XR6Hurricane

@6balls Thank you for your insight, and this is the point that I have been trying to make with people. I'm astounded at the corporate manager "geniuses" who sit in "risk management" meetings at work, who don't get it or don't care. They'd still be flying back and forth to Europe even now, for 1-2 day meetings instead of picking up the phone, if we hadn't banned it. They must have been busy passing love notes in 6th grade math class when exponents were being explained. I picked up my stuff from work on Monday and have been working from home all week. My father is 74, diabetic, and had a triple bypass three years ago. He's the only family I have and I'm his source for food and medicine so we can keep him isolated. I have to stay healthy. The boss wasn't happy, but it's not his decision. It's mine. I like everyone else feel like everything I have ever worked for is in jeopardy, but this too shall pass. P.S. Hope you have been well and are hanging in there thru this.

With the swivel seat comes versatility for other uses like oh, I don't know, going for a boat ride that's more than a quarter mile long. My Rapid Craft has two swivel buckets in front - and more storage under the front and rear decks than most inboards. I've had three adults under the front deck waiting out a rainstorm. Used to be able to slide a 56" inner tube under there too before it had the foot throttle. The pylon is at the front of the splashwell, so the rear seat is usable. Even with two passengers in the rear seat the wake puts an inboard to shame at -15 or -22.

@DynaSkiPete I would guess that report was from 1985, because that was the year that Mercury bragged in their brochure that the best all-around rated ski boat was a Dyne powered by a 150 Black Max.

Personally I think that a twin rig that would be used for slalom should be set up with twin 115s, maybe twin 150s at most. The 300s are heavier, and 600 horsepower could probably get very touchy. Even twin 150s will move the most jaded inboard fanatic to tears with the acceleration.

@sunvalleylaw I agree with everything you said. There is a whole world that exists outside of 3-event tournaments. I understand the core of this site and my hat is off to @Horton for maintaining that focus. However, the overwhelming majority of slalom skiers will never ski a course. I've been skiing for 23 years and was never on a course until last year, and am only able to get to it a few times per year max.

I wouldn't say "super" inexpensive or "entry level." It depends on how you configure it.

A Dynaski (or Hydrodyne) with twins will easily out-accelerate a direct drive inboard. Twin 150s will pull more than a single 300 because you have more traction with the two props, plus you have all the more cubic inches. If you ever rode in a twin rig from idle to about 40 you'd think the anchor was down in any other boat.

I could buy a $60K boat tomorrow but would never shell that kind of money out for a single purpose 20' boat. There are tons of old inboards sitting within a 45 minute drive of here and I'd be really interested to see an article like this. What would really make it interesting is if the boat you start with was total junk with no motor, etc.

By the time it got to Lake and McHenry counties it was a pretty narrow band that got the big numbers. Tree limbs down all over, some entire mature trees went down and power outages all over.

@6balls Only thing I worry about with stepping on the cavitation plate is if their foot slips off. I'm comfortable doing it, but it's amazing how non-agile some skiers can be. That does get me to thinking though, we always used to board our friend's tri-hull by stepping on the ski bridle rope and it worked pretty good.

@6balls I used to have twin platforms on either side of the motor that came with the boat from the factory. They've been in the rafters in my garage since I had the transom rebuilt in 2007, partly because it's 16 more holes in the wood that you have to worry about getting completely sealed up. I've thought about putting them back on but I've never really missed them. I sit on the rear gunwale to put the ski on (rear toe strap so no problem there). Getting back into the boat is the bigger problem for some people. When I pull certain people, I bring a folding boarding ladder with. Unfortunately those people usually have just as much trouble getting in with the ladder...it's amazing. I keep meaning to jump in and climb the ladder myself to see what the problem is.

From a free skier who is an outboard fanatic since birth...I grew up with outboards and that is still what I own. I do most of my skiing now behind a friend's inboard and it's mainly a matter of what you're used to. If I take a week off from one boat and get behind the other, the first few cuts feel strange. Don't shoot the messenger: The very best wake I ever skied over was a 1976 Crestliner 18' Muskie tri-hull with a 135 Johnson. 2nd place went to a 1985 Checkmate Sportfire with a 115 Merc. Every other outboard I've skied behind including my Rapid Craft was still well ahead of the best inboard in terms of wake size and softness, hands down. If you're finding the Stratos' wake to be large and hard, you may have a unique situation but for the most part a V-pad or modified V outboard should be a winner for slalom in open water at 22 off and longer and under say 32 mph. I think the biggest advantage to an inboard for recreational use is it forces you to use better technique. It's the only way for the typical recreational goofball like myself to survive behind one.

How about something along these lines: "Boats weighing in excess of 3000 lbs. including any ballast may not be continuously operated at speeds between 5 and 30 mph within 100 yards of shore." This would also address the I/Os and deckboats that wreak havoc by driving with the bow at a 30 degree angle at 15 mph. Trouble is...nearly impossible to enforce effectively.

Thanks guys. It is a 2000 Prostar 195. I hadn't thought about the rudder or the water intake. All I can say is that I really really really love outboards and always will.

Trying to help a friend make sure she's getting the right information. I've had many outboards over my life but other than skiing behind inboards, don't know much about them and have never owned one. My understanding is that the shaft is supposed to leak just slightly, like maybe a drop every 30 seconds or something like that, to keep the packing lubricated. Is that correct? Her boat seems to be leaking more than it used to...there's quite a bit of water in it after it sits a couple days. Thought maybe it needed adjustment/work. Dealer said they can't find anything wrong when she took it in to get it winterized, but that they can't really check it without it being in the water. Does that sound right? I would have thought that there would be a way to pressure check the shaft? Thanks.

@bananaron Yes, it's one of the 18'9" Hurricanes that they built. It's a '95. I think they maybe built 20-30 of that model. They had some other v-bottoms too like the 20' Typhoon and the open bow 20' Gale. A lot of them were used by barefooters but I've never barefooted or pulled a barefooter with it so I can't say what it's like. I usually slalom 30-31 mph @ 15 or 22 off and the wake is like it's hardly even there. If you're ever in the neighborhood give me a shout.

@mike_mapple I am so sorry. I lost my mom at 62, and my father lost his father at 51 - both totally unexpectedly. I know exactly how it feels. Hang in there buddy and carry on just like your father would want you to.

Hips forward, lean away from the boat, and slice it!!! You'll be fine...don't give it a second thought!

Accurate World Cup 3/4 gloves. Unfortunately they are out of production :(

I'm 5'8" 130 lbs. and ski open water at 30 mph, either 15 or 22 off. I'm on a 65" Coefficient X (standard layup) and love it to death. Was on a 65" Concept before that and it's still a good ski. The offside turn on the Co-X and the "holy crap" carryout that it has are my favorite things about it. If you are used to the high wrap bindings, then get the tried and true Animal boots.

The inexpensive blue or brown tarps from Walmart...put a wood center frame under it to make it like a tent if it doesn't lay right. Prefer to use bungee cords instead of rope to tie it, as the bungee cords continue to hold tension and get slightly tighter. Keep the tarp away from painted surfaces as much as possible (make sure the regular boat cover is on under it).

@dtm Well said. We have seen skiing making a bit of a comeback around here too. Actually had two slalom skiers on the lake at the same time earlier this year and I haven't seen that in years. I even saw someone slalom skiing behind a pontoon boat. Saw noticeably more skiers on the river this year too. One thing I've noticed about the wakeboarding thing too is that almost none of them actually look like they are having a good time. They are always down in the water, doing a faceplant, or within 10 seconds of a faceplant whenever I see them. Seems like it has a very low success rate for the everyday person compared to skiing. They watch us going back and forth past them all morning without a single fall and they have this blank look on their face like they just don't get it.

I think we're probably done here in northern Illinois. Low last night was already in the upper 30s and all this week it won't get out of the 60s during the day with lows in the 40s every night. Next weekend says mid 70s for highs but with some wind and possible rain. Been raining like crazy for this late in the year, cutting the lawn twice a week still. Years back when we had longer falls you could ski into October pretty comfortably with a wet suit but anything after September 15th the past few years has been pointless. Already jacked the motor up 1/4" and changed props. Time to make some speed runs and enjoy the fall colors on the motorcycle.