davemac

@MAD11 If possible...I'd be curious to see a picture of one of these mounted on a single Reflex plate (G10)....

In case clarification is needed, if you are someone who takes pleasure in peeing in your wetsuit....the Camaro is probably not the best choice for you. BTW, I love the performance of both my (blacktec) 1mm shorty, and 2mm long suit.

@OTF, could you clarify pricing of $75/unit? Does each plate require 1 or 2 unit(s)? Thanks.

Both my daughters learned on the Jr Vortex. Their friends (and small adults) have also had a really easy time learning on them. I added some tail weights to assist w/ the starts. My older daughter began slalom deep water starts on the Jr Vortex around 8 or 9yo (w/ help of a deep vee handle). She was a big kid and I found the ski was only good up to about 18mph. After that, it looked like it wanted to "speed wobble"...probably due to the plastic fin. I quickly got her on a dedicated slalom ski.

I'm wondering if the additional viewing angle of the 180 degree CIPA makes the skier even smaller than the 140 degree PTMEdge? Guess someone would need to do a side by side comparison to confirm.

If I had money burning a hole in my pocket, this would be my top pick as favorite look....

I like the color scheme of your new boat, Than.....Practical, classic, and timeless. White, black, grey.

ironically, my buddy tackled this job over the past weekend. He also has a 97 (500 or so hours I believe), noticed the bilge pump running more frequently and finally traced it back to underside of muffler. The rubber pad had shifted causing muffler to chafe on hull. After removal, interior of muffler was intact. He found the easiest way to remove the muffler was to remove the riser from the top of each manifold...which means you need to order two replacement gaskets for re-assembly ($8 each). He then had a helper twist/rotate the riser and attached hoses while he used thumbs, WD40 and a screwdriver to gently work the hose off the muffler. Said took less than 10 minutes each side.

@skidawg, Nice looking boat. Hey, is that the new Cipa 180 degree mirror?? If so, feedback would be appreciated (curious how is compares to PTM)

....and based on my recent experience, Robby's customer service is far beyond normal expectations!!

Beautiful boat. Unfortunately the Lambo video was not created by the same peeps who did that recent ProStar video. It is a sin that they deprived us of hearing the music those V12s must make.

this is the liner...

Thank you for buying it before me...really. I had the same temptation. I've seen three people on that ski this year, and it lays down some beautiful carves underneath all of them.

My Reflex arrived a couple days ago, and took my first ride on it today. Like @ShaneH I got the black/white liner w/ a little bungee tie on the front. The Reflex website identifies it as the "thin liner". I love that there is an achilles pad built into them. I have a wide forefoot, but bony ankle. The achilles pad adds support and helps secure the heel. I had the same thing added to the liners of my snow ski boots, so was glad to see it standard in the Reflex. Like @dstone124 I am also interested to hear what others may be using for footbed/insoles...and whether they are inside or under the liner. I have a high arch and need some support. Today, I threw the insole that comes w/ Strada boot inside the reflex liner. It seemed to work okay. The aftermarket one I was using in my Strada is too thick for the Reflex.

Funny...as the season is ending, I just moved front Strada forward closer to 30" on my 67" and found improvement....but think it need to go backwards just a smidge.

Kudos for your efforts. Wondering if you considered attaching with bungee? My experience was that some of the zip ties would break whenever I attached or detached handle from rope. Maybe the ones I used were brittle (?)....but I've been pleased w/ my bungee arrangement....plus no sharp edges to contend with.

A couple years ago at the lake, a friend (a "wally" w/ a sterndrive) at cottage next door kindly asked if I'd pull he and his guest free skiing behind my boat. No problem, but after they skied, my friend was adamant that I take a rip. While reluctant to let him drive my boat, the lake was wide open...so I set the PP and and told him just to go straight til I let go. On the pull up, he hammered the throttle (from neutral). Fortunately my arms weren't dismembered, but I can still vividly recollect the horrific sound of my damper plate engaging. I skied a short distance then let go of the rope. I cringed and looked away as I watched my boat do a sweeping power turn. While pulling the ski off, I fortunately looked back over my shoulder, immediatley seeing my hull #s directly over my head. I had just enough time to "jack" myself away from the bow as my boat went by and eventually came to a stop. I'm not sure who was more shocked... me or the driver. Not much was said, I swam to the platform, climbed in and drove home. On days at the lake when I have no one to drive, he still offers to pull me. Not for all the beer in China is that gonna happen.

@Brewski ...am I mistaken or do those pictures look like a RFF, not LFF?

Congrats, that is a great looking 196. I saw it a few weeks back, and commented on it being my favorite color scheme. Should look quite nice emerging from "your tunnel".

noticed that it also is on ebay awaiting a starting bid $100 higher than the SIA price

I've been very happy w/ the suit. My daughter has one as well. No problems w/ either of them. Very lightweight material that almost seems to breathe...but not leak. As far as Baggy suits go, the front zipper is convenient. I do like the neoprene neck seal of the O'Neill Boost though. As you know, taking proper care of them is important. I picked up a drysuit "care kit" from Adrenalinewatersports. For <$20 you get zipper wax, silicone spray, and a huge ziploc bag for storage. Hang to dry and keep it out of the sun. I must admit, I'm delaying drysuit season a bit this year...expecting delivery of a camaro blactec full suit tomorrow. Can't say enough about the performance of their shorty.

Nice wife you've got. I haven't pulled my Eagle drysuit back out yet, so I had to think about this, but...after putting legs in, I find it easiest to first pull suit up tight to underside of crotch, then put on in this order....left arm, head, then finally right arm. Take it off by first removing right arm. Or to simplify, Right arm on last....off first. I've actually considered writing this in sharpie inside of mine as a reminder. I do have to tuck my (ginormous) head a bit to get it in the seal. Periodic silicone spraying of the seal speeds the process. Hope this helps.

Kinda reminds me of the O'Brien Competitor...that I couldn't afford back in the 70's....

For my clarification....what is a G10 plate and what differentiates it from the carbon one? Is it drilled for the conventional insert pattern?

FM attached with bungee. Zip ties were sharp and would break when changing handles. My other handle (In-Tow...not in picture) simply uses black gorilla tape (from Home Depot) that works equally as well.