MISkier

He'll rip your lungs out, Jim.

I'm surprised this listing is still active. Seems like a good price. I actually live near East Lansing. If I needed a boat, I would be looking at this one. Ice is off the lakes here, so I'm betting a test drive is possible. https://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Boat_3Event&postid=64394

@UWSkier, can you elaborate on the $30 noise solution? I did get a comment from a top 20 Open Men's skier on the noise. He is accustomed to skiing the Nautiques and the occasional Prostar and was a bit surprised by his first pass behind my Malibu. He termed it "an assault on the senses". I guess I have just acclimated to it over the years and I just don't think it is that loud.

They made this hull until about 2015. I have a 2009 with ZO and about 400 hours. @UWSkierdescribes it fairly well (although I would say infinitely better than a 197). No HDS issue on my boat, so they may have improved it in the later years. It's light and smaller than most everything else, but still drives decently well in the course. I have some video from -22 to -32 at 34 mph, if you need to see the wake in action.

@OK_SKIER, if you go to this site and look on the left side, you can click where it says (pdf) next to the division/event name and it will bring up the results. http://www.iwwfed-ea.org/competition.php?cc=T-23AUS064

@Cooper_Trelawney Junior results (live): http://www.iwwfed-ea.org/competition.php?cc=T-23AUS064&page=live Open results (no live option just yet): http://www.iwwfed-ea.org/classic/23AUS065/

That ProSport looks like a great option. Again, buy it and convert the platform to a folding option.

Have you considered buying the boat you want (LXi or SSLXi) and spending some money to convert the platform to a folding option that will allow you to fit inside the boathouse without removing it? It's some engineering and fabrication, but it could be a workable solution.

Not to be a buzzkill, but isn't the destruction and disposal of that mailbox a federal crime (even looked like some mail was scattered about as well)? Oh, and I also hate winter.

@Drago, did you mean between 1998 and 2014? Because your range beginning in 1993 would be leaving out the 1993 and 1994 years, which were considered to be very good, and the 1995 through 1997 models, which still had serviceable wakes. I totally agree with avoiding 1998 through 2013, inclusive. Going with 2014 would depend on the length of the site setup, due to transmission differences in that year.

@epnault, I hear you. The closest I get to enduring it is the thought of not wondering where my next glass of water will come from - or the next hurricane. I’m probably going to have to put a sauna in my workout room at some point. I should have done it years ago. On a brighter note, I have noticed that our winters are becoming shorter and less severe. It was in the 70s for several days in November here this year. Still not enough sun, though. And, by not enough, i mean none. Ever.

@OldGuysRule, that black and gold special edition Prostar you are thinking of was the 2018 50th anniversary edition.

@lpskier, it is pronounced with the second T silent in the song "This Beat Goes On" by The Kings, who were from both Ontario and Vancouver. Hey Judy, get Trudy You said to call you up if I was feeling moody Hey little Donna, still wanna You said to ring you up when I was in Toronto

My answer is yes, but with some caveats: 1. The skier must be balanced over the ski. If they are tail riding, then the extra lean is probably just digging them a deeper hole and creating more load. 2. The extra lean is probably most effective from just before the first wake whitewater to centerline. The rest of the path probably does not return anything. 3. The result of the lean must be that the ski also leans further up on edge. If the skier is somehow leaning hard and ski is remaining flat (not sure how that would even be possible), then there will be no return on that extra lean. The reason I say there is more speed with more lean is that the ski is likely to become less flat and more up on the edge. This should reduce the amount of wetted surface contacting the water and reduce drag. And, the pendulum effect of the swing behind the boat is harnessed more by applying the extra resisting force with the ski on edge instead of riding flat. If it's flat, the ski slips downcourse. If it's on edge, the energy is converted into another direction and speed results. More lean should equal less flat and more on edge. This concept reminds me of sailing and taking a heading across the wind. The boat goes faster when a path is chosen that harnesses the most wind and tilts the boat on its keel more. The faster ride is when the boat is up on edge. It's probably not even close to the same dynamics as skiing across the wake, but it seemed relatable.

@Horton, I see the issue. The search bar default changes to "This Topic" and you need to set to "Everywhere" to get results from the rest of the site.

@Horton, I was using the search bar at the top of the forum page - not Google. I even searched for terms I recall from some of my own previous posts and nothing was returned.

I tried to search the forum for the old thread on it, but it looks like the search engine has been cleared. Only new posts are showing in results. The site might need to be indexed again.

I think that was previously marketed as PerfectPull. I think it was mentioned on this forum before that there were plans available to make it, as the original manufacturer decided not to continue.

@aupatking, I haven't driven for Cale in a while. He moved on from Tivoli to another location with a couple of our former club members. I drive for @Triplettquite a bit, though.

Only a Senior Worlds Slalom Champion (65+) - and only tournaments before and after, not during. I've driven a couple ranked Open Men skiers (practice and tournaments) who subsequently made it into the 2018 America's Cup Finals. Have pulled both into -41 and one with a tournament 3@-41.

This would be my list: 1. Learn how to pick a reference point on the front of the boat and use that to help find the center of the course. Take a few passes with no skier and someone watching the boat alignment to the center of the course. Refine that reference point until the boat is dead center. 2. Don't overcorrect to get the boat back to center immediately when pulled to one side. Sudden movements can be detrimental to the skier. 3. Try to do the course correction (again, with moderate movements) when the skier is on the line. In fact, you will need to do this to counteract their affect on the boat anyway. If you move the boat too much while they are in the turn, you can pull them over or yank the handle away from them. 4. In general, I would not recommend steering with two hands in the course. It can be easy to start sawing on the wheel with two hands and that leads to abrupt movements. If you need two hands to maneuver the boat for set down/pull up or to circumnavigate an island, that is fine and should be done to improve safety. The movements in the course should not require both hands and the right hand should be ready to cut the throttle for emergency situations. But, if the driver requires two hands to be in control (e.g., too much rudder torque for one hand), then go with that. 5. Learn to anticipate when a skier will hook up after the buoy and will release after the second wake going into the pre-turn. That is your usual window of counter-steering and course correction. 6. Of course, the driver should tighten the line gently and apply progressive throttle to pull the skier up. Don't slam the throttle down or start with loose line. 7. Disengage the speed control as soon as you exit the course and pass the 55s. Not only is speed control not needed, this gets your hand on the throttle and ready for a safe set down. That is the basic list. There is probably more as they improve.

It's a mix for me. Until recently, I would take the boat to the dealer at the end of the season for oil change, winterization, and impeller (every 2 years or so for that). When the pandemic hit, so many people bought boats that the dealer was backed up a couple of months for winterization and, noticeably, repairs from the escapades of novice boat owners. So, I started doing the annual winterization myself. I did have one warranty item on my Malibu throttle control early on and that did cause a couple days loss of use. In the past, I've been fortunate enough to have end of season work done at the dealer while I waited and watched - so no lost time or second trip to retrieve the boat afterward. That has also occasionally included some other sporadic maintenance like new riser gaskets, new plugs, new distributor cap. Once demand returns to normal, I'll probably go back to the dealer periodically just to have it checked over, but I'm doing more of my own work now. I've done a few installation tasks, though. Full initial StarGazer installation on my MasterCraft years ago. Shower system, heater, and heated seat on my Malibu. Other than the heated seat install, no upholstery maintenance or replacement yet.

Congratulations on building a ski lake. That is awesome. I have never skied well at a site with islands. It tends add outbound acceleration after the turn and mess up my pullout for the gate. I've skied sites down to 1750 feet without them and it was fine. However, I skied a couple sites with length about 2100-2200 feet that had the islands offset so that they could be used or you could just set down to the side of the island and go straight back in, thus making the island "optional". Those worked well. If you really want them, consider making them offset, so they are optional.

If you are looking for the private message area with your previous direct conversations with other members, there is an envelope icon at the top of the page.

@Bruce_Butterfield, it seems it would only be an apples to oranges playing field if one of the competitors was prevented from skiing a particular speed and would have to accept the matrix score without the opportunity to select a different strategy. If all skiers have their choice, I think it remains a level playing field, albeit one that the high end skiers don't like.