Lieutenant Dan

@BTheis +1 on the Ignition Control Module. Same thing happened to me out of the blue last season (just over 1000 hrs on 325 Monsoon).

@mmskiboat A friend just brought home a new to him Ski Nautique 196 with one of these mounted under his platform. A pretty elegant solution to your needs but it stays up and out of the way when going and drops down easily for those who need it. Garelick/Eez-In 19643:01 Under Platform Sliding Ladder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KCFT9DM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_bpJ9EbTRDV1R0

@skier2788 I truly meant no offense. I am very sorry to you and your father.

@bananaron I’m not aware of the financials. @skier2788 can you vouch for this boat? Please message me if you prefer. @sbink same question

@skimtb It’s a 2004 @bananaron Yes, that’s the one. It does look very nice. Just hoping to get confirmation before such a long drive.

Anyone out there who’s familiar with this boat in Granbury/ Lakes at Times Cove and can vouch for it’s condition? I (somewhat) foolishly goaded a ski partner into selling his older Malibu with PP so that he could buy that boat with ZeroOff. Now I’m committed to going with him from Cincinnati to pick it up tomorrow/ Wednesday. I think it will be ok but just would like confirmation that we will be happy after driving 1000+ miles. Thanks in advance for your help.

@jordanh Well stone my crows but you are right, apparently (according to the internet), about the placard “limit” not being enforceable but rather a manufacturer’s “recommendation” for capacity. I guess that explains why folks can get by with thousands of pounds of water ballast and 20 people in their 23 foot wakeboats. Also guess I should tell my buddy that he can get any direct drive he wants! From an article I found: A boat's capacity rating delineates how many people or pounds the boat can safely hold in good conditions, as determined by the manufacturer. This rating is typically displayed on what's called a capacity plate that's mounted in the boat, either by the helm or on the transom. Federal law requires capacity plates only on boats smaller than 20 feet in length, but the National Marine Manufacturers Association requires plates on all boats less than 26 feet in order to be NMMA-certified.

I don’t get the “hate” (please don’t get riled up, the hyperbole is intended ?) for my proposition. Why can’t all 3 of the current direct drive tournament boats be placarded for, say, at least 8? Like maybe provide a removable rear center seat for both the PS and TXI? What is the big deal if I want to have world class slalom wakes and the ability to use the boat that I spend $100k on in a body of water bigger than 40 acres? Personally, I would have bought a new Prostar a few years ago if it had a higher capacity.

@theboardingschool Which of “us guys” are going to love it - those who want to put more people into our ski boats from time to time or those that want to have a pontoon in addition to our ski boats?

+1 for what @BraceMaker just said. Also, here’s a real-life scenario that just played out with a ski partner. He himself is primarily a slalom skier. He belongs to our ski lake In Cincinnati and keeps his 2001 Ski Nautique there. He also has a floating house on Norris Lake where he keeps his 2005 Response LXI (placarded for 9). Again his primary need is for a ski boat (with a small wake) for those glassy morning ski runs but he also likes to Air Chair. And, he has two kids in their 20s each with a child who like to wakeboard some (nothing requiring a huge wake). By my count, with his fiancée that is 8 people if they all want to go out on a ride together eg to go to a cove and swim or whatever. His Response is getting a bit long in the tooth as he rides it hard and puts it away wet a lot. He decided to replace it last week. He has ordered a 2021 Ski Nautique 200 OB (without having ever ridden in, nor skied behind let alone driven one) simply because the only other two major direct drive manufacturers have their open bow boats placarded at 7. For what it’s worth, my personal boat is a 2001 Sunsetter LXI which is placarded for 10 and it still has a better wake than his Response.

I would like to see it placarded for more than 7 people ie for those of use that like to do vacations on bigger water (eg Norris Lake) and want to spend the whole day out on the boat with family and friends.

I got my Stargazer with ZBox a couple of years ago. As I recall it was version 9.12. I just installed Stargazer on a friend’s boat yesterday and it said version 9.2s. Anyone know the differences / improvements from 9.12 to 9.2s?

McCormicks Ski School is going to be the closest

@BlueSki The Key is to have a “Version 9” release of Stargazer. That version allows you to throttle up like they do with Zero Off (almost) and the system will dial back to the set speed much quicker than with earlier releases.

@quinne Looks like there is a nice '03 SSLXI in Lexington KY per onlyinboards.com

Just my $.02 but the very best year of Sunsetter LXI was 2003. It had the Monsoon 335 which I recall had all of the performance enhancements of the Monsoon 340 (which came out on the 2004 model year) except for the ETX Manifolds (aluminum integrated manifolds and risers) which tend to spring leaks at the casting riser plugs. If you can find an 03 jump on it!

@Jody_Seal I second @Lars question above. I’ve got a 2001 Malibu Sunsetter LXI with the 5.7l Vortec sbc based Indmar Monsoon II with just over 1000 hours. I don’t ever want another boat as this one is still in great shape and meets my needs. What would it take to “upgrade” this power plant to ZO?

@nam1975 Got a part number?

FYI...Hot off the press from Perfect Pass: May 2019 Re: Garmin GPS Units Slower to Lock It became apparent in April of this year that the Garmin 5 Hz GPS units in circulation are taking longer to “lock” after being powered up than in previous years. Initial delay to lock on a new boating day will take one or two minutes, but after key off & back on they normally take up to 38 seconds. In previous years, you may have noticed that after a brief key off the GPS would lock faster than the current time of 38 seconds +/-. Garmin has advised us that the satellite system changes require new “Almanac Data” updates to allow for faster starts and this updating is not happening automatically on older versions. For most PerfectPass customers, a start time of 38 seconds or less is more than adequate and is not an issue that would affect their use of the product. For any customer that performs a lot of key offs in-between passes or sets and finds the re-lock time of 38 seconds +/- too slow there is a solution. Garmin has recently produced a new V4.2 software version which PerfectPass has acquired which solves this issue and has other enhancements as well. Your GPS Puck can be updated to this version which will increase the Lock Speed. The Puck can be mailed to PerfectPass for this update now or at the end of the season. The update cost is free, only return mailing charges will apply. To Return for Updating: > Send by US Post only to address below ideally in a padded / bubble envelope. > For customs purposes at the post office, state the contents on the form they provide as “GPS Unit returning for Repair. Value $25” > Include your full name, address & phone # and a copy of this letter. > Include a check payable to PerfectPass for $10 to cover return shipping & handling. (US Post) If not, we will call you for CC #. NOTE: No UPS Ground or Fed Ex Ground will be accepted due to additional customs fees. Fed Ex Express or UPS Express is OK. MAIL TO: PerfectPass Control Systems Inc. 14 Trider Cres. Dartmouth, NS CANADA B3B 1R6

All 3 StarGazer / ZBox boats at our club are having the slow lock issue this spring. @mjump Do you recall what the PP guys had you do to improve this?

@Stevie Boy scroll down past description and technology for the “Sizes” section

I upgraded my 6.5NG last year to Star Gazer 9.12 and ZBOX. Works pretty well after some fiddling with the background settings. Even after a whole lot of trying the one ball times still seem to come in hot. May be a bit off topic but I heard a rumor that there is a new version available that is a bit more responsive ie is closer yet to Zero Off. Can anyone confirm this?

@KalebP Kaleb, I’d be happy to get that information for you. Unfortunately I won’t be able to get it for you until around May 1st.

Camaro Blacktec Full Suit is also really nice. Mine is a few years old so my back leg rolls up like to 3/4 length but it is perfect for fall / late spring skiing.

@GregHind I skied with a friend this morning who has the PTM 140. At 22 off I didn’t notice the skier being significantly smaller at the ball. The same thing for the Cipa Extreme.