danbirch

What I'm confused about, is of the 7 or 8 accidents reported, how many of them were driver caused? A skier/bare-footer/show-skier can get injured, without ANY blame/fault on the driver.

 

Maybe, after this idea fails (when the insurance company realizes that the injury rate continues, or even worse, increases) the insurance carriers won't even want to insure water sports, due to the inherent dangers within the sport itself.

I thought outboards fishtail when you pull against them?

Anyone know what the delay is with the Connelly Stealth Bindings? They have been listed as being offered for several months (on Connelly's website), but haven't shipped yet.

We recently had a driver's clinic here. It was very well done, and only excellent drivers will pass. It's sort of sad of all of the hoops they jump through, just to drive (and sometimes get criticized) volunteering, giving their weekends away, and now this as well? Maybe they'll also make them give drug/alcohol testing before they begin driving a tournament...a thankless job just got more thankless!

Thanks, Chuck. Looks like it's about a $290 project. Hope to get one soon....

It looks very cool! Which mirror/bracket assembly would be needed for a 2007 MC 197?

Bummer! That may have been an easy fix. My 197 mcx has a "Dizzy"....

I'd check the distributor/rotor.

@swc5150 It is a good question. I applaud all attempts for improving the situation. It seems that the solar approach would be great, then the power grids wouldn't even see the load. It's very expensive now, but who knows the future....

@MS Have you ever sat in a traffic jam? Notice how many of the cars around you are pouring fuel vapors into the environment? Is that green?

 

Maybe not where you live, but in all major cities, traffic jams are a problem. The Prius sits (and runs) in those jams quietly, and cleanly; with no motor running at all. I suppose all of the naysayers (who probably haven't ever even SAT in a Prius) feel that all of that fuel getting dumped into the environment is a good thing.

 

@Sully You should have held onto that 03 the, because according to VW, the 12's best mileage is only 42 (hwy), and 28 in the city. http://www.vw.com/en/tdi/jetta.html The Prius does 50 in the city. Big difference. Have you ever driven one?

@Ryno "a little less fuel"?...... What is your current gas mileage? I agree that it is wonderful that Nautique is looking into the electric technology as well.

 

You criticize the Prius "hoax" for using batteries, but, don't electric boats use batteries? Even MORE batteries than a Prius? As I understood what Nautique was saying, they wanted you to have multiple re-chargeable batteries, so you could swap them out as needed..... Also, the myth that the batteries will fill the landfills is false. Toyota recycles every part of those batteries, and pays a $200 bounty for every prius battery (to the dealers who recover them). There is an 800 # on every battery they sell for that purpose.

@jayski How straight did the boat go??? Sounds cool.

How would it compensate for any "sway" in the course? I suppose if it's a shallow lake, you (hopefully) could create a gps straight line, then build your course around that line.

 

In any event, I'd love to see it happen, but there would be a few bugs (at least in our course) that would exist in a deep water course.

I heard a rumor they are coming to market this week.

@Brent...You bring up an interesting point, and I applaud their creativity and desire for the all electric boat. If there are that many waterway's that have been banned to gas powered boats (I was unaware of this), then all electric would be the only way the industry can go, or it's bye-bye time. If the motivation for the ban comes from fisherman, who really just want the water to themselves, then they'll just lobby to turn the waterways into "no wake" zones (probably claiming that the quiet, "fast" boats are dangerous).

@ShaneH How big of a battery (and motors) do you think it would take to idle a boat propeller? Hybrid cars are able to run @ 35 mph on flat land, I'm sure that spinning a prop in water (slow) isn't anywhere near that much power.

 

I'm just saying, that with all of the idling boaters do, a battery spinning the prop that would kick over to the motor upon "load" would give you the power you need, for the amount of time you'd need it, (as well as throw a charge back to the battery) would be pretty cool, and much more efficient than what we have now....Probably won't happen, but sure makes sense to me.

 

 

I don't get his math. I paid 13,800 for an 08 in '10. The price of gas is not static, so who know's what tomorrow's price will be. That must be considered into the math of the savings as well. Maybe it's a gamble, but, we don't worry about the cost of gas for trips (anymore), but just go.....feels sooooo good!

We LOVE our Prius. At 50-53 MPG, it is unreal (not a car, but a life-style). They have found that the battery pack lasts a lot longer than first expected (they haven't been failing, well beyond the initial 8 yr. warranty). To say that there is no help to the environment over a car getting 1/2 (or less) that in mileage doesn't make sense.

 

That said, I wonder why the boat manufactures don't make a hybrid boat? So, it could run on a battery when idling, and the gas engine when pushed over 1k rpm? In our sport, I believe the gas savings would be enormous.

 

Idling plays a very big part in boating, in fact, many boats spend MORE time idling, than running at high rpms.

Ryder speak!!! LOL...

I love mine! Your feet are not flat, but your ski is. Makes sense to me.

That's interesting. Me and a buddy just bought "pulls" at Okeheelee, with no problem (last May). Had a blast! I found everyone there to be very nice (maybe we were just lucky).

 

The water there is unbelievable, too!

@Klondike Yep. I know of a few sites like the one you mentioned. The "Nope" guys probably wouldn't be much fun to ski with, anyway....Stay with the "Yep" guys. They are more fun to ski & hang around with.

Chip in for Gas? The gas is one of the smaller expenses of boating. Buying a pull makes more sense, and is a much better phrase (when asking), because it acknowledges that there are more costs associated with skiing than just the gas...

It would make perfect sense if a person has solar on his home, and can charge it up from the sun. If you plug into the house for charging, you might get a pretty hefty electric bill, especially if you have "tiered" electric billing.

Short in height is a dis-advantage. Ask Marcus Brown. He has to travel further to get his feet around the same balls (as well as get higher up on the boat). Also, It would about be the same thing as saying, a short person has an advantage to lifting more weight than a big guy. Big guy, more strength, more reach, better advantage in most physical sports, especially water skiing. Look at all of the top skiers at Nationals, Big Dawgs, and the Pro's. The pattern seems to be, Skinny & Tall (narrow center of gravity) with a long reach is the winning formula.

 

Likewise, too tall can become an issue as well (maybe human beings who are TOO "lanky" become un-cooridenated?).