MAD11

@shaneh Amen. @ob I asked that very question of two top pros last week while we were there and both said Moomba much more difficult than the Masters as far as conditions go. I'm not saying your wrong, just giving the feedback I received.

Agree they should stay, but it is amazing to stand there and watch how much they move even when there is no boat going through. From a distance it appeared to be swaying as much as 12" total. If the boat driver is off to the right it makes the buoy spring back in even worse. Just one of those things at Moomba you have to be ready for I guess. It's also interesting when the boat is not centered and they hit a boat guide. It actually makes the turn buoy bob in or out. Great tournament and experience. The group there really works hard to put on a show and keep the event moving. It was really cool to be sitting in big crowds watching skiing. The people get into it, which we need much more of.

@igkya definitely Bernville About 2 miles past Christmas Village. One of the best sites around. Believe it was Fox Run Rd.

@igkya That was the Fox Run Ski club in Bernville. It is still there and the owners ski, but I don't know if they keep the club going anymore. We skied there for 6 years.

@uflbret I'm cool with that. It has over 4000 miles on it and at least 75 boat launches. Not wearing them out too soon I don't think. It's really just a little bump if I'm not going straight. I did put a new belt on it last year but also think that was reasonable timing.

@hogexpress‌ I do this often with my Polaris Ranger 700XP. Our ramp is fairly steep. Pulling the boat out is no problem in low range. Backing it in is a different animal. The boat is obviously much heavier and once it's starts going down the ramp if your not straight it's a problem. The tires on the Polaris will just slide if you try to stop with the brakes. I usually let the boat tires get to the top of ramp and then put the Polaris in forward low. I just feather the throttle a bit as we drift down backwards instead of using the brakes and never have an issue. All that being said, I don't condone this method. I'm just telling you what I do. Definitely be careful.

@ski6 thanks man. Sure we will see you soon. Possibly come down in late March or April to ski some. @jjvdmzn Obviously you don't know Horton mentioning free stuff. He actually gave me a free hat last summer for 5 minutes, then took it back to give to Brie Carter. You can see how he is easily swayed. Can't blame him on that one though. If he didn't take it back I would have given her the hat myself.

@ntx With the ability to retrofit the older boats to Zero off the value has actually gone back up. I gave away my 2005 196, which was perfect in 09 because there was nobody who wanted to pay a decent amount for a non ZO, closed bow 196 then. Wish I would have just let it sit a few years then could have gotten about 10K more easily I bet. I'm not sure if the prices are out of line or not, but the initial price @jody_seal listed above seems reasonable to me for a boat with no hours.

@ntx just go all out. If you agree with @liquid d calculations, (all of us with new ones have to or we feel bad) you could own this and in a few years it wouldn't have cost you anymore. I'm ok if it doesn't sell. Kinda attached to it, but Momma will have a fit with me for a few weeks at least if we have two at the house. https://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=41846

@horton Yes, we were there for 2 weeks skiing at Satellite dam. Bailey and Jimmy S. spent time there starting to prep for Australia. An absolutely awesome site with great conditions. Trying to get Super Chicken going again after almost 4 months off. Now were back in Joburg at Ski World Nautique. (which is near my office) Great place and super nice people. Don Shead and his family are a class act so we are grateful to get to ski there. Special thanks to the Stokes family for treating us so well at Satellite, allowing us to ski at their site, use their home and put hours on their awesome 6L 200 Nautique. They certainly treated us better than we deserved. (No comment @shaneh ) We leave SA for Australia on the Feb 25th with Bailey's new Goode teammate Eamon Van der Merwe. The kid can rip and is loving the new XT Goode sent over with us for him. First the Australia Pro Am at Stoney's on March 1-2, then skiing both Jr and Open Moomba in Slalom and Trick. The girl is keeping us busy. Then back to SA for a month before she returns home to TX May 1 to get ready for the Jr Masters. We certainly miss TX, but people have been treating us great and the family is enjoying the experience. Our sport really provides some great opportunities to meet new people that you wouldn't normally have. Video I took at Satellite from the back porch. I could only see the last 4 buoys. The place is incredible. Here is a link to the community website. http://birdvalleyestate.co.za/index.html

@andjules. Wake board graphics or not, people changing brands and wins don't lie.

I have not seen a single person who tried the new Jobe trick ski and not stay on it over the others mentioned. My exposure is limited, but that is about 9 or 10 skiers that just I have been around. Jimmy Siemers can get them, but they sell as fast as he gets them in his hands. Just wanted to mention as it didn't come up above. It's been somewhat surprising to see so many in our area get on it.

Best thing about that tower is it looks easy to unbolt and remove. Same with the one on the 200. Always struggle to see what the point is on those models. That being said, that's why it's called an option.

@jody_seal Nice looking ride Jody.

@shaneh #117 in our playbooks, but much lower in our hearts. (or is that higher) I'm back Wed from an extended leave. Let's tilt a few to celebrate your new ranking when I get back to the US! And how about some BOS luv for @Tfin moving up to #6. Sick Man! So pumped for him. Well deserved. Super Chicken too. Travel gonna be expensive this year though.

Think I have one in the garage with a 1/4 slice out of the tail to make it thinner. Baker ran 39 on it in a few tournaments when we were messing with it.

@horton maybe Bailey should try it and give feedback. She is skiing in SA this winter.

@davemac. That's exactly what I had to do. The rear holes I had already ground out using a small carbide bit in my 1/8" die grinder. On the newer Reflex plates these holes are square and you just remove the material between the slots. I only take out the necessary ones to get the measurement range I want so I don't remove material that I don't need too on the G10 plate. On an Aluminum plate I would go ahead and remove them all while I was working on it. On a single radar sequence plate that's what we did.

@toddl you also get great local support from an HO pro team member. That ain't too shabby. Hard to put a value on it, but clearly means a lot.

@davemac. Here is a pic. I still need to cut off the bolt. The newer ones sent out I believe come with a short bolt. http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv313/marcaustin11/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpg

@OTF. Thanks for this. Super Chicken has been skiing with it for several weeks and it has totally eliminated our reflex plate movement issues. Being able to make fine adjustments quick and easy is great. It seems that every single reflex plate we have I had to slot the holes to get it where we need to be and then the plates would move. Problem solved and now I also don't have to tighten the screws so much to try and get it to stay that I risk damaging the inserts. Worth the money. Much cheaper than then plane tickets I wasted last season when her boot moved at an event and they didn't know it. I can't be at every event so this will help. @toddl. If you want one, order it and come down. I will mount it for you. Takes about 10 min. I have a few tools we can use.

@dw Dart blocks not a bad call, but certainly not cheap. I do have a few raised cam versions sitting in the shop. 632ci probably a little much for a ski boat though so we can't use the cranks I have. Have to shorten them up a bit. I never thought about ski boat with a set of my Big Chief heads onboard. Man this has me thinking fun stuff.

I have some Eagle vest that are 4-5 years old. I usually get tired of the color I picked before it wears out. I've sold several after 2 years because I got tired of the color. I keep a few on each continent now.

Ok, this stuff getting tough round here. I'm leaving for Africa tomorrow for over 5 weeks and momma had on my MUST do list tonight to wash the bus so the new Co-Canadian Record holder @tfin could travel to the next event looking sharp. I have really fallen down the list here man. @shaneh called to talk about absolutely nothing valuable, which is my favorite topic, and I was told to get off the phone and get scrubbing. I'm done celebrating this 4 buoys thing. Need to run it now to get more work outta me.

@thager. So true man. Next year I getting out for sure, but make no mistake, I won't hand over the beer. Learned from @shaneh never to hand those away. Right now that's the @TFIN and Super Chicken tour bus and I just the driver! (The job ain't bad either. The tour cook takes good care of me)