Ed_Obermeier

Hi all. Been awhile since I've checked in but wanted to provide something of a status update. The EZ-Slalom website was taken down recently and unfortunately along with it my email address was removed. As a result I've lost all of my saved and unanswered email (should have known... ). I know there have been some who've tried to contact me and I apologize for having not gotten back to you in a timely manner (lost email, no way to respond). Anyone wanting to contact me please feel free, my contact email address is now ed.obermeier@gmail.com.

Message from Ed Obermeier, owner, EZ-Slalom Course Systems - Hello everyone. I'm announcing today that I am formally retiring and as such EZ-Slalom will be halting all commercial operations shortly. Meaning that we will no longer be building or selling fully assembled slalom courses, slalom course kits, buoys, anchors etc. There are a number of things that have brought me to this decision, amongst them the rising cost of materials and the price increases we've been forced to make due to those increases, the difficulty in getting some materials in a timely manner (supply chain issues) etc, but largely just the fact that at 67 years of age I have some other things I want/need to pursue and it's just time to shift directions. My health and fitness are both good and I have no intention of checking out anytime soon, but for that and a lot of other reasons it's apparent that the time has come for me to take a step back, change directions, and slow things down a bit. However I do want to make it completely clear that I will not and am not abandoning our customers. I will continue to service our existing customers with repair and replacements as needed, particularly any warranty issues as well as replacement mainline sections, some replacement portable course buoy arm sections and/or repairs (as materials continue to be available) if ever required. I've kept back enough materials to service repair/replacement requests so should someone need repairs/replacements they'll continue to be available. I'll be making changes to the website to notify visitors as to our changing status and eventually the website will go away as will the toll free 800 number so be aware that future contact will be as stated below. Contact information going forward - Anyone wishing to contact me will still be able to do so via email to ed@ez-slalom.com, ed.obermeier@gmail.com. or call me directly at 913-731-2722. If you call there's a good chance that you'll get my voicemail, if so leave a message and return phone number and I'll call back ASAP. _______________________________________________________________ FWIW to anyone and looking at it from a business perspective, I do want to state that one of the great pleasures of having been in this sport since we first went into commercial operations in 1998 has been the opportunity to meet and chat with a lot of my fellow waterskiers and to get to know you a bit and establish something of a personal connection, as much as that's possible over the phone or via email. Over the years I've gotten the opportunity to actually meet and ski with several of you (at some outstanding facilities and locations!) which has been a bonus. I've enjoyed talking to and doing business with many of you here on BOS and the support and kudos I've gotten here as well have always been flattering and sincerely appreciated. Our goal from the beginning was to create a reputation for building a superior product, giving great customer support, and getting people enjoying the sport at a higher level and if we've accomplished any of that, for me that's just the icing on the cake! I've had a few folks inquire as to whether or not the business would continue to exist in some form or if it were for sale. EZ-Slalom has established a solid reputation for product quality and customer service - it's a great product with a well established world wide customer base and reputation as such it deserves to live on in some manner. If someone were interested in taking on an existing business with an established world wide reputation and customer base I'd love to discuss that with you. Contact me via one of the emails or phone number listed above. As with everything else we've done here at EZ-Slalom pricing would be fair and reasonable... :) It's taken me three years to come to and accept the decision that it is time to retire and I'm doing so with mixed emotions and some lingering regret. But as I've stated above, for a number of reasons it's just time. I've enjoyed being a part of the waterskiing community and I hope that in some small way I've made some small positive impact on the sport. Again my sincere thanks to all for your business, your support, and the kind words and recommendations I've gotten here on the forum and from those of you with whom I've spoken directly and done business. If anyone needs repairs on one of our systems, recommendations or advice, please feel free to call or write. Take care and enjoy! Best Regards, Ed Obermeier

I would Andre. I had 10 I'd had for probably a year and a half, gentlemen from Florida called last week and took all 10 and was tickled to get them. Didn't really get why until I started trying to restock. They're a low demand product, no money in it so no one's doing anything with it. At least that I'm aware of.

Skier to Skier got out of the business due to low volume, I'm out of stock and never sold many anyway. Anyone still in that business? Not interested in getting into it myself, just looking for a source. TIA for any info. Cheers, Ed

SOLD. Posted the ad a week ago yesterday (Monday), sold it in four days to the first caller for full asking price. Dude drove down from Omaha today to finalize the deal. Thanks to anyone who expressed an interest, you missed a good one.

Oops, forgot the contact info. Email inquiries to ed@ez-slalom.com, call or text me at 913-731-2722. More photos and details available upon request. Thanks for looking!

2005 Malibu Response LXI tournament inboard. 340 hp Monsoon engine, tandem axle trailer, Perfect Pass Stargazer speed control. Under 570 original hours. Two piece snap down towing cover, original Malibu logo storage cover still in good functional condition). Large bimini top (doesn't interfere with the ski rope at shorter lines). Newer Acme CNC prop, dripless prop shaft packing. Three outlet heater and hot water shower. Trailer has oil bath bearing hubs, all LED lighting, Trailer Buddy automatic latch. No tower or Wedge, this is a skiers ski boat that also makes a great family boat. All original vinyl in excellent condition, bow filler cushion, probably the roomiest open bow you'll find in a world class tournament ski boat. Anally maintained, always stored under a covered carport out of the sun and weather, stored indoors in heated storage over the cold months. $27,500 located 40 minutes south of Kansas City metro area.

I'm selling my '05 RLXI. 330 Monsoon, 3 outlet heater, shower, PP Stargazer (probably would want to update the software but works just fine), tandem trailer. Very well kept, under 600 original hours. If interested contact me ed@ez-slalom.com for mote information, photos etc.

6balls wrote "We have not measured, but suspect we may be stretched long as we don't have cable but rope. Figured the PP will go faster speed to compensate and get times." Stretch is entirely possible with a rope mainline that has been under high tension for an extended period of time (years), it's just the nature of the material (plastic-based rope under high tension over time). Poly rope mainlines are really not made to be used for a permanently installed course for that reason (although they do seem to hold up quite well used in that manner despite that). Had a customer who'd used one that way for a lot of years send it to me a couple years ago stating that they thought it had stretched long. Measured it and sure enough had stretched enough to be out of spec. Easy enough fix (cut and splice) but not something the average skier would probably recognize or want to mess with fixing on their own. PP Classic run in two segment mode (using magnets) or all ball mode (anyone actually still do that?) will recognize and compensate, or at least try to. SG won't, it just starts timing from the entry gate and times 259 meters, it doesn't reference the actual course it's on at all other than to start timing at the entry gate.

It's not clear to me in your post exactly what method you're using to measure your course. So I'm sure I'm not going to state anything here you haven't already thought of, but just in case... If you're using PP or ZO as the only means to measure I'm sure you're aware that doesn't tell you anything about the exact course you're skiing on. Computer speed control measures from the start gate then projects and measures a virtual course of exact length. They don't measure the course you're on, they measure a set exact distance and time that accordingly. Which may or may not sync with a visual observation from the boat of where the buoy you're going by is when you hear the beeps. Of course if you actually got in the water with a tape measure, or measured it on dry land, ignore the above. For myself I want my course as close to correct as I can possibly get it, even though I'm not that great a skier. Off season would be a great time to address that IMO. Cheers, Ed

@GAJ0004 wrote "I don't think we need a whole new course, but the arms just need replaced. The cable and everything else is still good. I am wondering if there is a better material than pvc that won't sag or bend to use for the arms." 2" square aluminum tubing is the State of the Art for buoy arms, obviously expensive though. Aluminum angle iron would be next best, then steel angle either by itself or strapped/connected somehow to the PVC (requiring properly placed additional floatation to offset the additional weight). 2" PVC is most commonly used due to price, and if properly balanced at its center point as described in several posts above will give you a lot of years of perfectly fine service life. My best suggestion is to strap a capped length of the same PVC onto the arm at the center point as @LeonL above stated. Generally 3 to 4 feet capped to create a floatation chamber works perfectly, you may have to experiment a bit to get it exact but that will definitely solve the issue. Agreed, if your PVC arms are that old and are bowed you probably need to replace them to get your accuracy back. Pretty inexpensive fix IMO. Cheers, Ed @ EZ-Slalom

@GAJ0004 wrote "I don't think we need a whole new course, but the arms just need replaced. The cable and everything else is still good. I am wondering if there is a better material than pvc that won't sag or bend to use for the arms." 2" square aluminum tubing is the State of the Art for buoy arms, obviously expensive though. Aluminum angle iron would be next best, then steel angle either by itself or strapped/connected somehow to the PVC (requiring properly placed additional floatation to offset the additional weight). 2" PVC is most commonly used due to price, and if properly balanced at its center point as described in several posts above will give you a lot of years of perfectly fine service life. My best suggestion is to strap a capped length of the same PVC onto the arm at the center point as @LeonL above stated. Generally 3 to 4 feet capped to create a floatation chamber works perfectly, you may have to experiment a bit to get it exact but that will definitely solve the issue. Agreed, if your PVC arms are that old and are bowed you probably need to replace them to get your accuracy back. Pretty inexpensive fix IMO. Cheers, Ed @ EZ-Slalom

Our rope mainlines are plenty good enough to use as a template. They're built on the same surveyed template as our steel cable mainlines, which have been surveyed and have been used in at least a half-dozen IWSF R-tournanents that I'm personally aware of. Won't be R tournament capable of course unless you re-survey what you put in but should get you in the ballpark. Cheers, Ed

303 on the cleaned/stripped fiberglass, let dry to a haze then hand buff off. NuFinish wax over that. Boat looks like brand new, guaranteed. 303 on the vinyl too.

Sorry I don't have a suggestion for a band name but thought I'd post just to let you know you're not alone having a second expensive habit. Crappy cell phone photo.

Getting along well Steve, thanks for thinking of me. You always hear of people who've had total knees saying after the fact that they wish they'd done it sooner? I definitely wish that I'd had mine done sooner. I was bone on bone, the doc who did mine told the wife after surgery that mine was one of the worst he'd seen and this guy does 100+ a year and has done them a lot of years.

Finally had my total right knee replacement done Oct. 5th. Not ski related but definiely affected my skiing, had worn knee braces for lots of years previous. Sooo much better now, was walking without aids at two weeks. Would have had it done in the fall 2015 but tore up my left shoulder (for the 2nd time) June of that year, had to fix that first. Rough sport, especially for an old dude...

It's probably too early to really make any sort of determination, but from my perspective it seems like the sport is going through a bit of a Renaissance currently. Been crazy busy this season, and a lot of the courses we're selling are basic portable 6-ball courses with novice options which to me means new skiers taking up the sport for the first time. I don't know if it's pent-up demand, If the economy has improved that much, or if we're actually getting more new people out there skiing balls. But business is definitely up this year and by quite a bit. Probably doesn't help as far as tournament participation goes but with more people out on public water skiing buoys, making it more visible, to me that seems like a good thing. The more people see it, the more aware they become of it, the more likely they are to become interested in it.

We seem to be getting a lot of orders for arm sections this season. A lot of folks losing arm sections overboard, slipping from their hands etc. Trust me, I've done it too. After about the 3rd time losing a section I set a hard and fast rule with my crews - until it's laying in the floor of the boat, DO NOT REMOVE THE BUOYS! If you lose hold of it and it still has a buoy attached no problem, just go retrieve it. If not... Watched it happen a couple of times - you'd think it would drift down slowly enough that you'd have a chance to dive in and catch it? That stuff goes down like it was shot out of a freaking cannon. Get it in the boat before you take the buoys off.

Trying to help a friend determine an asking price for this boat. Quick background - this boat belonged to one of my best ski buddies, who unfortunately passed away in late 2008 of lung cancer at age 40. Never smoked a day in his life, just one of those unfortunate things. His wife has kept it all these years but never used it more than a few times a year herself, mostly just to float around on the local Wally lake with family. Has finally decided it's time to go to a new home so she's contemplating putting it up for sale this spring. Boat was purchased brand new in 2004, is red and white and is in immaculate condition. Always garaged, always properly winterized and maintained, my buddy Mark was as anal about care and maintenance as anyone you'd ever meet and his wife continued with that. MCX engine, Perfect Pass Classic, single axle trailer, bimini, 200 hours. No tower, this is/was a skier's ski boat. I've looked at onlyinboards.com (only a couple comperables there and both have towers) and nadaguides.com but I'm sure I'll get better info here. Appreciate any/all info/input. Thank you.

@gt2003 If memory serves, when you started off on this looking-for-a-boat journey your stated requirements were - 1) needs to have a sun deck for the GF, 2) needs to have a tower, 3) needs to be under $30K (or less, I don't recall exactly), 4) needs to have enough room to bring along the posse, 5) needs a good (or at least decent) slalom wake at slower speeds. Dude, you're all over the place now wanting ZO etc. So what exactly are your SET criteria? If the above is pretty close IMO a 197 or 200 do not fit the bill and you're likely not gonna be happy with either. About the only things out there under $30K that will fit your earlier stated criteria are either an '03 - 06 RLXI or that Sunsetter LXI Lieutenant Dan posted in another thread. You really don't need ZO - nice to have but as others stated unless you intend to ski tournaments it's not (or at least shouldn't be) a deal breaker, PP will suffice just fine. Not my intention to get after you here, just sticking my nose in a bit with the intention of trying to help you refocus. Define EXACTLY what you want and NEED the boat to do first and the answer will (or should) become self apparent. If you get more serious later and decide that you need a newer ZO equipped slalom course monster you'll have a good trade in and more information/experience to work from. Unless $$$ isn't an option, crawl before you walk, walk before you run. You DID ask for opinions... Ed

This Sunsetter that Lieutenant Dan posted earlier still looks like what IMO you described earlier as pretty well meeting your criteria. In your price range too. In the photo it looks like there are snap downs below the rub rail, looks like there might be a snap down cover with it too? No covers in the photos but it looks like snap downs to me. Here is a link

That's a little over 66 hours/year. Wouldn't bother me assuming it's as clean as it appears in the photos.

Somebody ought to jump on the Sunsetter that @Lieutenant Dan posted. Unless it's just got a crapload of hours on it, it looks like a pretty nice rig for the money. Appears pretty well kept.

What @Pat M said, although I don't have a course outside my window. If I had the option I'd gladly pay for private site access, within reasonable driving distance of course. Just doesn't exist in these here parts. But I'm REALLY good at getting a portable in and out of the local public lakes...