Wayne

You can also look for a Sunsetter (not the LX or LXI). They were available with the diamond hull like the LXI but were 6" shorter and skied the same. Maybe a SN206, not sure if those are getting sub $15k but a possible option.

My parents had one. If I can find it @zanderballofspray I'll send you a message.

How full was the fuel tank? Only link I can see is the fuel pickup became uncovered when the fuel sloshed off to one side of the tank. I'm assuming it's fuel injected based on the year of the boat.

@oldjeep some trailers have the guides slightly narrower than the beam width. Eagle does it like that but their guides are "springy" so you always hit one or both when loading and unloading. I actually like the set up compared to the ones with extra space. We launch in a cross current and the boat is always centered with minimal effort and I don't need to retrieve with the trailer on the shallow side.

@hemlock does your Malibu have stainless rub rails with the exposed screws? Those tend to chew up just about any guide covers out there. Just a heads up, it was a topic a few years ago on another site and is why many dealers stopped installing them on trailers.

As others have said you may need to go to a smaller handle since there is more material between your hand and the handle (added layer for the strap). Outside of that the two adjustments I noticed were to not "death grip" the handle and on occasion letting go. The prior is and easy adjustment, you need to relax your grip a bit and only need to "curl" your hands, the straps and dowels will do the rest of the work. On the latter, I have felt like I couldn't let go of the handle, with regular gloves you relax your grip and the handle will slide out of your fingers. With these you need to open your hand. Now I have only experienced this when I have time to think about letting go. In a crash, I don't notice this perception of not feeling like I can let go. With that said any of the strap and dowel designed gloves will let you hold onto way more than you probably should which could get you into trouble if your the type that "doesn't let go". I will say I rotate off the prolocks mid season for a few weeks but I start to get carpal tunnel from normal gloves and switch back.

There are two lakes near me with jumps. One is semi-public the other is private. Both are owned by the individual lakes' ski teams. In both cases they drag the ramps to shore when not in use for safety/liability concerns. The semi-public site occasionally leaves theirs in for extended periods, they have an annual ski show, which they mark the ramp with a ton of bouys and the plastic flags on a string type banner at the top and bottom (all plastic so if some moron ignores everything the banners will snap easily. So far I have not heard about an issue. Another idea that came to mind is something I saw at a lake managed by the Army Core of Engineers used to restrict access to the inlet on a flood control dam. They ran a line of floating logs chained end to end so you couldn't get a boat through. Then about 20 feet from the logs was a bunch of warning bouys. Both served as a pretty aggressive visual deterrent.

@MuskokaKy I switched from a 2016 to a 2017 Senate Graphite. Improvements to me were increased stability, carries more speed through turn, feels to ride a little "higher" or a "lighter" (essentially less effort than the 2016). If you are on the fence it's a worthy upgrade.

Thinking about this more. Was the boat demonstrating this behavior from the first time you used it after purchasing it? Did it do this prior to changing the steering cable? Does the boat have any fiberglass repair work done around the rudder or strut? Just trying to start the diagnosis from the beginning, sorry if you have been down this road already. Strange behavior for sure and I'm thinking "what changed that could cause this" or "it's always done it since I got it" type scenarios.

When you replaced the steering cable did you route it the same as the old one and is it clamped properly by the tiller arm? The whole cable and cable housing can get flexed. Depending on the angle of the rudder/tiller in relation to the cable when you did the land tests I could see the behavior changing.

System 8 is the exact same shape as the Monza but has a heavier core and is a fiberglass and carbon fiber mix. Monza was all carbon. I have a 2008 S8 that I skied on for 3 years. It was a fun ski but was a lot of work. For the same money I would take a Coeffiecient X over the S8, it takes less effort and to me was very similar in feel. It may feel a little squirrely compared to a Triumph that is a little big for you but it won't take long to get used to it.

The wakes are a bit big for anything more than casual wake crossings. You can ski behind it but it's more "follow the boat" type of skiing. What sea ray did they have? An X-star is certainly a step up from the average I/O for wake sports.

Where is the tear? If it's in a high traffic area you should remove the upholstery to get to the back side. Then bond a patch to the back side of the tear to reinforce the area (larger patch is better). Reinstall the upholstery and then do a surface repair to hide the visual aspects of the tear. Depending on the size of the tear and where it is you may not need to reinforce it. I'd say smaller than a nickel and on a vertical surface that never gets stepped or sat on is when I would skip reinforcing it.

You mention the ski is sinking under you on the pull up. What happens next? Does the rope get pulled out of your hands or are you pulled over the front of the ski? I would go back to the TX and work on the form of your deep water starts but focus on the load you feel in your hands. As you try things mentioned above you should be able to feel if it lessens the load on your hands. A few times out on the TX should help your muscle memory and then give the new ski a try again.

A dog point set screw would be a good option. Shaped like a nylon tipped set screw but all stainless so there would be no give if you like to make adjustments with the fin clamped down a little to make precise adjustment.

Would spacing the bunks wider place them on a better place on the hull? If you get taller risers to move the bunks higher abive the cross bars this might be easier then cutting and splicing a bunch of stuff.

Sounds like you have the settings but not sure which to use. I was in the same boat with the 2016 Radar Senate Graphite. Try all 3 and stick with the settings that feel best and tweet from those. I seemed to favor Rossi's numbers on my 2016 but that's a personal thing rather than "who's are best". Rini's numbers worked well too.

@Fam-man do you have a 2015 ski? Radar has numbers for the 2017 line on their website.

I've had a few incidences of where FedEx claimed to deliver an item but not actually put it on my porch. Then about 2 days later it shows up, but you did right filing a claim. Supposedly some driver will mark items delivered to improve their route times. Then they drop it off when they are closer to your location or on a day they have more time. It does suck, the claim process is about 2 weeks. I've had a few skis stomped on and damaged by FedEx.

http://bakesonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=1020 Might be an option.

On my 2002 sunsetter we left the wedge down (the locking version Dacon62 shows in his pictures) by accident and ran almost 40 MPH. The bow porpoised fairly aggressively but no adverse affect on the boat. Never left it down by accident again though. We also tried unlocking it to see if it would change the downward force it generates. The water drag just makes it go towards the surface and it doesn't do anything other than make a lot of spray behind the platform. If you compare the newer version of the wedge that does not lock in the down position the foil shape and angle is different. I believe the angle helps force the newer version to stay forward and generate the downward force to increase hull displacement. The older version wouldn't stay down while the boat was moving unless the locking pins were engaged.

Make sure you have the boarding pass and the checked bag sticker. You will need these as proof of taking the flight and had the bag checked. Delta has an online claim process. Check ASAP if SW has the same. Delta needed a claim done within so many hours of your arrival time.

I remember a hydrofoil project on this site from about 2 years ago. If my memory is correct, too much lift in the rear will cause some really funky handling while turning. If you do anything at speed, please have a functioning safety kill switch and attach the lanyard. The wedge arms were designed to be in tension. Since they are a fairly thin profile, with enough upward force and some side loading they could bend easily. If you fabricate a cross strap or an "X" in the open box of the arms it will prevent the possibility for failure. Granted, failure may be a goal here, so just take video! :)

@Horton in the video you mentioned taking a look at the mid range skis this year. It sounded like you were going to review a few of them this year. Do you have a list of what you are going to try?

Not sure if it's the same guys/location but it reminds me of this video.