JackQ

New cars have auto start/stop for one reason only, to be able to advertise an extra 1/2 (or so) mpg on the EPA fuel test. Additionally many are built to stop with one cylinder on TDC, the on start provide a small amount of fuel and spark to that cylinder and can essentially start with little or any assist from starter. Cars generally don't go from stop to almost full throttle ever time which boats tend to do, and cars do not have water cooled cats, that start heat soaking when water ceases to flow. Most if not all cars have electric water pumps that continue to pump at reduced volume during the start/stop sequence to keep even temperature throughout the engine.

To add on to @skierjp concerns, shutting boat after each pass is a significant issue for newer boats with cats, loss of water flow and heat soak, over and over again will significantly effect their lifespan.

I am with Mike. A radius handle is not better for everyone, as in most things..it depends. I have bone spurs ( can not straighten my arm) and elbow tendonitis and using a radius handle is much harder and essentially unusable for me. I suggest you don’t know if you don’t try.

I practiced behind PP (in salt water to boot) for over three years while skiing in tournaments with ZO at a fairly high level (frequently running 38@ 34 mph) at the time weighing in the upper 180s. If you let it bother you it will, if you just ski it will be OK. The biggest difference I felt was in a tailwind where ZO does a much better job than PP in not “running” away from you.

@lpskier, You are not the dinosaur using Fogman. I am or the "last of the moccians " using rubber binders! I tired many, always felt unsafe and never skied any better. Post surgery/COVID I have trying a toe plate vice double binders, which is trying to teach a old dog a new trick.

Put the thermostat in pot with water and heat it up, watch to see at what temperature it opens up. Use to put in boiling water (212) when investigating if thermostat is failing to open. 140 degree thermostat is for raw water cooled motor to reduce corrosion, 170 for fresh water(heat exchanger) cooling. As Jofy said, the engines wear less and are more effective at 170-190.

@Zman, you nailed it.

Though I am only a young pup of 66 in Mens7, but I imagine the hardest part is staying healthy into your late 70s. It all sounds easy until get there.

It all depends on how often, how patient you are, and your desperation. I have launched and recovered a Nautique with a Dodge dart slant 6 (not to bad) and a Diesel Peugeot, more of boat pushing the car up the ramp, and likely would not worked a 2nd time. Also pulled my Nautique (filled with plants and other item) from San Diego to Virginia with a Ford Taurus SHO, with wife, 3mo son and 14yr dog, quite an adventure going through the mountains. However it sounds like you are going to frequently tow with your vehicle and a bit more grunt and heft would be advisable.

Dont know what is optimal, but before I got too old last year and had to reduce speed, I would typical go 28,32,35,38,39 (goal to always get to 4), then go back to 38 and try to run 2 38s. Then every 3rd or 4th set, skip 38 as you are doing, really work on 39 fresh, and then go to 38 and run it once. My thought is after 39, work on what has holding you back on your 38 pass, and it should feel relatively easy after 39. One constant is I have to force my self to ski narrow and not get wide and turn on the buoy line. As soon as I get a bit wide at 39 and too far up on the boat, I am done. I can get away with it at 38, but makes it much harder or causes a miss. Watch the skiers that run 39 every time and they seem to be within 4-6" of the buoy line every single time.

I would be more concerned about boat condition than the engine type. I agree that the newer 6.0 is a "better engine" a bit smoother, etc. I am wary of the long term cost to maintain the DI issues as the have some challenges in the automotive world. With the being said unless you are at altitude or a very short setup, they all ski perfectly well. I have skied them all for 22-41 and cant tell a lick of difference.

Depends to the ratio (of want to + stubbornness)/ pain and sacrifice. I believe Kris Lapoint has had 16+ operations some minor, some major and he is still skiing. Don’t think many of us have that commitment, I don’t think I would/could. I have had three; back L5/S1, shoulder and most recently hernia, and coming back is only harder as you get older.

I think this is a case study of why there is a penalty for one score. You have run your PB at one site that may or may not be an outlier, and you should not be ranked higher that someone that with a multiple score average. There were multiple tournaments held in NothernCA if this was a priority for you.

@GSchmid, stated alot of things I forgot that I did. I agree with all, even if not in salt water you should use a file to flatten and take edges off the manifolds before installing. Additionally, I used nevercease on all manifold and riser bolts, on a few occasions I changed to stainless bolts for all. As GSchmid stated if you observer even a small leak, correct it before you have a nightmare of frozen and broken fastener.

Walking, weight training all will help. After back surgery for a rupture of L5/S1, I know I need to change things. I starting biking, at 1st I would have to get off bike after less than 10 minutes and slowly improved to where I could do 90+min. The two most important thing for me was to change my skiing (less slaming the buoys and improving body position) and lose weight. Biking helped greatly losing weight, but changing what I ate was as large of a factor. I was running 35 and and on rare occasion 38 at 205-210pounds, but once I was in the 180s, getting up was easier, I could ski more passes, and my back did not hurt as much. It look a couple of years, before my scores started showing improvements, but I was able to keep skiing with less pain in relatively short order.

KRoundy, Dr. Michaels never had a World Record, and some if not many thought he was a fraud before he was caught. A classic case of ones down fall by ones own Hubris.

I think we need to continue rankings (for non pros) for all the reason stated above. However, I think taking you 3 best scores is not the best method. It incentives a few good scores. Year ago when dinosaurs roamed the was a formula for seeding at Regionals and Nationals which was something akin to 3 times your best score plus 2 times your median plus you average score divided by 6. I rewarded consistency as much as best scores and I think a better analogy for skiers ranking.

I do not believe there is an effective conversion for full (including exhaust manifold) for your boat. I skied is Salt Water for 15 years, the last 9 or so I had a freshwater cooling kit installed, with issue on the engine. I at first would run fresh water after each use to preserve the exhaust manifolds and I would get 4-5 years out of them, a friend never would run fresh water and would get 4-5 years. I realized I was just wasting time and gas, and every 4 years, I would replace the manifolds (approx $500), much less hassel.

The rule still leaves a lot for interpretation. Was the protest (though tricky/tack), made after 30 min from when the results of the event were posted? You could interpret that the event would need to be completed for the “results to be posted” or is the interpretation that the results for the score that is being protested needs to be posted no more than 30min prior to protest? 7.04 Protest Procedure Protests shall be made to the Chief Judge and shall be considered by the Appointed Judges. Protests must be in writing, give the reason for the protest, be signed by the contestant, and be filed no later than 30 minutes after the results of the event are posted and the judges’ scoring forms are available for inspection. If there is a tie vote of the appointed judges on a protest resolution, the Chief Judge shall break the tie.

I believe the “intent” of the Regionals/Nationals requirement is to experience and learn the coordination, organizational and communication aspects of the tournament more than the “judging” the skiers part.

Broussard, Really? “ Judges that have fast-tracked,It can be pretty obvious when they get in the boat to BJ“. I find that more than unreasonable and uninformed. I was able to accelerate my Senior Judge, now that I have more time to help at tournaments, by being a Level 9 skier. You don’t get to be a MM/Open skier without significant time in the skiing, being in the boat and at tournaments. There may be a few outliers. I would postulate that the probability of a Level 8 or 9 skier making a bad call is less than for the average judge, even if they can’t communicate and only can hold up their fingers to indicate the number of buoys scored.

I would be surprised if any regular judges that are aspiring Senior Judges have not been a boat judge numerous times. I would estimate that I served as a boat judge 50+ times before I was a Senior Judge.

Steve Boy, There are no autonomous cars, at least ones that can achieve Level 4 or 5. I know Tesla has promised and Uber is betting ( they claimed it would be achieved in 2019) on, but are likely still a decade away. They are struggling with a plethora of challenges, just think of a trash bag blowing across the highway, will the system know it is a bag, not a child or a concrete block, does it slam on the brakes (with possible rear end collision), or swerve (into a path of another vehicle) or plow on through. Going down the highway isn't that hard, add in pedestrians, cyclist, cross streets, pet, trash, obscure signage, stupid drivers, limited visibility/rain/snow/ice and it gets very hard.

Great autosteer! Another 3-5k to the price of the boat, and a major challenge to diagnose, maintain and parts support as boat gets older. We continue to find more ways to increase cost and complexity to the support and then struggle to attract more participation Is everyone having that hard of a time to drive relatively straight? Until you are at 38 or beyond a few inches or 10 doesn’t really matter.

It seems that many have a better idea for a format and naming convention for a 55K tournament. I suggest you define the format, rules and name: put up your money, find a suitable site and hold it, and see how successful it is or isn’t. “A test is work a thousand opinions”