kurtis500

@horton were they designed to be softer than the aluminum counterpart? Generally carbon composites will be stiffer than an aluminum part of similar shape and size. Just curious

@horton if I read that correctly, the carbon fin was more flexible than aluminum? And now an aluminum fin is fine?

Soooooo.... what was the issue with these fins? Didnt work or..??

Wow, so sorry. Prayers for you all

@Ski2000 Just to emphasize, when you start rehab expect it to be painful. The finger will lock with a bend in it otherwise, even if you half-ass the rehab it wil not heal with full flexibilty restored. My forst few rehabs I took the pain pills before rehab since it sucked so bad. Your injury is different hopefully. I had my pinky finger basecally ripped over sizeways all the way down the hand facing the elbow. Had pins, sutures, new tendon and other stuff I forget. Loss of feeling is normal for a severe finger injury

Since you've changed plugs, pull them out and do a compression test. That will indicate some bigger problems first, like a cracked head or etc.

@jimski the zip tie idea would help a lot.

@jimski Id check the MSD distributor first, especially the diameter of the base to make sure its not too wide. MSD sometimes doesnt make distributors to be drop in factory replacements and wont fit with accessories/manifold or etc. bolted nearby. Also, like alternators and starters some distributors are NOT meant for use under a marine engine cover. Just an FYI for a commonly overlooked safety item.

What about just switching out the fin material? Put in titanium or something and use the same shape...or narrow the thickness

Just for reference, I’ve replaced 2 rear ends in Chevy suburbans I’ve owned. We tow from Phoenix to Parker/Havasu during the hottest parts of the summer. Heat kills things faster. I’ve had 3/4 ton trucks for 27 years and never an issue with them. Boat is approximately 5800#

I’ve had a similar injury. First, the hands and feet are the most painful during rehab....Above other joint surgeries (I’ve had 5). This is a known reality with rehab for surgeries, burns etc. They put pins in my fingers during the surgery as well. It did seem to heal faster than a rotator cuff surgery but the hand will be swollen inside for 3 months minimum. You absolutely HAVE to rehab properly or your finger will lock or ‘boot’ and flexibility will be diminished for good. Not fun. I’d give it 6 months to be safe. Btw your grip strength is highest with middle and ring fingers in the hand.

You need to confirm your ratings and know your insurance will not fully cover an accident or breakage caused by exceeding GVW and a bunch of other things you may not suspect. Besides all that you will heatup the tranny without cooling systems and etc. most tow vehicles have. Im guessing its a FWD

Yes, but from December to early March the water is chilly and a shorty wetsuit makes it way better. I’ve skied every month of the year without a suit. Unless your talking northern Arizona

Do the balls skip?

Maybe look at that buoy system that shoots paintballs as buoys. Not sure if it’s ready for retail sale but it would be way cheaper and seems like a great substitute. Firebird is rough on any equipment you stick in that water but close to metro Phoenix.

COVID has f-ed up a lot of stuff..

The racing version of ANYTHING will be more expensive than the regular every-day user cost. I raced boats for 18 years, if the average skier had to spend racing dollars to be on the water most would drop the sport overnight. I live in Park City (still have my home in AZ) and know many involved with the US Ski Team up here from parents to coaches to administrators. If you're spending 60 days on the mountain its no hobby and not comparable to the money most people put in to do a sport for fun or the challenge.

Snow skiing is WAY easier than anything on the water.. Not only is it cheaper but these two for starters: 1-you go at your own speed, not the boats 2-your not pulling against anything and you can stay on the skis all day theres no way people go 6-7 hours a day on a waterski...for a week

So which company(s) that are just slalom skiing specific have the dough to even do a large media contract?

The first post is true.... I raced for 18 years in the IHBA then LODBRS (Drag boat racing) with air time on ESPN, MAVTV and even CBS Saturday afternoon. The crowds at a few of our races were way over 15,000+ per day. In the 80's over 20k at Firebird. Getting on TV requires a tight connection with the media outlets and a lot of money to broadcast your sport. In a nutshell, getting your sport on TV is a form of advertising. If you want free coverage that is generally what happens when the local news shows up and does a 15-30 second spot on the evening news. The media companies have to make money DURING the show and that comes from advertisers, usually those directly sponsoring teams within the sport. Many of our fellow racers sponsors were oil companies and etc. My guess is for a TV spot to happen you will need the corporate money from the boat manufacturers since they generally have the amount of advertising dollars to make it happen. With tournament skiing being such a small segment of their sales its highly unlikely. Just enjoy it as is, when Lucas Oil bought out the IHBA and brought money and etc. to the sport it made racing way more difficult since they nationalized the races making people drop more $$$ to get to races.. Knocked out a bunch of us, same will happen with with tournament style skiing. Even worse, the more intense schedule to promote the sport will push more athletes in to injury.

Uh, no. Growing waterskiing in AZ is tough for tournament style skiing only. If you do ski racing/enduro or etc. its a perfect place for it. The lakes around Phoenix and the Colorado River (Parker, Havasu) are NOT good for slalom/tournament style skiing. I never see people doing it except at Firebird where I race. Phoenix has more water than most metropolitan areas. In fact, for $85 a year I flood irrigate my yard with 4 inches of water 2 times a month. Thats essentially 8 inches of rain equivelant for my yard only....IN NORTH CENTRAL PHOENIX! Anything can grow there and I have Sycamore trees and etc. It helps that the desert is situated in a valley below multiple mountain ranges and large rivers. To grow the sport people need to get skiers on the local slalom lakes. They are in town and the closest lakes to ski on. Somebody needs to step up and partner with a high school or etc. near the lakes to get it going. Phoenix metro has plent of people and year round skiing.

Wheres the OP been? Starts a thread like this then takes off? Looks more like trolling

My trailer has removable post that the boat driver can reach out and grab to center or etc. It’s also good to hold the boat in place when pulling it up the ramp. just a thought.

"I'm curious why we don't encourage a more diverse group of individuals to get into skiing. " You make the tournament skiing 'world' appear inherently racist, or bias against people with a differnet skin color for NOT taking action. I really doubt thats the case, you may want to word it differently. I've taken 3 african-american FAMILIES including kids out skiing, tubing and etc. over the years. They all enjoy it and we have a blast. 2 of them have boats, but for fishing. Its what they like more and they can throw a rope out behind it whenever they want. There are a lot of organizations already like Big Brothers & Big Sisters, the YMCA and etc. that want people like you to pick up a group of kids and show them a good time on the lake. Spend some time teaching them a new sport or hobby and get their focus on mentally and physically healthy activity. More inner city kids have no father or role model to teach them life and they LOVE having someone take the time to teach them and be patient. I spend 1 week - 2 times a year at youth camps with kids so I practice what I preach. Most top athletes learn from a young age, so investing in the youth now will grow the sport more later.