now. A lot of parents these days are all about “whatever the kids want” so they buy wake barges and “surf” behind the boat because it’s easy, and they can bring 12+ people with them. I was wakesurfing behind my buddies Super Air Nautique on a Cole 6’-7” thruster 20 years ago just for something to do on the water when the wind came up. I’d much rather surf in the ocean on real waves. Through this site, I met some great people and started course skiing a couple years ago. I was able to join a club and ski on perfect water a few times a week. There were only a handful of members so at one point I asked if we wanted to grow the club. The response I got was, “Well, do you want to show up and ski, or show up and wait an hour to get a set?” At some point, every club/lake/group needs new members as the “changing of the guard” is inevitable. It seems that a big issue is liability. Private lakes and clubs don’t want to get sued if a non-member/guest gets hurt learning to ski. I'll probably never be tournament skiing because 1) The guys in my bracket are running 35 off and I’m definitely not…haha!, and 2) I don’t want to miss the gate on my opener and that’s that. Thanks for your $60. My suggestion for that would be: You get 6 passes. Your best pass is your score. That might take the pressure off new tournament skiers and entice more people to partake at the grassroots level. There seems to be a very specific demographic in our sport, but you don’t have to have the newest boat model with ZO and Sure Path unless you’re a heavy duty tournament/pro skier. I ski the same behind my $20K Malibu with Stargazer as I do behind a 2021 Prostar with ZO. You can ski behind a $2K Bayliner but I don’t think that’s the point here. From my point of view, access to private ski sites has never been easier thanks to sites like BOS, and social media. You can get coaching from top pros in person or through an app. You can get a ski ride almost anywhere by simply asking. What I have noticed about skiing private lakes is that the people you meet are always friendly and happy to help you be a better skier. And once you’ve skied at their lake, you’re always welcome again.

Grade 8 bolts/washers and aero nuts is all you need. Firm/tight and you’re good to go.

The seller of that boat should have all the information on the rebuild from the shop that did the work. Engines aren’t exempt from catastrophic failure no matter how well you take care of it. Parts fail, shit happens.

Hers what I use. Cheap but effective. I used clear hose so I could see that water/anti freeze was flowing. The suction pipe sits about 1/4” off the bottom of the bucket. Clear hose connects to the raw water pump.

This is a nice boat. Personally, I think the CB skis a touch better. If you’re on public water and planning on anchoring, an open bow is much easier to deal with. I paid $21K for my 2000 Sunsetter LXI last year, but it was the boat I wanted and I have no regrets (a lot of reasons for this particular boat). Boats are worth whatever someone is willing to pay.

At 30 mph and 15 off I always thought I had to crank the turn so I’d have more time to get through the wakes to the next ball. I skied with a few different coaches and was told to “stand tall into the buoy” and “be patient” through the turn which, at longer lines and slower speeds, needs to be more carve than pivot at the buoy (which kills the speed you need to sync up with the boat). The 30/15 off passes started coming easier with a lot of full passes. I didn’t get much skiing in last year so this season I’ll be back to square one but I’ll be focusing on carrying momentum around the ball (more carve) and being in the correct body position to take the load and accelerate through the wakes.

I ran a 541 on my 96 Prostar.

I do all my own service, including an engine replacement on my last boat (96 Prostar 190). Cutlass (prop strut) bearings, prop changes, OJ waterless gland installation. I've also done carpet/bunk replacement on 2 trailers along with brake hub replacement and repacking bearings. I upgraded my gauges in my Sunsetter LXI last summer with the kit from Ron Tanis, and installed Stargazer. If you're mechanically inclined it's pretty basic stuff. This winter was my first year in a cold climate (I moved to Knoxville, TN from Southern California) and had to winterize my Malibu. The block didn't crack so I guess I did it right...haha!

@bdave6erkeep me posted on your trip. I’m 10 minutes from the lake and would be happy to give you a pull.

I also have a ‘22 Senate Pro. I’m 6-2 and 220 on a 69 skiing 30-32 mph. After skiing on the factory recommended settings, the ski felt sluggish and pushed a lot of water out the front. I reset everything (bindings, fin, wing to 7 degrees) to the 2018 Senate Lithium settings I was on prior and the ski really came to life. Worth a shot.