EricKelley

I think the bad thing is that the 3 event lake is relegated to the other side of the road. Correct me if I'm wrong please. It is not going to be where it is located on the film?

Very impressive plan. Great showcase for our sport.

I think Nautique's new plan of the promos being sold by dealers is a good thing for several reasons. Owners need dealers for repairs more than ever with all the electronics on engines and other boat systems. Around our area, some dealers have not exactly received promo boat service in a good way. Establishing a relationship with the dealers will help them to see the market and meet 3event skiers. I think this is a BIG problem with promotion of tournaments. When we were trying to get boat sponsors for our Average Joes tournaments, all the representatives of the manufacturers wanted the dealers to request that the event be sponsored. Dealer involvement with the promo program will be at least somewhat of a help here. As a promo team member, it would be a big relief for me not to have to worrry about selling the boat. There is lots of time involved with advertising, haggling, boat delivery and paperwork. There are cons for every change, but getting dealers more associated with 3 event skiing is a good thing.

I will be there judging. Probably will ski even though it looks as if it will be my first set of the season.

I skied on a working gravel quarry for about 10 years in Ohio in the 80's. It worked very well even had a tournament there. There were three of the quarries within 5 miles of our house. Dad and I wondered why no one was skiing on them and decided that it can't hurt to ask! One day we went to 3 of them. The first two said no but the third said yes. It was additional money for his property and it would still be used today if the original owner would have not passed away. Most of the people you approach have no idea what you want to do and will have visions of beer drinking tubers. Helps to make sure that they know they are dealing with serious athletes. Doesn't hurt to ask.

You have gotten some great opinions. I have a 2011 f-250 6.7. that I still really enjoy driving everyday. There is no reason for me to drive it now that I sold my 14k catamaran but I really like driving it as well as any car I have owned. I would be proud to own any of the big 3 trucks as all of them have their pros and cons. All of them will have issues and decreased longevity with Egr, dpf and def. I think with the budget you have I would go with a dodge. Would not come near a ford 6.0.

Nice job Adam. This will change things for sure. More set up variables, lots of ideas to ponder..

@Chad_Scott I think we look at it from the opposite way....... Keeping track of the manufacturers who are willing to support seems to reward them not reduce appreciation. How does this negatively effect a company when they bring a boat to a tournament?

Fact is that demand in market will dictate production of 3 event boats. Goodwill and charity to tournament waterskiing will have little to do with decision making with these businesses. They are in it to make a profit and that's it. That's what they are supposed to do and that's great. Being afraid to simply account for the use of private boats is a small thing. Why would they be against it? I have done my part in supporting Nautique. I have spent more on boats with them than I have in my house. I suspect those of you who actually plunk down your hard earned money have done the same over the years. I am happy to donate and use my private boat in tournaments. That's why I own it and I am happy to share it. Why should the manufacturer get credit for my charity?

The value lies in the manufacturers reward for supplying a tournament boat. Is it fair for 1 manufacturer who spent the money to get the same reward as a manufacturer who did not. If I was the promo director for the supplying manufacturer, that would not sit well with me. I don't think of this as penalizing a manufacturer. It is rewarding the companies who are supporting the tournaments. It is important that scorers keep record of the actual boat used in events. Could add a Manufacturer Supplied checkbox that would be used for "credits." It is also our only way to collect data on what is happening with tournament towboats throughout the country. What is happening in the South is not what is happening in the East and West. If we are afraid to keep up with this we are a bunch of soccer moms who think everyone needs a trophy. The manufacturers spend a lot of money and time to bring these boats to tournaments for us. I am thankful for this and they need acknowledgement for their efforts and investments.

Should a towboat manufacturer receive credit for pulling a tournament if the boat used was a privately owned boat? This has been discussed in the Southern Region Council recently. Background, a certain manufacturer was given credit for pulling our Kentucky State Tournament when a 2010 privately owned boat was used. The brand is not important to the discussion. I think that we should have data on the amount of promos that are pulling tournaments so that we can reward the manufacturers for supporting us. With diminishing numbers of promos in certain areas this is important. Opinions.

I think the Board wants to minimize the size of 3 event waterskiing to our sponsors. They think hiding us will pull in more revenue for the organization although our numbers and our revenues are paying for the whole organization. We just need to demand we get the lion share of benefits from whatever the new organization is called.

I do not know about your specific application but K&N filters are generally among the best. When choosing a filter for my 1075 hp engines their filters offered the the highest flow at a very low micron pore. They have very thick cans and are put together well. Among marine racers, the top picks are Wix and K&N. I think you did the right thing in your car. The OEM will be the right flow and filtration.

@ALPJr You ever ski in to the wind at 35 off and shorter behind one of these? You must have titanium eyeballs to not think about it. I salute you!

You can easily tune the wake/tail with these boats by adding a little hook to the bottom with gel coat. To see what the result could be add thicknesses of tape across the bottom right at the transom. All the really good boats were custom tuned in this way.

I had an 83 til 98. Great boat, wakes are good. Spray at 35 off will kill. 83 was first year of all fiberglass construction which is great for you. I put perfect pass on the boat and it worked great. Still miss it, enjoy,

@MickeyThompson Absolutely, my son Josh is a Senior there. But I would be happy to adopt any one of the kids on the team. Even Lyman. They are all very good students who are actually on campus and not taking class(es) online. @gregy They have a long history at Alabama. Doc, who was a Dean of Students at Alabama, for many years was the clubs advisor started the team and put lots of time and energy into the team. He was able to recruit and make tuition as affordable for skiers as possible. Tom is one fine southern gentleman that touched the lives of a lot of people. Lyman is also instrumental in Alabama's success as he allows the team to train at his world class facility in exchange for very little compensation. The club has been supported well by the University over the years. Courtney has been passed the torch as the faculty advisor and she is putting a lot of work into the club and doing a great job. Mmosely and Jazmine help a lot as well as Greg G. They expect the Team members to walk the walk as serious athletes and as successful students. They have very good leadership on the Team.

Congratulations to Alabama and the rest of the ski teams competing at the Collegiate National Championships. It was a very impressive tournament. This is what is right in waterskiing. Alabama's skiers all skied well and dominated the team part of the jump event. They came very close in total points to the team with pro skiers. Congrats also to the announcers and Kelvin and the video crew who added a lot to the event. Jay and Ann did a great job hosting the event I don't think it could have been run better.

As said above, it's there. Using a mirror and light you will allow you to find it without cutting the wrong zip tie.

@Horton Well you could be wrong......Roll Tide

One of my friends who does automotive work says that the plug on the eci can easily be taken apart and reassembled after going through the hole. He does it every day at work. I haven't done it myself but I am glad I won't have to drill that hole. I have had my antenna for a year and not installed it because I couldnt get excited about drilling that hole. He said just take a picture so you know which wire goes to which pin before you take it apart.

This has worked great for me. I just get it off before we jump and put it back on after. It would be nice to attach it to the jump.

I am not an oil chemist, but I think you have to be careful with the high Zinc oils with engines with cats. It is supposed to cause premature failure of them. I am a big fan of the high ZDDP oils in all my stuff without cats. Mobil 1 15w50 in my 200 6L.

Tournament was great. Lots of fun. Lyman's place is about as good a site as there ever has been. Might as well make it the permanent location for the Southern Regionals.