Nando

I currently have a purple and somewhat swollen right knee from a Reflex release where the heel of the front boot impacted me just above my hind leg kneecap. (It was a weird, low-speed tip stuff.) Prior to this, I had only a couple of minor shin bruises, and am lucky that this one falls in the "owie" category, but I'm starting to wonder about the wisdom of having a hard boot where it can bash my other leg (I use an "R style" rear binding).

MN titles boats now. You can do it on a bill of sale, no problem. I bought my boat from an attorney (not practicing) who wrote up a good bill of sale that I was able to adapt when I sold my old boat to WI. It's worth having a good document.

Agree with @Ski_Dad on getting it wrapped. I bought a boat from Nova Scotia two years ago and the owner gook the time to have it shrink-wrapped for me (at my cost but on his time and effort) and if an equal number of bugs on the shrink wrap had been on the hull, it would have taken hours to get them off. The fact that your seller has references is a good sign. A baller I almost bought a boat from (he sold it to his next door neighbor) gave me some good advice- he said that if you talk with the seller for a while, you'll find out if the seller is a serious skier and if so, it's rare for s skier to screw another skier, as it's a small world. I was lucky to buy from an honest, very conscientious, guy and hope you're in the same situation.

The site looks nice and the surrounding area looks gorgeous and the northwest leg of the lake, where one of the jumps is located looks pretty well-protected, but if they're skiing on the main part of the lake, by the stands and the wind is up- yikes. The lake records show that big scores can be accomplished there, but a world championship site should be at least comparable to a typical local site. I have no doubt that they can keep other boats away, but without wind protection, conditions could be pretty awful.

Competition is definitely important, but consistent conditions that allow the skiers to perform at their best is also important. Between this site and Paris in 2017, the Worlds have been degraded to skiing conditions that would be unacceptable at any local tournament. Going back to '15 when we had a last-minute site change- from Italy to Mexico, as I recall, it's been a while since the Worlds have been anything but a laughingstock. At least in '15 the skiers got good skiing conditions, but the number of spectators there was minute. Time to bring them back to the US or Canada- maybe Okeeheelee? Robin Lake? Heck, any of the old Pro Tour sites...

As I type this, ESPN is airing lawn mower racing...

Back in the heyday of the pro tour, ESPN did a pretty good job of packaging skiing into a format that was watchable for the average viewer, but without a title sponsor and committed local sponsors, it will be gone forever. Also, that was when we'd get 150 entries in local tournaments... It seems like a big pro tournament like the Malibu Open could be packaged for TV, but what network would pick up a one-off? I wonder what the ratings were for Hot Summer Nights...

@AdamCord, am I correct in assuming that even with the first batch of C75s sold out at $1,995, you guys are nowhere near recouping what you have invested in R&D, materials, tooling, etc.? Not to mention time! With no recreational line of skis, accessories, and water toys to subsidize your venture, will you always end up subsidizing your skiers? Even with all the comments on the cost of the new Goode, is their business model dependent on ski poles, etc. to subsidize the water ski portion of the business? While top of the line skis are all expensive and probably pushing the limits of what skiers will spend, I have a hard time believing any of them have anything but a small profit margin. It's a very small, very competitive, market.

“Concierge”- love it. At that price Dave should analyze a video of your skiing and customize the flex based on that.

@A_B, I never thought of it that way! Not as depressing if you adjust for inflation...

I lied when I answered the poll- while I do believe it's tournament results that define legitimate PBs, I'm guilty of freely telling people my practice PB, which is over a pass better. (At least it was done under tournament conditions [consecutive, accurate course, good senior driver, etc], but clearly I'm a hypocrite...

Couldn't find a photo of my most favorite ones from my youth, but I did get a bunch of these for free when they shut down the business they ran out of their respective parents' garages. Any MN skiers know who "Water Sports Supply" was? Thager?

I'm so spoiled- 150' to the lake and 2.5 miles to work. Used to drive 19 miles to work but had two ski sites within 2 miles of there and another two on the way home.

@Lars, when I had a cable course (mine is anchored now), I did reinforce two broken a pipes with stronger between the gates and had no problems. With a stainless cable, you would probably be safe. We also had one with super heavy-duty PVC for the full arms and never had problems- except with sagging and the need for intermediate buoys to prevent it.

From the damage, it looks to me like someone hooked something and applied a huge amount of tension on your mainline. Know a guy who unintentionally did that to his course while trying to straighten it. It almost had to come from one end only. Maybe a Wally hooked an end gate or ??? Hope it was an accident and won't reoccur!

Hope it's a rope- if not, I don't think I want to know...

Spotted this item today while wasting time at work: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1957-correct-craft-debonnaire-20/ .A baller needs to restore it!

While I vote for fiberglass, I’m sure the fiberglass platform on my 196 is about 50% heavier than the teak one on on my older Nautiques.

Had a great experience last night at our first ski night of the season. We had a small turnout of only three skiers, but it was so encouraging to get three twenty-somethings who were into three event skiing and just great to ski with. We had a biomechanical engineer and she was probably the most accomplished skier and had worked the previous weekend getting a ski buddy's course in, so her willingness to put time in on the dirty work was pretty special (she said her dad gets defensive if she complains about the slalom wake on his Wakesetter, which I thought was kind of the opposite of how most family boat discussions go), another was an aerospace engineer, also a good skier and good guy, and the third was thoracic ER nurse, who unfortunately tweaked his ankle on his first set, so we didn't get to see much of him skiing but was really perceptive about how to communicate technical points. It's seemed that this demographic has been lacking from our sport for a while and it was cool to get them out there- I hope they're back and keep skiing.

@jeiester- your menu- food and drink looks like there's something to satisfy just about every taste- hope to be in Rochester with some buddies in a few weeks and we may get hungry and thirsty...

Also not a hophead- give me a good porter or stout- something with some body and malt! Maybe a nice cold wheat or even a pilsner if it's over 90. Keystone Light, Jody? You deserve better...

Should have made this a poll- I vote fiberglass. Easier on skis and less maintenance. Teak looks nice, but...

Wow- at the asking price someone got a sweet deal!

So, @MS, since Forager is almost in your back yard, so I assume you're familiar. The menus, both food and drink, look pretty good- any reviews?

Back in the late 1980s, when boats were significantly louder, when one of my ski buddies moved to his lake, a neighbor came over as we were wiping down his boat and said, "I heard your boat from across the lake". We weren't ready for what she said next: "There's nothing like the sound of a real inboard". While I agree with that, I also agree with the license plate frame on my brother's Harley, which reads "Loud Pipes Just Irritate People".