blakeyates

@Clydesdale , I've never owned anything but Nautiques, all the way back to the 80's. I'm prejudiced; but that said, the Nautique 200 is still a TOP ski boat. No question: this is the best boat all around. As for engine size, you should rule out the 6.2 although it's a great choice but "way over-kill" for you. I've ski'd and pulled many skiers with the 5.7, 5.3, & 6.0. Whatever Nautique you find where other factors fit the bill for you, buy it. I recently found a 2010 Nautique 200 for a friend and it has analog gauges. They look good and work fine; almost "throw-back" style. The prop on this 5.7 is the one that creates more rpm's (?) but it ski's great too and gives perfect times. Just update the Zero Off software to the latest and you're ready to roll.

Water Temp just south of Atlanta was 70F on Friday; we're skiing today and it should be about the same. Air temp today projected at 74, I think.

This is the latest I've ski'd. I'm south of Atlanta (30 mi) and water temp is still tolerable with a wetsuit. I plan to ski today and again mid-week; then next week in preparation for LK 38's Ski, Freeze, or Die tournament in Quincy, FL. That's a very fun event; very laid back.

I vote Carbon Omni. I've ski'd it and my disabled skiing partner ski's it now; it's a great ski and probably underrated.

Beautiful Nautique! Black, Red, & Grey are always a GREAT combination. Congrats.

@Horton, I currently have a 2014 Chevy Silverado w/6.2 . Previously, I had a Chevy Duramax diesel. I'm consider an SUV for my wife that will tow my Nautique if needed. I did a Consumer Reports check and the 2017 GMC Yukon (Chevy Tahoe) got very good ratings. If you get the Yukon Denali, the 6.2 is standard, I believe. To summarize, you drop down 3 years to save $$$'s, upsize to the 6.2 and buy what the ratings rate as Reliable. Boom!!!! You win.

Do you know of any Records or PB's that were set at the Southern Regionals this past week, by yourself or someone else? If so, reply to this post or PM me with the Record/PB and which boat it was pulled behind.

I would look for a Nautique 206 or maybe the 216; not sure which year. The 206 is one foot shorter so it should have the better wake since it would weigh less.

I'm taking my Promo Boat to Jeff's near Greenwood this Tue. It's a 3 1/2 hr drive and then I have to pick it up on Sunday. Is anyone interested in hauling it back to either the Toccoa, GA exit (I-85) or to Atlanta (I-20) on Sunday? I'll help you with gas. I'm trying to lessen a 2nd "long trip" to pick the boat up.

@VONMAN , are you guys up for a guest skier at Lake Weir if our friends move there?

We have friends considering a move to Lake Weir near Weirsdale, FL. Does anyone know if there is a slalom course on this Lake? I do know that it is 45 minutes from Jack Travers.

I only live 45 miles from Callaway Gardens and I've made "many" trips over the years to see the Masters. Prior to this weekend, I thought "I've either been watching great water skiing or going somewhere to ski on Memorial Day Weekend for many years" and I'm not going to miss skiing somewhere good this year so I headed 3 hrs, 20 mins to Lake 38. As usual, it was "sweeeet." Karen & Keith are The Best!

@Orlando76 , my apologies for not clarifying; I really didn't know what oil they used so I simply put in a known 15W-40 Oil. The next analysis will show the proper oil.

The oil sample was from the original oil when the boat was bought. The calcium comes from the additive package. Since the hydro-lock occurred after the test drive, we felt that we caught this very early and minimal water, evidently, had gotten by the pistons.

@skihacker , yes it "truly" hydro-locked and would barely turn over, making one helluva noise. The only way you can crank it after the hydro-lock is to remove the plugs, push the water out of the pistons, and then crank it. Maybe I didn't make that very clear. Nothing that I have described "is a stretch" and "only the facts." @vtmecheng , yes it could have been coincidental and this event "could have" been the first hydro-lock, however; based on several items, it just looked suspicious. My point was, even if this was the first hydro-lock, I called the seller and explained that we never were able to get the boat off of the trailer. Btw, we also replaced the exhaust flapper valve that was mentioned in a post. All is working well now, engine sounds great, and we'll pull another oil sample soon. We're moving on so we can have some fun. Thanks for everyone's posts.

@skiinxs I will need to check the prop but I believe it's been changed to the proper prop. We plan to pull another oil sample after about 10 hours of run time. Fuel dilution is common in ski boats due to excessive idling and then heavy throttle.

@skiinxs, that's why I did this post; to get other's opinions. I know what I would have done had I been me in the seller's situation. I've asked a few other people about this guy, and two out of two people did not give me a good report. He "knew" what he was doing.

@mlange , everything I posted is accurate. If the problem had occurred previously, the seller could have removed the plugs, pushed the water out of the pistons so that the next time the boat is running, it would crank fine. Once it has been started up and been in operation for a few minutes, water could/would be pulled back in. Then, the next time you attempt to start, the water hydro-locks the boat.

Here is the oil analysis that did not attach to my poll questions.

I assisted a disabled skier that previously represented USAWS at Nationals, Worlds, & local events. He had been away from skiing for 15 years and now he's back. He asked me to help him find a boat. The owner of the boat that we looked at said the boat was a "9 out of 10" regarding condition. It was a 2010 Nautique 200 w/602 hours; fairly clean cosmetically although not cleaned up (detailed). I went to test drive the boat and everything checked out fine. Seller says he changed the oil every 25 hours vs the normal 50 hours. I paid him for the boat, pulled it back to GA. 2 or 3 days later, we took it to the lake and we were never able to get it off the trailer. It had hydro-locked with water in the pistons and we attempted to crank the engine, it sounded very bad. Boat went back to our shop (new owner is a mechanic), and he pulled the plugs - water shot out of all 8 pistons. He then pulled the exhaust manifolds, & risers; then machined the manifold surfaces to exact tolerances, cleaned rust & gunk from risers, replaced impeller, new gasket, flushed crankcase and removed more deposits, and then did a final oil change. Prior to flush & changing oil, engine was running and we pulled a hot oil sample from the dipstick with a sampling pump. New owner also noticed rust on the end of the dipstick which indicates this isn't the first time this has happened. See attached oil analysis. I called the co-owner and explained everything that we did in attempts to do a complete repair and went over the oil analysis results with him. I then asked that they provide some compensation due to the above issues. I am trying to give the seller the 'benefit of doubt' but suspicion has crept in. I am leaving the seller's name anonymous for now in the event that he chooses to do the right thing. Poll Question - Should the seller provide some measure of compensation since this occurred the very first time we attempted to crank the boat?

@fernandofleck, I have an 1800 ft lake w/8 buoy course and our 'zero' ball is a red noodle that is only about 3 inches of it above the water; works great. I thought I might ad the sinking buoys with a solar powered gate opener but unless I decide to have a Class C tournament here, it's really not necessary.

@JackQ, the LK 38 event in late May has been re-scheduled for Labor Day weekend.

@Zman , thanks for your input. I "think" our weed is hydrilla. It's long and skinny, growing straight up toward the surface. We're thinking maybe Diquat in the shallows and grass carp.

Yesterday we finally touched 80 degree water temp; just S of Atlanta.

When killing the weeds that are growing from the bottom of the lake, do they float to the top once they die? I don't want to miss "any" ski sets! I've seen this happen before.