WBLskier

This weekend my sister and brother in law watched some idiots submerge and then completely flip their wakeboard boat because they had it so overloaded with ballast.

Thank you for posting.

Would whoever posted the thread a month or so ago with the pictures of the various methods to fill the buoys w/ water and air re-post it? i can't find it by searching and it would be handy. Thanks.

Thanks guys. I think I need to fill 'em half way with water and they'll be less of an obstacle. Glad to know I'm not doing something wrong.

I have an issue with this periodically, but lately I have been hitting pretty much every skier buoy with my knee or shin as I go by. I am skiing 34 and 36 mph 28,32 and 35 off. Seems to happen at both speeds and all lengths. It doesn’t seem to throw me off that much, but I am just waiting for a time where I hit it wrong. Is this a problem? If so, how do I go about fixing it?

how do the gates work on an 8 buoy course?

What is an 8 buoy overlap?

Last summer I posted a question about recommendations for a slalom ski for a 5 year old girl. I ended up buying a combo pair of o’brien vortex junior skis. Someone posted that they needed to move the front binding forward a bit in order to get the slalom to ride properly and posted a picture of the set up they used with real slalom bindings on it. If whoever posted that is reading this, would you re-post it? I can’t find it and I am thinking it may come in very handy now that my daughter is learning to slalom. Thanks!!

I bought a pair of TYR water sport goggles on ebay for $3.50. They seem stay on well and not fog up...and have rubber seals to keep the water out. At that price you could just order a pair and see if they work for you. They are pretty ugly, but who cares.

How difficult is it to add the stargazer system to a boat that does not currently have any speed control?

I was at the boat show this past winter and I was told the standard speed control on malibu's is an "rpm lock." I assume most people upgrade to zero off. I have an older boat 98 malibu echelon. I can't drop the money right now for stargazer. Is there some other option (albeit less accurate) that would allow me to add some kind of rpm lock system to at least help. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Thanks.

Any suggestions for a small diameter handle for kids (5 years old)--preferably not too expensive--she is just learning to slalom so doesn't need something too great.

Thanks all--I probably misspoke--I meant I was pulling too far out past the 2nd wake on my gate--not necessarily going too fast---but thank you for the tips. Can't wait to try them out.

This may not help you now, but it may help for next year. I tried some offseason training for the first time that really helped me. I am usually so sore after my first set or couple of sets that I can barely move. This off season, for about two months before the season started, once or twice a week I would use the low row machine standing and leaning in the position as if I were crossing the wake and then pull the handle up to my hip and hold it, then turn to the other side and do the same thing. I worked my way up over that time so I could do heavy weight and the equivalent of 6 or 8 sets skiing (i.e. 3 or 4 sets of 8-10 pulls each side). It really worked my traps, back and arms and I was barely sore after the first time I went and I skied 6 or 8 passes the first day at 34mph. I’m definitely going to do it again next year.

Thanks. As you describe it, I think this is the same issue I am having throughout the course in trying to ski more efficiently (rather than loading at the buoy as I used to). I am focusing on skiing back to the handle (throughout the course), but in an effort to do this my turns feel much less abrupt and slower and when I hook up I feel like I have such a short amount of space between where I hook up and the second wake within which to establish a good angle. I used to just pull longer out into th flats, but I am trying not to do that now. This new way works fine at 28, but I run into problems at 32 off (where I never used to have any issue at all) where I feel a bit later. Any thoughts on how to solve this?

I have a question I’m hoping some of you may weigh in on. I got some coaching recently and was told I was going way too fast at #1...often resulting in some slack or requiring me to hit the brakes (both not good results) at #1. I am doing much better at #1, but I feel like I am narrower than I was before. I am skiing 28 off and 32 off at 34mph right now as I try to work some of these things out. I don’t have trouble getting around the buoy, but I am more wondering how this will work when I go to 35 or 38 off, which I haven’t even attempted again since I have been working on these new things. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

I ski up in MN and the air temp can get pretty cold sometimes. I skied a month ago and the air temp was in the 70’s. Tomorrow morning it is going to be under 35 when we go. Does anyone have a good suggestion for eyewear to wear when it is cold or raining? I’ve tried downhill ski goggles before and they are okay, but they always seem to throw my depth perception off a bit. I’d like to find something that would help on the really cold mornings or for in the rain that is easier to see through and fit more like sunglasses. Also, I’ve heard it can be bad for an engine to start it when it is cold since it uses thicker diesel oil. Is there any truth to this? Seems crazy since a million diesel cars start up here in the winter when its 20 below zero, but I thought I’d throw it out there. Thanks.

I actually wasn't concerned...until I started reading this stuff. I skied at Swiss many years ago and never even considered it. I lost control once and skied into the tall reeds. I gave it some thought then and held on and skied out with welts all over me from skiing through the reeds. I'm sure it will be fine. Like I say, I see 4 ft. musky probably 6 times a year on the lake we ski on...sometimes lurking at the surface pretty close to us and it has never been a problem. Probably the same thing here...just animals that are foreign to us up here.

thanks all...especially OB. I passed on the "no big gators" line to my wife before the more recent posts and she liked it...so we should be good to go. Funny--I actually believed it.

This is probably a dumb question, but I am going to ask it anyway. I am going to be skiing in FL in week or so at Cory Pickos. My 5 year old daughter wants to ski there too. I ski in MN and my wife wants me to confirm that we don't need to be concerned about wildlife (i.e alligators, snakes, etc.) in the ski lakes if my 5 year old is going to go. I realize that FL is the water skiing captial of the world, and I realize we ski in MN lakes with plenty of musky, and never give it another thought, but is there anything I should be concerned about with my 5 year old skiing in that area? Thanks.

Thank you!

Hi all, I have an exhaust hose issue and could use some advice (98 malibu echelon--indmar monsoon 325 hp efi). There is a pencil sized hole in the port exhaust hose (the one leaving the manifold and going to the rear of the boat). It looks like this hose rests against the fiberglass cube on in the bilge where the engine bolts to the boat and the corner of this cube just dug its way through the hose over time. I ordered a new hose this morning and will be installing it this weekend. First question---anyone have any tips for installing the tube? It looks like it would be as simple as pulling off the hose clamps, pulling the old house off, sliding on the new one and tightening the hose clamps up. These projects never end up being as easy as I expect them to be, however, so I would love some advice about how to make this as easy as possible. In the meantime I placed a small square of garden hose over the small hole and duct taped over it. I am wondering if it would be foolish of me to use it this way with the blower running until the part arrives or if I would be creating a safety hazard and should just hold off until the weekend to use it? When I ran the boat the first time this weekend I opened the motor cover and there was a little exhaust present (presumably from this small hole). I was getting water in the bilge last year and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, so odds are I had this issue last year and just didn’t realize it. Maybe I just got lucky without having any issue from it. Thanks.

I have a 2010 strada 66". I skied for 15+ years on a 65" and I was worried that the 66 would feel too long or feel hard to turn. I absolutely love the 66. I have no problem turning it...and continue to find myself biting off more angle than I should as it is. I am 5'9" and 160lbs. I don't know the difference between 2012 and 2011 but I bought my 2010 last year for the same reason. $600 vs. $1200. You will love it.

I have heard several times that certain nautiques really guzzle gas. Which years/models is this true? Why is it...just not an efficient hull design or something?

Thanks. Is the tether to the ski just a back up to the float? I had mine come off several times last year with a float tethered to the camera case's hinge, and I kind of liked that it wasn't stuck beating against the ski once it poppped off. I guess you always run the risk that the float will come off somehow. Any thoughts on whether a good float by itself would be sufficient?