OREGON85

But not for a swing! I tied up a swing with and old rope I found and my kids found themselves in the dirt rather than swinging in short order. 🤣

Agriculture had this same conversation 25 years ago. Will it actually work? Is it safe? I can drive better. What about liability? Will farming still be fun? Is it worth the cost? Etc. Different circumstances for sure, but the similarities in the conversations are remarkable. One of the big upsides in ag, which has been brought up here, is who can drive. Now you don’t need a highly skilled operator and an operator can last much longer due to reduced fatigue. Someone who would not otherwise be qualified suddenly is. All they have to do is turn the tractor (or boat) around at the end of the pass. Now the conversation in agriculture is “what else can it do?”

I just tracked down the thread and read through it. Yeah, super scary. Fortunately, our boat has a walk through open bow, so it pushes inward (onto the floor) and towards the back. Instructions were given to the driver and it hasn’t happened since.

@ETskier one time when my dad was driving my boat he washed my kids right out of the bow seats by plowing into a wake just exactly wrong. It was fairly humorous, but in a don’t ever do that again sort of way. @03RLXi Okay, I’ll hold off on selling the boat for a bit. The passengers were three kids 11 and under, so not significant weight. Fuel level was about 2/3. Last year was a bust as far as skiing goes. My wife had a pretty serious mountain biking injury and my work load spiraled out of control for a bit and both coincided with ski season. So I really haven’t had much time to hone my skills. I felt like I was crossing the wakes pretty well before all that but with time and slowing down for the course I’ve lost ground. I would love coaching, if for no other reason just to be able to set the time aside to ski.

After a couple years of gentle prodding, suggesting, coaxing, bribing, coercion, and all the other tactics parents use, we finally got our 8 year old to try skiing. Got up on the first try and when I went back to pick him up he shouted “This is way more fun than tubing!!” I don’t think he could have said anything better! 😁

I’m bringing this up again. I moved and now have access to a course on public water. I got pretty happy with crossing the wake behind my boat at 32 MPH and 15 off. Now I am trying to learn the course and have slowed it down to 28 to try to give myself more time to reach the buoys and the wake is huge again. I think it is making my form worse because I am afraid of the big wake and (even more so) the giant trough. Any advice? I’m almost ready to sell it and buy a legitimate ski boat, but the closed bow would be tough with the family.

I’m pretty happy with my 2000 Air Nautique. I can’t compare it to the above mentioned boats, but the slalom wake is reasonable (if you watch total weight and weight distribution) and you can surf okay with it, if desired. I got mine for $15k, but that was before the boat shortage.

A related question: how much current would you install a course in. Our closest spot has about 1.5 - 3 MPH current, depending on the time of year. That probably too much, right?

I ski and surf behind my 2000 Air Nautique. Like said, a real ski boat has a better ski wake and a surf boat has a better wave. But for me where I mostly want to ski and surf occasionally I am happy. I also have three kids in that age range, and the space is nice. I’ll probably upgrade to a Ski Nautique 200 with a tower some day, but for now I’m good.

If you had a blowout, you should probably buy 4 tires. Every trailer I have ever owned, when one went the rest were close behind.

This post is kind of old. Any updated information on this? This lake is really close to me.

I think the two videos are a reflection of the attitude of skiing vs. surfing. When I ski I take it seriously and try to improve skills and preform my best. When I surf I’m just screwing around having fun. I think MC just held a mirror up to it perspective buyers.

Awesome! I’m looking forward to the next video.

It still sits as I described. I wish I was out skiing…. But a wife with a broken leg and small children running about has left little time. Plus it has been a cold, wet spring here. I think I’ll take the intermediate approach and put a little oil in the filter (not much, since it is nearly horizontal), fill the engine and crank it with the distributor wire disconnected. I appreciate all the perspectives. Two more weeks and she should healed enough to drive!

Three weeks ago I pulled the oil drain plug on my boat (2000 Nautique, GT-40). While the oil was draining I got a call from my wife’s friend who she was mountain biking with that she had crashed and broke her leg and I dropped my tools and rushed to meet them at the ER. Now, three weeks and a surgery later I’m thinking about the boat again. When you drain an engine even if it is warm and you let it sit for a couple hours oil still clings to surfaces. But three weeks is a bit different. I want think I can just fill it up and be on my way, but I remember from the once or twice I have been involved rebuilding engines pre-lubing parts during assembly. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks!