XR6Hurricane

Put a new impeller in the motor and ran the boat for about 10 minutes today for a shakedown run since it was sunny and the wind wasn't as bad as forecast. High was supposed to be 68 and it only made it to 51. Dipped my hand in the water and I'd say that Mother's Day with a wet suit will be a long shot. Minnesota is the only place I've been where you could ski on the 4th of July and be the only boat on the lake making a wake. Utah is probably the most totally freaking awesome place I've ever been. But every place has its own pluses and minuses.

I'm shocked at how much our lake has come up in the last couple of weeks, especially the last few days. I think with the rain coming this week we will be very close to normal. About 6" - 8" down now. River is at flood stage down here and rapidly went over its banks just north of the WI line yesterday.

The part that is hilarious to me about both the Freeride and the Radar Satori is how the manufacturers are talking like they just now realized that there are people out there who ski on public lakes behind any old towboat and have to contend with less than perfect water. That describes about 95%+ of all of the people who will ever purchase a slalom ski.

@Skoot1123 Good news...mine was a "1+, possibly a 2" and I had the fractured collarbone at the same time. I wasn't able to start therapy until almost 7 weeks. Got discharged from therapy yesterday. This Thursday will be 10 weeks and today was the first time it felt 99% for the entire day. I have full range but the last few degrees are a little crunchy.

Thanks guys for taking the time; that explains it better. I do agree that a good stacked position is critical @ 30 mph regardless of the ski.

Not to hijack the thread but @Horton and @h2odawg79, can you please expand on your comments as this is something I'm very curious about since I'm 130 freaking lbs. and ski 30-32 mph and have had some of these skis recommended to me. I'd think that being lighter would be a disadvantage on a wider ski, and would be a recipe for not being able to turn or hold the edge worth a damn and getting stood up and launched off the wake. When I look at a Theory my first thought is "I don't wear 46-32 pants and I'm not old enough for a pontoon boat." The dealers are getting more eccentric all the time about demoing skis compared to when I bought my last one so I don't want to throw good money away.

Local lake was down about 30" at the end of last season. Came up about a foot from the snow but that's it so far. Last time it went down that far was in '88 and it took until '90 before it recovered so we're actually not doing too bad. River has been at flood stage for a couple weeks now. Lots of snow melt and runoff pouring down from Wisconsin.

Finally gave way and completely opened up yesterday or this morning here in northern IL.

The reaction of our local cops would be worth preserving on video. But I bet the wake is second to none.

Always rear foot in from the first time I successfully got up on slalom. I couldn't even learn by dropping a ski. I have too much trouble finding the strap and my balance on one leg is well below average. So fishing around back there for the strap without throwing my balance off is futile. @Jordan - the people I know who learned behind underpowered rigs are the ones who get up every time without fail because they learned the most efficient way to do it!

I fell on the ice in my driveway at the end of January, it was a Type 1 or 2 (not sure) AC separation plus a fractured collarbone. Got out of my truck and went straight over without time to put my arm out (fortunately). Was in a sling for 4 weeks, then started therapy at about 7 weeks. I've got a few therapy sessions left. My progress has gone in stages, not gradual. One day I'd wake up and one more catch or sore spot would be gone. From 2 - 4 weeks I made a huge jump. Originally I was told 8 weeks to return to normal activities and it was 8 weeks last Thursday. I feel like I could probably ski now but I'm still having some ups and downs with really sore/tight muscles in the surrounding area, but only on certain days. Surprisingly the pain in the actual AC joint hasn't been the biggest cause of my discomfort.

I'm in Illinois and mine stayed the same as last year. I have mine with American Family. They have the best rates of any A+ company I've found but you need a good credit rating to get their best rates.

Wow...I thought LFF was the minority but guess not. I'm LFF and right handed with extremely poor dexterity in the left hand. I read a long time ago that when a bicyclist falls, it's almost always on their left side. The theory was that a loss of balance tends to favor that side because the heart is on the left side of the body. It would seem then that a left turn inherently would feel more natural as well for the same reason. IF all that's true, would it then follow that a LFF skier would have more of an on-side advantage and more of an off-side disadvantage than a RFF skier? ???

I live 40 miles away from the Chicago Boat Show and have not been there in years. There is NOTHING there that interests me. And six figures for a 20' boat that has a single purpose is a mental illness.

Still a couple of ice fishing shacks on the lake a couple days ago, dipping into one more cold snap with night temps down into the teens and 20s at night over the next few days. But usually the ice goes out the 3rd or 4th week of March no matter what. River is all open already but we usually don't get in the water until about Mother's Day. I'm so out of shape from my knee and shoulder problem this winter that I won't be back in condition before then anyway and I'll probably be on a pair of combos the first time out just to work it in slow.

I use the head strap with the floaty back door on mine. Works great. I've fallen a couple of times where it got ripped off my head and the floaty holds it up with the strap and all just fine.

@GAJ0004 Yes I remember seeing the Ski Rays sitting on the showroom floor new. I think I've seen a couple on the water over the years but not very many. Would like to ski behind one to see what they are like.

@Klundell You look great, but I think you need the bright orange Type II life vest to go along with it.

I don't understand how it's against the law not to register it unless it's actually in use on a public street or waterway. At least here in IL there's nothing that says the boat has to have numbers on it unless it's being used. Here you would only face the usual re-titling fee as far as I know. But CA is likely more liberal.

Three weeks ago I slipped on some ice in my driveway and instantly went over on the left shoulder - HARD. Fractured the collar bone and separated the AC joint. It was a zig-zag fracture that stayed together and so far the bone is healing well with a mild displacement. They are calling the AC separation a "1+, possibly a 2". I was told ~8 weeks to return to normal activities and that water skiing by June would be "no problem". I was able to lift my arm over my head about an hour after the accident (painfully) and they were optimistic that the rotator cuff and labrum were probably saved by the fact that I didn't have time to put my arm out. I did good on the motion tests at the 2 week checkup, however they have not yet checked the complete range of motion due to the pain and the collar bone still healing. I'm probably in the sling another week and will likely start therapy on some level after that. I am feeling pretty good all things considered, and am improving in plateaus. Assuming all of that holds true at my 4 week checkup on Friday, what am I REALLY up against on returning to 30-32 mph, 15 or 22 off? Also, what is the word on re-injury?? I know that sprains have a bad habit of coming back. Thanks guys/gals.

Honestly? A 1976 Crestliner 18' Muskie tri-hull with a 135 Johnson. Hands down. Amazingly it was even better than my dad's 15' Pacecraft which is built on a copy of an Allison hull and weighs under 800 lbs. fully rigged and fueled. The tri-hull outboards also have steady pulls and don't get yanked around as much as the v-bottom outboards. Trouble is the last ones made are now about 30 years old. One of my partners grew up skiing behind Malibus because that's what his dad had. After skiing behind my 19' Rapid Craft / 150 Merc a few times, his assessment was, "This is a FUN boat to ski behind."

Be glad you're getting the water...my mooring is in shin deep water right now and is normally above my belly button. The river is doing well with some heavy rains lately but the lake is shot.

What @Horton said about the X-Games type culture. Yesterday I was watching the Super Pipe competition from Park City and they had the camera on the one female champion. Can't remember her name. I thought of @Horton's comments and was thinking, "She looks like a clean cut all-American cutie. I wonder if she smokes pot when she gets back to the hotel room and I wonder if she has any tattoos under her clothes. Nah, I doubt it." Just then the camera changed angles and showed the big ring through her nose. LMAO.

Bringing this one back to the top...I'd like to hear more about people's experiences on the V. @Horton gave it high marks. I'm a real light weight (130 lbs.) and I know it's pretty wide in front, but then again the tail is pretty narrow. I just don't see how these wider skis can work as well as people say they do for someone like me, but the V has my curiosity.

@Horton I kind of got flamed for saying pretty much the same thing awhile back but your third paragraph is 100% on the money.