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No one I hang around with wakeboards anymore. Even the best riders have quit due to injury or just general pain. No one that wakeboarded as a primary skill has moved to slalom, a few have moved to surfing. I agree with the comments that the boats themselves are hurting the sport. The pro tour used to be pulled by Sea-Doos. The wake behind a weighted direct drive was more than enough to have fun and develop skill for 98% of boarders, and forgiving to learn on. The wake behind the new boats is terrifying. I will surf a little during the summer when I want to be on the water but can't ski (public water). It gets boring pretty fast. Driving a surfer is equal to or worse than pulling a tuber. As for kids, my 11 and 13 year olds are competent wakeboarders and capable slalom skiers. I am pushing slalom because its my thing and I don't want them to be injured. One issue with kids today is that the ones that are active are so overwhelmed with organized sports it is difficult to find the time for skiing. Mine play hockey and lacrosse. Both sports try and take your time (and money!) 12 months a year. When I was a kid we had 1 hockey practice a week, maybe two games a weekend and the whole thing lasted 3 or 4 months. During the summer I moved south to the lake and skied every day for 3 months. Now my kids practice at least twice a week (rarely on the same nights for both kids) and have 60 plus games over a 9 month season with summer activities also planned (the rinks are 12 month businesses now). Lacrosse club season extends into July. You won't see my kids in the yard on a Saturday because we're either in a rink or on a lacrosse field. And between mid July and Labor Day, if we're lucky, at the lake.

I vacation there every year. There are a couple of courses in the western part of the lake. There are also nice, deep, calm coves all over the place to get runs in. It is a big, clean, deep lake with a fraction of the traffic you'd see on some other big southern lakes. (I think most homes are vacation homes, not primary homes). One of these days I'll buy property on it. I think its important to rent a house in the area that supports what you want to do though. If you want courses, you need to look for rentals in the Blackwater Creek (Franklin County) side of the lake, otherwise you could find yourself boating 30-45 minutes or more each way just to get to them. I'd be happy to share more info if you want. darrenmalone at comcast dot net

The first generation Connelly F1's were really sharp with the iridescent top that changed from blue to purple to copper in the light. The Sans Rival would be my choice though.

I've had a 93 for 14 years. I'm a 28-32 off, 34mph skier, free skiing at 35 and 38 off (36mph). The wake at 35off begins to become a trough. 32 and 28 are more comfortable to me than the much newer Malibus and MC's I also ski behind. The pull isn't as strong as a newer boat (only 240hp) but all around I love mine. I echo the driver position comments. It is comfortable but roomy, good view, the windscreen ends before the seat which I like. The 94 may have a Pro-tec ignition system. If it does it may have a short life span left. SKIDIM (and others) sell Mallory conversion kits that are easy to install (about $450 parts cost). One day I'll upgrade to a 2006-2009 196 but until then I've had no problems with the reliability, functionality or skiablity of mine.

If you're free skiing, jump past 22 off to 28 off and you won't have a wake issue. At 28 off you can establish good form, strong leverage etc. Then when and if you course ski and go back to 15 or 22 off you'll hate the wake but hopefully you're established enough in your form to get over it. To this day I hate my 22 off course pass because of the wake but it doesn't change my form or my mental state, its just what it is.

We have a course on the Delaware River that is individually anchored. With the exception of a couple of bouys over solid rock, each is fastened to a steel bar driven into the rocky substrate. In our case, they have actually solidified in place over time (this was shocking to me). The Delaware is generally slow moving with a rocky bottom. The course is in 6-8 feet of water. Heavy rains will cause the river to swell and float debris but so far we haven't had anything worse than a few lost balls. The bouys are connected to the anchors via a pulley and counterweight to make up for fluctuations in water level. It's certainly not a dream course but better than not having one. It is also susceptible to major damage from flooding but thats a chance we just have to take. I think @dstone124's comments about a couple of test anchors is a good idea though.

Ok. This ain't exactly ski mecca but there are some options.

I'm near Philly but not around this weekend but maybe friends can help, or I could try and point you in a direction. Do you know where exactly you'll be staying?

My Connelly Attack had a binding system designed to float allowing the ski to have it's natural flex. (actually extremely comfortable bindings). Jobe also made the Carbon V or whatever it was called in the 80's with the V shaped tail. I think it was supposed to give the ski a shorter length for the turns and greater length at the rail for cross-wake.

My Prophecy demo just arrived. You guys have any more comments in the past few weeks? @skibug, I was in Denver NC a week before the tournament at Little Mountain. I tried to get over to the lake anyway but schedule just didn't permit. Looks awesome though!