DW

And like most professional skiers, just a super nice person.

@VONMAN - Yes, we have used it a few times. The challenge we are having is getting the software person to act in a timely manner so lots of delays. @swbca - thx, it is clearly a prototype thing right now, somewhat cumbersome and heavy and potentially fragile if not careful. You hit on another challenge, having it be accurate per your rope 'slack' effect. More of our playing with it has been with intermediate skiers and trying to show them how wide one actually has to be to make a buoy. The knowledge is simply an angle relative to the pylon, the system turns on a light when the angle has been achieved, each angle is programmed in to the software so when rope length is changed, you set the angle on the device. It turns on a light, the first attempt was a white light, no good, way too hard to see depending on sunshine. Red light is better. We will keep tinkering. We can integrate a timer, the key is what to make it do, for instance steady light (good), blinking light (sorry buddy, you just missed that buoy:-). Another thing about the light, there is a time delay to when you as a human acknowledge it which means you may not really be on time. Also, the first time you trigger the light, you are technically behind if you are not changing direction by then. My buddy loves to tinker with stuff and create 'relatively useless' things so we are having some fun with it. And to JTH, please don't give me the Eric Lee award for crazy ideas 🤣

Nice idea, is it mounted to the gunnel? I have seen posts where the side of the boat was striped (by line color) as a width marker. My ski partner has a box mounted on the pylon that turns on a light at the correct angle. The next addition is to add the time element so one ski's at the correct frequency & width when absent of buoy's.

or 6:22 mins you'll never get back.

Or you could start making ski's in your garage hoping someday people may want them because they perform really well (*cough* Adams) or maybe just to transport some unique substances or because your ski pole company allows you to fool around with carbon fiber decades ago. Or just buy a new ski as that is clearly easier.

How did a surf boat restriction thread comment make more waves than a nude ski show!!! Something is very wrong 😆 Appreciate all the ballers that read the posts, must be winter. Thanks to Horton & Performance Ski and Surf. Looking forward to some nice swag.

@swbca A lesson learned from years of my involvement in testing and development, many finds / discoveries / ah-ha moments came from the unexpected, errors and not only from something I actually expected to work. You touched on it, I assume that asymmetry will be part of your program.

Enjoy but there are no polar bears within 1,000 miles of California. Brown bear style maybe.

Hey, come on now, changing jets, pumping your throttle 3 times, smelling raw gas as you flood the engine, what could be more fun than that. 😂🤣

@swbca - if you simply want to sharpen the bevel with added material, do the experiment with bondo. If you like it, use a radius gage to measure before you simply sand or knock off the bondo to get back to original shape. It would be a one or two and done trial. Happy testing.

The outer gel coat will be .020”-.030”, the carbon fiber base material is vacuum bagged so very little resin skin. Won’t take much to hit the carbon cloth. Sounds like a good plan would be to find a ski you can chop up to experiment on, slice in half to see the construction, etc.

@monkey - As Horton noted, I recommend the 9970cc Goode as it is an amazing ski. When I tried the Fisher the characteristics were very Goode-esque so I believe you would be happy on one. As with any new brand ski, try before you buy for best results. If you are still in search of a Fischer, perhaps give Jodi Fischer a call and see if he might know where any are squirreled away. Every once in a while I see one on Ski-it-Again. Good luck.

To start, you have a very nice performing boat and you also ski behind one that gets lots of accolades from BOS members. That means whatever you choose on your list will be a subtle step up. Everything you list is also excellent, so a great list. I probably go Prostar > 196 > 200 but its close. Prostar to me has a smaller 28 off wake than in particular the 200. Also the engine selection can/will make a difference as the boat brand based on pull characteristics with the speed control. The differentiator ultimately may boil down to the dealership, your preference on how the boat is appointed, how it feels behind the drivers seat or the specific configuration (hard bow cover for the MC, ski lockers for the 200, etc.) Good luck and happy shopping.

@buechsr - unfortunately, the US tends to operate on the reactionary side of the spectrum. Many or even most warning labels are the result of the actions noted in your post, sometimes it can be very challenging to determine how something will be used ahead of time. As evidence:

No wake boats put all the major players on the map. Rob Shirley's patents are wake reducing ones.

That’s the Christmas spirit 🤣😂

Good to hear although surprised it assembled with the impeller not properly seated.

The Aussie's & Kiwi's have a different perspective. @Horton - your site is global after all, or even galactical:-)

The beauty and the curse of the carbon fin: the layup is critical and as Horton noted, could be supplier dependent.

14 years and many of us from the Coyote Bros. Research days! How time flies and old we get. Flex matters.

@VONMAN - Hence in my humble opinion, the skier community should push back to avoid / minimize more gov’t restrictions to avoid losing the sport. i sent my thoughts to WSIA, not trying to stop the education elements to the surf community but to not push potential legislation that limits the existing waterski opportunities.

@sgregg - from my original post, a Michigan legislator attempted to write a favorable ordinance in to law only to discover it would have limited his ability to ski. Competence is not a requirement for a politician.

Not sure I understand this female math but I do know ‘it’s always right’ 🤣

Surf boats may actually lead to the demise of ski boats, not be their savior. If regulations pass to strangle the ability to enjoy waterskiing there won't be much of a market for a ski boat. Perhaps the sport can survive on private ski lakes although that may be a high risk approach.

I hope, and I feel it is, that what the passionate members of this forum are saying is simply - please don't jeopardize the sport of waterskiing due to the bad actors of the surf sport. It should be in everybody's benefit if the target audience is dealt with, not the entire industry.