GOODESkier

@ShaneH if it is run behind only CP Boats...... that seems like the same thing? Although I have already heard the rumors of the where and the what.....

@Broussard as good of an answer as on any forum asking anyone. Half the stuff on here is BS anyways........... Take it all in, process it, and take home what matters to me.

@rockdog yes. Figuring of anyone out there, he might have the most time on the new engine. Better than asking Horton or you?

@CParrish43 sounds like you have some sets behind the 5.3? Thinking you are a GREAT judge of the new engine. What do you think?

@supergadget true........ but I would have to walk up to it on the dock....... Looks like a bad banana!

Insta-Slalom call Lisa. I leave mine in for 12 months. Range in Temps is 100+ in the summer with LOTS of son (Over 300 days of blue ski). Winter temps into the single digits. Never have any issues, they all make it the 12 months.

I might opt for the spray, I LOVE NAUTIQUE, but that one is UGLY!

Excited to ski behind the 5.3 I have a theory that I ski my best tournaments behind the 6.0 because it never has to work really hard to keep pace. I am hoping the 5.3 is going to have that sort of feel at shortline. If so, that might become my next big purchase............

@Deanoski has a GREAT older Nautique! I keep trying to convince him to sell his 1990 SN and buy into my boat. Then I would leave that boat at our swamp, I mean private ski lake........ Then I would take the cash he gives me and I would buy a new ZO boat for my home site. Just need a partner or two on my home site.......... @BCM if you have the right partner(s) you just set it up on a rotation for the weekends, maybe work out something for the other partner to ski on at Mint on those weekends?

@BCM if I can help, ask.

The older versions had a little "swivel" on each hook where you clip the ball on. Not a big deal at all, but if you leave the course in the water for any amount of time, these will fail and break. You loose the ball and need a new clip too. Easiest to just replace each one with the new version without the swivel. With 55 meter gates there are 26 to replace at a buck a piece????? If it doesn't have 55 meter gates, those are around $300 to add in poly rope as a kit.

Hate to say it, but the bigger you are and the more "violent" you ski.......... the more you may like PP over ZO. I never skied tournaments before ZO, but I am guessing it was a transition year for many people after it switched to ZO?

@BCM there has to be someone on MINT lake that wants another person to "buy" into their existing boat.................. Who do you ski with there?

@BCM a thought..... If you are on a "private" site. What about doing a club/share boat with another guy or two. $27,000 gets you a pretty darn nice (Even maybe a 196 with ZO....). I have 1 club boat I buy into, my other two sites I use my own boat. Honestly, I wish I could convince a buddy or two to club boat with me on my other two sites. I have found that to be a GREAT way of skiing for less money!

@JC McCavit SG w/ZBox can be dialed in to be darn close! But I don't feel much of any difference in 2015 MC or CC.......... ZO seems like ZO to me. Although I have a theory why my best tournament scores are all behind a CC 200........ Different story for another day......

I have owned 2 boats with wood in them. One was GREAT and never showed any signs of wear....... the other was a disaster. Ultimately I was excited when it was totaled on a trailer when a semi re-ended it!

DO NOT BUY a boat with any wood in the stringers. You can count on about $1200-$1400 to add SG with ZBOX. If you slalom, you will want the ZBox for sure. I would grab as new of a nautique as you can afford. Get the GT-40 if you can. WORKS REALLY well with the SG ZBox. Strong and firm pull.

@oldjeep Not saying an auto parts store was the answer. For boat parts, that would not be my first stop. Saying, if you used one of the site sponsors, or Discount Inboard Marine, or your local dealer, maybe you would have gotten the correct parts the first time. They likely would have known about the misprinted items. Amazon is not the place for customer service or "Hey, that is the wrong part." It is more of a "We'll ship you anything you think you need."

@ozski I would talk to the GOODMANS in Washington. They have a ton of experience with 3/4 blade. I believe they run a 4 blade during slalom and a 3 blade during jump. BUT, I am not 100% sure on that. They know their stuff in that regard. Although I get the impression you are looking for just slalom performance?

Sometimes talking to a real person that sells stuff can save a lot of time. One downfall to the amazon network......

@Ed_Obermeier I would also add, the better skiing technique you have, the less the setting matters. I wouldn't have said that a year ago, but I honestly think I can run normal/average buoy count on any setting. Although the (+) might mess with that statement.

I ski PP SG w/ZBox as my practice boat. I ski ZO boats in tournaments. If you have a PP SG w/ZBox boat set up correctly, it is close. ZBox makes the difference. It is as close as you can get on an older boat. If you are running just SG, then ultimately you are slowing the boat down and the "system" is doing the same as timing magnets. Just looking to get segments close to actual. Did you check the times as you were skiing? My scores are really similar on these two platforms, in fact, I have my PB on ZO. But I have my ZBox dialed to run 16.95 or 16.96 most every pass. Even at that, sometimes ball 1 times are funky (Which makes it HARDER to ski in my experience).

@BK you better post some video of that........... you toss the rope in?

Sounds like you already know what you want..........

They make a nice graphite packing material that is "drippless" I have used it on my rudder and prop shaft on my last 2 boats. Would highly recommend. Easy to do if you have some mechanical know-a-bouts.