MISkier

After I ski on Saturday, I will take the boat for annual maintenance and winterization. A couple of the other guys will keep their boats out for a bit longer and we'll use those.

@klindy, I think the penetrator anchors I'd need are about $25 each. I'd probably have close to half that into a concrete anchor/rebar combination. My concern with the concrete anchors is that they could be snagged and launched right out of the water - any rebar only holds them in a lateral position. Some of the other threads on this forum about launching boat anchors and narrowly missing skiers got me thinking about that. I'd like something with a little more holding power into the bottom, along with a release mechanism on the lines to the sub-buoys/buoys for excessive force. I'd also only have to auger a small hole in the ice for the penetrators. The concrete anchors would require a huge hole. And, I would be trying to move, lower and place the 200lb concrete anchors myself. I agree that the screw anchors have drawbacks with adjustability, but I am not going for record capable and not running tournaments. I have access to other sites for that. This one is just a practice/recreational site. Unless I am a few feet off, it shouldn't be a big deal. If I am within 6" or so, that would be fine. I am planning to assemble and lay the portable course on the ice to mark the locations and assist with confirming the measurements. With only a small hole at each spot, I just need to have the pipe relatively perpendicular to the ice (possibly with a jig to fit over/into the hole) to drive the anchor close. The concrete anchors do have an advantage if certain bottom condition (rock) prevent the installation of the penetrator anchor. That could be an issue. I'm continuing to really evaluate what I am going to do and that is why I haven't completed it before now and have used the portable for about 6 years.

For those that have mentioned the helix anchors, those look great. For my installation, through the ice into a public lake, it seems like it would require a lot of special equipment (and expense). I need some sort of anchoring system that I can do through the ice by myself or with possibly one other person. That is why those "Penetrator" anchors look appealing. With some sort of extended pipe and lever on the surface, I am hoping to drive those manually. I have very little access to extra manpower or budget for this. Currently, I have the portable. But, I've already dealt with more damage (booms and mainline) than I think I would have had with individually anchored buoys. I'm also OK with swimming the buoys in at the start of my vacation. I can do that myself without the boat driving required for a portable installation. I really enjoy the portable - but I frequently don't have any help to install and remove it. I have removed my portable myself from a rowboat and it was OK. But, it took a lot longer than disconnecting buoys would have.

@mwetskier, to reattach lines to the rebar, would it be possible to use a stainless steel hose clamp to secure a line to the rebar? You might want to have the inside of the clamp rubber-lined to facilitate compression and a good seal over the textured surface of the rebar. Just place the clamp over the line and rebar and crank the two together, maybe with some sort of knotted end on the line to prevent pulling through. It's not the same as a hole through the rebar, but should be easy to do. Yes, a good tug on the lines when snagged could remove the clamp. But you can put it back or do multiple clamps along the length of the rebar for redundancy and extra holding power. And, if you set your buoys up with a sort of a fuse, that can reduce the impact of a snag.

Question on the cement anchors: what is the likelihood that a speeding boat can wrap a line into a sterndrive, etc. and fling that anchor into the air (even at 175 - 200 pounds)? Or, do you use very lightweight poly rope to break quickly? I want the course to be safe and also prevent any liability I might have for installing it. I kind of like the anchors at American Earth Anchors that @Skoot1123 mentioned. The "Penetrator" series looks like it would work great and 1000 pounds or so of holding force may help with snagging, etc. I want to move from a portable to anchored course at my vacation site. Since it is a public lake, I want to be careful with any movable anchors that could be dislodged or launched. The water is 6' to 8' deep and the lake bottom is hard packed sand and possibly clay. The anchors listed are much more suited to augering into hard ground than the mobile home anchors, etc. I'd like to install those screw anchors through the ice, but don't know a really good method to wrench them in at that depth and retain the sub-buoy attachment to it. Any ideas? I've though about the retractable course a lot. That many pulleys would be too difficult to keep operational (rope jam and many other things affecting moving parts). If I were going to do anything, I would use a stainless steel ring (about 2") as the cable redirection/retraction guide. For some private sites, I have seen the owners put the mobile home anchors (basically a single-bladed auger) into the lake bottom during excavation. I would use those "Penetrator" anchors if I were doing it and especially if the lake was dry or very shallow with some ability for manual leverage during installation.

@ShaneH, I also block out known ski times on my work calendar, such as league night and early departure times for some weeknight tournaments. And, if I have some other weeknight practice opportunities, I'll block that time as soon as I know. They sometimes catch on, like when the boat is in the parking lot at work.

She knows exactly when I'm skiing and the time commitment is frequently a source of discussion. But, it is always in the open and she usually deals with it or realizes it keeps me sane. However, there may have been a ski purchase or other equipment expense that has gone unreported. Even those are rare, but have happened. The ski budget is discussed as well, but we seem to get through it. Probably the most deceptive I have been was buying a truck and subsequently buying a boat a few months later. She never saw that one coming, though I had it all mapped out. She warmed up to it and, as I replaced/upgraded each boat, insisted on open bow and family-friendly to provide more return on investment. We do spend a lot of time on the water outside of regular course skiing and the family has enjoyed the boat. The Malibu RLX has been a great boat that kept the open bow while providing a fantastic slalom wake. Side note: I also bought a new car one Saturday morning when I originally went in for a tune-up. But, in my defense, I got 30% off and we drove it for 12 years.

For me, the low speed drills help me ski the pass "like I want to ski it". That is how I judge when I have made the necessary improvement. I shouldn't feel like I am chasing it. I should be early, wide, and smooth. The line should be always tight - no slack hits and skiing back to the handle instead of reaching for it. If I have to do some sort of adjustment, crank a turn, or other catch-up maneuver during the pass, then there is still some form or timing issue to fix. I am just getting into this training mode this fall, so I am continually identifying things to fix. Completing the pass is not enough. Completing the pass "like I want to ski it" repeatedly is the goal.

Skied last night with 68 degree water and air in the 70s. Very nice. Lots of rain overnight. Skied today with 65 degree water and air in the upper 60s. More rain on the way. The lake is very high and rollers take a long time to settle. Should get at least another week or two.

Maybe the graphics are asymmetrical in conjunction with the ski design.

When I installed the heater in my Malibu, I purchased the extended brackets and pointed the vent outlets up. That put the water inlet/outlet pointing down and allows gravity to perform the draining. You still want to purge them with a compressor (very low psi) or manually, but the bulk of the water should drain into the bilge when hose is disconnected from the engine.

Some people also remove the plastic cover over the flame arrester to avoid any distortion of the cable's path. In some installations, I have seen the cable route affected by the cover.

The Michigan State Championships each year include wakeboarding and novices over 2.5 days (Friday evening - novice, Saturday, Sunday).

2 questions: 1. If you have a closed cooling system, do you have to winterize? Seems like you would not, as long as the system is running regular antifreeze/coolant. 2. What would be the drawback of having closed cooling? More weight? Bigger motorbox? No shower capability? You should be able to still have the heater. Just curious.

I thought thermostats were designed to fail in the open position. Thus, you would actually have trouble generating a higher temperature in the engine.

@OB, my manual for the Indmar in Malibu says 89 octane. Same with my previous MasterCraft. So, I have always tried to use it when it is available. I wish the alcohol free was more prevalent. I would use that, even at the wasteful 91 octane.

@wawaskr, with that T-Zip plastic zipper, I can actually zip and unzip the suit (it's a back zip) myself. Yes, it requires a slight Houdini-like move to get it started. But, it moves easily after that.

It was my understanding that Px is only active when using a slalom switch and @Rivvy said they are not.

Even with StarGazer and zBox, the throttle up is still critical. You still can't use a ton of throttle and pull back. The pull up must be smooth and throttle to a point just over your target speed.

@Waternut, it is rare to be able to get real gas in Michigan and none of it is anywhere near my house. It is nearly all ethanol here. I would get the real gas if I could and would definitely prefer cash for that option. By the way, I really noticed the difference in fuel economy in my Suburban on the last drive to Florida. It was 3 mpg better than any highway driving in Michigan once I was using the real stuff in the other states.

For single line display, you scroll through the menu and it will bring up crew weight, wind adj, and the other settings options to get you Kx and Px. The Kx was a numerical value in 6.0xy. I don't immediately recall when they went to the -, +, ++, etc. settings. It might have been 6.5ng with the multi-line display when that was introduced.

If someone is bringing gas, I prefer that it is 89 octane. If they bring 87, I just put that in the truck. I trailer the boat 100 miles one-way to the ski site, so I have significant gas expense for the truck as well. Since we trailer to the site, I prefer the money and don't want to have anyone driving with gas in their car unnecessarily - especially if it is over a long distance like mine.

Paddle wheel is not used for slalom. It is only for lower speed (trick). Slalom mode is purely RPM-based. You mentioned a kd setting. I don't about that one, but the Kx setting will have an impact on how strong the boat is out of the turn. I can't remember is 6.5n has the numerical Kx value or the +, ++, etc. type of Kx. If numerical, the higher number equates to stronger. On one older boat, we ran Kx of 80 to try to simulate some of the stronger pull of ZO. So, a lower number on the Kx would be softer.

Distract her. Maybe even give her something to think/fret about. Like "Hey, who's that over there? Looks like Nate Smith". Then, just blaze through it like he would. She'll be too rattled or starstruck to fight you.

One of the issues could be that PP is starved for available throttle and continuously accelerates (even surges) instead of shorter burst of more acceleration. If, during pull-up, the driver accelerates hard and pulls the throttle back, they may take away some of the much-needed "slack" from the servo. Then, when the unit tries to adjust, it doesn't have as much as it wants and must accelerate longer (or continuously). It is much better to throttle up to a particular position (say 3/4 throttle) and leave it there. The closer you can hit a throttle position that is about 2 mph above your target speed, the more latitude the servo will have to work while still settling in quickly for that short setup. Experiment with a couple different throttle up approaches. Ramming the throttle down and pulling back is usually a tough thing to get right without upsetting the dynamics of the servo "slack". Also, on the Malibus, it seems to be a common adjustment (at least on the newer PP units) to run with inverted tachometer. And, I second the option of contacting PP directly (even phone). They truly are great to work with.