skibrain

@pudgyskier Paint Your Wagon is worth watching just to hear Clint Eastwood sing.

OK, My drysuit repair was just in time for bad weather. So can’t report effectiveness yet. I spent about 1.5 hrs total. I FIRST painted all the taped seams and around zipper with the little tube of seam sealer (45 min?) It says it takes 8-12 hrs to cure and yup, it was pretty gooey for hours until the next morning - like I was concerned for the first three hours that it was never going to cure, but after overnight it was fine. One 1-oz tune BARELY enough to do all seams in the upper of the hybrid. I really wanted to test just that way without doing the Flex Seal on the coated nylon, but I went ahead and masked off the neck, wrist and neo bottom (see photo) and sprayed. Flex Seal sets up much more quickly. I think I used about 1/2 can. When dry, the flex seal definitely made the coated nylon stiffer and sound more crinkly. But super glad I protected the seals. Does it work? Can’t tell you yet. Wind last evening was 22 mph gusting to 41, so we didn’t ski. Waking temp was 36 this morning and then the wind machine turned back on. @UWSkier If I were just reinforcing the Camaro, I would recommend trying to paint on the seam sealer to those areas. It appeared to create a nice layer of clear flexible urethane rubber once set up. The tube I got was clear color. Disclaimer: these are not O’Neill-authorized or recommended repairs. Just me giving it a go.

I’ll report my results as soon as I’m back in the water.

@thager how long have you been spraying the flex seal? Do you repeat annually?

@Jetsetr actually I don’t own a $50K boat and I was let go from work two months ago (thanks COVID) so looking at a few ways to not spend money right now. For $15 I’m going to experiment with a $400 piece of gear that I would otherwise throw in the trash. I skied at sunrise this morning in my leaky Drysuit. 50 air/56 water.

Yes I have loved the Assault. The first one I had I sent in to have wrist and neck seals replaced, expecting to pay $20/seal as customer service had outlined. Suit was a couple years old and definitely out of warranty. After a phone call confirming progress, a new suit and no charge showed up. This time my suit was 5-6 yrs old and O’Neil said they have had enough issues with that fabric in the top of Assault and that they are no longer making (maybe not for last 2 yrs) Customer service said the new Fluid suit is much better (loose fit neo on top) and very few of those have come back for repair. Just sharing what I know. But again, I have no issue with O’Neil. I think I will start with trying to focus on re-sealing the taped seams by brushing some kind of product around those areas. Then try it and move on from there.

I like the idea. Reviews look mixed on Flex Seal.

O’Neil assault hybrid suit. Leak test from O’Neil said the fabric top is leaking and unrepairable. I’ve gotten years of service, and a warranty replacement from O’Neil early on, so absolutely no complaint with them. I did a quick run yesterday and yeah it is leaking pretty bad. Above the waist in back or arms - can’t tell if it’s at the seams or the coated fabric itself. Before I drop $400 on a new fluid suit I’m thinking about a $15 DIY repair. This would be on inside of suit so I don’t care if it’s ugly. Doesn’t have to be perfect, just better for a couple more years. Anyone done this with success? I’m thinking of painting all the taped seams with brush-on contact cement OR urethane. Then seam sealer on fabric surface. Thoughts?

:)

@klindy at least that’s a beefy 2” receiver....

Anyone move from EVO to ION? Love to hear some feedback.

Or maybe get your wife a new ski with bindings and ski just right for her. A wife that skis is well worth the investment on her gear!

Thanks for the replies! Ok ok ok. It’s a dock line or an anchor rope at best. I did not say I was going to go skiing with it. Apparently no one else did with this one 20 years ago either. The handle and mainline that I actually ski with are less than a yr old.

@Horton done.

A friend gave me a new-condition Straightline mainline. However the section loops are spliced too small to fit over a pylon and it has this short yellow section. Is the yellow chunk the consistent pylon connection? But does this inappropriately add 18” to each line length?

@6balls I’ve never skied one, but have heard the earlier outboard MC Prostar 200’s (1989-1991) are better slalom boats than Barefoot 200s. Tracking fins and no deadrise. Kind of rare and getting pretty old, but occasionally pop up FS.

@skibug can I ask your weight? At 172# I’m kind of in middle of size charts. Been on a 67” EVO but considering going back to 66”

I’ll help you spend less of your money. Buy a smooth skin Stokes, $125 is what I think I paid for mine on sale about half price this summer.

I’ve had bearing buddies on my last two boat trailers. Spring-loaded caps with a grease fitting in center. By monitoring depth of plunger you can see when you need to re-full the BBs. Spring is constantly pushing grease into bearing.

I’ve never tried driving a race boat without a windshield. Might be a bad idea.

I have not tried those 2 Barlock handle models specifically, but a couple of guys I ski with regularly have Radar handles in their boat. I find them less grippy than the In-tow or Masterline handles that I own and prefer.

@jhughes have you demoed the ION?

Experiment on props. Lower pitch, stainless, four blade, are all things to explore and I’m sure there are those out there ( not this forum) who have recommended props for your I/O set up.

Radar inside out Kevlar. Better finger fit, and they wear pretty well - I’m able to get a couple seasons out of them.