Joeprunc

I have a 1995 Tige 2000SLM (closed bow). Most of the comments above I agree 100%. The TAPS didn't come out till 1995 and wasn't put into all the boat until 1996 (that one shouldn't have an adjustable plate). These boats will ride rough when choppy. Wood stringers and floors, like Wish said, check for soft spots. We keep our hull dry and have never had an issue (bought w/ 400 hours now has 850 hours). The bow is sloped down much like older Centurions & the 197, you will take water over the bow, beginner drivers will take more water over the bow. The freeboard is very low too. We re-propped to a ACME 515, you will be surprised how much happier you will be with the carbed 350 Merc. It drives and handles like a Ferrari on the water. The only wake I have skied behind at 15' off that I like better is the S/N 196. There is a rooster tail at 22'. It diminishes quite a bit at 36 mph, and with a 1/2 tank of gas. Boat was not AWSA approved, not sure why. Its tracking thru the course is ok, it has a loaded rudder which helps a lot, but with a aggressive skier you will feel the back moving around more than some of the heavier newer boats. Not sure how many hours the boat has, but I bought our 5 years ago for $8k w/400 hours, and in much better condition.

I'll probably get some dislikes for this....@waternut for the price of a used Orange Strada vs a new Green Vapor, I know I would not be able to get my money out of the Green one. I've got a friend that skis 36 mph into 35' he is on a 2005 Connelly F1....I've realized its not the ski, its me ;).

x2 MY PRIDE

So a lot of you probably don't care, but since last time, I snuk 4 more sets on the Prophecy. The first day the conditions were horrible (15 mph cross wind), so I'm not going to comment on those sets. The last day on the prophecy was much better, but I didn't have the wow factor or the consistency it did the first few days. I still really liked it and probably just had an off day, or too much to drink the night before. I like the ski, but was anxious to try the 2013 Strada. Skied two sets yesterday with a 2013 66" Strada. The orange was bright the night before when I opened the box, checked the fin, and mounted my bindings, but holy crap is that ski bright in daylight. The guys on the boat were joking that they left their glasses on the dock as I pulled it out of the bag...I just laughed. The Strada felt quite good, and stable. It felt a lot more stable than my 2011 65" Vice. The first two passes I had a bit of trouble trusting the offside turn and pull. I noticed I was also getting a ton of line slack (which I don't usually get). As I got more comfortable with it, the ski felt almost effortless to get wide and early to each ball. And I started to attribute the line slack to two things...with my Vice I had to pull for a split second more off the second wake to keep speed and width around the balls. With this ski it seems to be faster, smoother, and glides better. I figured out I don't need to be on edge as long as I did with the Vice....well that, and my handle control was all over the place. After running the first set all at 30 mph I started feeling more comfortable and getting the line slack under control. The ski started to work. I was stupidly early to each ball and actually thinking to myself while waiting for the ball "why am I still skiing at 30 mph". Then the second set I took two 30mph passes, and decided to go for a few stabs at 32 mph. The faster speeds made the ski feel even better. I can say I have never been so early to the balls running 32 mph as I was yesterday, it started to feel a bit like running 30 mph. I felt like with the Strada I could turn much harder and more aggressively to make up time than the Prophecy. I'm thinking because the Strada was 1" shorter than the Prophecy (I think a 66" ski is the best size for me). But they both felt just as fast and stable in my pull (maybe the Prophecy I was a bit more consistent in my offside turn to pull). But I think with more time I will really like this new Strada. And I could not tell a $700 price difference between the used Strada, and a new Prophecy to justify buying a $1400 ski. So now that I'm sitting here typing this, I think for a beginning swerver like me, you can't really go wrong with your ski brand choice. All the companies make such phenomenal skis that for me at my speeds and rope length, it is a bit difficult to even tell the difference. But a properly sized ski will make a difference. With that said, between the two skis I would love to own and ski either of them, but would like to thank Radar for coming out with the Vapor (so I could get a dirt cheap Strada), ski-it-again.com for offering such phenomenal deals, and those "gear whores" who need the latest and greatest gear.

I definitely know what you mean....I was just trying to poke a little fun at the fact I probably will never enter a tournament, so I will never be able to officially claim a PB ;).

@Horton, so what you are saying is I can't brag about how I finally am able to run 15' off at 32 mph this summer because I didn't do it in a sanctioned tournament? Sheesh....sure know how to take the fun out of skiing.

I'm about the same level as you are, so take my advice for what its worth. 1) Wait a bit longer to come back to the handle. Your ski should cross the path of the rope before coming back to it. In order to grab the handle earlier you have to lean forward a bit, which is making it hard for you to maintain the stacked position out of the turn and thru the pull. 2) When you come back to the handle look at the back of the boat, not the next ball. This will help your shoulders open towards the boat and allow for a better stacked position.

Surfing and wakeboarding outnumber the skiers by a large margin around here. I still slow down to idle speed (If I'm not in tow) when a wakeboarder or surfer drive by. I'm just hoping they will return the favor down the road. Though last weekend on the way to the course there was a 40' yacht cruising at 15 mph towards us throwing easily a 3-4 ft wake. I pooped my pants when I saw him coming at us. I had to spin around and follow him for a while before entering behind his wake while following him. If I tried to hit those wakes any other way my boat would have surely been at the bottom of the river.

@PT Mike I have a friend that does that too. He got a bladder infection once and will never pee in the water again, I got over it pretty quick. I always get in my ski front foot, then rear, facing spotter (LFF). When I'm in my boat I always like to go last, I want everyone else to have a good set before I do. I smile after every pass.

Repost #5....sorry, crappy internet connection. That must have been a record.

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Repost #1...sorry

I use a liquid force wet mesh bag. http://www.marine-products.com/liquid-force-wet-mesh-bag-2013.html?utm_medium=cse&utm_source=google&gclid=CP2G2qPGsrkCFbCDQgodWTsAng If I go meet someone I can throw my vest, towel, rope, handle, sweatshirt, water, and a lunch all in the bag, then carry my ski bag w/ gloves and soap. It has a very small dry side pocket that you can throw you keys, cell, and wallet in. If I'm taking a crew out on my boat for a cruise I can fit 4 USCG life vests the bag, and strap the rope around the outside. And best of all its a back pack, so you have two extra hands to carry what ever else you need.

Bought a 66" 2013 Strada on a limb hoping just more surface area will help, and its the same shape I'm use to with the Vice, and a price I could not pass up. This weekend I skied the 2013 Prophecy, and really really liked it. If fireworks do not go off when I ski the Strada, I may sell it for what I paid for it, and go get a Prophecy. Here is my review of the prophecy, at the end of the discussion. http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/8753/2013-connelly-prophecy-review

So most of the reviews for this ski have been from short line skiers....here is my quick review from a 15' offer trying to get to full speed. I was fortunate enough to have a friend let me demo his '13 67" Connelly Prophecy for the weekend. I was only able to get 5 sets thru the course and one open water ski, so my review is not as detailed as others, but thought it might help those in my position. First off for me a 67" felt too long, I am 5'-9" 160ish, skiing open water at 34mph and the course at 30mph-34mph (all at 15' off). I think a 66" would be perfect. Disclaimer I set my bindings in the middle hole, and left the fin at stock, and pulled the wing, so with more tinkering I may have enjoyed the ski more. I always believed that since I am not skiing shortline and not using the ski to its potential, that it was pointless to spend the money on a ski that I probably would not notice or feel a difference. But in this case I did feel a difference, I now understand what everyone has been talking about with this ski. Open water I noticed it right away, I can say I've never been on a ski I felt more comfortable and confident on. Usually on my offside pull I am very hesitant, and can only get on the gas coming out of the turn about half as aggressive as my onside pull, and usually flatten out at the wake. With this ski I came out of my offside turn every time in the exact same position. This consistency really boosted my confidence on my offside turn and set me up perfectly for a amazingly aggressive offside pull. Each and every time I was really able to get into and hold a much much more aggressive angle thru the second wake. My onside pull did not feel much different. My onside turn did feel much more fluid, and a lot less tip rise. Both my onside and offside turns felt a little slower, and not able to really make a scramble turn if I wanted to, I am attributing this to the length of the ski. If you've seen some of my other threads I am on a 65" looking for a 66" (and actually already have a Strada on the way). This was the biggest thing I noticed....tip rise, or lack there of. No matter what, the ski stayed in the water, and the tip stayed down, whether it was in the turn, or thru the pull. This really stood out with a pass at 32 mph at the 4 ball (I am LFF and I hate this ball the most). I was quite fatigued already but having too much fun to stop skiing. I came into 4 early, and had to wait longer than normal to initiate my turn. I ended up making a really tail heavy and slow turn. As I was coming back to the handle I realized the 4 ball blues struck again. But instead when I came back to the handle leaning way to far back, somehow the ski forced me back on top of the ski and I was able to get right back into that confident lean, and collect 5 & 6. In quick summary I've never had a ski feel so confident under my feet, I've never had so many people comment on how much better I was skiing, but unfortunately only having the ski for three short days I cannot attribute the skiing to the ski or me getting better....... But I can relate to Horton's words of being sad to have to take your bindings off and give the ski back to its rightful owner. It will be interesting to get on the 66" Strada and see how they compare. Maybe just getting additional surface area at my slower speeds added confidence, or maybe the ski did. But if the Strada doesn't put a smile on my face as large as the Prophecy did, I will probably be spending the $$ on the Prophecy.

Everyone else have given some great tips. I'm not expert, but I'd like to add another thing to take a look at. My ski buddy calls it the 'gay rodeo'. It works for some people, but for me it was making my turns & especially my pull very inconsistent. On your 2 ball notice how when your hand comes off the handle it flairs out and back (that's the 'gay rodeo'), then you barely have enough time to get it back on the handle. Get on edge much more aggressively than the other turns and get kicked forward badly. The rest of your turns looked much much less severe, but 2 ball was quite noticeable. A symptom of knowing you might be apart of the 'GR' club is if you have ever missed coming back to the handle, or only grabbed the handle with half of your hand on the bar. The cure for 'GR': I've been working on just taping the side of my hip when I release my hand from the handle. This keeps my hand very close to the handle (and also lower than the 'GR' move) and makes my timing of getting back to the handle much more consistent, which leads to a very consistent finish of the turn and pull to the wake.

Compliment, compliment, compliment, followed by ONE thing to work on, compliment, compliment.

Where is the "jealous" button?

@estrom http://www.diabloshores.com/#!about1/c1rpe I'd love to make it out there and actually see how its done on the course, but I will be out of town.

X2 on what @DanE said. Fuel Pressure Regulator. Exact same symptoms on my old 5.3L Silverado.

I live on the water, but it takes about a 30 minute boat ride to get to the course.

Just finished a weekend of skiing, what a PITA to keep switching bindings. Luckily I brought along a cordless drill, but it still sucked. My wife now refuses to use her other ski. I think it's kind of cute, but still annoying. In need of a new ski more than I thought.

@rawly Thanks for the heads up on the S2. As you can see in my videos, I turn everyother turn with my back foot, and break at the waste all too often.