GaryJanzig

LaPoint Ski Park.

Since batteries are so heavy a ski boat will have to be designed where they are removable. The weight is okay for a surf and wakeboard boat, but not for a ski boat. The batteries would have to be designed to be a bunch of small removable modules. You could buy enough of them where you could use the boat while some of them are charging and just keep swapping them out. The electric Ski Nautique prototype is a good start, but the entire interior is taken up by the battery. You would only need the electric motor, cooling system, cruise control, and going from forward neutral in and reverse would just be tripping a switch. The rest of the spaces that would be taken up by the engine and fuel tank could be used for batteries.

I have been using SAE 40 since day 1. Pennzoil, STP, NAPA. I have been using FL-1A, Wix, or PCM oil filters. Change every 50 hours and at winterization. 2300hours season 30 coming up.

A new boat is out of my reach. I think of the modern boats the Pro Star is the best value for the money. The only thing the new boats have that I would want would be Zero Off. If I did buy new, I would also have to get a new lift, and a new tow vehicle. When the time comes, I will drop in a new engine, zero off and a transmission(1.23:1). Are there any engine and transmssion combinations that would fit under the stock engine box without the need for a shim under the engine cover? I have the carbureted 351w and 1:1 transmission.

2300 hours on my '94 Ski Nautique. In the garage from November until some time in April depending on the weather in western Pennsylvania. The marinas always told me 50 hours a season is average. Usually 75-100 per season for me. Fewer skiers out my way.

Don't mess with anything except the binding placement, and fin/wing settings. The ski designers know what they are doing. Too expensive an item to risk screwing it up.

Midwest Regionals. It is held on a weekend where work will not interfere.

On days with a strong headwind and tailwind I run two passes at each line length so I can practice each pass in both wind directions. Other days I go out and simulate a tournament. If I miss or fall I start from the beginning and try again. I struggle to run 32off consistently so some days I work on that pass. If all goes well I will get more than 4 sets a week this coming season.

In the spring I free ski for two weeks at 36 MPH, then for two weeks I work on my opener only. I like to mix it up. Most of the time I go out and start with my easiest pass and work my way to the hardest. Once I miss a buoy or fall I start backing down each pass until I am back to my starting pass. Other days I go out and practice my second hardest pass to work on getting earlier and wider so I can progress on the next one.

Don't see much sun between November and April in northeast Ohio and northwest PA this time of year. Right now, just over 8 hours of daylight. Even if I could ski year round I would only be able to do it on the weekends. I am at work during the daylight hours.

Got yanked over the front and got hit above my right eye. Had to get 7 stitches. Still have a half inch scar.

Brand new factory 2020 Connelly GTR

@lpskier We usually don't have an issue with the course bending. The come along giving out is usually what causes the course to start bending. IT sometimes loosens, so I just give it 2-3 cranks and we are good to go. I hardly ever have to touch it. Sometimes if a buoy gets cut loose the string on the replacement is too long and the course can bend a bit. I shorten the string and it corrects. We use mason string to attach the buoys so if they get snagged they will easily break off. Not sure how long our anchor lines are since they were put in over 25 years ago.

@leonL With the jugs attached to the pipes while submerged I am guessing how deep it goes. When I drag my grappling hook from my canoe in the spring to bring it up it feels like the cable is only a foot off the bottom. The 41 foot arms have 3 jugs attached each with about a half gallon volume of air to keep it from sinking into the mud. On the end where the skier buoys are I have a counterweight attached which is a half gallon jug filled with sand. A half gallon volume of air is enough to bring the end of the pipe back to the surface. I attach the jugs fulled with sand to keep it from coming back to the surface. In the past I have tried adding more water to the jugs to make it go down, but last year I had two pipes get stick in the mud. For the main anchors we have a 300 pound diesel camshaft on one end and a 200 pound girder with legs at the other. We use a comealong to keep the course tight. We broke a cable once when trying to straighten it out with a boat tugging on it. We got it as tight as we could by hand, and put two loops in one of the anchor lines and attached the comealong to the loops. If the course starts to bend we can crank it a few times to straighten it out. We can also loosen it up if we have to do any structural repairs. We have it set up where the water line on the buoys is six feet from the cable and pipes.

On Lake Latonka we have an Accufloat course which has been there for over 25 years. It is a private lake, but with similar traffic to a public lake. It is 15-20 feet deep where ours is located. We only submerge it for the winter. We use mason string to attach the buoys so if a tuber or jet skier goes by it will break off without damaging the structure under water. The strings are tied to brass swivel snaps(dog leash clips) which are clipped to the eyebolts on the arms. To submerge we swap out the buoys with antifreeze jugs(zip tied to their own clips) half full of water and let it sink. It floats a foot off the bottom. I have a custom made grappling hook with smooth edges to find it in the spring from my canoe. If you want to sink it while in service, put a 40 pound anchor in the middle of the gates on the arms, then detach the skier buoys and let it sink. The Accufloat kit comes with instructions on how to sink it. +The important thing is to keep the pipes from filling with mud while submerged, they will break from the weight. When I swap out the buoys I can sink it in about an hour by myself, and bringing it up in the spring takes two hours. Never tried the 40 pound weight method.