XR6Hurricane

3 minutes across town to the neighborhood beach where my dad has a house with lake rights. 10 minutes to the river. Work is an hour away and I wouldn't give up the lifestyle here for anything.

@jimbrake For sure, if THEY want to do it, then so be it. I just feel like many kids are in sports and other activities to fulfill their parents' lost dreams. Not saying that's the case here and I'm being somewhat sarcastic in my reply. Slalom helps my stomach problems - no joke - but then again I don't ski around buoys or in tournaments :).

Kids today are too busy with too many activities and don't have a chance to be kids. Yank them out of the sports and take them to the lake with you. They'll have fewer ulcers when they get to be about 25.

I'm wearing a Hyperlite vest that has it now. I don't notice anything different when skiing, other than the tightness in that area helps keep the vest from floating up when starting or from jumping around.

I am going to try this as well. I'm having a hell of a time getting/staying stacked on my offside. Onside I've got down pretty pat, but offside I'm still struggling with.

@Zman and @ALPJr I liked the full finger version too, but I had the same problem as @oldjeep. Fingers were too long for my hands. 3/4 solves that. Only problem is they are harder to pull off when done.

@oldjeep x2 on the Accurate World Cup 3/4. I almost wrecked my hands using my older pair of Masterline Kevlar gloves. Could never keep the palms from wrinkling even though they fit tight. Picked up a pair of the Accurates a few weeks back and now my hands are the least of my worries.

I really wouldn't worry too much about it. Gas with ethanol in it evaporates so quick it probably has less time to do damage! Maybe hit the interior with some Armor All and put a fresh coat of wax on the gel when you get a chance.

My wet suit is actually red and black too. Thing is, it all happened completely by accident. Everything was bought years apart from each other and was what I wanted and liked at the time.

Division 1 Nationals from Loves Park, IL hosted by the Rockford Ski Broncs. Stream is supposed to start 7:30 AM. http://www.teamusa.org/live

@MattP If they go out on a limb like that and it goes over well, it's the best move they could make. Like Mercury having the guts to rig all of the Bassmasters Classic boats with the brand new 250 hp Verado that was barely in production at the time. Could have been a disaster but instead it proved the totally new design concept to the world.

Thoughts and prayers with your entire family. It's never easy no matter how the end comes, but each day does get a little bit better over time.

This was our last encounter with a jet skier. They came around a bend in the river, straight at us, on the wrong side of the channel. The channel runs through the center of this bridge between the two abutments because it's shallow with rocks on the other side. At the last second they swerved to their LEFT without warning. Keep in mind the closure speed was about 60-70 mph so this all happened real quick (the GoPro makes distances look greater than they are). It wasn't the best place to be skiing, I'll admit. Some of my friends like to ski through the curve because there is great water on either side of it, but I try to avoid the curve now. We had a rental place on our local lake for a few years and it was a nightmare. When it closed, the village board said, "Never again will a business license be issued for a PWC rental dock." Amen.

Great story Dave, sounds like he's been a great father and a friend to all. I lost my mom three years ago - very unexpectedly with no time to say goodbye. You are at least fortunate in that regard, but I know it will be tough when the time comes. Hang onto the memories forever and remember that each day will get a little better.

@rodltg2 - The company that built my boat went out of business because of a lawsuit, brought on by a guy who flipped the boat on a big boat roller and killed his girlfriend by going too fast on a holiday weekend and not knowing what he was doing to begin with. The little minor detail that the guy was coked up at the time made no difference to the court system.

Slightly too much bias to the rear foot. And yes that knot in the rope was to repair a propeller cut.

@Horton - this discussion came up with regards to boat insurance itself, with a friend of mine who was a claims adjuster for many years. I questioned him about the exclusion for "illegal acts". What he told me was that was "easy reader" policy language and that if the insurance company were to deny coverage based on it, that it had better be a serious legal infraction like reckless endangerment or they would be setting themselves up for a bad faith lawsuit. The way he explained it was that for the most part, being drunk is still covered. The big problem is that in any kind of accident, alcohol makes you guilty by association. Last I knew, it was specifically illegal here in Illinois to waterski, wakeboard, etc. if you were legally over the limit. Never heard of it being enforced. But if there is no law specifically banning alcohol completely, I can't see how an insurance company can deny a basic medical claim in good faith. Then again I'm no lawyer and civil laws may vary state to state. Common sense is dead in this country and quite frankly that is why I choose my guests carefully. One of my "friends" sneaked marijuana on board my boat about three years ago. He was the type who invited himself and didn't know an anchor from a paddle. We are no longer friends.

I was on a Concept for 14 years and just switched to a standard layup Coefficient X this year. I free ski 30-32 mph at 15 or 22 off. Totally different ski in some ways but the transition was easy. By the end of the first evening I was almost as confident on it as the Concept. The stability and smoothness of the offside turn is incredible by comparison. It's also one of very few skis in this price range that's rated for up to 36 mph.

One thing I've found is that this new generation of swim trunks plays a factor in getting out of the water. When you have shorts that hang down to your knees they tend to act like a drag chute. Talk about back strain. I wish they'd keep that crap in the NBA where it belongs and bring back normal sized swim trunks. Not speedos, just normal "shorts".

Here's some video - for whatever good a head cam video does. I dropped one of the screws for my pylon mount overboard and haven't had a chance to replace it yet :(. Some of the wake crossings hardly move my upper body at all, so I must be doing at least some things right. This was my second and third runs so I was getting a little tired. Plus we skied like crazy yesterday. Looks like I could begin my edge change earlier. I think I was generating a little more angle yesterday.

Thanks guys. It's of course a work in progress but this morning I worked on getting the ski out in front of me more and just "going for it" and wound up with a hell of a lot more speed on the carryout. Still bending a little too much at the waist but feeling a lot more confident. The people in the boat could read the "H.O." on the bottom of the ski so at least I'm getting it somewhat on edge, LOL.

Thanks a bunch guys...I'd really like to conquer this boat because I'm doing a fair amount of skiing behind it. It seems like the height of the wake is one thing, but the gentle slope is another. I'm one of those guys that would rather hit a curb than a ramp. There are times when I pull off a good edge angle and am amazed at how well I get through it...just can't seem to do it consistently. @SkiJay I seems like one problem builds upon another also. If you don't maintain speed through the wakes, you have poor energy going into the turn and none coming out. Then the boat starts pulling you through the turn before you're ready and sets you up for a pitching forward position which, in turn, slows you down through the wakes as you try to correct for it. The fact that an inboard has no give exaggerates my shortfalls too. I don't really slow the outboard down much, but it heels over on the V bottom slightly when the load comes on and that gives me a split second longer to get my act together. The inboard can't even tell I'm behind it.

Thanks guys...keep the advice coming. I appreciate it. @gregy The boat in question is a 2000 Prostar 195. I'd say the wake is in the middle of the pack compared to other inboards I've been behind.

I have some trouble carrying speed through the wakes at 15 off and 30-32 mph whenever I ski behind an inboard. Behind my outboard I'm fine, but the inboards just have such big wakes at those speeds and line length that I have no choice but to flex my knees to absorb it, to avoid getting launched. At that speed flexing the knees seems to rob a lot of momentum. I'm getting better at it and seem to be entering the wakes at a good angle of attack with a reasonably good stack but have trouble with the carryout on the other side because of the energy I lose from absorbing the wake instead of crashing through like I do behind the outboard. I don't have video but are there any "generally speaking" tips on how to alleviate this problem? I'm on a Coefficient X so if I'm having trouble carrying speed and getting width I've gotta be doing something wrong. Thanks.