Bookm_dano

I'm a basic 15 off hack so you'll find lots more knowledge and experience from others on this forum. That being said, I'm 6 foot and 175 pounds and on 67 inch senate. Skiing 30 to 32. I would not want much more ski under me.I agree about boots back instead of forward... seems counter intuitive but it seems to work that way. I went with about 1/4 inch (back) and it helped. My fin is at stock.Also, I switched from an Alloy to Graphite and it was well worth it.

This is totally doable... And I like the fact that you want to do it. My family and I all skied behind a 1962 Sea Horse 40 on a 17 foot boat. When I was a 180 pound teenager I used to slalom ski behind a 15 foot Whaler with a 35 Johnson. That trick of taking off with the boat at an angle (even close to 90 degrees) and then swerving back straight once it's up on plane really works.

Also, try some penetrating oil and needle nose vice grips on that broken screw.

OK so that black thing bolted to the distributor base with the two plugs on it is the ignition module. That tends to crap out over time but usually causes misfire and loss of power rather than complete loss of spark. It's easy to change. Underneath that brown ring is a pick up coil which sends a signal to the engine control computer. Mine died and caused complete loss of spark... Running when I parked it dead the next morning. It's harder to change... Requires removal of distributor. Probably a good idea to rule out other issues first.

+1 on battery connections... Particularly if gauges and fuel pump come on and then everything drops off when you try to engage starter. Clean and tighten all the big wires. Positive and ground. In my case, it was the leads on the battery master switch.

@2Valve, not crazy at all. Two of my favorite ski partners over the years were female German Shepherds. When we were 19 year old bone heads out on the lake, Rosie was a better observer than any of us.

Neat idea. Probably not cost effective. We could do some math. BoatTest.com has results of some in water testing. 20' Bayliner with Merc 150 and three different props. In the 32 mph range (where I usually ski) they measured 7.8, 7.7, and 7.1 gallons per hour. Since I got the Mastercraft I've run it 1600 hours and damaged two props. So, 800 hours per prop; 0.7 GPH less fuel flow; I'm paying about $3.10 a gallon for mid-grade (not going to join the octane discussion just yet); that comes to $1,736. Really less since quite a few of those hours are at idle. Need to have numbers for a DD inboard since I'm not going to switch to a Bayliner, but this gives me some perspective. If they can offer it substantially under $2,000 I might start to be interested. Moot point so far with nothing offered for inboards below 25" as mentioned above. Also I liked @Thager's "sceptic" comment.

Couldn't find the brochure but found this on the wall. Pretty good ski in it's day.

My coach suggests I fix my skiing before I try to fix my ski.

No, but I think I should. There's an anchor and a tool kit under the observer seat (probably about 30 lbs)... Wake seems really uneven when I'm pulling my wife. Not as bad for me since she weighs about 112. Helps when one of our ski buds is with us.

Happy Thanksgiving to all... Fortunately, Cafe Mastercraft was open after our morning set!

I always sat sideways on the gunwale if I didn't have an observer or a mirror... That way I could safely watch my skier.... Gave that up some decades ago.

Wow.. It was certainly awesome... I skied behind a bright orange Mustang a bunch in the 70's...I was on an awesome wood Maharaja.... The technology has improved a bit since then... Don't think I want to go back.

Great memories.. went by that factory every morning on my way to high school in the 70's. Skiing on lake Conway, would watch the factory guys launch and water test every boat at the public ramp a few hundred yards from the factory... Bare hulls with no paint or interior... Cool stuff to watch.

Nice looking ski....looks good on wall....should probably stay there.

Hmm... my first attempt at shortening a link. I'll try again

@Bhaynes85 Hard to say for sure. 1998 Sportstar had 305 as standard, 350 as option. I believe later ones were all 350. I don't know an easy way to tell them apart. (I had the heads off of mine a couple of years ago and then it's obvious...but that wasn't so easy.) These engines are about the same as far as reliability and longevity go. The 305 has plenty of juice for my needs. A little caveat: My knowledge of this is mostly from what I read on Mastercraft TeamTalk. Mostly in This Post

I have owned a 1998 Sportstar 19 for a number of years. I have the 305 throttle body engine...looks exactly like the picture posted. Great boat with a very nice wake. The only fuel pump on mine is the electric one on the left rear corner of engine. No connection to inside of crankcase like mechanical pumps. Only time I've had fuel in the bilge was when I failed to tighten a fitting on the pump adequately after some maintenance. I don't think the fuel leak is related to your oil pressure issue. I'd suspect sending unit first then the gauge. PS - really sorry to hear about the ACL... Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Learned that decades ago... Getting up behind a 35 horse boat. Did it again last summer after lumbar disc herniation. Drag the back foot like a rudder longer than you think is necessary , then step up on to back of ski and walk /squirm foot slowly up to toe loop. I like to practice both that and two foot start.

Wife telecommuting... Me off the schedule at work for two months , burning through future retirement funds.. Skiing more.... Can't complain..Nobody cares if I do....

Wife has begun to repurpose her wardrobe.....Not to worry, there are enough bikinis in this house. PS we are still skiing...Ramps are all closed on public lake but we are in a lift in the marina.

Still skiing. Maintaining social distance is pretty easy in the middle of the lake. I'm a basic 15 off hack and probably at more risk of injury riding my bicycle in the park than free skiing out on our local lake. Exercise, including some outdoor activity seems essential to me.

Tried to play my favorite slalom song while skiing... You only hear it (and just barely) while crossing the wakes, even with it way above good neighbor volume. Works for surfers but that will probably never be me. The music only gets used for anchoring out. Not sure if windshield mount is best place.

The heater is probably the best mod I've made to the boat since I've had it. Installed it in 1998 Sportstar in 2015 with no leaks yet. Did away with the 'Y' fitting after two years and plumbed the return into the circulation pump with a $50 12 volt boost pump. One outlet blows directly on driver's feet; the extension hose on the other outlet goes in wife's lap with beach towel over it. Makes the apres ski slow cruise way better. Tried a portable heating pad on driver's seat but couldn't really feel it through wet suit.

Sorry to hear this. We'll keep our eyes and ears out.