BCM

I have been looking into new vinyl in my CC196. For the backseat I believe the vinyl alone was near $700 then a few hundred for the back of the drivers seat. That was material only. I need to replace the back seat, back of driver seat, engine cover, and gunwale pieces. I am planning on $1500-2000 for material alone.

@Horton - I don't do flow charts and am not a fan of death by PowerPoint. Also, I am not old enough for old timey slides. I would like a better understanding of why the attendance rate is so poor. I would guess that the factors go beyond just the regionals/nationals format and possibly into the greater organization, rankings lists, etc. Personally I would love to see a regional waiver for distance to host site. This year i am >1000 miles from regionals and >2000 from nationals. That's more travel that I can swing. But, those types of things will only help a handful of people and will not help solve the underlying issue. I am a bit lower on the financial spectrum of the skiers I ski with and though it would be hard, I could, in theory swing both tournaments, but the value isn't there. How do we increase the perceived value of the tournaments so more people want to go? All of that being said. My current plan for this season is to drive to regionals and pass on nationals. If I could get a regionals waiver, I might go to nationals instead, maybe.

@Horton - I assume the numbers presented by @Skier2788 are accurate and that 75% of qualified slalom only skiers did not attend (25% attendance rate) and 60% of 3-event skiers did not attend. If your goal is to increase the number of skiers at nationals (assuming that is the goal). You have three primary paths. One is to increase the number of qualified skiers and take 25% of a bigger number, resulting in more skiers. Another path is to re-work the events so that you increase the attendance rate (e.g. 45% of currently qualified skiers attend, bigger number than current 25% of same number). The third is a combination, this is where things get tricky and you get into interaction effects. In theory one could reduce the number of qualified skiers, but also increase attendance rate and end up with more skiers. One could also increase the number of qualified skiers but decrease attendance and end up with fewer skiers. Number of skiers is a pretty basic formula with Q being qualified skiers and A being attendance rate and N being number of skiers. N=Q*A. Q is easily adjustable (e.g. change qualification requirements). A is a little trickier and gets into what we call "Human Dimensions" and those are some messy dimensions. How you alter Q will likely impact A.

I am assuming you are referring to cynobaterial blooms caused by eutrophication which is often a result of increased P and N inputs. Take a look at the results on this Google Scholar Search. Many of the articles will be behind a paywall (if you really find one you want to read, I hope you have a friend with access to a university library...) but you can often find PDFs of the articles (the right column in the search is a PDF that Google has identified). You may find some good links Here as well. This is a topic on the out-skirts of my field, I have only read some cursory literature on the topic and can't speak with any authority about the effects of aeration by a boat. Good luck.

Years ago we used chicken wire wrapped around the trees (maybe 4 feet high). It worked very well. But, you need to do a little maintenance with the wire, make sure it isn't compromised and expand the wire as the tree grows. Don't let the tree grow around/into the wire, it can damage/weaken the tree and as someone who does lots of tree work, I am not happy when I cut into metal things inside trees. Take a look at "Living with Beavers" from WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. They have some good information about beavers in general as well as mitigation measures.

Realistic goals - run -35 in practice, jump 120+ in a tournament, trick 1800. Hairy Audacious Goal that might be attainable: Average tournament score beyond -35, jump average >130, trick average >2k. Most important goal: have fun at the lake

I'm on the fence on the regionals vs. state thing. This year I likely wont be attending regionals due to the 1000+ mile drive required, but a few years ago it was 20 minutes from home. I would vote 3-event. Personally I won't travel far for a one event tournament, but I will for a 3-event (I understand that I am in the minority on this one). I like the idea of multi rounds but I would love to see us mix up the multi round idea. My thought is a cumulative score (round 1 + round 2 + round 3) rather than our current method where we take the best single score from the 3 rounds.

Something to spread the cost of travel would be great (extra rounds, a lake to demo new skis, coaching clinic, etc...). However, it would take an awful lot to justify traveling 1000+ miles for regionals and then likely 2000+ miles for nationals this year. I would vote extra jump rounds over slalom, but my wife consistently tells me something between my ears isn't right...

@DMaxJC_ski - a few years ago I had some PF issues while training for a marathon (50+miles a week) I visited a local sports medicine doc (he was also the doc for the local D1 college football, track, and XC teams). He suggested using inserts as a last resort, rather he suggested working on stretching and then strengthening the back of my legs (calves to glutes). I had great success, never used inserts. It is a very slow healing process. It took me about 6 months of basically no running. But 4 years later I am running, I hike a lot for work, and don't use any type of insert and have no PF issues. I still stretch regularly and spend some gym time working on stretching and strengthening the back of my legs.

@tfriess - I head out that way for work fairly often. Unless you can catch a ski ride behind a container ship your probably going to have to drive a few hours. Hiking and biking in the area are great. A few good beer stops in Astoria as well. The folks I work with out there regularly travel to either Vancouver/Longview or Olympia. Both are a few hours, but both areas have a good number of ski sites.

I spent many years with one. I think we used buckets with concrete and rebar stuck through so it looks like a midevil weapon, and doesn't roll. We also hung small (I believe 10lb) weights on the anchor line between the anchor and the 55s. We were able to use pre-gates, but we used really long anchor lines so that you could tension without sinking the 55s. If it got windy it bent, but by then it was a bit windy to ski anyway. This was in over 100' deep water, really long anchor lines. We used used (and properly rinsed) coolant jugs for boat guides. I would also suggest using some sort of sub-buoy setup and/or making sure you leave the junior course on, if the turn ball gets knocked off without any flotation on the arm it can twist causing some issues. Given that the lake level was constantly fluctuating (2-3 feet a day at certain times of year) we had to constantly tension then on occasion move anchors. Get an anchor suited for the bottom of your lake (e.g. don't use a muck anchor if its solid rock...). Our buckets with rebar sticking 12" out on 4 sides worked for us, but wouldn't work other places.

@A_B - I changed my mind while I was at the hardware store yesterday morning and went with stainless lags, way easier than carriage bolts, but I highly recommend starting loose then snugging up over time. With the twist in my boards on my 196 trailer I likely would have stripped the holes trying to snug the lags before loading the boat.

I'm doing mine today. Carpet from eTrailer. Using 2x6 Douglas-fir boards, stainless staples and I am a fan of counter sunk stainless carriage bolts over lags from the bottom. They can be a bit trickier to install/remove, but I am not a fan of the idea of a lag pointed toward my boat. It is likely fine, but I am paranoid about things like that...

I am anal about trailers but didn't look too closely when I bought my boat. Needed all new lights and a complete re-wire as soon as I got home and now needs some metal fab work as well as a brake rebuild.

Thank you. I will speak with the doc later this week about custom plugs.

@Wish - I will ask about the plugs when I go in to get things checked out again next week. @Skoot1123 - I spend a lot of time around chainsaws and tractors, but, never without proper eye and ear protection. Way too many people in my family who spent their lives around equipment who can't hear anymore... I was kind of surprised, it wasn't a bad fall, just a little edge catch, but apparently the angle was just right to force the water into my ear...

I ruptured an eardrum this weekend tricking. Weird fall, not too hard but hit my ear just right. I have been working on a wake back five front, ski partner kept telling me I was sliding it so I tried to get a little extra pop in the tournament this weekend, I didn't slide it... Went to urgent care (got antibiotics), seeing an ENT this week. Does anyone use any type of ear protection/cover? If so what are you using? Part of me thinks this was a weird fall with a relatively low probability of occurrence, but at the same time, its incredibly annoying...

I know a few folks in that area who ski at Jovia's Pond in Dixon. I've heard of some sites near Patterson as well. Google tells me Dixon and Patterson are within an hour, but traffic could change things a bit...

@blueski - I haven't had any issues. I have only released a couple times, but when I did both feet came out clean

Currently a Wiley rear behind my supershell. At some point this fall I am considering giving the RTP a shot. I came from 10 seasons on PowerShells and am enjoying the setup. I can get my back boot real close.

I really like the AED at ski sites, most of my ski partners are over 50, some over 65. Given the cost of the skis and 2 promos in the boat house, an AED is chump change... Situational awareness is crucial. Another is an environment where EVERYBODY feels comfortable bringing up a safety concern they see. No matter your experience, you can't see everything.

@rodltg2 - For me I have to load my boat a little long on the trailer to drop the rudder, if I load it normally the rudder will hit the prop guard before it is completely free. If you do not put something/someone under the rudder it will fall straight out. I second rudder packing. It is quick and easy, the adjustment of the packing nut can also result in a little friction if too tight. Mine was terrible when it came out. I also second going over the helm. When I did my cable a few months ago I went through the helm and nothing was worn out (650 hours) but some of the bolts had loosened up a little. In terms of doing rudder service with the tank in. It isn't too bad. At 5'10" I was able to reach everything while laying next to the transmission with the tank in. I do suggest a good set of ratcheting end wrenches for those hard to reach places.

@CBR51 - I just picked up a 98 196, my ski partner as a 99. Darn near identical, they have the adjustable rudder. I have a rebuilt steering system. Mine drives night and day better. My point, adjustable rudders are nice, but a questionable steering cable negates any benefit. The adjustable rudder can be purchased for a 97 or 98 for about $600. I was thinking about swapping mine out but am happy with the way it drives.

@Jody_Seal - I will give you a call in the next week or so. Thank you. I'm keeping the 2n relatively stock and doing a full rebuild kit, bottom to top.

@londonskier - A couple weeks ago I transitioned from some slightly modified Powershells to a Supershell. My PS boots had carriage bolts through the cuff to make the joint stiffer. The Supershell is much stiffer laterally, but my powershells were stiffer at the ankle joint (using same liner), MUCH stiffer. From what I have gathered the black boots (likely PS boots as well) deform a little which increases the friction at the ankle cuff. The Supershell doesn't seem to do this due to the stiffness of the lower boot, resulting in less friction at the ankle cuff.