skiray

@ShaneH is right. The manufactures build what people buy. Most of us buy what we think we can sell. They maximize profits and we try to minimize our depreciation / loss when we trade up. My perfect "last" boat will be a solid white with light grey interior and ZO. Trouble is, I'm never going to buy it. How do I know if it is going to be the last...

@ntx I live 3 hours from Dallas. Either way, my own lake is a life long dream. @skier2788 the lake doesn't exist yet.

Exactly @Wish Kinda surprised more folks are keying on the MC price over the missed lake opportunity. I know which one hurts me more.

I expect y'all are both correct. I'm just reporting the price that was on the boat.

Good News: Found a "perfect" place to build a lake. Not like the pros - in the middle of a field. This place had the right topo, running spring and wind protection at $1500 an acre. Approximately 2100' long. Bad News: Under contract before I could call the agent. Future hunting club. Good News: Went to the Dallas Boat Expo to verify the "awesomeness" of the new Prostar. I was an unbeliever. Too much hype. I was wrong, if it skies as good as it looks, MC has taken it to the next level. Well done. Bad News: Price was $89k. Man, that paid off tug in the barn looked really good when I got home...

I don't care if they are accepted anywhere I ski... I just want a set of the coins.

Thanks guys. @Horton I will check with the EVP.

I need your expert opinion... For the past 4 years work has keep us from skiing like we want to. This year, I'm getting it back. We (wife and my girls) are taking a 4 week vacation in her hometown. I'm planning on skiing a lot. Looks like I'm going to get to ski 5 tournaments in June. All in AL. Only problem is I live in TX and the majority of our skiing prior to Regionals will be in AL. Will we be able to ski in the SC Regionals? 4.03 Regional Tournament Qualifications A. General: Each Region shall determine the required qualifications for its own Regional Tournament. 1. In any year, a skier shall be qualified to enter only one Regional Tournament for placement. A skier shall ski for placement in the Region where he does more than half of his tournament skiing during the ten weeks prior to the Regional Tournament. A skier has the option to return to his Region of legal residence to ski for placement.

Let the boat judge call it. If he can't tell ask the skier....

Don't get the wrong idea, I appreciate attempts at progress. But, I 'm tired of talking about the gates. Lets keep it simple. Go through the gate or don't. I don't want my kids to have to have a captain crunch decoder ring to figure out if their round is over. USA Waterski - grow a pair and pick a rule. It's not a sport if everyone is happy.

That might happen if there is a ski club in Dubai.... I would settle for a "batting cage" approach with a tight weave mesh. Concrete poles, wires, mesh - instant wind protection. Who am I'm kidding, I'd settle for a short winter. Heck, a mild day would work. This artic blast sucks!

@Zman - my dr told me to wait 6 - 8 weeks before skiing. Needless to say, I didn't fill the prescription.

My Dr. prescribed it, I said no thanks after he gave me this warning: "Don't do any extreme physical activities. Levaquin increases the likely hood of tendor rupture in patients over 40." I asked what extreme was and he said like swinging a sledge hammer. I asked about skiing and he said no way. Doesn't sound like anything for a skier. Just curious if any of you have a different perspective. Made me wonder since there seems to be a lot of tendon issues with skiers. Levaquin (levofloxacin) is an antibiotic for treating several types of bacterial infections. A generic formulation is available. Common side effects of Levaquin include nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and constipation. Difficulty sleeping, dizziness, abdominal pain, rash, abdominal gas, and itching also occur. Levaquin has been associated with tendinitis and even rupture of tendons. Levaquin can alter the normal bacteria in the colon and cause pseudomembranous colitis. Patients taking Levaquin can develop photosensitivity.

Happy Wife, Happy Life.... She "made" me buy the 12' TXI... I just give and give.

@Horton I agree we are all making assumptions here and I trust your perspective. You have a line of sight into the industry that I don't have. @Wish my memory is as bad as anyone's but what I remember is the 99 PS 190 was a total disaster due to a lack of testing. (Well, I thought so when we parked one in the weeds.) They cut corners to reduce R&D costs. Totally opposite approach on the 2014. Totally different outcome. I think it's fair to say profit was considered in the 2014 MC, but I think they started with the design and the intent on making the best boat. Eventually, they figured out how much the boat would cost. A public company, will do a market penetration study and calculate how much time and money they can put into it before they start. My final assumption / concern - a public Malibu will spend more time discussing if they want to produce a direct drive than they will working to make it better.

I didn't comment the first day I saw this post. For once I tried to consider the potential scenarios and looked for the positive. Malibu going public sucks and no good will come from it. I just hope it doesn't impact the book value of my TXI...

I guess I didn't win but it did lead to a funny conversation. My wife's name is Michelle... "MICHELLE! Have you checked your email today? No, why? OB says they don't know who got the third chocolate bar..... What are you talking about? (With that you dumba$$ look) The Mapple giveaway, stop asking questions and check your email woman! What is the Mapple giveaway?" I explained it quickly. She looked me square in the eye and said," It's my email that means I win." I said "What?" She said, "you heard me fatboy." Apparently, she's noticed the extra weight too.

Who won?

Ups broke an A1 for me once. Always get the insurance.

I'm the most challenging "Baller Project". In 2009, two things happened, my tournament PB was 3@32 (best year ever) and I became a PM for a power pant that had just started construction. Here's my case: - Last year I skied about 15 sets. - Average off the dock was 2 or 3 at 28. - 2009 skiing weight was 175. Today I'm 203 lbs in the buff. - I travel about 100 days a year. - I've got a wife and two daughters who ski. (Boat hogs/potential customers) - I'm the average Baller on the survey. In other words, there are lots of folks in my demographic. 1 of the 3 should be "average". - I'm the proud owner of a Mapple 6.0 - I willing to do the work, just need direction. My old techniques are not ideal for this 41 year old body. - I live in Tx and will be at Nationals next year. MTS could take me from spectator to competitor...

I will leave the magic to the guys who understand it. I would like a "permanent" label with serial, flex and factory numbers. I would like the manufacture to provide some non-marketing commentary on the sensitivities of the ski related to fin adjustments, fin movement, etc.

@skoot123 - sounds like you have lots of options since the lake will be dry when you survey in. I guess our approach seems weak compared to the ones above, but we took a 12X16X8 in block and filled it with concrete. It has a SS eybolt with a washer sandwiched between two nuts in the concrete. We took a shovel and dug a hole at each block location and buried them flush with the lake bottom. (prior to any water being in the lake) The course has been straight as an arrow for 3 years. The guy who owns the lake, unfortunately, pulls kids on a tube an routinely knocks off bouys. A rookie boat driver has hung the boat on the bouy before and broken the tubing. We haven't had a single anchor move.

@OB - was that a "practice" set? Otherwise, I don't see how that would count.... All kidding aside, that is a great photo.

This may be the reason why I can't run 38 on the web or in person.... Typically, my tournament scores (averages) are higher than my practice scores (averages off the dock). If it isn't right in practice, I let go. In a tournament I hold on till physics takes over.

@ScarletArrow - I feel your pain. I've got two in the band and the oldest is in cheer. Starts next week. Kills Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and some Saturdays. I teach a youth group on Wednsdays. The guy I ski with won't ski on Sunday. I'm skiing some when I travel with work. I love my kids. Band and Cheer suck... Just saying.