Jody_Seal

50 minutes ago, UWSkier said:

Crazy it can still turn that many RPMs and not send a rod through the block.

Good catch.. on a ski budget. with zo who needs a tach? rascles want $200.00 for a new one...

31 minutes ago, foxriverat said:

This one just popped up on SIA https://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Boat_3Event&postid=70066 Is it anyone`s from here?

they are giving that away. must be a fire sale.

1 hour ago, ETskier said:

@Jody_Seal Paige has a chance.  Was Patrice Martin the last overall winner?

What is their reasoning for not awarding open overall.  I always looked at the overall winners as the world best skiers.

overall removed due to..... well they just did not want to support it.. toad wake sports needed the slots... 

and yes Patrice was the last. we drank beer out of the big cup at the after party....

Just now, ETskier said:

There is overall in the Junior Masters. 3 spots are held back in each discipline for overall skiers.   What I don't know is if a skier can ski in juniors and open at the Masters.

they can not ski both. a junior skier has to make a choice. unlike Moomba where a junior can ski both.

looks like poland should get some sort of overall award. the BOS overall trophy?? "T"-shirt? something... the last true overall winner? Any guesses? he's french!

are there any pro women who qualified all three?

me too!

thanks to Broke Ass, King Dean and the leader of the water ski galactic empire.. 

and of course Brooks!

un plug the reciever and see if it will run correctly in rpm mode.

5 hours ago, DvarianDan Johnson said:

@Jody_Seal - was that a Rayson Craft by chance?

Stevens.

My Android watch ran out of battery life about  a year ago. screen also started to look funny.. i can say i could attribute some weight gain to not having a working sport watch. they do come in handy for the elderly athlete..

Amazon!!

the PCM 343 that are on Ski-it -again are non cat. no problem, Series 80 1:1 go anywhere a 40 went. easy peasy for that infinity boat, direct replacement. add ZO  good to go. Walter V drive very robust gear seen the same unit in 40' fishing boats.

Bang for the buck only way to fly for a 5 year program. I am suprised that more college programs are not looking at re-power of what they own vs purchase semi new or new every 2- 5 years..

My 80's V-drive practice boat. notice the Airguide pittot through the cav plate on the port side. 15 off 36 mph was a blast behind this boat.

11 minutes ago, Horton said:

@disland This goes back to the complaints about the whole format. They are forcing pro skiers to compete at an amateur event to qualify for what is supposed to be one of the most prestigious events of the year. 

the qualifying format is wacked. if there is going to be a qualifier /prelim it should be on the water they are going to compete on. By the wed before the show starts at Callaway all the necessary equipment is ready to rock. might as well pull in a few local drivers and judges and hold the prelim/qualifier at that time. jump is already in place now!

no big deal with the infinity repower.  contact Skip Dunlap. he is sitting on a few 5.7 new excalibur engines and transmission packages. they are listed on ski it again.. every thing will be plug and play. will need a adapter harness to go between the engine and hull harness..

yes very interesting with the womens jump. 98-early 2000's some women were ski flying and learning how to go farther. along with the increased ramp height for regulation jumping these women set the stage for the big goal of 200' however along those years there was a push to adopt the longer ski fly ramp for all divisions, it was safer to some degree and allowed for longer jumps in general yet the old men of the day said no and petitioned no on the adoption of the longer ski fly ramp.

one only has to look at the knee braces on the womens jump dock now a day's. one will under stand why women's 5 and a half jump is in a downward trend. I believe if the adoption of the ski fly longer style ramp injuries to then knees may well have been reduced.

when my daughter was a G-3/4 the field of girls was deep in the US. especially in the southern region. 4 or 5 girls that could jump in excess of 125' as well as a few that were near the 150' range. virtually none of those girls who would be late womens 2 or early 3 are skiing today let alone jumping.. Why is that??

30 minutes ago, DW said:

DIY guard with paracord.  I find every solution has drawbacks, consider carefully what is important to you.

  double thin spectra with the inner woven micro spectra fibers!!

Bill was one of a kind for sure. he had a very infectious smile and attitude. his passion for waterskiing was second to none.. well maybe golf was a close second. Coors light was his go to adult refreshment. 

I first met Bill at ski paradise in Bartow Florida. Bill was doing a stint on the mic as announcer. he was telling what one at first would think was a adult joke / story but as always purely a fun ending for all. Bill always encouraged all skiers young and old alike. I still have the mastercraft shirt he made me wear on site at a state tournament after I lost a wager..    truly a great man in the sport. Florida federation skiers and members will miss him dearly.

God's speed my friend, your probably hanging with Skalko.

the tried and true Homer handle!

Lets be real, USAWS/AWSA has become a welfare institution. when the average cost of the new boat platforms are better then $100K. When ski prices are on the verge of gouging we see where the old guard has been all but forgotten in the organizations investors/sponsors. When this happens that a organization cant hold their own and need outside semi government help. Why? is this intentional or just plain bad business? I would like to see how the grant propositions/requests look like. are their not any conditions of foreseeable growth with these contractual agreements? it's a scare tactic, kinda correspond with the bottom line of the books?

@JeffSurdej yep! but a lot of misdirection and failed delivery..

1 hour ago, CharlieThreeThree said:

Has anyone considered talking to and figuring out what the younger folks actually want from the organization? Or do you just assume that since you're older and you've been around for a while that you know what that generation needs? 

great question and yes they have. and when many of them were stepping into leadership roles they were squashed and replaced with the elderly.. take rule's committee for example, look at the board. driver committee  if it were not for the aac representatives the rest of the board and committees would be eligible for medicare, or are! no that one dont fly either... the grip is tight among the seniors!! like it or not this sport got old!!

Just now, The_MS said:

People don’t believe that we will ever achieve what was happening in the 90s again however everybody wants it to be like the 90s again.  I seen nothing but solutions offered in these threads, but people keep insisting that no solutions have ever been offered.

Nailed It!

3 event/AWSA can not be equated to any other sport or programs. except with the Safe sport extortion. 3/ event is a sport dynamic all its own, how other sports are organized and run for the most part can not or should not be emulated. no other sport requires or utilizes multi million dollar facilities for true amateur competition.

@JeffSurdejHow come you did not bring those ideas to the table when you were president of AWSA? the level 10 mandate you were pushing took a number of great   skiers and pushed them out of the sport.

"So what can we do to make it better?":

1. eliminate the safe sport mandate for all members/skiers. most every member/skier will agree that anyone coaching, chaperoning juniors or jr team personnel should maintain a level of education pertaining to the overall safety of junior participants.                                                                                                                   if the organization wants to install a similar requirement for judges and drivers, put together a presentation with the mandatory officials maintenance clinic's, use that as part of required officials maintenance.

2. establish a membership pricing scale that is not a one size fits all. many many officials have not been on the water for a long time, especially older scorer's. there are officials in this sport who really never learned to ski yet provide excellent ability as an official. why charge them $90 a year to volunteer a couple times a year?

3. Jeff said it, the ideology  has changed as has the membership numbers. this is not the early 90's when there there were 110 mens 3 at a southern regional's. It is time to re think the competition groups. be realistic in abilities as these skiers from the early 90's are the biggest age groups in the the organization today, (men 6,7&8). for example, combine men1&2 call it men's division, same with women's 1&2. these are probably the smallest two divisions today in our organization and they compete under the very same rules. combine men 3&4 allow the current men 4 to jump under the same rules as men three and combine them. our age platforms, rules  and policy's have not kept up up the technology or the athleticism of today's competitor.

4. Does the leadership / membership really want to see  some growth? any Growth in the sport? i dont think so as reading into our past AWSA president's comments. However if the organization truly wants to see growth and returned energy into the sport it is time to create opportunity for the many many skiers that continue to operate on public waterways as well as even on private ski lakes. one only has to peruse Facebook, Instagram and the other then Ball of spray internet forums that are available. this is a gold mine of skiers that may want to participate in the AWSA but avoid the entity due to the many reason listed above in other comments. create or utilize current platforms that encourage membership growth and or membership sustainability.

5. if the organization wants to publish a magazine then for god's sake come up with new content and information. the hired gun executive directors first  attempt at an article was not one that inspired members for sure! get regional information in the pages. try some lifestyle articles. highlight in the trenches skiers and officials. get the magazine into the mainstream news stands... something different then the same old bend your knees articles..

I have more but again type very slow and type poorly, so off to the lake for some on the water fun... it's a trick day..

Too be continued.

sure you want me to splain gimmick technology?

I do the same thing in my fishing boat, 20' shamrock. I have a lantern from Sam's club.

stripped the stereo out of the 196. Just did not need it when it got rebuilt. it never goes off the tournament lake anyway, Ski Tractor!

you want to avoid the Bryant built 200's. 

thin hull substrate,  poor assembly as well as utilization of incorrect grade of fastners on the underwater gear. the engine will have a raw water cooled 6 liter that will degrade the circulation pump as well as the dissimilar metal between block and heads. have one here at the shop now that has had so many repairs that I warned current owner to dump this pig if you have to give it away. bottom has numerous cracks emanating from the rudder port into the hydro gate slot.. if you are looking for a reasonable priced new boat I would look at the pro star or find a 2018 and older used 200. 

if I was to give up my current 196 it would not be to buy a new 200. maybe a 2018 or older 200. sold my red 196 a little over a year ago only because it oxidized so bad it was turning pink from buffing off the oxidation. 

On 4/25/2024 at 3:15 PM, The_MS said:

@Horton you need a trip to Florida shortly after the unboxing 

Really??keep that guy west of the Mississippi. He's to feral for Florida..