Re: [OMC-Boats] Guidance sought re: tubing and water skiing

Hi John,

I would agree with Andy's comments. We've used our 1966 Sportsman (16-ft hull with 307 Chevy V-8) for the past five years as a volunteer with the National Ability Center's Water Sports program. The boat turns in a pretty impressive performance, holding its own against ski-specific hulls. The V8 is/was a necessary upgrade to operate at fully-rated loads at 6200 ft above sea level. The most impressive "stat" is its fuel economy. We typically consume 7 or 8 gallons of regular gasoline while conducting three to four hours of water sports lessons, typically with five or six onboard. The 3.7 Buick had to work sooo hard, the small block Chevy just shrugs it off. The 19-ft hull Surfer should make an ideal ski platform, but it is a little higher freeboard, so getting in and out of the water will be a little more challenging, than on the early 16-ft hulls.

We use the transom-mounted "lifting" eyes for the extreme rigors of tubing. We connect a harness, and have used both vinyl-covered steel cable as well as nylon rope harness which both have quick release "eyes." These permit the tube tow rope to both float and swivel. The forces encountered when towing tubes can be extremely large, so make sure your lifting eyes are securely mounted. They were designed on my hull to lift the boat and tie into the engine stringers and hull, so just check your boat specifics, because OMC did things differently from year to year and on different hulls.

For less demanding, dual or single-slalom water skiing, we have use the deck mounted cleats, without observing any ill-effects, but prefer the transom eyes for obvious reasons. A tower would be ideal, but would cost more than the boat is worth and introduces mounting/storage challenges.

We've also used the boat for wake boarding, with surprisingly good results. The wake and planning speed can be adjusted with the use of optional Bennett Trim tabs, but you can also do this by shifting you passengers around to some degree.

Good luck,

Lee

On Jan 1, 2010, at 11:55 PM, Andy Perakes wrote:

> Hi, John & Happy New Year to you too!
>
> We've always attached to the transom tie-down hoops, either directly or with a traveling harness. The low attachment point is fine for skiing and knee boarding, but the line can occasionally get trapped in the wake while tubing and its just plain bad for wake boarding (difficult for an experienced wake boarder, almost impossible for someone new to it). I've always considered our Reveler 155 a great ski boat. It pops me immediately out of the water, has a wake big enough to be fun, yet small enough to still do some serious slaloming, and is limited only by its top speed (which is too slow for bare-footing). We've had 8 skiers up at once behind our Reveler and have the movies to prove it!
>
> I've never tried it, but I think some of the folks on the list use the stern deck cleats which would probably be fine too, though still not really high enough for wake boarding (you really need a tower for that). Unless you're absolutely obsessive, I don't think you need a ski pylon, but then again, if you were obsessive, you'd have a Ski Supreme or one of the many other ski-specific boats. I'd be really hesitant to attach anything near the nameplate area, even with custom reinforcing. "Anything" can be done if you have enough time, determination and money, but you still need to consider if that's the best thing to do (obviously imho, its not).
>
> On a side note, this month's issue of "SeaWorthy" has some great articles on why marine parts cost more, fasteners, and galvanic/stray current. For anyone interested, I think you can access it at the Boat US website (I still prefer and receive the paper copy though its not as easy to share).
>
> Andy
> '67 Reveler
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: John Schmelzeis
> To: omc-boats@...
> Sent: Friday, January 01, 2010 11:53 PM
> Subject: [OMC-Boats] Guidance sought re: tubing and water skiing
>
> Happy new year, everyone!
>
> I am preparing for our first season of tubing and water skiing and seeking guidance on the best way to secure tubing and ski ropes to the boat. Currently, the two lift hooks on the transom are the only areas to attach the ski or tube ropes to my '67 Surfer.
>
> Questions
> Is it sufficient for skiing and/or tubing to attach the rope to one of the lift hooks? I am hoping "yes", but worry about low positioning for skiing and potential sub-optimal positioning within the wake for both skiing and tubing.
> Is the installation a ski pylon highly recommended? If so, any recommendations on how and where is best to secure?
> Would a Ski tow ring attached to the "nameplate" (Surfer/Evinrude labeled area above the Sterndrive) area -albeit reinforced - provide enough height.......can it be reinforced in a secure enough manner in folks experience?
> Any guidance/experience/recommendations that anyone can provide to help inform this decision would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Best,
> John
>
>
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Received on Saturday, 2 January 2010