emwheaton

Nautique's only competition for the SN is their G and GS Series boats. We toured the factory a couple years ago, the week after the SN was released. If anything, it felt like they were doing the skiing world a favor by still making a dedicated boat for that segment. They were, and I would assume still are, at max capacity, and it seemed like any spot a SN or 200 was taking up in the build schedule could very easily be replaced with a GS or G series boat (likely at a higher margin). I forget the exact percentage, but 200s/ SNs at the time were easily less than 20% of their build schedule. Add the paragon into the lineup now... Nautique could easily transition into a wake/ crossover boat only company, and I'm sure they would be no worse off. As far as the new hull design/ body lines - while its definitely not my favorite either, the fact that they redesigned all of their G series boats to match the SN would suggest to me that the vast majority of the market feels differently.

You can just screw them back in, but if they go in with little to no resistance, then the threads are probably worn and you may want to use a bit of adhesive sealant. The screws that are going to be the most prone to backing out are the two on the very bottom of the transom. The hydrogate puts the most pressure on those screws when it's down. Your post promoted me to check mine - I removed my hydrogate a few years ago and since noticed one of those lower screws would regularly back out and become lose... its now backed completely out and the threads inside are completely stripped out. So it is something that you'll want to keep an eye on...

I have one collecting dust. I think the cell phone holder mount is busted/ missing, but nothing you couldn't get on amazon.

@T_C that was my concern. I'm familiar with the release, and it doesn't seem like there's much play for the heel to rotate and the release to still operate properly. I do like the molded heel cup on my syndicate plate, so it seems like the best setup may be the super shell plate with classic boot. If anyone has an older version of that setup they're looking to sell, send me a DM. Size 10 LFF

What is everyone's preference between the two? I've been on a Syndicate Hardshell the past couple season, but want something with more adjustability. I like the canting adjustment of the Supershell, but I'd also like to experiment with a slightly pigeon toed stance. The supershell has a molded footbed, so the only way to accomplish that looks like it would be rotating the plate on the ski (Is that even possible? It is not with my Syndicate). With the classic plate, it looks like you'd be able to use the two set screws to adjust where the heel sits. I'm assuming the new "U-base" provides the lateral stiffness that the molded footbed provides? Why would they not put the canting adjustability on the classic boot?

I know of one model year of one particular ski that is prone to cracking. Happened to my brother-in-law several weeks ago, and have heard of other instances, as well. I won't say which particular ski, but I will say that the manufacturer replaced it with a newer model, free of charge and supposedly fixed whatever the construction issue was on subsequent releases. I would contact the manufacturer.

I think the correlation is no different than the correlation to mastering any other practice in life. It takes a certain number of reps/ hours of practice to master anything (10,000 hour rule), slalom skiing is no different. Starting at a young age certainly helps, but there's no reason that you couldn't start later in life and still achieve mastery if you make the time to devote to it. The biggest caveat is that the reps need to be done with the correct technique, otherwise you'll spend more time trying to unlearn bad habits and rewrite your musle memory.. The more you're able invest in learning from others who know more than you, the faster you'll be able to accelerate the learning curve.

I'm Eric, age 32, and I live in Oconomowoc, WI. Learned to ski when I was around 5, spending most summer weekends at our family cabin in Three Lakes, WI. I spent the next 20some years as a casual free skier behind my parents '92 Sport Nautique. I've always enjoyed skiing, but didn't really become passionate about skiing until about 4 years ago. I think it was probably after watching the Malibu Open when it was still at Veterans Park in Milwuakee, but I had a newfound passion for the sport and decided that I wanted to take it more seriously and try to get better. Upgraded to a Nautique 200 that fall, bought a portable course the following year, and have been hooked ever since. We still have the same family cabin that I grew up skiing at, so my wife and I spend our summers hauling our boat back and forth almost every weekend (about a 4 hour drive). We drop the course in up there on the weekends and try to get out and free ski around here once a week after work, usually on Pine Lake. My wife loves to ski, but isn't the greatest driver... Fortunately, my sister also lives in the area and married someone who loves being out on the water as much as we do (he was a professional wakeboarder for number of years but we we're able to convert him to a skier), so we have a dedicated group that is willing to wake up early to put the course in the water before the lake gets busy. Both my wife and sister delivered first babies in May, so its been a bit more of a challenge this year to get out early morning, but we can't wait to get them up on skies. I've never had any professional coaching, so I've spent the last 4 years trying to reverse 20 years of bad muscle memory and self-taught technique. I've been a lurker for a few years, but I'm super grateful for this forum and everyone that shares all of their knowledge. I've been stuck at 34/-22 for the last couple years, which is frustrating, but at the same time, I'm inspired every time I read posts from you guys in your 50's/60's still skiing short line knowing that I've got another lifetime of skiing in front of me to get better.

If you're interested 2018's, I have a 69" 18' Lithium Senate in great condition that I'll be putting up for sale this week. New Vapor comes today.

@PacMan we'll be up there one of these next two weekends and will hopefully drop the course in, weather permitting. That will probably be it for the year then. We don't get up there as much in the fall.

There are 2 permanent courses on the chain, but neither is maintained very well/ at all and not worth skiing. There is a course on Big Stone that is part of the Aqua Devils Ski School. Hard to miss, there's also a jump in the water right next to it. The few times we've driven by it, its usually a big banana, and Big Stone is one of the choppier lakes on the chain so you'll have a hard time getting even decent water. There's another course on Long Lake thats part of Honeyrock camp... but that course is always missing several buoys and is also never even remotely straight. We have a cabin on Island Lake and drop a portable course in most weekends during the summer whenever we're up there. Send me a DM if you want to meet up and ski sometime.

@Orlando76 in WI, a slalom course in the water is a rarity. I guarantee he's the only house on his lake that puts one in, and if he's been putting it in for a couple years now everyone on the lake knows who the course belongs to, especially if the DNR warned him last year. They aren't exactly discreet...Like Jhughes said, courses here typically are not well received by the majority and I'd bet there is someone on his lake that is watching his every move waiting for them to break some rule to report them to the DNR. We have at least a couple people like that on our lake. So they know with 98% certainty that its his course, probably have some kind of proof that it was left in overnight, and they've already got the ticket... so what is he going to do, lie under oath in court?

Yeah if you were warned, you don't have much of an argument, except the crime doesn't fit the punishment. Pretty sure you can be arrested for multiple DUIs in WI and end up with less in fines.

I've thought about petitioning the DNR to see if they're willing to change the requirement that temporary courses are removed at the end of the day and changing it to 48 hours. I don't see what the downside would be for the state and it would benefit everyone who puts out a portable course. I'd be willing to bet that the majority of people who put out a portable course do so primarily on the weekends and just want to leave it in the water overnight on Saturday. I have little to no faith that would ever pass (common sense and reason), but I think it may be worth a shot...