dbutcher

I have tired of reading this thread, but it sure has made me appreciate the manufacturers' historical promo boat plans. Their past contributions have been underappreciated by many of us. Many years ago I was a promo boat operator, and I enjoyed it. The only remuneration I got was a price reduction on my next boat for each tournament attended (up to a specified maximum number). I was going to the tournaments anyway. Being paid for my travel never crossed my mind. Getting a new boat every year at a good price had value to me. Would the following work? After having been sworn to secrecy on dealer cost, a promo operator buys a boat from a dealer at dealer cost, pays the dealer a $500 make ready fee, pulls tournaments for a season, sells the boat himself/herself, pays the dealer a small fee for perhaps taking a sale away from the dealer, and buys a new boat at dealer cost less tournament credits supported by the manufacturer. Then the cycle starts over. The dealer could live with it, the manufacturer gets exposure in exchange for tournament credits of perhaps $100 per tournament, and the promo operator gets a new boat every year without a huge dollar loss. Unless I am overlooking something, it should work.

You can still get into and even run -38 at 30mph. Enjoying skiing is what is important - w/o regard to line length, score, or age.

A successful pass at 30mph scores 12 buoys less than the same line length successful pass at 34mph. That explains 12 buoys or 2 passes. The other 2 passes of the reduction are no doubt caused by old age, but specifically what is hard to say.

Balance has not affected my skiing. I'm affected when walking without looking where I'm going and when standing still on one leg. I don't know Jerry Hausner, but I know of him as a long time good skier. My vision requires glasses for every day use. I used to wear prescription goggles for skiing but quit. The nature of my vision issues allows me to see buoys adequately without glasses, and I got tired of the goggles fogging up (in spite of anti-fog spray on the lenses). I am near sighted with slight astigmatism and early cataracts, but my distance vision is adequate for seeing buoys. If you decide to use glasses while skiing, use athletic frames (plastic with soft nose piece) and a strap to keep them on. I always had the optician drill a hole in each lens. I would then tie the lenses to the frame with dental floss or tough thread. I have taken face plants that knocked a lens out. Without having it tied on, that lens is on the bottom of the lake. I have heard of people using contacts while skiing, but I don't know how well they work.

Age effects vary from person to person. I have been slalom skiing consistently for 51 years - since I learned to ski at age 25. My strength has decreased but not significantly enough to tick me off. My balance is not what it used to be and that just started. Quickness may have decreased a little, but I never was real quick. I haven't had any major injuries ever. Overall I have no complaints. What happens to slalom with age is a little hard to say due to speed decrease. It is safe to say though that slalom scores do not improve with age over 70 (my opinion).

@swbca, I'm a 30mph skier a year older than you. I weigh 190-195 lbs and ski on a 69" Senate. It works fine for me. I agree with Jody that you should try a 67 Senate, but there are no doubt others that will also work. You do need more surface area than at faster speeds. If you get on the right ski (for you), you won't sink at the buoy. I have found that 30mph is easier than any faster speed. I predict that once you adjust to it, you will enjoy 30mph. Your division is controlled by your age on December 31 of the ski year. Check the AWSA rule book to make sure what division you are in. You might have one year left at 32 mph.

How long will it be before the ski boat manufacturers no longer care whether they qualify for Nationals?

The horizontal carpeted bunks behind the trailer wheels likely replace the poles. It's a personal choice of course, but those horizontal bunks may even be better than poles.

Handle guards keep your head out of the handle Y, but some have had problems with the chin (alone) getting in between the guard and the bar. Is it true that a stiff, inflexible guard will push the handle out of the way when the chin hits it thereby preventing the chin from getting in (as well as the head)??

Your best bet might be to contact private lakes in your area. I know where there are a few 200 trailers sitting empty - the 200's are hanging in boat houses - but I don't know if the owners would sell them. Some of those folks have trouble finding a suitable place to store their trailers - they might be motivated to sell. There likely will always be a 200 trailer available to borrow at any private lake if a seller needed a trailer for any reason. Good luck.

@Bruce_Butterfield Well said. I agree with everything you said except the insurance paragraph. I don't agree with @klindy on insurance either. Insurance will never be free or low cost. Insurance, particularly liability insurance, is very important - in fact critical - to every boat owner/operator. While accidents/injuries are pretty rare in competitive water skiing, when one happens it could be catastrophic in human suffering and financially to the injured party and to the boat driver who caused it (if legally liable). Wrongful death claims often exceed $1,000,000 in value. How much do you want to gamble/risk?

I can see how 805 and BOS could look a little alike, perhaps especially after a Manhattan. You don't have a problem, but seeing your eye doctor might be appropriate.

I have no personal knowledge, but I heard that Mastercraft had a fix for fuel guages of that vintage. You might look on the Mastercraft forum or check with a Mastercraft dealer.

Why make things so complicated? The cost of an individual AWSA membership is no more than one night out for dinner and drinks for two. In order for a person to join AWSA and stay a member, the person has to want to be a member. If the person joins for a year but loses desire or interest, that person will not remain a member at any price. It is an admirable goal for AWSA to encourage a person's desire and interest, but the bottom line is that desire and interest come from within each individual. Membership has to fulfill a need. If a person no longer has a "need" to join or remain a member, there is nothing AWSA can do about it. I joined AWSA in the early 1970's and have been a member continuously since. I cannot even remember why I joined, but it was probably because skiing was fun and interesting. I wanted to know as much as I could about skiing because of my strong interest. AWSA helped fulfill that interest, and interest turned into a need. I remain a member because I still have that interest and want to ski 3Event tournaments.

My 2015 boat has 430 hours, and the steering feels like new. Maybe that's because I lube the rudder every 25 hours and keep the boat in a low humidity garage when not being used. Some boats don't have grease fittings on the rudder. Is that the potential cause of your steering issue?

@teammalibu: What size?

Can you convince the residents on this private lake to allow you to leave the course up - all the time so you don't have to fight the issue?

Camaro makes (or did) gloves and socks for hands and feet. The gloves go under normal ski gloves so you may need a bigger size ski glove. The socks make bindings tight but both are very effective.

I don't know where you are, but you might try finding a Prostar promo boat operator near you. He/she might be willing to demo his/her boat.

@MattP I am curious about your statement that ZO has driven people out of the sport. You may well be correct, but I am not aware of any. Nor have I heard of anyone leaving the sport because of ZO. Overall, ZO has made the sport better for skiers I think. Auto Steer could be different. Steering and giving a good slalom pull is the only challenge and fun left for drivers today. Who knows how Auto Steer will be for skiers in the slalom course. For what it's worth, technology is so engrained in the entire population today (especially the young) that it may be accepted. Even if it's not, will it make anyone leave the sport? It won't me. Now, Sure Path is a good thing for human drivers and hopefully skiers - unless drivers shoot for perfect Sure Path scores and forget about the skier. Since almost all drivers are also skiers, that is not likely. Just one person's opinion.

I must admit that I have no personal experience with fish scales, and I know that TC's use them. I truly hope they are accurate and don't deteriorate with age and use. However, why take that chance when you can use actual weights just as easily. As to ropes stretching 4" after use, I've never had one stretch that much; and I've measured dozens and dozens. I used to record each rope's measurements at each line length new and again after use. I stopped the record keeping after while as it serves no purpose for me. So I am going from memory on the 2 cm stretch. I would question the quality of a rope that stretches 4" (10 cm) at 38 off. Does a rope that stretches 4" and then holds feel lifeless to the skier? We have +/- 7.5 cm tolerance at the shorter line lengths. A rope that stretched 10 cm had to start out 2.5 cm (or more) short or it would be flirting with tolerance limits.

I guess I've heard too many fish stories. 44 lbs on a fish scale is what - 35 lbs?

I am not a TC, but I have measured every rope I've ever owned at least twice. The first time is before I use it to see if it is usable. The second time is after I've skied it three or four times to be sure it is still in tolerance. Most ropes will stretch 1-2 cm's in the first few uses. Most are a touch short pre-use and closer to actual post use. After the first few uses they don't change much except for temperature changes. Hotter = slightly longer. Cooler = slightly shorter. 1-2 cm change due to temperature is not unusual or bad. Measuring slalom ropes, like dave2ball said above, is easy; but it's not cheap - it's free. Using your trailer hitch ball, a metric tape, a C clamp, a small pulley, an S hook, and 44 lbs. of weights one person can do it alone, easily, and accurately.

Is there any difference between the 2021 Senate Pro and the 2019 Senate Pro?

I forget where I got them or what brand they are, but someone makes gloves (for use under ski gloves) that are similar in feel and warmth to the Camaro blacktech wet suit. You'll have to have the next size bigger ski gloves, but the hands stay surprisingly warm with little reduction in the functions of the hands.