236 slalom

[CAN'TSKI]

I am new to skiing and not very good. My boy shows a lot of promise. We want to ski and wakeboard. I read the 236 will be good for recreational slalom, but maybe not great for a slalom course. I clocked a guy doing 47mph through a slolam at our lake this summer. He was attached to a boom and the smaller Nuatique just ran alongside the pylons. Does the boat need to go back and forth through the pylons? Would a 236 only be a good slalom boat for an old guy like me?

[SkiBlue]

RE: 236 slalom

The skier or the boat was going 47mph?

[CAN'TSKI]

RE: 236 slalom

I was on my jet ski running alongside. This guy was flying. The boat was doing 47 in a straight line alongside the pylons. I guess that means he was going faster on cuts?

[jeffk]

:shock: I think you need to reevaluate your comments. A slalom boat will drive through the middle bouys on a slalom course while the skier cuts back and forth behind the boat around the outside bouys. The boat will drive anywhere from 30-36 mph. The faster the boat goes the more advanced the skier. The ski rope is also shorten varies lengths to make running the course harder each time. There are "start gates" and "finish gates" that the skier skies through at the begining and end of each run. I am sure you will find that "most" people will suggest a different boat than the 236 for slalom skiing. This is a fairly large boat. I would strongly suggest that you look up a ski school and send your son there to get started on the right foot before you invest any money.

[jmo]

Hi,

I have a V drive that will behave in a similiar fashion to the 236 and there are two issues from a competitive slalom skiing perspective:

1
With the pylon in the rear the pull from the skier causes the driver to constantly make small corrections to keep the boat tracking through the boat guides. Direct drives track straight as an arrow. Last summer I cut on of the boat guides loose by accident - fortunately the owner of the course was cool about it.

2
The wake dynamic at full rope length and 15 off is fine for people like myself that are just beginning to cross over into tournament skiing, but at shorter lengths the wake and spray become essentially unskiable from a course perspective.

The 236 will be a great all around boat with lots of room for family and friends to spend the day on the lake, but if you intend on hitting the course you probably want a 206 or 216. Once I am skiing all 6 bouys with consistency I'm going to reward myself with switching to a 206 (I tell my wife I just have to in order to be compliant with tournament regulations :grin: )

One other suggestion I would make, if your new to boats, you might want to pick up used Nautique to "learn on" from a driving, docking, trailering, loading - unloading perspective as it won't hurt as much when you scratch or ding it by accident (speaking from experience here on this one). Inboards, especially the bigger v drives aren't the easiest boats to manuver at low speeds.

Hope this helps.

[CAN'TSKI]

Thanks for your comments. As I have seen suggested, I probably need two boats. i have cut my teeth, and several props, this last summer on a 19' Dynasty with a Volvo 5.7. It just doesn't get skiers up well with 4 or 5 in the boat. I have a friend who is an avid skier who has suggested a couple of used boats, rather than a 236. I guess I should listen. That 236 I saw at the boat show is just hard to forget.

[NHcrossfan]

Demo a 211 you may find it to be a suitable comprimise

[CAN'TSKI]

The 211 looks good. Horsepower? I am a more is better guy. Do I want 375hp? Are there drawbacks to more horses?

[GRskinautique]

My guess is the person you saw was barefooting if they were going off of a boom in the mid 40s. They were likely just driving through the slalom course area for smooth water, not actually doing the course. Slalom skiers do not ski faster than 36 mph. I think your best bet would be to ski behind the different models and see what you like best.

[surroundsound64]

Are there drawbacks to more horses?

More gas stations.

[CAN'TSKI]

I watched this guy, his wife and daughter ski many mornings in our cove. They set up a slalom course just down the cove from our house. Several different boats used the course, but this family was exceptional. Even the wife and daughter were faster than any other guys I saw on the lake, but the dad's speed was incredible. I did see him barefooting on occasion; but, when he would do the course, he was skiing off a boom, with a very short rope. He reminded me of those snowskiiers you see in the olympics going back and forth quickly through the gates. I don't know much about skiing, but judging from the responses i have gotten, what he does is not normal. I know none of the other skiiers on the course do it like him. I guess its too early to know how this 236 will ski. I will have a friend who CAN ski go out in a couple of months to try it out with me. I really want my son to get good at slalom before I throw the wakeboard out there. I'm afraid once he does the wakeboard, he want put in the effort for the slalom.

[redelf75]

If you're that commited to slalom, you need a direct drive (196. 206, 216). I have the 216 with the ZR6 and it's a great slalom boat - howver, on this site, you have to say that with a qualifiction...

As a wakeboard boat, it's fine for beginners and young kids. You can clear the wake, do 360's, and even invert. But if your passion turns to wakeboarding, you're going to have disapointments. And surfing is just out of the question...

The ZR6 really shows its stuff when you load up the boat with people.

Hope that helps.

[FLlongball]

I watched this guy, his wife and daughter ski many mornings in our cove. They set up a slalom course just down the cove from our house. Several different boats used the course, but this family was exceptional. Even the wife and daughter were faster than any other guys I saw on the lake, but the dad's speed was incredible. I did see him barefooting on occasion; but, when he would do the course, he was skiing off a boom, with a very short rope. He reminded me of those snowskiiers you see in the olympics going back and forth quickly through the gates. I don't know much about skiing, but judging from the responses i have gotten, what he does is not normal. I know none of the other skiiers on the course do it like him. I guess its too early to know how this 236 will ski. I will have a friend who CAN ski go out in a couple of months to try it out with me. I really want my son to get good at slalom before I throw the wakeboard out there. I'm afraid once he does the wakeboard, he want put in the effort for the slalom.

I had a Wakesetter VLX that we intended on doing both activities (wakeboard and ski) with. It is a great boat for wakeboarding and it is okay for the ocassional water ski run out in the middle of the lake (don't even think about these boats in a slalom course). It sucks for anybody that is serious about skiing. I finally figured out that I enjoy skiing the courses way more than landing an invert, so I have ordered a 206. My young kids will still be able to wakeboard if they choose to do that and I can ski until the cows come home. Getting good at slalom takes a lot of time and is not something that comes overnight. For your som to really become good at it, he is going to have to have a burning desire to ski.....if not, I think that you have a recipie for burnout and lack of interest for any watersport...just my $.02 worth.

[NHcrossfan]

[quote="FLlongball"]

I watched this guy, his wife and daughter ski many mornings in our cove. They set up a slalom course just down the cove from our house. Several different boats used the course, but this family was exceptional. Even the wife and daughter were faster than any other guys I saw on the lake, but the dad's speed was incredible. I did see him barefooting on occasion; but, when he would do the course, he was skiing off a boom, with a very short rope. He reminded me of those snowskiiers you see in the olympics going back and forth quickly through the gates. I don't know much about skiing, but judging from the responses i have gotten, what he does is not normal. I know none of the other skiiers on the course do it like him. I guess its too early to know how this 236 will ski. I will have a friend who CAN ski go out in a couple of months to try it out with me. I really want my son to get good at slalom before I throw the wakeboard out there. I'm afraid once he does the wakeboard, he want put in the effort for the slalom.

Well said and the reason why more young people gravitate towards wakeboarding is the ease of progression.

My 10 year old who learned to ski a month before his 5th birthday (no boom) hasn't even mentioned wakeboarding. It's not that I forbid it, rather he wants to ski like Dad and luckily one of his 13 year friends only slaloms as well. As far as we know and see they may be the youngest non wakeboarders on the lake.

[surroundsound64]

I learned to ski long before I learned to wakeboard. Then I got a wakeboard and I thought it was a lot more fun that skiing. hehe. Maybe if I'd have ever been exposed to a course it might be different. None of the lake I have ever been to have a course so I've never been able to see if I like it. Oh well, maybe eventually.