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I may have misinterpreted however I was thinking the topic was if the cost of new boats is causing a decline of skiing numbers, or if it's something else. I'm not seeing skiing declining here, however competitive sport skiing is. Costs are part of that reason, but not the dominant reason. To me it seems to be sport promotion and water access. Those who really want to will find the money (& the water access if pockets are deep enough) however if they're never introduced to the sport aspect of skiing they won't get hooked to begin with.

Maybe this should be off topic since it's the wake barge but it might be ski boat future too so I put it in boats section https://arcboats.com/arc-sport

Costs are relevant but not the dominant reason. For example there are a lot of water skiers in New Zealand. They're once a year during summer skiers, behind their own or a friends general purpose trailer boat. My guess more than 30% of population has tried sometime in their life and 5%ish participate most years. However general public and these skiers do not see it as a sport. Most don't even know it exists as a serious competitive sport. It's simply a fun reactional activity to do occasionally. In my opinion lack of publicity of it as a sport, and limited access to suitable water conditions is why it'll always be a fun reactional activity for the majority and it'll be a sport for a tiny tiny minority.

Best keep our mouths closed when skiing as a triangle won't fit but.... 🤣

I'd love to try one! Wondering if changing the length of the rope support 'tee' can make it feel just like a triangle handle? If the tee length is the same dimension as rope connnection onto triangle handle tdoes that make it feel the same? @chrislandy arrows seem to say no, if I'm reading them correctly. So make the 'tee' longer? Shorter? A certain stiffness? Intriguing! I hope development goes well and it becomes a thing

Thanks for posting up alternative links. I could only put facebook as don't have instagram, X etc. If it wasn't for viewing skiing stuff I'd probably drop facebook too

?? I don't disagree with tracking but that's more the typical hull than the drive system itself. Jet drives are more efficient than props at certain speeds. It's why many ferries world wide are jet. Low speed control is vastly superior to direct drives. Can turn them on the spot, move sideways etc. It's why many supply and service boats are jets. Jets used world wide are very different than the US drag boat style big block noise makers with berkleys and tiny nozzle.

@VONMAN @S1Pitts there's a lot of jetboats here in New Zealand because of the braided rivers and I've owned 2. Most are noisy because the DIY builder or the manufacturer only puts in marines manifolds and then straight pipe(s). However some go to the effort of adding internal mufflers and they can be really quiet. As far as towing goes they pull fine (can get near maximum thrust when stationary), but they don't have the same 'grip' hence the tow feels a bit soft. Also the wakes are soft and foamy due to the jet trust. Fine for recreational skiing and wakeboarding. Maybe setup well would be ok for surfing too, but I think they'll struggle to get the solid wave the surfers want. But if people are thinking they'll allow them to access and surf in shallow water think again. They will but only once or twice before environmentalists will get them shutdown. Around here many people power load onto trailers. It causes a hole to form at the base of the ramp and a mound of gravel further back. Props on inboards, IOs, outboards, etc don't move much gravel but the nozzle of the jetboats blows big holes at bottom of ramps. It's like a really high power fire nose. Imagine surf boats not planing and at 30 deg angle. They'd destroy lake beds that are less then 8m deep (25')

It's a good thing there's so much interest. Shows that everyone here wants competition and not only 2 brands. That's healthy. Less good is that Malibu hasn't made a media statement now that the rumour is out there. That would be respectful to the sport, plus current and past customers.

Binding centre hole. Fin factory setting (approx anyway because I only check it once a year). I know I am the limiting factor.

Three very true statements right there that apply worldwide. People do appreciate seeing it done well. Access to courses is limited and added to that even the semi flat water is then shared with jetskis, other boats, people fishing etc Hide it away to enable the top of the crop athletes to get mirror water every time just means few will see it or follow it

@chrislandy why will it feel different at light load? If weight is about same and connection to rope is same won't it be same?

Here's a video of the tee handle in use https://www.facebook.com/100071408267877/videos/1377925579512108/ More info https://www.baselinewaterski.com/news/new-t-shaped-handle-to-be-trialed-in-tournaments-aims-to-prevent-handle-injuries/ My physics knowledge is limited but to me anyway it seems like if the central 'tee' length is similar to normal triangle length the feel would be similar

Similar. I tracked everything for about 3yrs but by then I'd learnt my body, it's needs, it's recovery, etc for a variety of sports and movements so I then dropped all gadgets. Felt so much better simply training and racing by feel. I kept simple $10 bike computer to help with navigation but that was it.

and unless you compete in tournaments it doesn't need to be 'exactly' the same. No point chasing exactly the same when it's not required. Non tournament skiers can still have 99% of the fun with PP paddlewheel, Stargazer or even hand driving. Possibly even low to mid level tournament skiers would benefit from occassional non ZO experience with variety of hulls. Toughen them up, make them more resilient to wind, ripples, nautique vs mastercraft vs malibu pulls, etc.

Everyone is different. The max heart rate 220 minus formulae and it's variants work for most people i.e. near the middle of the bell curve, but can be incorrect by 10, 20 or even 30bpm for some people. Both high or low error. I've done a lot of endurance stuff and when in my mid 40s my resting HR was low 40s. Not super athlete but pretty fit, finishing in top 20% in most events. Formula suggested my max would be approx 175 but I would occassionaly reach 212 and regularly saw >205. In one particular 2hr MTB race my average was 184. Around then I had an ECG for a work medical check and all good, no issues. When I was telling doctor about my health and fitness he told me I had a 'revy' (sp? revvy? revvie?) heart and be careful, to ease off if I felt unwell, weak or dizzy, but don't stop what I was doing as I obviously tolerated it well and that just how my heart was. During 12hr lap MTB races I would set watch or bike computer beep if HR got above 155. When it did I knew to back off and I'd target HR dropping to below 150 within the next couple of minutes. Average over the 12hrs would be mid to high 140s. For adventure races involving MTB, kayak, trek etc over 1 to 7days duration my average would usually be in range 100-120bpm.

@Cnewbert I pulled my Orbit apart and sprayed it with silicone spray. Turns much easier.

Are you still talking about skiing? 😉😜🤣

@BrennanKMN I've got a working QR code for the speed start stop and understand your steps 1 & 2. For step 3 to create a QR to run the script do I use https://gopro.github.io/labs/control/custom/ leaving everything unticked and only have the text BOOT=!Lwaterski ? Or can I just use the QR you're posted? (so long as I name my file ' waterski ' with no file extension) Then with step 4 only ever need to do that once? i.e. from then on every time the camera gets fresh battery put in it and manually powered on it will load the waterski file which in trun will set the speed start stop. Interested in your step 6. IS that because you have a external power charge lead to boat and the gopro sees it go live hence it boots, loads waterski file and sets speed? Apology for the many questions. Trying to lessen the load on driver and observer. Thanks in advance

I think next time it comes up I'll remind them that apart from a few exceptions a 1980s designed car newly built today, possibly with inferior materials and skills, even if it was a classic, won't perform as well as a 2020s designed car.

@Horton I agree with you and I've been steering them towards buying more recent Senate and Omni, however they do ask why not these other 'new' lower cost skis

They were good, but are they still considered good when compared to a ski designed more recently? I know couple of people wanting to buy their first slalom ski, competent lake free skiers and almost skiing course. I've been safe and told them buy a Senate or Omni. Is the Siege a viable option? It's quite a lot cheaper

slightly off topic but on topic, has anyone had any structural issues with their Hovercraft? Ours has a slight flex crease appearing near the tail. Wondering if it's a bit too flexible. If it increases more I'll need to reinforce ands seal it before water gets into the core

Hovercraft very very easy to get up on. Saying that I fall far far more often on it than my Senate..........because I play on it, slash the wakes, try jumps, etc 🙂 We've ditched our combos for beginners and they go straight onto Hovercraft on training boom.

I’ve fitted the https://engineguard.com.au/ dual sensor engine temperature alarm. The sensors are like an electrical lug so can easily bolt them anywhere. I mounted first sensor to the cooling water impeller housing using existing cover screw. I would have fitted the second sensor into a spare cylinder head thread, but I don't have a suitable bolt, so I mounted it via the existing transmission heat exchanger bolt. I mounted the display down near my right knee - it's clearly visible but not obtrusive and easy to reach. To set it up, I ran the engine normally around lake for approx 10 minutes and then pressed buttons to recall the peak temperatures and set the audible alarm parameters slightly above that. It showed that the normal temperature for the impeller housing was 22°C (lake water temperature) and the cylinder head was at 72°C. Initially, I set alarm thresholds to 30°C and 75°C. It works great and has immediately proven useful. During our three-week Christmas holiday break, it never operated then one day on the first start of the day the pump didn't prime. The housing began to heat up, and the alarm went off. A quick blip of throttle primed the pump. Without the alarm, it could have resulted in a failed impeller and possible engine damage, burnt exhaust hoses, etc. There is one minor glitch though. When the engine is turned off for several minutes, heat soak warms up the impeller housing to 40-50°C, and of course, it alarms on engine restart. It's not a major glitch though since a simple press of 'SET' button mutes the alarm for 30 seconds. The temperature falls to 22-25°C within 10 seconds or so, indicating that the cooling pump has primed and all is good. I'm really liking the peace of mind it provides by giving almost immediate feedback on cooling water flow. The instructions mentioned that on boats to install a sensor near the outlet of water-cooled exhaust. Personally, I think having it on the impeller housing at the beginning of the cooling system is better than at the outlet, but maybe someday I'll move the cylinder head sensor to exhaust outlet so that both my inlet and outlet are monitored.