GAJ0004

it is 7/23-7/24. Good luck Ben!

I am entering my first tournament since 1996. I am skiing in the Pennsylvania State Championships in two weeks in Men III slalom and tricks. I am doing it for the experience. I would have entered the Ohio tournament, but it is too far away from home and my ski site this year. It is at Dave's Pond in Edinboro PA. I can't think of a more perfect lake to ski on. The only thing missing is stadium lights..

You will only have 30% of your hearing while they are in. On occasion I ski without them, and I forget how loud the engine and wind get. I prefer to ski without all the noise now..

If your doctor says, stay out of the water, stay out! I am prone to ear infections. I wear ear plugs when I ski. I have been using Mack's brand ear plugs. I buy the package that has more than two pair. I recommend taking one plug, and splitting it into two pieces, then combine each half with another plug so the plugs you put in your ears are 1 1/2 times the regular size. Cover the outside of your ear to seal it, but do put force any of it into the ear canal. Keep extras handy. I do lose them occasionally, especially when barefooting..

I have a 1994 Ski Nautique with Perfect Pass Stargazer on it. There is also another strip mine near Jackson Center PA where a former Latonka resident used to practice for tournaments.

Lake Latonka is where I ski. I have seen the strip mine lake near Mercer. I don't know who owns it.. We have a course on Lake Latonka, we have to get out in the mornings to get good water, especially on the weekends.

I ski in Mercer PA, but I live in NE OH. Shoot me a message if you want to ski. waterskifanatic@juno.com

Incredible I wish I could do some of those moves.. It takes so much more time to stay consistent in tricks verses slalom. For me landing a clean wake 360 is more satisfying than getting to 35 off in slalom..

I repack my own stuffing box on my 1994 Nautique. I would just go to your dealer and buy the rope and the wire. Make sure you get all the old stuffing box rope out before you put the new stuff in. You will need to cut it into three pieces to make 3 rings around the driveshaft. When you put the rings inside the stuffing box, put the spot where the ends of the rope touch when it is wrapped around the shaft at 12 O'clock, another at 6 O'clock, and another at 3 or 9.. Once the packing is in place tighten down the big nut until it is only dripping 2-4 drops per minute. Once you get it to that point, tighten the smaller nut up against the bigger one, and use two pipe wrenches to torque it in place. There is a spot to tie the fitting up with wire as a backup. Allow extra slack in the wire you you can take it off and reuse it. Check it again in a week or so depending on how much you use the boat. It may take a while for the packing material to swell up to properly seal it. It is better to have too much water coming through than not enough. If it gets too hot it will wear out the packing, and could also damage the driveshaft. I always do mine while it is in the water.

Performance ski and surf sells masterline slalom bars. I know how to splice ropes, but have never done a handle. If it is cost effective I would start making my own ropes.

Just regular swim trunks under wetsuit shorts. I have torn up too many from crashes and wipeouts before putting on wetsuit shorts.

Bart's 1/2 finger Guantlet gloves.

4K for ZeroOff was just what I heard. I have no idea what it would cost. If I ever have to repower my boat with a new engine, I would probably have to upgrade to ZeroOff. I am glad it is not 4K!

I wish we as consumers could pick the cruise system in a new boat. I have heard Zero Off runs about $4000. I would get Star Gazer on a new boat if I could. If I had to choose between ZeroOff and Perfect Pass Stargazer, I would pick which ever one is cheaper. All that matters is the time from gate to gate 16.08 or 16.95, and good split times.. I would love to see a new SN200 on my lift, but not any time soon. If you are used to Perfect PAss, just use the B2 setting on ZeroOff. I had no trouble adapting.

68'' D3 Nomad RCX, D3 Leverage Bindings, O'brien ski case 44' KD 7000 trick with Wiley trick plate Straight Line TLS Radius handle on a Performance Pure 8 loop slalom line Straightline Pro Trick Handle on a Masterline Poly-E trick line Connelly Neo Vest(USCG approved, required in PA), Body guard wetsuit shorts and spray leg(slalom) Body Guard 1/2 finger gloves Connelly shorty wetsuit(tricks) CASAD trick release American IV Barefoot wetsuit Straightline Wake Slalom on a CASAD Poly-E barefoot line. Nautique Owners Association hat, or O'Brien Hat. May add a Pittsburgh Pirates or Steelers hat to the bag too.. Berkley fishing glasses(work great for boat driving). Home made binding lube(1/2 soap, 1/2 dog slobber).

How did that happen?

I ski in Mercer PA which is an hour north. The lake is semi public, but you can get good conditions weekend mornings, and weekdays. I have a 1994 Ski Nautique with Perfect Pass Stargazer. Drop me a line waterskifanatic@juno.com.. or here.. Gary

I can tell you I would never put my foot in a hardshell boot. My cousin is a national level competitor. He sees alot of people get hurt on those.

I am glad Ben is okay. I have seen him ski on the Big Dawg webcast. He gave me some good pointers in 1995 when he was at Mapple's ski school I was struggling to get through 15 off at 36MPH at the time. I could run it, but not consistently. I always had to start at 32MPH,34 MPH, and then 36MPH. He and Andy really helped me master the gate approach which was the key for me, and showed me how to get wider. Two seasons later I started getting into 32off just about every time. Since I ski in Pennsylvania and the season is short compared to the south, I hate to see anyone miss ski time..

I like the 1994-1996 Ski Nautique. I like the dash setup which is perfect for driving manually. You have the tach, speedos and course all in yout line of sight at the same time. Since I added Stargazer to my boat it is by far the easiest to drive. I think the trick wake is second to none.(I have not been behind a SN200 yet). It has a nice flat slalom wake, but the only trade of is that the wake is harder than newer boats. It gives you more of a kick if you are not on a proper edge. I also like the dash setup which works very well for pulling barefooters. The 1993 Malibu Echelon is also a great slalom boat. The 1993 Master Craft Pro Star 190 is also a great boat. No wake at slalom speeds except for a rooster tail at 22off. Nice flat table for trick skiing, but the wake crests are a little soft. The only downside is the spray can hit you at shortline(28 off and shorter) in windy conditions. The 1997-1999 Ski Nautique is probably as close as you can get to a boat made today. The wake looks the same as the 1994-1996, but softer. I think the PCM GT-40 was one of the best marine engines ever made. Smooth, powerful, and reliable..

Minnesota has way to much natural water skiing and fishing territory to give up. I would not need to live on a lake there. I would have a portable slalom course, and when a lake gets too busy, pull out the boat and go to another lake.

I was thinking the same thing. I wish the SN200, had a teak platform available. I see everyone switching over to a glass platform. I would like to see what one looks like with a 1000 hours or more on it. Keeping teak looking new requires some work. I always figured a ski would beat up a fiberglass platform after a while. If you have a teak platform, do not put anything on it that will not allow the wood to breath.

How well do fiberglass platforms hold up? I have a teak on my 1994 Nautique. I clean it once a year, and it gets a coat of teak oil once a month in the winter while in storage(Amazon's Golden). I never have to do anything to it during the season. I keep it covered, and the boat on a lift when not in use. I have only had to take sandpaper to it once. It still looks like new. What is everyone else's experience with glass verses teak platforms. My boat has 1500 hours on it.

In gear, then hit it. Lots of people in PA say go boat..

Keep extra soft knees around the turns. It will reduce your chances of kicking your fin out..