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@swbca... After reading your comments about Terry's video, I have a couple of things to say. I find learning to adjust to 30 MPH is easier if you sometimes ski faster and slower. Faster prepares me to react faster, and slower helps me understand that you can still make the course at 28 and slower (do some reverse slalom). A warning as the boat slows down one needs to be careful not to absorb hits and muscle the course. At the slower speed hits still take their toll. The objective probably is to use proper technique and ski like Terry.

@Packski... I had the Euflexxa shots in both knees. They worked well in both knees for a while. One knee was primarily a cartridge problem the other primarily arthritis. The shots didn't help the knee with cartridge problems after a few year, but I felt it helped the other knee right until I had the knee replaced. @IGKYA... I agree with considering partial knee replacement. I have a partial and a total. Both work, but the partial gave me less problems and responded to rehab faster. I think either work in the slalom course.

There is, as shown in the other posts, lots of reasons for the decline of men 8 and men 9 skiers performances. One is the fact that we have less skiers in the these divisions. Another is lower boat speeds are not always beneficial.. The top skiers in these divisions can still ski into 35 and 38 off at 30 and 32 MPH, and some would say they could ski the same or better at higher speeds. I think you will find the divisions are very competitive when you have so few skiers- I'm impressed with those at the top. No doubt it is harder for these skiers to stay in shape, keep improving and break bad habits than when they were younger. Personally, mental reaction affects me the most. Because of that 30 MPH ended up being a benefit even though I initially found it harder and didn't like it. I suspect there are bigger/heavier skiers who found it extremely difficult to adjust and ski at that speed. If you compare, current performances in Men's 8 and Men's 9 to 5 or 10 years ago, I think you will see that we now have more skiers with high scores. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts after you make your comeback. I wish you well and assure you the older divisions need skiers.

I have one. It is a 2018- used once, perfect shape. It was for my rear foot, and I changed to a rear toe plate. If you are interested, make me an offer.

I probably should have mentioned that I initially thought my problem was the fuel pump. Tested it and it worked. Then I started it and it died. Another test of the fuel pump showed no gas coming out of the pump. Based on that I began playing with the anti siphon valve which ended up being the problem.

I just had the same problem and found the problem was caused by the anti siphon valve. My boat is older with more hours so I am replacing the valve. Some say that just cleaning it may be all that is necessary. The anti siphon valve you need is brass. The aluminum one is not recommended for high horsepower boats.

Due to osteoarthritis in my neck I had numbness in left arm and hands. I had an epidural under fluoroscopy five years ago. The epidural had no effect, and my neurosurgeon's recommendation was to do neck fusion, I resisted and tried a second epidural. It eliminated the problem and it has never came back.

I just bought a new ski. My experience says you will notice a difference. I had been skiing on a 42 inch Jobe for 20 years which I liked. I changed because I'm getting older and felt a larger ski might rectify problems I experience from arthritic knees. I purchased a Radar Graviton 44.5" ski (an inch wider and 2.5 inches longer than my old ski and definitely bigger than recommended). The ski hasn't solved my problems, but I really like it. Surprisingly, my boat speed stayed the same; the ski feels quicker, lighter and gets more air than my old one. I suspect all the new skis are better- particularly for those doing flips (that wouldn't be me).

I was a member a ski club that leased one of numerous lakes. We were told that the lake was available because it had less fish. A couple of years later we were asked to change lakes as the lake we used now had more fish than most of the other lakes.