Wayne

I’ll be the devils advocate here and say it won’t make it. If there was a market for the Sunsetter LXI the Response FXI would have stuck around. The Response FXI was a fantastic evolution of the Sunsetter LXI. They took the Response LXI, widened it, increased the freeboard (even higher than the Sunsetter) and had an optional 400 pound ballast tank under the rear storage area. I traded in my 2002 Sunsetter to get my 2009 Response LXI. In 2008 I test skied the Response LXI, FXI and the VTX all on the same day multiple times. We had a really exceptional, and patient, sales guy. Honestly the FXI and Sunsetter felt nearly identical from a skier perspective, the VTX had a slightly bigger wake than the FXI but was softer. We almost ordered a VTX but kept going back to the Response LXI. I think the V-drive layout is more conducive to the family boat role. You can tow from the pylon with out interference with the passenger space. Ballast is well integrated and in general they have more useable storage to keep the passenger area open.

I would not weigh down any model Response for surfing, especially with kids on board. They just don’t have enough freeboard for it. I agree with 6balls, older VTX (make sure it has a diamond hull, the wake hull is NOT skier friendly). You could also look for a Sunscape 20 LSV, it’s the VTX without the “wakesetter” graphics, usually no tower and usually no ballast. It’s still a fantasy crossover for a skiing family. The Sunsetter LXI is also a great choice but you could also look for a Sunscape 21 LSV. It’s kind of the v-drive version of the Sunsetter LXI but the ski wake quality is not as good as the VTX/20LSV.

How about something more classic in a Mastercraft? No PP but at $6800 you have plenty of cash to add it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/MichiganBoatsforSale/permalink/1312692085592316/?sale_post_id=1312692085592316

@UWSkier i had to go back and look, now I see some blemishes but the right person might be able to dress those spots with some work. In person viewing would tell more but I think it checked all the boxes for the OP. I’m addicted to watching the Michigan Boats for Sale Facebook group and good stuff pops up there unexpectedly all the time.

The boat in the link I posted has the non-catalyst Monsoon. I recognize it by the intake manifold and exhaust risers. If it’s as nice as the pictures look, I’d agree that’s a tough one to pass if I was looking for a boat right now.

@skimtb there is what looks to be a nice 2004 Response LXI on the Michigan Boats for Sale Facebook group for $16k. Under 900 hours in Harrison, MI. https://www.facebook.com/groups/245676212293914?view=permalink&id=1310572502470941

150-ish piece kit. Has the basics for cuts, burns, sprains and pain relievers. Since it sits in the heat I toss it every 2 years and get a new one since most of the stuff expires at that point anyway. I figure if I need more than the above we should be dialing 911 and telling EMS where to meet us. Also keep a multi-bit screw driver, small adjustable wrench and a dive knife.

Oh boy these issues are fun. We had this come up at a local lake that is run by and association. They brought it to the county board and because the county borders the lake I live on was dragged into the party. If you are in a position to do it I would recommend the following. Try to keep this within the lake users and lake front owners. Bring facts and studies, our local Nautique dealer brought in wave/erosion studies and spoke to the fact Nautique trains the dealers to train buyers on the safe operation and impacts of their wakes when doing boarding sports. This point resonated with the county board and I believe heavily influenced their impartial decision to stay out of the issue. Education is key, if you can have some type of public hearing with some protocols in place for moderating speakers (a virtual online meeting with a moderator might work with the current situation we are in) it could get some understanding in the disrespectful operators and some understanding from the people that want excessive restrictions. Most skiers fall in between the extremes and approaching a boat tearing up the water seems to give you a 50/50 shot at understanding versus conflict. I noticed this season has been better with the wake boats since our county meeting even though it seems they are out more now since so many people are working from home. They are keeping their distance from shore, giving other boats more space and being aware of ideal conditions for the slalom skiers and fishermen in the morning.

@Tinkerinmatt made a similar switch many years ago (Animals to Vectors). It took me a while to figure out how to adjust the laces, some one on this forum said “crank the lower lace as tight as you want. The upper lace should be snug but allow you to pull your foot out”. This made them feel like the Animals for snugness on my foot but the Vectors are SO much more comfortable. Haven’t looked at another binding since and am on my 3rd set of Vectors.

Is it bad luck for your wife to drop her smart watch in the lake on our wedding anniversary? I was late on figuring out a present for her anyway.

Should have made a clarification on the plastic floats, they are non-adjustable unless you have the threaded needle and seat assembly that was pictured. Also the plastic covering the needle and seat assembly slides out of the bowl if needed. The plastic floats can also deteriorate over time and become “water logged” with fuel so the don’t float properly. I’ve never seen that personally but it’s stated in all of the Holly performance books I have.

@GaryWilkinson when you rebuilt the carburetor did you compare the old gaskets to the new ones in the rebuild kit? Holly had a few gasket designs and the rebuild kits usually include a few different ones that look similar. Every little hole matters. Having non adjustable float bowls is not a big deal. If the carb has plastic floats you can’t adjust float level. You need the metal floats so you can bend the float arm. Typically if you hold a float bowl upside down and look at the flat part on the float. If the flat part of the float is parallel to the inside wall of the float bowl your good to go. For how much crap was on the ground and your description of the idle it would have to be running very rich. The little 180 degree tubes on the top of the carb are the bowl vents. Was any fuel coming out of them? If a float is stuck causing the needle and seat to be open, fuel will some times come out of the bowl vent tubes. The behavior you are describing can also be from a blown or leaking power valve. I highly recommend getting reusable bowl and metering block gaskets. Summit Racing or Jegs carries kits from Moroso which are much better than the blue Holly gaskets. You can also “make” the standard gaskets into reusable by using rubbing alcohol to remove the glue and then spray the gaskets with Pam cooking spray. However I wouldn’t recommend doing that unless you have some spare gaskets to learn on. Not sure where you live, if you were local I would help you go through the carb again to be sure there are no issues with it.

One of the dealers local to me did “Wednesdays on the water”. Essential they had a few boats in the water Wednesday after work and invited anyone who wanted to come for some water time. Typically they did surfing since they could get more people out and instruction was easy due to the proximity of the surfer to the boat. If there was a lighter crowd they might change it up to skiing or wakeboarding. The biggest challenge was getting the word out to the “new crowd”. I really liked what @MISkier brought to the forum a few weeks ago with a beginners only slalom event too.

There is also a competing product called EZ Dock that is very similar but each company has their own way to connect sections. With that said I helped a friend install Polydock and liked it quite a bit. He has an “L” shaped setup and I’m impressed with the stability. The reason I mentioned EZ dock is my neighbor has that brand. I’d say it’s a nearly identical product other than the way each brand connects sections. My neighbors dock is nearly 20 years old and is just starting to show some age but has had no functional problems. Definitely get the auger ends for your support poles and screw them into the lake bottom. That is what my friend did and they haven’t moved. My neighbor didn’t do that and he has to have them shoved back into the ground every year or two.

Wonder if there is a cornhole forum with a thread discussing how “cornhole needs to be an Olympic sport”.

@Srkin9 do you know what brand the lift is and how does your dads I/O sit on it? In addition to raising the bunks you can also place them a little closer together to increase the clearance for a DD. Just don’t make them too narrow. I’ve seen some I/O lifts set up where the bunks are set way wide so the keel of the hull rests on pads that are directly on the lift frame. My neighbors Donzi is set up that way but his lift could easily be adjusted for a DD just by narrowing up the bunks.

@MISkier the facial expression says it all.

Can you put a volt meter at the fuel pump terminals and monitor voltage when the hiccup happens? That could rule out any electrical fluctuations causing the fuel pressure to dip.

Well as of April 24th we can use motorized watercraft in Michigan again (social distancing rules still apply). Within 30 minutes of our latest executive order being released I saw a guy fishing alone off a boat and 2 jetskis (1 person per ski).

Put me down for forgetting the drain plug once. My wife’s in the boat and I’m backing it into the water. I get the bow strap and safety chain off and can’t push the boat off the trailer. My wife says “it’s not floating off the bunks, back it in more”. So I have my truck bumper deep and the boat seems like it’s starting to float and I start pushing it off. Then all of a sudden the tailpipe bubbling under the water hits me and my wife says “hey the bulge is running”. I look at the back of the boat and the waterline is at the rub rail. Best part is after we get everything back out of the water a park ranger walks over while we are letting things drain and said “don’t worry I won’t tell anyone”, then my wife yells “no but I will”! I think our whole lake knows I left the plug out. My neighbor topped me. Connected his battery backwards one year. It smoked the alternator, luckily no other damage.

What ever happened to Kilo Kai? Has it fallen out of popularity?

Well I guess Michigan DNR is taking our boating restrictions seriously. They are warning and ticketing people for violations. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/04/13/michigan-dnr-issued-boaters-5-tickets-323-warnings-violating-stay-home-order/2986076001/

Best advice is to use gloves that can minimize the load on your hands. I had the signs of carpal tunnel with a lot of pain in my wrists around age 38. I tried a bunch of different gloves but the only ones that worked were Masterline Pro Locks. I’m sure the Radar version would have the same results but I’ve just stuck with Masterline since they did the trick. I’m 43 now and haven’t had issues or pain since I started using the Pro Locks. I also really like the neoprene “cushioned” wrist wrap built into the Masterlines. I will say this type of glove has a strange feeling at first and the palm strap adds some thickness to the glove so I use a small diameter handle (0.94 inch). Some say a curved handle helps, I didn’t find it to help me but I did go from a 12” long handle to a 13” too but find I still grip it as if I had a 12” handle but it gives me the option to widen my grip if needed.

@oldjeep may have skied both generation VTXs. See if mentioning him gets him into the thread. I test skied a 2012 VTX when we were thinking about changing things up. If you go after one make sure it has the diamond hull and not the wake hull. There is a HUGE NEGATIVE IMPACT to the slalom wake quality with the wake hull. In general the VTX would fit your open water use quite well, the wake does start to get big below 32 MPH, above that it’s good enough for some non-competitive course work. They throw a reasonable surf wake and will do wakeboard duty well. If you can find one the Ski Nautique Sport 200 v-drive skied as well if not a tad better than the VTX. It felt smaller inside and didn’t throw quite as good of a wake for surf and wakeboarding. Also the “sister” to the VTX is the Malibu Sunscape 20 LSV. Basically its a VTX without a tower, ballast or the graphics.