501Brandon

I just started using a 150lb fatsac (made by straightline) that doesn't need to be completely full. I trailer my boat so I don't want a huge weight bouncing around in transit. If you use some common sense here even 150 lbs is still less weight on the passenger side than a typical observer. My boat is night and day different in tracking and the wakes are very different and more symmetrical. I swear by this thing and wont ski without it anymore. I also run 1/4 tank or less gas.... And it takes about 45-60 seconds to fill and empty.

Little Rock Arkansas

Thanks @MISkier... I do recall a dipstick issue. I believe they put in a different one right when I got the boat.

Is there something wrong with this engine in general that would have someone look at a different boat because they fear the reliability in the engine? Are there rumors out there I haven't heard? I have 397 hours on mine and have had no issues. In fact the only thing I don't like is it seems like it runs rich and with the wind just right it stinks in the boat from exhaust... I have been around other boats that seem the same way so don't think its an issue. I'm curious more than anything, but that was a reason I got from a potential buyer.

One of the guys I skied with was missing pieces of fingers on each hand... Once the clincher was discovered his skiing turned 180 and he skied great since he was able to hang on.

Congrats...

I struggled for years at deep water starts... STRUGGLED to the point at tournaments my thoughts were nothing about the course, just getting out of the water. There were times when I made 4-6 attempts at starting. It was explained to me by a very seasoned skier that a huge portion in the success of a skier is the driver when it comes to deep water starts... His quote was "if the boat outruns the skier out of the hole, the skier will likely fail, since it takes an insanely strong individual to hold on to the handle if driver gives the boat a full or aggressive throttle movement"... My thoughts and my style when driving is a soft and progressive movement in the throttle. I am well over 200 lbs on a 68" and don't require hardly any power to get out of the water. In fact the lighter the better for me. I can maintain position behind the ski while in a power and balanced position and follow the ski. Just a thought...

The first time I ever tried the slalom course was at an INT event. If you want to ski the course get a hold of me. I know of a few clubs in Central Arkansas including ours that would be happy to help you out.

So this may be a noob question but are all skis set to a certain number from the factory? Like a baseline number? I thought they were some years ago? I haven't touched mine so whatever it was when it left the bench at Radar is what its at. I have only skied 8-10 passes on it and it feels smooth and stable I believe I will be liking it a lot in the next few sets...

Thanks for all the input fellas... I placed the order for the Vapor Lithium today. Should have it Friday morning and hope to get it wet around noon if all goes well...

First job was on the "Slime Line" in a Salmon Canary in Sterling Alaska (home) then skinned bark from logs for log homes...

I should have just phoned the Park Ranger of Police to resolve the situation. I just cant believe that he couldn't have waved us down to ask instead of begin to throw rocks at us. One of the rocks missed me by 1-2 feet, that was what set me off. At 34mph, and heading toward the rock, i'm not sure what the velocity and impact pressure would be but I would imagine it wouldn't have felt good. My biggest concern now is to get a ski. So how much difference between the 2013 Strada and the Vapor will there be?

I have no issues with fisherman or anyone else but when you toss rocks at my boat and me while on a ski I have huge issues with that. And sorry to hear about your truck...

Does anyone have a blank 68 they want to part with? I know its early but maybe a Demo? My Strada got rock rash today during a beach excursion for a "Schooling" of a Rock Throwing Fisherman... (He wont throw anymore rocks but I think I am going to have the short end of the stick on this one).

I use the Eagle One Wax as You Dry... There are days when I pull home (30miles) without toweling it off and still have no issues getting it clean with soap and water before putting it to sleep. (I know shame on me for not toweling it off)

Thanks again for all the input fellas! Its great to get different opinions and view points. I don't always think of every detail or "what if" so its good to see what other folks would do or think of. I looked into this when I bought the boat but at the time the price quote was almost 2K higher. PP with Z was around 1500 and I was quoted 3300.00 for ZO (ZO 1600, Magic harness from Malibu 500$ and an ECM from Indmar for 1200.00). Turns out this "Magic harness" (which turns out to be a jumper to prevent splicing wires so I am told) is not that much nor is the ECM. This didn't include the install fee. Not sure if the prices came down or what. I knew I wouldn't be pulling any C or higher events so didn't think it would be much of an impact... Oh how Hind Sight is a dirty son of a gun...

I have an 07 LXI Silver Edition that currently has PP with Z-Box... I will likely get rid of this boat in the fall/spring and buy some ones promo boat. So my question is would YOU make the upgrade knowing the boat is likely gone and would you feel like you got enough use out of it in 1 season? I know this is a vague and very debatable subject. My thoughts are if a fella was shopping/choosing between boats around the same price/year range and mine was equipped with ZO would that be the deciding factor? Again I know this is very opinionated but there is a ton more boat buy/sale experience on this forum then I will ever have...

@ShaneH‌ spoke to SG yesterday, said he wasn't planning on doing anything other than the JR US Open event in early June. I haven't reached out to RB yet. I need to get some ratings and get a few other folks some ratings and just hold an C event every Saturday at our club... We have an excellent venue just no qualifications...

Thanks for the input... I was fairly clear on the Rulebook however there are always the hidden pros and cons which is what I was looking for as @lpskier‌ pointed out. I live in Central AR (SC Region) and all the scheduled tournaments at this point are in TX, OK, LA... I skied at Cottonwood a few years back (my first ever C or R event) which is the closest venue "In Region". I would like to ski at a Regional I just don't think I can get enough events in to qualify and of course the other part is skiing well enough at those few events to get my average up enough.

2 questions and this is probably simple for most of you... 1 If a skier doesn't plan to go to a Regional or Nationals event, does it really matter what region they ski in? 2 Will the skiers average be the same regardless? We don't have any tournaments scheduled for the state right for the rest of the year so I will have to travel to ski. The closest place is in another Region (SO).

@SkiKolb Thanks for the tip, I went through the application process this morning... Will see what they have to say.

Our club is having this issue. As only 1 of our members has a Driver rating of any type none of the other members can drive and have the insurance be valid. I asked in an earlier thread about insurance program options and this was what was prompting the question. Do any clubs use anything other than USAWS for club insurance? We do not use a club boat, so we already require a 500K liability on each boat used and USAWS Active memberships for each skiing member and family members that ski(which are useless unless you ski tournaments since the policy is no good without driver rating). We also affiliate the club and from what I can tell all it does is put our email address on the website and make us eligible to purchase a policy that is no good without the driver training. Any suggestions are welcomed... I am at wits end trying to arrange things and sort all this out...

Can I get a little input from club/lake operators on what/who you have your club insurance program through? I assume that most if not all will be with USA WS program so you may sanction events?

I keep telling you Strada... You saw what happened with my experiment on another brand...

I skied 2 season on a ski and had great success on that ski, I went from struggling to get out of the water for a 30 mph pass to running -32 @ 34mph in one season. The second season was as good. I decided to try a new ski, last year when I tried it I had mixed results. I figured if I start this season out on it I wouldn't know any better shaking off the cobb webs. I have skied 10 sets and have been doing more starts than buoys. I tried my old ski today and ran more passes today than I have all year? Are some skis just not suited for some folks? I know this is extremely subjective but I was ready to pull the plug on the boat yesterday!