GAJ0004

I don't think we need a whole new course, but the arms just need replaced. The cable and everything else is still good. I am wondering if there is a better material than pvc that won't sag or bend to use for the arms.

The course on my lake has 2 1/2'' schedule 40, and I think the 2'' is inside it holding them together.

Lake Latonka does not have any kind of current so we are lucky there..

The arm as a permanent bend in it right near the gates. It is sagging for sure. The pipe is so old that I am not sure if a sub buoy will take out the sag.

The course on my lake feels like it is narrow compared to other courses. It is an accufloat course. Some of the PVC pipes have a bend in them making it narrow(they have been in for more than 10 years). I am going to try a fix without having to replace all six 41' sections of pipe. I measured a 34' section of paracord(non stretch). I have attached a couple of dog leash clips on the ends. I am going to attach the clips to the middle drive gate eye bolt, and run it out to the skier ball and attach it out at the skier buoy to get the approximate distance that it is short. I am going to slip a small section of pipe in at the skier buoy end to move the buoy out until the cord is tight. I am hoping they are not off more than a foot. It is the best fix I could think of since I am doing the job by myself. If I go to another lake I lose an entire pass when I run the course. One of my fellow skiers notices the same thing..

I got to try a Connelly HP trick ski a while back.. loved it!

I have two 2015 Connelly GT's after being on a 2008 D3 Nomad RCX. Definitely a more advanced ski. It slices through rough water like butter. Still trying to find the right fin and wing set up. My favorite ski was a 2000 Obrien Mapple Signature model, This ski is very similar. I am currently struggling to run 32 off in a tournament which I have not done in two years. A friend gave me numbers to try for a fin and wing setup. I have the skis tuned to the new numbers, and will try them out as soon as my sprained ankle heals. I am hoping by this Sat.

fuel gauge and clock..

If I could design my own ski boat. I would try to keep it at 19'6'' and 91'' wide, closed bow. I would have a full compliment of analog gauges Two speedometers, tachometer, temp, oil, volts, and depth gauge. I would still want the speedometer in my line of sight for pulling barefooters. I would have a GPS based speedometers that would have a face of an analog gauge. I will still have two of them so the driver could still pick one to read while driving manually. It would have ZeroOff with a touch screen similar to the Master Craft, but smaller just for controlling Zero Off. The only vinyl in the boat would be the seats. The back seat would be completely removable, or have the option of flipping the seat bottom around to turn it into a carpeted step. I would design a U shaped fuel tank to allow the back seat to be pushed as far back on the transom as possible to free up as much floor space as possible, and reshape the bow to push the cockpit as far forward as possible to free up floor space. The gas tank would be integrated into the back and side walls of the boat. Ski racks along the gunnels, and along the transom with the back seat removed, sea deck flooring, with snap in carpeting. I would try to find a way to make the boat light enough where an engine like the PCM H5 would be all you need for all events. More thoughts to come.

I pulled my boat to the marina with the new Equinox. It did the job. Would not use it on a long trip. I just need it to launch in the spring, and recover in the fall, and get it to the marina and back when needed. If I towed it weekly/daily then I would have bought a small pickup like a Colorado, or Dakota.

Probably about 3400-3500 pounds total.

The one I am picking up has a 3500 pound towing capacity. I just tow from the house to the launch ramp and back. 1.3 miles each way. Other than that , and occasional 60 mile round trip to the marina for service(usually once every 4 seasons). I just need something for pulling short distances. If I took my boat on trips I could get something bigger.

I pick up a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox on Wednesday.

I have been fighting allergy, ear, nose, and throat problems all my life. I wear a nose clip when I ski, and I also have to wear ear plugs. I was on allergy shots for 11 years, and was able to get off of them at age 19. I was fine until I got in the water, and I would pay the price for the rest of the week. I have not any problems since I have been using the nose clips and ear plugs. I will have a bad day on occasion, but it helps me 99% of the time.

You could bolt 2''x10'' wood planks to the feet of the lift. I have them bolted to mine. It makes it easier to move. They sort of act like skis.

A six figure price tag for a new boat? That's enough to make me give up water skiing. If the boat companies keep going in this direction they are going to price themselves out of business. There is only one lake where I go to tournaments where they still get a new boat every year. There are 3 families that make up the club,plus one individual. The other tournaments are boats that are already 5 years old in some cases. The tournament scene is going to keep shrinking unless they allow the use of older boats. It is looking more like I would re-power my boat if the need ever arose. Anyone know what the biggest factor is in the cost of the boats? I had a dealer tell me when gas was $4 per gallon that it was due to the materials and cost of petroleum products. The price of oil has dropped since then. I have also been told it is the cost of the engines. The only thing I can see happening is the boat companies mark the retail cost up so high so they squeeze most of the buying public to buying a promo boat. From a financial perspective it makes no sense to pay $100 grand on a depreciating asset. It would take me 15 years to pay for a new boat. A lot can happen in 15 years, job loss, injury that prevents you from skiing etc. I would not want to be stuck in a situation where I would have to sell a depreciating asset and take such a loss on something that is not a necessity. Back in the mid 90's my local Nautique dealer sold 50 boats at the local boat show one year. That probably never happens now.

I am hoping to see purple this summer, but my offseason training is not going well since I have been sick most of February.. My best in practice is 6@35 off. I got through the exit gate but lost the handle after I got out because of the slack.

I am going to stick with my 1994 Ski Nautique. Closing in on 2000 hours, and only one break down in 24 seasons. I have the 2016 version of Stargazer 3 event on it. I am thinking of adding ZBOX. I would like to buy a new boat but I can't justify the cost. I could swing it with a 12-15 year loan, but that is pure stupidity to pay that long on a depreciating asset. I am still on my original trailer. One of the last Correct Craft trailers. It sits in the garage most of the time since the boat is on a lift during the season. I am still on the original tires, but thinking of replacing them, and getting the surge brakes repaired.

The Hydrodyne lives on in the Dyna-Ski boats. I have also been behind a Barefoot Sanger outboard. Good wake for slalom, but designed for barefooting first. It was like a rocket with a 200 Yamaha.(1991).

I wear Mack's earplugs when I swim and ski. You can get them at any pharmacy. They are about 2/3 the size of a grape. I recommend smashing two of them together and using two of them in each ear. I slalom, trick, and barefoot, and have never had a blown out eardrum. I am prone to ear infections which is the primary reason I wear them. They cover the outside of your ear so nothing is inserted into your ear canal. I keep a supply in my boat. I do lose one on occasion from a hard fall, but I keep a supply in the boat..

I use B2 or B2+ since I practice behind a boat with Perfect Pass Stargazer.

@rayn I was at the same place. His daughter was there too. She had her dad wrapped around her little finger for sure.. I am guessing she was around 4 at the time.. I was 24 years old at the time. It was my first traveling vacation by myself. It was behind an old Howard Johnson.. There was a huge spider in its web above the dock area. I still am trying to find out what is was. It was half the size of a tarantula, and was black with yellow strips all over it. I have not been back to Florida since 2000. I was struggling with 36 MPH at the time, and I went to Andy and Deena Mapple's school two years later. Between the two I started getting into 32off after that.

I have a couple of small plastic water bottles. I fill them with soap. The regular dish soap bottle will pop like a baloon if you step on it. The water bottles have worked great for me for years.

I went to Mike Hazelwood's ski school in 1993 in Lake Wales Florida. I had a blast.. Great guy!!

I had the first version of Perfect Pass Stargazer(2008) in my boat. I had to replace the whole master module since it quit. After I got version 9 set up it ran fine most of the time. I had a few issues of it surging at ball 2 and 3 pulling a bigger skier. I only have 240HP in my boat so I recalibrated the base lines with the crew weight set on zero with me alone in the boat. I think I have solved the problem. I set the crew weight 150 pounds above the actual crew weight and so far it has solved the problem, and I am getting good course times with no surging.