jjackkrash

skisix@38 on themalibucrew.com skied on one IIRC. He's probably the guy from MN referenced above, although he moved to Texas. You may want to PM him on themalibucrew.

Sorry for the previous hijack, but that's a sweet looking ride you got there!

Correction, 42 G's. http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&postid=11925

Actually, he started posting at 29k. And there's another 2008 SVfara SVOne with similar hours on ski-it-again that they are asking 40 g's for. :)

6Balls: I have been looking at that boat all winter. I would really like to hear from someone about how it skis and drives. I am also a little afraid of the mid-mounted v-drive, just because I don't know anything about it. Right now I am looking at a 2000 Nautique, a 2000 Am. Skier Volante, a 1997 Am. Skier Volante, and a 1997 Nautique, that are in the same ballpark (all a little less) but are all 8-10 years older.

That boat looks like its in great shape. Congrats. Now I need to find one!

Lets see some pics!

My brother-in-law is a size 10.5. Do these boots run big or small?

I received an e-mail back from Ron Tanis and the Volante sounds like a great boat. The boat down is Shasta sounds like its also in great shape and has about 600 hours, but its been run in the Delta, which is brackish. Does brackish water cause anyone any heartburn?

Jody, or anyone else who knows, can you convert any post 2002 PCM Excaliber to Zero Off, even if its not in a Nautique? Or is there something special about the PCM Excal for Nautiques?

Chad, thank you for the tip. I have an e-mail into Ron Tanis and may call him later. Wish, great info, thanks. I also saw this boat while surfing the net that I may look into. I have an e-mail in to find about its hours and history. Its three years newer, a better color, and no monkey bars. http://www.shastainboardsboats.com/Page.aspx/diid/3033310/list/InventoryList/pageId/30975/view/Details/2000-American-Skier-Open-Bow-20-Ski.aspx

Wow, that was a sweet video. Great skiing.

Thanks Wish. Any info would be great if its not too much trouble. I'll probably end up with a bubble-back TSC 1 Nautique when I finally pop for a boat, but this one really caught my eye. I sure would not mind an open bow for family use, and this one looks like it only weighs 2400 lbs. I think that's pretty good for a 21 foot open bow.

Chine lock sucks. Its only happened to me once while I was driving, but I ended up on shore with a skier in tow. It was spooky. Was your friend's Am. Skier a Volante?

Anyone ski behind or drive one of these? It looks like a pretty nice boat. http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/boa/2191900930.html

In my experience, some rules are necessary to manage expectations and fairly distribute a scarce resource--the lake and course--but no set of rules will make up for bad attitudes or simply having too many members. For the most part, if everyone in the group has the goal of making sure everyone else gets their sets and has a good time, then everyone will have a good experience, and the rules can be applied more flexibly, unless there are too many members. If some or all in the group are just selfish or there is fighting or personalities that clash, the club experience will suck, and it will suck proportionally more with more members. Also, new people and beginners should be encouraged, but you don't want to bring a huge group of beginners at peak times when everyone is in a hurry to get in sets. That is just not fair to the group and the beginners will feel the tension and not have a good time either. At my last club there were not that many members, but we had to work around a ski school. No one ever had a problem with bringing in one beginner as a guest on any given day, but if we wanted a full-on hacker day we would call around and let everyone know in advance, and everyone was cool with with this usually. (If there are too many members, and the lake is always full, and there is no off time, then there may just not be any time for a hacker day.) What gets people upset is surprises or people who always seem to try and take advantage. I think the comments above that its the culture that counts is spot on. Good culture=good time, as long as there is not too many members. 454SS, ski courses are simply a scarce resource. If you really want to learn, you need to be a little bull headed and find a way to get time on one, and understand that there is some need for rules to divide up a scarce resource. Or, you can buy your own course and find a place to put it and also maintain it. Good luck with that. Either way, it may not be worth it to you to make the effort or put up with some of the hassle. I wish more courses were available to more people, but that is just not the case. I think its worth it to make the effort and find the right club, but its not worth it for everyone.

Thanks for the review. How was the feel from the cockpit? Did you get to drive it? Was it enjoyable to drive?

Also, a comment or observation about the engine choice would be nice. Given the weight of the boat, I am guessing it would be a screamer with just the 343 and that the 409 would be overkill.

I am curious as to how the non-carpet looks, feels and functions. Its hard to tell from just pictures. Any opinions or comments on this would be great.

Thanks for all the feedback, I appreciate it everyone. Jack

Jody, thanks. :)

Jody, do you think this project would be feasible and make any sense? I'd would sure consider going through your shop to do it.

I heard the same thing on the Carbon Pro at the Seattle show. The rep said if I wanted to get on a list they would sell me one on a basic trailer with zero off for sub $40k, but he thought the price was going to go up once they get a few more out there.

I can get it done with a shortblock for around $3-4k. I was also toying with the idea of dropping in one of these. http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=1630

Has anyone skiied behind one of these? Would it hold its line on the course? I was thinking about this on as as a project boat. http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/boa/2172456205.html