chaloux

I don't have much to add to this thread, but I am keenly watching as I may be placing an order for a Prostar at some point in the future, as they're ~25k cheaper than a 200 here in Ontario. I did ski behind a 2020 Prostar and it felt soft initially but then took off like a rocket - I mentioned it to the driver and he said that he was doing that intentionally. I'm so used to just mashing the throttle that the slower initial throttle application made me question the motor/prop setup. Lastly, @CCPD3 what colour is that!? Seafoam? I love it.

I was told at my local dealership that if I order now, I'll likely receive the boat for the '24 season. D-a-m-n

I just installed an EZ-Slalom permanent course (like... literally just - yesterday and today). The buoys will be installed all summer. In the fall I will be removing the balls and attaching intermediate floaters at a few locations so that all I have to do come spring time is swim down the few feet required and attach my buoy leads. Should be able to have it up and running in about 30 minutes I reckon. At each buoy I'll have a floater. Unfortunately, the bottom of my river is not only muck but also a large amount of tree debris - stumps, deadheads, etc.. and I can't risk the cable getting stuck on something.

I always thought hydrogen fuel cell for a boat would be pretty slick. Generate hydrogen in the boat house with lake water, fill up the boat, exhaust water... Same electric drivetrain.

@jhughes It's possible that different brands would request different tuning, but in this case, they've tuned the engine for peak performance and there is 0 difference in performance when different fuel grades are being used, indicating that in this case octane is not a contributing factor. I'm sure there are all sorts of differences between manufacturers, and realistically, this test performed on those specific marine engines would be great/ideal data to see. But on the base lump provided, we can see that octane doesn't matter. Take that for what you will, I guess.

@JackQ absolutely. Thanks for that bit of extra info. I haven't heard of Engine Masters, tried to google but came up with nothing. I'd like to watch that episode if it ever becomes available.

Fantastic. I didn't watch the video (link?) so some of what I say here may have been covered. This make sense because the ignition timing is identical. To be honest I would have expected a very slight difference in power, maybe 5-10hp, without knowing about the timing curve. But in all my time tuning cars on dynos, I've noticed a much bigger difference tuning ignition than anything else, even boost. This is usually because people turn up the boost first to feel a difference driving the car around without changing anything else, but it often nets little peak power increase - but does often give much more peak torque which makes the car feel much faster. Timing is where all the power is made. On my own personal car, I went from 27psi boost, 280whp, to 22psi boost, 365whp after jumping on the dyno to tune ignition. What a difference. Eliminating boost from the equation here, we're left with only fuel and ignition, and if ignition is the same... well, results speak for themselves. Did they mention anything about knock or detonation? I'm assuming these engines have knock sensors and they didn't see anything? If they were able to keep the timing at 29 degrees over all fuel grades without knock, I see absolutely 0 reason to run higher octane in this application. Seems like they're not running into detonation issues, so the compression ratio could potentially be increased which would justify the use of higher octane fuels.

I need to figure out what the general consensus is out here on the river for putting in a course. A bit tricky with 3 parties involved - the non-indigenous cottagers, indigenous land owners, and Hydro One (who have rights to the river/flood zone). If I get the go ahead, have to choose, purchase, and figure out when to set up said course. If no course is going to happen in my water, I need to find the nearest course and become friends with those who have a boat on the water there! So in short, my winter plans are to figure out how to ski the course more without paying every time at Bush's in Bala.

I had to this year because my Sport Nautique came with a wake/surf prop. Changed to an OJ 428. Much better but it still seems to be revving a bit higher than I thought it would.

@GHLskier do you guys have a course on Go Home? I'm literally minutes away.... can't keep paying to ski the course at Bush's!

I appreciate all the information and perspectives in this thread. It can take me a while to translate all of the terms and movements described by different people in different nuanced ways into practical information my brain can understand and then apply to my skiing. There are a few things I'm going to try out in future sets - strong position/connection with the rope (as per the other thread), inside hip leading, and being on top of the ski. There are other elements described here that I'd like to work on, but I'm just going to focus on a few things to start and go from there. I think I understand what @mrpreuss is saying and I actually think you guys are all agreeing, lol. But that's just me sitting on the sidelines. Watching a clear, smooth, HD, zoomed in video like the one posted above of Joel really makes things, which I've glazed over in other discussions because I couldn't picture things with my mind's eye, stand out .

I just did this exact upgrade in my 94 Sport Nautique - 8.06 to 9.21. It's a world of difference for hitting and holding target speed. I almost ran out of water trying to calibrate 36mph though lol, make sure you have some room for that. The other speeds were very quick and easy from that point. Overall I'm very happy and my wife is too since she's my primary driver, although I'm slowly working on my 11 year old.

Sorry to revive an old thread. Just upgraded my 94 Sport Nautique from v8.06 wake to v9.21 three event. Other than contorting myself to get under the dash, was about as simple as it gets. Unfortunately I won't be able to test until later today. But this thread makes me hopeful that it'll help my wife who's new to driving for slalom. 8.06 Wake was definitely pretty slow to react and all over the place... Like almost impossible to ski behind lol. It would have an easy 33-38mph swing. Will report back :)

I'm in Muskoka, live near Bala on Musquash River. There's a large open portion about 2km down river that I can easily ski a course twice. I don't think people would be happy with me putting a course up, but it's crossed my mind. Other than two v-drive boats ours is the only "ski" boat - a do-it-all-ok 94 Sport Nautique. I started skiing when I was 19. I'd love to hook up with anyone in Muskoka to ski! I have very limited experience on the course but ski at 36mph and do ok I think, haha. My main ski partner is my dad, we either ski here or at his place, he's in Utterson on Long's Lake. We both could probably use some input from others as we're usually driving for each other and don't get to watch much.

Hmm, I never thought about this that much. I kick with my right but am left foot forward. That's for all board sports, biking, skiing, etc. My right foot is my "planted" foot, left foot is in control. My kids are all left foot forward as well, one of them is left handed. Now here's another question - how do you guys hold the handle? I'm left foot forward and my natural inclination is left hand up, right hand down. That feels more natural when cutting left but less natural when cutting right.

My C85 shipped yesterday and should be here Tuesday! Can't wait to report how it compares to the Prophecy I was skiing. Gonna be hot this weekend so I'll probably try to get out on the Prophecy so it's fresh in my head.

Nice looking boat on the water. Similar to my dad's 92 Supra Comp TS6M. He will never sell that boat because of the way it looks on the water. He bought it just about new in 94. Feels pretty good to ski behind if you get close enough, haha.

My C85 should be shipping soon! I hope. Hah. And vapor carbitex front and rear.

I'm 6'3" and about 175 and was recommended a medium. Ski looks nice!

Well everyone, I purchased a blemish medium, standard flex Denali C75. There was a problem with the one I selected so they are hooking me up in a different way... I'll have to update when I get the ski. Needless to say I'm very stoked to try this ski. I hope I don't fall into the small category of skiers that can't get it to work for them. I'm pretty sure I'll be just fine. Thanks for all your feedback!

@jimbrake I am a father as well, although my three are 10 and under so I don't have to worry about that just yet... But you're right of course. I will absolutely still be skiing with the old man (who at 62 absolutely rips), but I can just ski a lot MORE now. Kind of a mixed bag of emotions and thoughts. Thanks for mentioning that, I will remember to be empathetic and try to hold my tongue sometimes!

@MDB1056 I'd like to but unfortunately they have to stay on the Prophecy at my dad's place.

Holy hell that is a steal. I just picked up my 94 Sport Nautique for 17cdn and I had to drive to Nova Scotia from Ontario! Gel coat is in the same condition but my interior is mint, and it has a tower, new perfect pass, etc.. there was just literally nothing listed for under 20k, with most being between 30 and 40.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the feedback! I'm currently in talks with Meg from Denali on one of the blemish models. I think I'll be pairing it with some carbitex vapors which I can get locally and try on for sizing. I'm not sold on going hard shell just yet and I am pretty happy with the stiffness and durability of the Connelly Enzos, so I'm hoping the vapors are similar but a step up/updated.

Thanks @ForrestGump! My old man just sent me a photo, the Prophecy is actually a 67 (still has the sticker on it). Updated the original post. I have read a lot about the '13 and '14 Prophecy and seems like a lot of people liked them a lot. I do like what I'm reading about the Denali skis, I just wish they left their old information page up so I had info for looking for a used C75. Right now their site just shows the C85 splash page and so I have no idea how to go about sizing or which flex profile of the C75 I'd like. I'm sure that any top or top 2 model from any brand would be fine. I just wish I could ski something now to see how it feels so I can order before the season really kicks off. I put the boat in yesterday but the water is numbingly cold still.