jhughes

I miss those. 15 and 16 in particular. Awesome boats.

Regarding not offering the open bow, I kinda get it and I'm behind it actually. The 200 bow is so low that quite frankly it's dangerous on busy open water. I personally know of 2 200s that were totally sunk (floating only because of foam floatation) due to water over the bow. Probably a decent insurance claim statistic on the 200 OB and total losses due to water over the bow since 2010. Going only CB I certainly don't blame Nautique for. The rest of the boat- my retinas are still recovering. :p

I’ll never get over the looks although I’m sure it’s the smoothest quietest easiest driving best fit and finish most solid boat out there, by far, because Nautique is in another league entirely there undeniably, not up for debate. Just can’t do it on the looks and amount of Seadek. The Seadek polygonal insanity. From my perspective if I was lucky enough to afford another new boat this has broken my love affair with Nautique so I personally hope for a change in direction. This was an inflection point for me with the brand and that’s sad. People that have them love them (hi Bruce) so they certainly don’t think it’s a miss. I guess don’t assume that it’s universally lauded.

I've thought about this a bit lately. There are really two types of "parameter tweakers" in slalom. Type 1: "Compensation" ski tweakers, folks that are running longer lines and slower speeds and will do whatever they can to make their equipment hide/overcome technique flaws and other things that their ego (and I mean ego like a psychological term, ego vs. subconscious, not "egotistical" or in any negative connotation) doesn't want to deal with or work out of their form or mindset. These are people running 32mph 15 off and buying new fins and whatnot. Nothing wrong with that, keeps the industry going. I've been in this camp on and off over the years so it takes one to know one. Make the equipment work best to a particular form or style. Type 2: Very high level skiers where very small tweaks can make a very big difference. In other words their skill level and technique is not leaving much on the table and thus equipment tweaks are necessary to eek out the slightest edge. Right now I'm at "gimme stock settings, don't hide or compensate for my flaws, let's fix the technique". Not tweaking anything ATM.

There are no vents on the front of the OB 200, decorative or functional. The saddle bag vents seem to vent the saddle bags (only) clearly and the saddle bags could in theory be filled with stuff so I don't see those being some big ventilation chamber or flow path. There are two rear facing transom vents that I suppose could feed down to the bilge.

This is not a slam on any other manufacturers, there are things I love about all of the big 3 ski boats out there. This is purely, purely out of engineering curiosity and nothing else. Not hinting that any design is better or worse in this sense. What is Nautique doing differently in their engine clamshell or venting design that allows them to not have any vents or fans or anything and the engine continues to function just fine? And I'm not just talking about current boats, I mean for years and years. Malibu has had a rear vent for a while and MC had a fan and now a really clever vent on the 21. My 16 SN has a current engine (5.3DI) and no venting on the engine box whatsoever, I haven't taken a close look at the Polygon Nautique yet but I'm assuming no vents on that either. Anybody know?

I had the very first version of this boot and these improvements look awesome. Love the toe room & stainless construction of the release mechanism. Of course previous improvements such as injection molded footbed (vs. 3D printed) and updated toe loop come along too. Nice job.

I seem to recall some seaweed jammed in my hydrogate plates last time I looked at it, maybe that's causing spacing that's allowing the water to spray up. Will investigate.

@teammalibu ridiculous comment, ha ha. Club boat is a new Malibu every year. A yearly reminder that I made the correct choice in every way.

My 16 does it, I see it on 200s all the time.

The 99-04 SSLXI is getting to be a really old boat at this point, just a reminder there. It’s a cool boat but the newest possible one is 16yr old.

@Pullhard they are a pretty common exercise/PT/stretching item but I like the ones that Rogue sells on Roguefitness.com. As for the video this is an issue I've dealt with for 15 years. It's fundamental and it's tough to catch on video so it's not coached enough (eg was the person pulling or leaning? you really have to look for it). Instead you'll see coaching on all this pre-turn and turn stuff that is in fact caused by the skier simply not foundationally using the power from the boat efficiently with proper body position. This takes real work and focus to execute. You can run passes without this foundation but that ride will end around 32 off (for me anyway) or until your back goes out! This is my singular focus now, great video MB.

OP what are you trying to accomplish in the first place? What do you think a new fin will do for you?

I don't think "VS" is asking the right question, Radar and D3 have different design philosophies. It's up to personal preference.

Typically you see good skiers moving out when the bow hits the 55s, specifically when the view of the right hand 55 is taken away by the boat. The move out point is the same at all lengths but the turn in point changes because you get closer to the boat at each length. I do not turn IN via any boat reference. I’m looking at the right hand gate ball, my brain is doing some secret math and somehow that works. The move out has very specific references that need to be repeatable though for sure. The only time the move out point changes is in a head or tail wind.

It did blow my mind the first time I learned that the tip of the tape measure is supposed to actually be loose. It moves to compensate for an inside measurement vs. an abutted measurement, approximately the thickness of the metal itself.

The current 5.3 is the L83 DI, not the 2001 motor in your truck @Hallpass. 6.2 is now also a DI motor. I'm a car enthusiast that has a Toyota Land Cruiser just because it's the most overbuilt SUV out there and makes a crazy good tow vehicle as it turns out. An expensive and rare Toyota that looks like an inflated Highlander isn't for everyone though, ha.

Why is the website password protected?

It's an incredible site, hope to be back soon!

Just an update here. I recently picked up an EVO-S. Initially I used the stock fin at stock settings while I transitioned from my ARC-S w/CGC. After a few good sets I transferred my CG Classic from the ARC-S over to the EVO-S, stock fin settings exactly. Offside turn still awesome (was previously awesome, did not want to mess it up) Onside turn 10x better. This fin really plays well now with 2 skis in a row, totally worthwhile investment. If I'm going to be swimming anywhere in the course it'll be on an onside ball these days (weaker offside pull, flat transition, controlled fall turn saved purely by it being onside, working on it, yadda yadda) and the difference of forgiveness onside is profound. Otherwise the behavior of the ski (which is already sweet) is unaltered.

Well said Fred.

This middle price/age range where the boat is still really expensive BUT getting on 5+ years of age is an odd proposition. I think once you get into the 35k+ range it's time to think really hard about what the real world difference is between say 40, 50 or 60K really is in the big picture. You're already doing a totally crazy purchase so you may as well just go full crazy and get exactly what you want that's in as new of shape as possible with as much warranty as possible once you're in that higher price range. In other words let's say for 50 you get a 5-season old boat out of warranty. In 5 years that is going to be a 10 year old boat that you gave 50K for. For 60K let's say you get a 1 season boat with 4 years of warranty left. At the end of the day 10K difference if it's a loan is going to be a minor change in payment for a huge upside in boat age. If you're paying straight cash I feel like that is so much cash to be out that you may as well get something older in the 20-30's w/ZO.

Just be aware that there's a difference between a pro and a coach. Just because someone has made it to an elite level of skiing does not make them a good coach though you see this commonly.

It's at least a little funny that the cheers don't come until after a successful exit gate, ha ha.

Some skis feel like they "help" by turning both sides even if you're in ridiculously bad shape. I find those skis to be magic when they are helping me but then they bite me later when water temps change or any other little variation occurs or try to kill me by taking me across the wake locked out in a bad position vs. just letting me fall in the turn. I call these types of skis magic skis, in a bad context vs. being a compliment. These types of skis giveth and taketh away and generally drive me crazy. Then there are more neutral skis which feel more comfortable but do less "magic". They reward better technique but won't kill you if you get into a funky position. These are the skis I prefer. They go left, they go right and the better you ski the better they are. You can "re-point them" if you screw up out of a turn and if you over-gas them they won't lean lock you. They neither give nor take away. I believe D3 does this type of ski very well. For context I ski 34mph into 32 off and mainly ski in the course. Cannot speak for shorter lines or 36mph which are both totally different ballgames from what I do. Lastly I believe just about any ski can feel great free-skiing so I'd say if you're just free-skiing pick the ski that you think looks the coolest, ha.