Nando

But, the marketing value of having a "world record towboat" is considerable. The thing with creating minimal wakes is the trade off with tracking and driveability, which contribute to giving a world-class pull. A super-flat wake without a solid pull isn't going to generate world records.

As @SWC5150 indirectly pointed out, it's a pastel black. At least that's what the interior looks like...

Stars and stripes graphics?

@thager, you didn't mention the Torque fiberglass heel cup! Back in the day, the Taperflex Apex was radical. It was huge hit for a while, but its "stops on a dime" deceleration bit a lot of us who were on it- after enough out-the-fronts, I felt lucky to escape its clutches with only a couple of cracked ribs. If I'm not mistaken the yellow Maherajah shown by BLP in the "most influential" link had hollow ribbed construction- if not that ski, another that they made around that time had it- that was just weird, at least until the Warp arrived. The Maha also leaked...

It's awesome, but I'm jealous.

The look on Dave Goode's face viewing the Leeski is priceless...

Wow, @Rich, that brings back memories. When you say big crosswind, it was like 40 MPH from the northwest, totally unprotected. It was also cold- like 70 degrees. This after a perfect week of prep. Water depth was like 3' on the west side of the course and 60' on the east, which made it ski kind of weird. Watch the skis bounce in the rough water. It was nasty. To your point, it's pretty amazing that KLP can match his performances from 30 years ago. That was also, I believe, Geoff Carrington's last competitive jump.

A guy I ski with had the chance to ski with Jason last year and told me how impressed with his technique he was. He also told me to check out some video of him, which I forgot to do, so thanks @gavski for posting- I see it now, for sure.

Get guys going on grills or beer and you're venturing close to religion- or at least cults...

That is one good looking 196!

A few years ago, someone asked one of the local guys if he played golf. He responded, "I'll start playing golf when I'm too old to ski". "How old are you now?", he was asked. "I'm 88", he replied. Sadly he passed away last year at 93, but he skied to the end.

Um, @lcarnes, just for an ignorant guy up on the frozen tundra, what the hell are those jelly blobs???

@harddock, pretty sure that was him.

A balanced boat also drives and tracks better. Back in the pre-speed control days I really insulted a very large (not tall) boat timer by adding like 100 lbs. of weight to my side of the boat before driving the event. The guy didn't speak to me the whole time and pretty much glared at me during about a 30-skier event, but better than giving the skiers a crappy pull.

Or a boat...

We should have a poll- how many of us have bought a ski and hidden it (or its price) from our spouses? I'm guilty...

Both are helpful, but the greater detail and the though that goes into the editing process makes the written more cohesive. The added entertainment value of Buford Danger's cameos in the video review does make that format appealing, though.

I agree with @gregy that the guy probably did you a favor- if you feel like you were screwed by a guy who didn't sell you a boat, you probably would have been screwed worse by buying his boat. When I was boat shopping a guy whose boat I didn't buy, but who was very upfront about the entire process (he's a baller) told me to talk with any seller of a ski boat enough to tell if he's a real skier who knows ski boats and that will tell you all you need to know about the guy.

To echo @BrenanKMN's comment, I also am glad I upgraded to a ZO boat, but until I read comments here about mapping my course, the accuracy on a short setup wasn't as apparent. If you don't map your course, you're not taking full advantage of ZO. (I know 'cause I didn't at first- the difference is noticeable.)

Another thread that makes me feel thankful for the guy I recently bought a boat from- he got another offer, but told the guy that because I had expressed interest first, he wouldn't accept the second offer until after talking to me. Then he apologized to me because he didn't want to pressure me. This was only a couple of weeks after making an offer on a boat and having the owner call me the morning I was going to drive out to buy it and tell me he'd sold it the day before because the guy had cash- well, so did I, but after all was said and done, I feel better about giving my cash to the guy i did...

Is it carbon fiber?

Just received the $25 Fluid Motion liners and they are extremely comfortable and look well-made. For the R-style, it will need to be shortened or have a strap added, but at that price, if you're looking for replacement liners, I don' think these can be beat.

Supposed to be 90 here in South Canada tomorrow. 80s today. Skied yesterday with no wetsuit and was perfectly comfortable- if only it could last...

@MattP, that kid sure has a nice axis, but "patent pending"? Those things have been around for years. I'm a little confused by how complicated some of the pulley drawings are- what's wrong with just a single pulley attached to a solid post or other surface with a weight on it? I don't get the advantage of adding additional pulleys.

To second what @lpskier said, I've been on a loaner for a month and spectacular says it- turns automatically, fast, holds angle, stays down- great ski and I'm too fat for the 66" I'm on.