Ed_Obermeier

10+ sets?? How about half the freaking summer...

In the few tournaments I've ever skied in my primary goal was basically just to not suck.

Thank you for the kind words and recommendations guys, always sincerely appreciated. We work hard to be as price competitive as is possible.

 

I just try my best to treat people the way I want to be treated when I'm on the other end of the deal. We usually get it right... Always good to know it's appreciated, thank you.

This book from Men's Health Magazine looks interesting. thinking of ordering it myself.

http://www.mhbigbookofabs.com/mhbigbookofabs/index?keycode=223421

I'm a retired working musician myself. Gotta love a Strat/Tele combo.

@Razorskier1 this will make your high floating balls drop a bit...

@SocalWaterSki nice toy collection! Wish I had your (apparent) spare time.

I think that "the club" is joined in tournaments. Like in any other sport.

So if you run a legitimate 38 (or 35 or whatever) in practice with witnesses and good, in tolerance times it doesn't count? I don't ski tournaments so guess I'll never be in "the club". Of course I can't run 38 either so I suppose it's a moot question...

As a gamble, maybe try just installing the permanent course, and have photo copies of the Indiana corp of engineers approval on hand to illustrate that their own department approved it, albeit a different location.

 

Really bad idea. Trying to bully your way through a government entity that really doesn't want to be bothered with any of it to begin with is a good way to get completely banned from the lake.

Good to hear you're OK and getting back on the water @ral. Go slow and work back into it a bit at a time. Having done my own share of injury rehab, be patient and your patience will be rewarded.

For all you Johnny Weir fans http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2014/02/12/suck-it-putin-johnny-weir-s-fabulous-sochi-fashion-photos.html

Lovin' the fact that the Russian hockey team got their butts kicked in the quarter finals. Be glad when it's over though so I can start getting to bed at a decent time again.

Thought you were talking about the message board. My answer would have been "Oh Hell NO!"

Make sure all materials are either stainless steel, including any crimps used anywhere in the system, or nylon/plastic (buoy hooks i.e.) and you should be good to go.

FWIW I'd start with a distance that challenges their immediate ability without being too out of range. I think the INT distance (13' inside the turn ball) is a good place to start. Once they're getting that you can always move them farther out towards the turn ball to up the challenge. If they'll be doing any INT tournaments I'd definitely go with that first.

I'll probably step on my you-know-what here @OB trying to do public math myself, but here goes...

 

If I did the math right 6.1m from centerline = 15' 5 1/4" out from the inner boat guide (20' 3/16" from centerline). With the regular turn ball being 11.5m (37' 7 3/4") from centerline and 33' 10 3/4" from the inner boat guide, that makes the distance 18' 5 1/2" in from the regular turn ball. I think that is the distance for a Disabled course turn ball, NOT AWSA Novice. I have the dimensions for a Disabled course around here somewhere but can't seem to find it right now...

For INT League the Novice buoys are 13' inside the regular skiers turn ball. For AWSA I believe they're 10'.

Let me know how it works for you @ozski. Feedback to date is about 99% positive.

IMO the crazy high price of the new boats is what is keeping the market higher on good condition reasonable hours used ones. Supply and demand... Agree with @ntx though, they're only worth what someone is willing to pay. If it's been on the market for a year at the same price it's priced too high. Seller either needs to get real or just figure on keeping it.

...you don't just stuff fiberglass tooling into storage and pull it out a few times a year. Molds need a lot of maintenance. In and of itself, sitting is as bad as overuse. And the larger the mold, the more maintenance needed.

A mold is a mold eh? Would it be incorrect to assume the maintenance required is the same regardless of whether or not it's an older or a newer one?

Malibu built 6 lx's in '13 from what I understand. That is a loss, as the break even point to maintain molds, mold storage, inventory, etc is way more than 6 boats.

How is that a loss? The molds were paid for years ago, they just pull one out occasionally and build a boat to order (pre-paid for too as I understand it), all they have in it is maybe having the mold taking up some storage space somewhere. Old mold with latest engine etc, built to order and pre-paid for at current market pricing. How are they not making money on that? I'm sure they don't advertise it because that's not want they want to focus on, but if someone wants one it's a boat they might not have sold anyway and it keeps the assembly line running.

...Everything I can find (which is a total of about 5 or 6 boats) they are going for $25-$29k. Seems outrageous to me for a 6-9 year old boat...

@Ilivetoski I don't think you can look at buying a good condition used boat the same as buying a used car. IMO a boat isn't the depreciating asset a car i.e. is. Example - I bought my '05 LXI in December 2008 for $29K with something like 275 hours on it, boat sold new for $37K m/l. Today with 525 hours on it I'm confident I could still get around $25K for it (according to current market anyway) and sell it fairly quickly. Compared to the price of a new boat, $25 - 29K for a well kept, well maintained item that isn't depreciating rapidly doesn't seem like a bad deal to me at all.

answering the original question I would suggest that take home pay in the neighborhood of at least $100K/year US should do it.

With a mortgage and car payment too? $100K ain't even getting warm. Unless you consider a $400/month for 20 years boat payment a good idea...

@ozski I'm at the same level as you, 32 & 35 looking at finally getting into 38 this season. I'm skiing mostly behind an '05 LXI, '95 PS 190, '07 PS 197, even a 1993 Malibu Tantrum (awesome little tow boat BTW). None of these boats is going to keep me from getting into or (in my dreams) running 38. You don't need a new boat to run shorter and shorter lines and buying a new boat isn't going to make THE difference.

Seems like in 10 years I will have lots of good options for a 10 year old used boat.

What @crashman said. You can still buy a great, perfectly functional and really good condition slalom boat for $25 - 29K range and less if you do some digging. Might not be the latest hull, might not have ZO, but still a great and perfectly fine boat. When it's 5 - 10 years or so old with a few hundred hours on it, if that ain't good enough for you then buy new. New is for those who can afford new, and to those who can more power to ya. At this point IMO we're splitting hairs as to wake quality, tracking, blah blah blah.