skibrent

…when your spine tingles anytime you see calm water -winter or summer

Was great to watch on TWBC…even from the other side of the world! Gutsy effort after one ball.

I'd looked into this a couple of years ago myself. Found it was going to be a lot of work and expensive to get right and having seen the scuff marks on a friends 200 that is almost 10 years newer than my own 196 I elected not to. It will also be noisier. I have done a deep clean on the original carpets and would just replace like for like in the future when needed. 

All my own servicing & maintenance that is within my skill set. Oil and oil filter changes, fuel filters, drive belt, water pump, steering cable, drive & rudder shaft seals etc. Bought my 06 SN196, prev owner always had bilge pump going & it had been back to the dealer to be fixed multiple times with no noticeable improvement. Gateway gauges were intermittent and condensation was forming.

Tightened drive shaft packing gland as described in manual and the water intake had never been tightened & sealed & shifted water filter so wasn’t over electrics and gearbox. Fixing these solved the issues.

The better you know your boat the more you can solve issues before they become major & fall outside my skill set.

Mapple T3, Obrien sixam. Picked up 8 buoys almost straight out of the box on the T3, Both unreal skis. Watched Andy & CP on these -Wow.

Skied every day bar New Year’s Day. waters getting warmer at low to mid 70s with air mid to high 70s… Must confess we’re in New Zealand so it is our summer ?

Just great to see someone get round 3@43 in any sort of tournament! I recall CP letting slip he and Andy had been round 3 & even 4 in practice. No doubt Nate & a few others will have also done this -most likely with a slightly slower boat speed. Someday the stars will align with perfect conditions, a skier in the zone and at a record event with surepath etc. just hope I’m there to see it!

@EricBerhiller Just thinking outside the box -how about adding a gyroscopic stabiliser to offcourse so regardless of how level the boat is the system compensates? The engineering would be interesting…

Sn 200 with the side ski lockers. Just keeps everything tidy and out of the way.

 

Mapple T3 -best ski I have ever ridden. Andy’s legacy

I have had my 67 T3 since 2018, moving from my Radar, tried a couple of newer vapours and then bought the T3. Best decision ever, more space & width than anything I'd previously tried & forgiving were my first and lasting impressions. It added 4 buoys to my PB 2 sets out of the box. 3 years later I'm still on it and while I will retire it at some point I don't plan on changing anytime soon & I'll never sell it. Sentimental I guess.