McGruder

Check all hose connections on cooling system to ensure they are snug. If air is entering the system from a poor connection, the system will not cool properly. The fact the engine heats under load during a pass but cools at the end of the lake leads me to believe the system is sucking in air somewhere.

Along the same line as @Zman, check the cooling system hoses and clamps. Loose clamp can allow ingestion of air as well. I experienced it.

A gator. A gar. Cut the gar in half. The part we picked up spanned the swim deck. Hit the gator in an outboard - kicked the motor up real hard. Scared the heck out of the gator, but he was ok. Another time, I was driving and a friend was teaching a blind kid to ski by holding on to him and skiing next to him. Friend was on a pair of tricks to ski at low speed. Made a 180 turn with the boat. Gator came up between boat and my friend and blind student. Friend went right over the back of the gator. Blind kid never knew. Friend's eyes were the size of saucers. All I could do was acknowledge I saw it. It was a very big one. Very big.

Friend of mine flew (low) over us skiing the course in his Cessna 210. Stuck his head out of the window to shout down and off came his Ray Bans. Saw them splash 10 feet in front of the boat. Lost a few wrenches working on the boat on the lift. Eventually found a few of them, but dang.

This is tough. Condolences to the family in all aspects. It is a difficult thing to think about given how we all ski with little thought to such consequences.

I bought into what Thomas Wayne (?) developed years ago because of what happened to him and others. I see it as a simple solution to a low risk but high consequence event. My thanks to him for introducing it to the water ski world. I don't know if he is still around, and I remember he was somewhat controversial, but his solution to address the problem is a big deal in my book.

Very well stated and bold to share. There is no doubt this will help others in many ways. Respect.

Truly a man that had positive contributions to many, many lives over his long life. You will never know how significant and widespread his kindness and generosity was to people. Condolences to you and your family.

@jhughes may be right on with the starter relay. The symptoms are similar: single click but then when it does start, it starts right up. Fuel pump comes on with the initial start power. If that relay hasn't been ruled out, it is an inexpensive and relatively simple fix.

@BraceMaker may have nailed it if it is a single click. One click, one click only.

Pair of Serengeti sunglasses - just use cheap ones for the lake now. Handle after detaching from the rope. My buddy flew over us skiing one day in his Cessna 210, stuck his head out the window to yell at us as he buzzed over, and lost his Ray Ban's. They dropped 15 feet in front of the boat as we were setting down after running the course. LMAO.

@swc5150 I'd worry more about the gators if I DIDN'T see their eyes. Seriously, no longer ski with them, but did years ago. It was never a problem for us, though they'd get a bit close at times. Crocs I'd worry about. Gators not so much.

mcfeelys.com

Purchasing PCM by CC is a brilliant move on CC's part. Good business. What ShaneH said above. Right on point. Horton is right, too. Not even a tremor in the PCM customer base. Good to see this for a lot of reasons.

Lots of good suggestions in the thread. One of the things I must remind myself of at the start of every year is to really allow the boat to do the work and avoid pushing on the ski in any amount. I found that when I allow the pull of the boat to cause the water to push the ski and my knee to my chest and just hang on, it makes the task easier. My problem is when I tend to start pushing my foot/feet leg against the ski to resist the pull of the boat. The more I push the harder it is to hold on to the the handle and the harder it is for me to get up. Much better for me to let the water push against me and just ride the ski to the top of the water. I think our natural tendency is to push on our ski resisting the pull of the boat when we need to only relax and ride it up.

I ski in Texas, and these reports make headlines every year, as they should because how tragic it is and how rare it is. From what I’ve been told by the water people, the amoeba is present in the water all the time. However, concentrations of it in warm water are greater, especially stagnant water. Additionally, people are obviously more active in the water when it is warm, thus the higher likelihood that exposure will occur. But I’ve also heard that exposure does not necessarily result in infection. It depends on the person. I have no scientific evidence to offer as proof, but it seems to make sense - if the organism is present in water, even in high concentrations in the summer, and even with most of us getting some water up our nose, but only some people die. Though I think about it every year, it is something akin to driving in a car down the road not knowing the other guy on the road that may be a risk. It certainly is sad to read about each case, especially because it is usually involves younger people (more kids in the water than adults), but given the rarity, I won’t stop living my life.

Beautiful girl. I'm OK with it on the site. Understand others may differ, and that is fine. But, dang, she is fine!

If you drop a plug during the install process, pitch it and get a new one. Dropping will crack them, and often where you do not see the crack. Its not worth the headache. Handle with care, and if any doubt, install new.

Yes, a cracked plug could cause those symptoms.

Adding to what @rico said about the ECM relay: When my starter relay went out, it worked fine on a cold start, but would fail with the engine hot. Letting the engine cool down, the relay would work fine again. Eventually it failed completely. For the cost of a new relay, it may be worth putting a new one in and eliminating that possibility.

@Waternut, I have the first generation Arm-Guard without the center hinge. I can still bend it to put my handle on a mainline without the big loop. It will not break, or at least mine has not. All the ropes I use now have the big loop, so no longer an issue. The newer Am-Guards with the hinge are easier with the small mainline loop.

Another recommendation for Thomas Wayne's Arm-Guard. It is VERY well thought out, made out of an indestructible material (Lexan?), and reasonably priced. He developed it after putting his own arm through a handle yoke and receiving a compound fracture He's an engineer and was determined to find a solution. Best one out there. Brought it to the ski community after a death from a head through the handle yoke. Get one.

@otisg you are right-on in your description on coiling, but some ropes I've used twisted all up no matter how careful I was. There is something about the latest ropes I've received from Brenda (In Tow) that is remarkable in how they don't develop the twists the way my previous ropes did. I don't know what it is, but I sure as heck like it. Brenda, can you tell us why this is? (Or maybe you don't want to reveal your secret.)

I use Brenda's ropes (with an Arm Guard) and no longer have the twisted rope problems. All of my previous ropes would twist like mad. Don't know how she does it, but it is nice to bring the rope in with smooth loops. Thanks, Brenda.

Check your kill switch. You can bypass the kill switch to see if that is the problem. If the electrical connection is sporadic, the problem can come and go.