boarditup

When I grow up I want to ski like her....

We had over 10" of rain in the past week. Major flooding all around (Western Michigan - Kent, Ottawa and Newago counties). Lake Placid rose 9" and is not back at normal. Good engineering makes all the difference.

The value of my waterfront property is dropping by the minute... virtually everyone has waterfront property in western Michigan. over 9 inches of rain for the month already. At least Lake Michigan will rise from record lows. At least my lake is only 6" high.

Even during the worst drought, I would only loose 9" of water depth. So far, last year was a 4" drop and that was the only drop we have seen below the outfall. I depressed the local water table by 2.5' by installing the outflow, so I don't really have to worry too much.

3+ inches of rain in the past 72 hours. We have nearly complete saturation from natural ground water to the surface. It will be a long time for the farmers to get into the fields - lots of standing water. If the summer is anywhere close to normal precipation, we should not see even an inch of water drop in August.

West Michigan, Placid Waters, the ice is out.

2-3 inches above the overflow.

For growth spurting kids, whose coordination and strength do not keep up with their new skeleton, I tend to recommend the next size up. Let them get used to the ski they will be running in 6-months when the muscles grow to size. It makes it easier in the long run. So, figure a 130-135 lbs young man for ski sizing at 5-10/5-11. Eventually, he will likely be in the 150-160 lbs catagory. But that will take a few more years - unless he really hits the gym - and the fridge... dad.

Not during slalom. Wakeboarding and wakesurfing, yes.

Western Michigan - ice, snow, weekend snowboarding. I did put a maintenance charge on the boat batteries, though.

Jodi Fisher is nearby, just down 192 a few miles.

Ice on the water, snow in the forecast, seasonal cold here in Michigan. Last frost day predicted May 1-15. Not summerizing the boat until mid-May.

It is also possible to lay a 4-cylinder on its side to save vertical space. I argue that the main objection to DD boats is the elephant in the middle. Put all the machinery under a flat floor, and you have a slalom (or 3-event boat) with much more mass market appeal. I believe that the missing element in the slalom boat lifestyle is the chill-out factor - a group setting in the boat like in wakeboarding, surfing, and general run-abouts. Make that happen and the market opens wide up. CVTs today can handle 300+ hp. The main enemy is heat. We have a solution to that problem. There is no reason why a 200hp/220 ft-lbs of torque 4-cyl hooked to a CVT could not get to 36 in under 180 feet in today's hulls. To make it work, the space under the floorboards would have to be marginally taller, so the hull may be a bit deeper to avoid the very shallow cockpit of the Gekko, but it would be no taller than the Tige' boats.

Flat-6 or flat 4 motor completely under the floorboards - no motor box. Multiple speed transmission for quick starts. Motor turns in the lower part of torque curve at 34-mph.

One of the best selling MC boats is the X-2. With the wakeplate properly adjusted, it can pull a slalom skier through the course. It is not great, but it does work. It is MCs best selling hull. It is really hard making a no-compromise boat for a narrow audience that will pay off. Most buyers have a family and several conflicting interests and uses. Also, most boats don't wear out. You can keep them going for decades. If you like your tow boat, keep up basic maintenance, and replace the soft surfaces every 5-10 years, you essentially have a "new" boat for a long time. It is really tough to be a boat manufacturer. You are essentially following or creating fads of what the boat buying public wants. Wakeboarding was really popular while it was new and tricks were new. Anyone could get "good" because the top end was undefined. Any competitive sport or activity shares this characteristic. Then, the beginners start of fade off because the top end is so far away. It is frustrating because people want to be competent and good. The upper end of waterskiing is so far away that people want to "throw in the towel" because you simply have no hope of getting there. So, why spend over $50k for an activity or sport where you cannot compete. There has to be another reason. For me it is the lifestyle and the simple enjoyment of my family. So, for now I have an X-2, slalom behind it, and slalom behind friend's boats. When the kids are out of the house, I may get the next version of the 197 and slalom exclusively. Right now, I am thankful that MC, CC, and Bu make slalom tugs. Hopefully I can get one in a few years.

They have a marinized kit available - it adds about $100. Their kits have been used on USCG inspected passenger vessels. They have an O2 kit for the mainfold. Yes, it is a lot of gas, but it may be worth it to someone. I really like the drivability of EFI. I had a carb boat and spend a lot of time on it. Three rebuilds over a decade due to alcohol in fuel and dirty gas. Each time it was a pain to get it adjusted right.

A buddy put me onto this - Howell EFI builds a conversion kit for older Chevy small blocks from carb to EFI. They build marine grade kits and claim to have converted over 1,000 boats. The harnesses are built for each application, but they use mostly GM parts. If you have an older boat and want the EFI, and have about $1,500 it is an option. It is not drive by wire, so ZO is not an option. However, PP is an option since it uses stock GM linkage.

As a slalom skier and a wakeboarder, I would like to see both in the Olympics. But, I don't think there is a chance of either making it. I have a cable system in my backyard, and it can be fun. It is, however, a judged sport like so many others. I prefer to have a solid winner by some objective measure. From a history lesson perspective, the Olympics were a matial arts based competition. Wrestling was one of those arts. So are short and long distance running and the rest of the track and field events. Call me old fashioned, but I like seeing the struggle of one person to another in the Olympic setting. The judged events, other than gymnastics, are just not my thing. But everyone makes an exception for something.....

The only solid piece of information I know is snap-out carpet.

Most Gekkos had EFI Merc engines. A few early models had carbs, that those were rare. Best news, many under $10k on a trailer.

Gekko has a very low wake at slow speeds. Really poor for wakeboarding, but at 24 mph a junior skier can get over the wake at speed without getting air. As Gekko is out of business, windshields may be hard to find, but most other parts are off-the-shelf.

There are quite a few factors involved in determining the ideal lake depth: Sand bottoms can be shallower, rock bottoms must be deeper, muck bottoms can be shallower on the first few passes of the day; suspended solids including minerals need more depth; weed growth needs more depth; hulls will have a shallower attack angle until the phenomon of squat is observed; skis also see a change in attack attitude as depth changes (lighter skiers tend to favor shallower water around the turn buoy, but that is personal preferance); shoreline slope plays a role; water temperature plays a role. In short, there are quite a few decisions to be made. I settled on 10-12 feet of water depth based on my local conditions. So far, 5@41 is the course record.

http://www.grindtv.com/surf/blog/50771/chuck+pattersons+penchant+for+skiing+liquid+mountains+hits+new+high/ Looks like either wake skis with snow binding or snow skis of some type.

Not if you do it right. I've used EZ-Slalom for years and when the arms get really gross, that is how I cleaned the. I do have a respriator with acid cartridges that I use for acid handling.

Cleaning the arms is easy. Take 6" PVC a foot longer than the longest arm and cap the ends with PVC cement. Cut in half lengthwise. Lay on gravel and level so it cannot roll or place on a plastic table and block so it stays put - sandbags work great. Fill troughs with muratic acid. Attach long zip ties to the middle of the arms so you have a handle (about 3' apart, so you can balance it well). Dip in for about 30 seconds and pull out a clean arm, inside and out. Rinse off with garden hose. You can try this with a vertical pipe with a capped end, but you have a better chance of splashing yourself. When complete neutralize the acid with baking soda. For a full course, about an hour. Have a garden hose running to rinse off. Wear nitrile gloves, goggles, and stay upwind.