Stevie Boy

@als2104 Buy the Kid a New Ski ! he could demo yours first.

HO A2 to Radar Vapor Pro = GOLD !

Congrats, just log the sound your engine makes under load, if the boat sound changes and sounds more throaty and the temp gauge reading is not normal, change the impeller asap, in saying that, it is a fairly simple job and impellers are not a expensive item, I would just change it every season, may pay to have a spare one at hand

@lefty I am anywhere between 170-180 lbs at any time on a 2023 67" vapor pro, skiing @32mph, love it. turns extremely well and fairly stable compared to previous models, as Horton pointed out, the 2024 vapor is probably better in all aspects. I am not technically close to perfect when I ski, but I can get the job done, my 2023 is the best ski to date, I have no plans to change it, for a while.

My take on this you would find that the Vapor is much more nimble, or tho the Senate is more stable, personally I can,t get on with the Senate , they feel a bit pedestrian, I much prefer the fighter jet compared to the passenger jet, in saying that a lot of people love them and ski very well on the Senate, I think it would be wise to demo both, different skis fit different people.

As stated previously in the thread, with the cost of boats, it's no surprise that buying a good older boat and putting money aside for a engine rebuild or replacement, is probably, more beneficial to the average water skier who is looking to own a boat of there own. But with the cost of boats in general for the individual who just wants to ski, it is probably more cost effective to pay per tow, no maintenance, no depreciation and no problems locating a good driver.

With Nautique & Mastercraft so dominant in the market, you can understand why Malibuu are not pushing to compete with them, yes they have a good ski boat, but the other two have improved there ski boat to a very high level, the majority of ski schools or clubs run the Nautique or Mastercraft, skiers do tend to want to ski behind what they are more used to. In my opinion if Malibu had spare capacity and wanted to put a dent in Nautique and Mastercraft, keep the hull, but produce a more basic boat at a reduced cost., this would not only be attractive to ski schools and clubs, even universities, could possibly drive sales in the public sector. They could even setup a stand alone company/unit to produce a boat, that would stand or fall on its own merits. I know it won't happen, but a change in strategy sometimes pays off.

I agree with Dano, I always run. D3 Tfactor on Radar skis on stock measurement to the back of binding, maybe my front foot is fwd or aft of a Radar boot at stock settings, my arrangement works well for me but it would be nice to know if there was a difference.

Yes off the wall but. I can't get away from the feeling that the very people who provide ski boats are partially responsible for the decline, in waterskiing, promoting boats specifically designed for Wake Boarding, Wake Surfing, HUGE Party Boats if that's what you can call them. Yes commercially viable and they are in the business of making money, but I can't help feeling it hasn't helped our sport, waterski ing can be a hard discipline and takes time to achieve some level of competence, other activities can be achieved in a shorter time period. Human nature to take the easy option. Sad if we lose another Boat option, in saying that when a enquiry made on a Malibu the dealer said he did not want to sell to new customer, only to existing customers, because he did not want to deal with warranty and simple issues created by new customers, basically he wanted to sell a boat but offer very little support. I will probably get thrown a few Pandas, but I am OK with that, What I have written is one man's opinion, right or wrong

I am hoping my wife has brought me a couple of new knees 🙄

Over the years various people have said one thing to me, I now think that I am a believer. "KISS" Keep It Simple Stupid Very easy to over think it and disturb the flow. The Pros, probably have a maximum of three keys. Time available in the course to think, process and action is miminal.

How much does a really good boat cover cost ? A bit of a beast to tow around, not exactly aerodynamic.

@Skialex + @Horton I understand what you are saying , perhaps as @skialex suggests it's probably more the ski settling in or the skier settling into the ski, so the term softer would be incorrect. I Agree with both of you Guy's

At the end of the day, does your ski still perform for you, as the ski softens, it may suit some people and be a little more forgiving than when it was new, if you have hit a slump that you cannot get out of, or you feel that the ski is less responsive you may consider that the ski is at fault, a difficult one, as change occurs, your body or technique will adjust accordingly and maybe difficult to detect a change until the ski is totally shot. Lots of factors here, how you treat your ski, leave it in the sun or a hot car or put it in your bag damp/wet, may contribute to ski breakdown over time. Somebody did explain to me that, when a ski breaks down, it can be good one day and not so good another day, went into some explanation about the fibres re-aligning, getting displaced and then re-aligning again, interesting but I do not know enough about carbon fibre to give a informed explanation.

@RobHazelwood I think there has been a Rule change recently, somebody did say to me, that putting a Slalom Ski/ Trick Ski / Jump skis and riding up and down the lake is valid, so if somebody was exceptional in two disciplines and not so good in another, it is not unconceivable that they could win a overall event. I might of have got this wrong or the person talking to me may have got it wrong, it did seem a bit of a strange one at the time.