jalama

ps... willing to bring my boat and tow people for free. Just want to ski. It's not a direct drive but it works and we have skied the course with it.

@LoopSki and @Fastguy888 I drove by Lang Lake last weekend and it looked almost full and the course was in. I live 5 minutes from this lake so would love to find out if a group is skiing there. Willing to contribute to the cost to ski there. The drive to Bell Acqua is an hour for me without traffic so that has for the most part prevented my from joining that group. Would be great to have a lake so close to home. My daughter would also be really happy if we had a lake close by. Let me know if you guys here anything.

I added a Bennett trim tab to my Sanger v210. It helped soften the wake and removed the hard lip at 15 off 32mph. I just free ski so I stick to that length. There is a bit of a rooster tail at 22 off but that was there before I installed the tab. Not sure how it affects shorter lines. As others have said, it really depends on the boat. The tab also greatly improved the rough water ride. I put it all the way down and plow through the chop.

Skied this weekend on Folsom in NorCal. Air 78, water 66ish. Great conditions. No wet suit for me yet. My daughter wore hers.

Thought I would provide an update. Got the new Omni and went out the last two days. My older daughter loves the ski. First day got her to 29mph. Yesterday she was at 30mph. Photos are from yesterday. Her second set we moved the rope to the pylon. I found that towing them from the tower helps them get up easier when learning. I could be wrong but it’s worked for us. Night and day from the 59 HO Blast she was on. We’ve had a great fall in NorCal .

Thanks for the input everyone. I decided to go with the 63 for now. My older daughter, who is the better skier and skiis more often, only weighs 95lbs. As I mentioned, I have a v-drive so I need to get her up to 28-30mph to make the wake manageable otherwise it's just a wall. My thought is that I want her to sink a little bit so she wants to go faster. Figured she'd be riding so high on a 65 that she would be comfortable in the low to mid 20's and the wake is just too big to cut hard at that speed. We will see how it goes. I'm just happy both my kids are slalom skiing. I think I got a good deal on SIA... $199 for a new 63" 2018 Omni. Now for the boots. Planning to go with Freemax front boot and RTP. I was considering going with a double boot right off the bat but figured with new ski I will go with the RTP for now because that is what they are used to and once they get comfortable on the new ski buy a new boot for the back.

I am planning on getting them up to 28mph on the 63".

@Bruce_Butterfield I am planning to get them into the high 20s next summer. They are going low to mid 20s right now on the 59". I think they are ready for more speed. They just need a better ski and better boots.

Trying to decide what size ski to get for my 11 and 13 year old daughters. They currently weigh about 95 and 105lbs. They are able to do deep water starts on a 59 HO Blast single ski with the RTP. We just free ski and they are currently skiing about 22-24mph on the Blast. I think the Omni would be a great ski for them but I am open to other recommendations. Per the HO sizing chart, the 63 Omni is rated up to 110lbs. but that's at 28-34mph I believe. The 65 is 110-150lbs. I am torn between getting a larger ski that they can grow into and go a little slower on but I am concerned the 65 will be just too big for them right now and be tough for them to turn. Heck I ski a 67 Triumph and it just seems kinda crazy to put them on a 65 when I weigh 195 and they are half that. We have a V-drive so the faster the better for sure. I am thinking that the 63 will encourage them to go faster and the wake will be smaller. Goal is to get them to at least 26-28mph next summer. There is a 65 Freeride for sale in my area on Craiglist for a decent price but that ski is even wider than the Omni. Not sure if this would be a good option to start them on. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

I had an AWSA approved I/O with a tracking fin... '87 Sanger TX.

I'm glad I posted before I bought. Thanks everyone! @Bruce... I just bought the O'Brien 54" wide combo with the blem. Thanks for the link! At $150 shipped I can't go wrong. Looks like these will give her some additional surface area compared to 59" Blasts I currently have. @BooRadley... I took a look at your skiis on Ski It Again but they are 64" so I thought maybe a little too big for my daughter. She only weighs 75lbs. I will report back when she gives it a go. Should be hitting the water with wet suits in the couple of weeks.

Thanks @ Chef23 and @ Bruce. Bruce... that makes sense and changes my plan. I will look for a bigger set of combos. I currently have the 59" HO Blast set but it sounds like I need longer or wider. The link you posted above includes a recommendation for a set of combo shaped skiis but they are only 54". Shouldn't I go with a longer set of combos? Or did you suggest the shorter 54" set because they are wide and shaped? I would like to get a set that allows her to drop and get comfortable that way, then use the single of the pair for deep water slalom start.

Thanks @perfski. My daughter will just be free skiing so leaning toward the Freeride or something similar. Thanks for the advice on dropping a ski. I want to get something that allows her to do a deep water start. That's the main goal at first but would like a ski she can grow into for a few years. Not sure if I go with 65" if that will be too big once she gets her turns down.

Thanks @ALPJr. It was tough to sell that boat. Really liked it and it was a blast to drive.

First boat '87 Sanger TX. Bought in 2005 from original owner. I originally liked it because of the big bench seat and only other option in my price range at the time was a closed bow DD. It was a good open water, free ski, big lake boat. Cut through chop really well. Would routinely have two families on board... 4 adults and 4 small kids and was nice because we could still ski with that many people in the boat with the pylon being at the back. Sold it last year to upgrade to Sanger V210. Really wanted an open bow.

Thanks Bruce. Really appreciate it. I will look for a 65" ski. Leaning toward the Freeride or P6. I think that these skiis will be a little better at cutting through the wake than a wide, shaped ski. Let me know if that's a correct assumption. I have a V-Drive so she will be hitting a bigger wake at slow speeds compared to a DD.

I am looking for a slalom ski for my 11 year old daughter. She weighs about 75lbs. She has never been up on a single ski but she is very comfortable on a doubles. She can cross the wake back and forth pretty fast and cuts hard for doubles at 20-25mph. The doubles are 59" HO Blasts. Last summer she tried a deep water start on the Blast with the rear step in but couldn't get up. She also tried dropping one of the Blasts a few times but couldn't get her foot set in the rear step in before she feel. She's a good athlete and I think she could pull off a deep water start with a bigger ski. I am contemplating buying her a 63" HO Freeride Future. I have read a number of posts that suggest going with a fairly large slalom ski if kids are going to try a deep water start for the first time. The only two old skiis I have laying around are a 68" HO Mach 1 and a 66" Kidder KD3000 Hammer. I was thinking I could try one of these but think they might be too big for her and I also run into the issue of not having boots her size for either one. I don't think any new boots will fit on the old hole patterns on both. Looking for opinions on the 63" Freeride Future for her with Future front boot and ARTP. Will this be a good ski to help her with the deep water start? I know it's a wide ride ski so will she grow out of it quickly? At 75lbs, how slow do you think I can go while she is learning? Thanks in advance.

I have a 2006 Sanger V210. Bought it for $21K in April this year. Good budget V-drive. I free ski 32-34mph at 15off. It's no direct drive but it's pretty good at that speed and length. It only weighs 2,900 lbs. which is light for a V-drive these days. Also has a narrow beam at 90" so it's not a wide table. Handles rough water well. Really happy with it so far. Wakeboard wake is great with only the center ballast filled.

2006 Sanger V210. I just free ski so it works.

Do almost all of it myself. Carb engine with no electronics makes it easy. I like messing with points etc. It's a good feeling to hear your boat running well and know you had a hand in it. When I first got my boat I took it to a dealer to winterize. They screwed it up so I decided to do all the work myself from that point on.

Folsom on Saturday.

We've been skiing Folsom Lake the past few weeks. Not chasing buoys like you guys. Just free skiing. I tried to attach a photo from Saturday. Not sure if it will come through or not. Water was 52. Air was mid 50's. Conditions have been good in Norcal but we need some snow and rain.

87 Sanger TX - 732 hours. Stringers still as solid as the day it was made. Floor fine too.

Yeah, the Diamond is the hull you want. It has lifting chines at the edge of the hull which help lift it out of the water at slalom ski speeds. I haven't skiied a direct drive boat in years so my definition of acceptable might be a little different than yours as you are skiing the LXI and Prostar. I feel like I am going to die when I ski my friend's Mastercraft X-30 but I don't feel that way behind the Malibu.

@oldjeep- A friend of mine recently purchased a 2012 21' Malibu Wakesetter VLX with the Diamond Hull. I have skiied it a few times now. The wake is acceptable for a v-drive for free skiing. I typically ski at 30-32 mph. Not sure if the V-Ride was made with the Diamond Hull because it was sold as a "budget" wakeboard boat. The V-Rides are older wakesetter hulls and may have come with the wakeboard hull only. I have heard the Outback V has an acceptable ski wake for a v-drive too.