Outback Gone?

[Garn]

So I take it that in 2014, the direct drive Outback is history? Moomba's only ski boat and now its gone. That's sad.

Garn

[kaneboats]

Agree that it's sad but don't blame them one bit. Slalom skiing is dying for now. But, I expect it will come back again some day.

[sandm]

I bet they still have the molds and would build one if you really wanted it, but cost would be a factor..

[BensonWdby]

That is pretty sad. The cost of slalom just took a big jump. This may contribute to the decline of the sport even more. But in 10 years when all the wakeboarders are in knee braces - it may come back.

[parrothd]

You mean surfing, not braces.. :D

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[sandm]

just means that those with dd boats just saw their nada values jump :)

I see more skiers here in WI than I ever did in ID, but it's all recreational. most I see really don't need a "true" dd ski boat .

[BensonWdby]

That's kind of a catch 22. For me it is all about wake and tracking. Most inboards will track well enough that open water skiing will not notice variance in path. But with a large or extremely hard wake or a deep trough, the typical open water skier is going to get to a point where they probably won't get better becasue they are getting launched by the wake.
That being said - I skied behind runabouts with big outboards and a good ski pylon for decades. So maybe the recreational slalom skie will back to that configuration? Or just buy a used DD for about the same price as a new runabout with a 150 on it?

[sandm]

The waterski teams here are using big outboards and pylons. buddy was a shoulder-toucher for years and had a 19ft with a 150 on it. his boat burned up in a house fire a few years ago. he bought a 94 boomerang with the part of the insurance that paid for the boat and said it's 100% better so there is something to be said for the dd's but I suspect to your point outboards is where it'll end up just based on market availability. most rec. skiers are not going to pony up $60k for a new mc or cc when there's probably others in the family that will demand some sort of wake to ride.

still bet skiers keeps the mold and would do a boat on an as-ordered basis?

[deerfield]

still bet skiers keeps the mold and would do a boat on an as-ordered basis?

Was told "yes", by the factory during a 2011 tour. To be more specific, my question was about a Supra Comp. My guess is same for Outback.

[trayson]

There are so many used DD's on the market that people won't have a problem buying a nice used one. And with the prices for DD's falling, you could easily get a purpose built DD for not much. The market just isn't there for closed bow DD's since everyone wants variety. I am trying to have my DD be a jack of all trades, but it's hard when it requires so much weight (and takes up so much space with the bags) to surf. There really is no "one size fits all" boat, that's for sure.

[EricU]

...But in 10 years when all the wakeboarders are in knee braces - it may come back.

When I was young (when dinosaurs roamed...), I was an ok skier, dipping elbows in the NorCal Delta and hanging out at Lost Isle, but I switched over to wakeboarding around '03 because of my knee brace!

It is funny though how during the seventies and eighties we were getting flatter and flatter wakes with with lower and lower profile boats (still miss some of my old V-drives and jets) and now we are dumping 3k lbs of water in our boats!

Sad to see some of these trends go

[996scott]

Agree that it's sad but don't blame them one bit. Slalom skiing is dying for now. But, I expect it will come back again some day.

Skiing will make a come back sooner or later, everything seems to cycle back at some point. Case in point is snow skiing and snow boarding. For the last 20 yrs snow boarding has been getting bigger and bigger. Skiers seem to be the minority now a days, but I have a friend who has been in the ski industry for 50+ years now and he told me the other day that last year was the first year that ski equipment outsold board equipment in a long time.

[trayson]

Skiing will make a come back sooner or later, everything seems to cycle back at some point. Case in point is snow skiing and snow boarding. For the last 20 yrs snow boarding has been getting bigger and bigger. Skiers seem to be the minority now a days, but I have a friend who has been in the ski industry for 50+ years now and he told me the other day that last year was the first year that ski equipment outsold board equipment in a long time.

Although technology breakthroughs in skiing do have something to do with that. The explosion of rocker and Rocker/camber/rocker tech has probably contributed to that. I board, my wife and son ski. And I've been investing in their gear to get them the new/better tech while leaving my board alone because mine is "fine" and probably not holding me back.

My wife almost bagged on the idea of skiing and was determined to be a boarder. Skiing made more sense for her, as she was a pro figure skater and having two skis just made sense. On mt Hood, everywhere she looked, it was snowboarder dominated. But I took her to Whistler and her outlook changed. Up there, with a more international crowd, skiing is still very alive and well.

I still intend on water skiing every now and again. I wear it as a badge of honor that I can deep water start and ride a single ski; because it makes wakeboarding and surfing look easy in comparison.

[mikenehrkorn]

I still intend on water skiing every now and again. I wear it as a badge of honor that I can deep water start and ride a single ski; because it makes wakeboarding and surfing look easy in comparison.

My wife and I say that same thing every year once we both get up -- another year of slalom skiing and with both of us turning 50 in the next few months that is definitely a badge of honor!!!

And that slalom run for this summer for me (only one this year and I'm still trying to recover from it :) ) came with a group of my son's 17 yr old friends in the boat and their jaws dropped when they saw an old, out-of-shape Dad do that on a single ski......gave them some respect for the old man again!!

[Wax]

I'm 27, I do slalom runs every year, used to run the course quite a few times each year. The lake I live on has a big group of real hard core skiers and they dominate the lake. Literally, they drive up to people and tell them to stop using their boats because they want flat water to ski on. Ironically though, this year I told them I would get out skiing with them, but I just never could take any time away from either wakeboarding or surfing to do it. Still haven't yet this year, and this is the first year in quite a while I havent, and ironically it's the best lake I've ever been on for it (and the most people I could ski with ever) lol. Maybe this weekend, as one of my last runs of the year!

[bergermaister]

Literally, they drive up to people and tell them to stop using their boats because they want flat water to ski on.

REALLY... That would go over like a fart in church around here.

Skiing hours are from daybreak until 7am. Didn't you get the memo?

[Wax]

REALLY... That would go over like a fart in church around here.

Skiing hours are from daybreak until 7am. Didn't you get the memo?

Oh man. I always brag about my lake and how great it is, which it really is, but this is the one and only downfall. These guys literally think they own the water. At the beginning of the year we were cordial and I took turns on Saturday mornings when there were like 15 ski boats taking turns. Between memorial day and labor day the course has to come down at noon on Saturday and stays down until Monday morning per the permit, rest of the year course stays up. The lake is only 96 acres and it's long and skinny, so there's nowhere to like go and keep waves away from skiers if they're using the course except the small end cove but it's just too short to really effectively surf. They've came up to me twice, knowing who I am, and asked me to stop surfing once on my boat, and once asked me to stop riding my stand up jetski lol. Both times they were like "oh I didn't realize it was you"...really, the only orange boat on the lake and the only green and white stand up jetski? The surfing one okay, I'll be cordial and take turns sometimes. The jetski was kind of ridiculous. I said "does it really make that many waves?" And they said "yeah, It really does". I told them I'd go ride in the cove, and they said it wouldn't be good enough for them to ski still. That's when I kind of stopped caring.

The issue is that there's about 3 real hard core guys out every morning and every night. I surf or board after work a couple times a week. They'll come out and sit there by the course until I stop. I pretty much try to ignore them anymore and I go until it's almost dark and they get like one run in. Sometimes I stop early so I don't feel like the jerk.

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[jmvotto]

Convert them to surfing....

[zabooda]

Or run parallel to the course so the waves will go through quicker.

[Wax]

Convert them to surfing....

Tried. Got one to drive for me before.


Or run parallel to the course so the waves will go through quicker.

You can only run parallel to the course, lake is relatively skinny. If I'm on the lake surfing, nobody is getting smooth water anywhere. Same goes for if other boats are out tubing or something.

Last night some skiers came out relatively late, just before dark, but they weren't the real hard core guys. I didn't bother to stop, and they did ski and just tried to avoid my waves as much as possible. One of the hard core guys came out and got in his boat and drove to another one of the hard core guy's house, and as he was sitting there it almost looked like my surf wave was going to lift his ski boat up onto his buddy's dock...he ended up just going home.

[newty]

Skiers only go for 15-20 min, why not let them get a set in while you have a beer. I'd be a little irritated if I were them. Just seems like the right thing to do. Share the love man!

[Wax]

Skiers only go for 15-20 min, why not let them get a set in while you have a beer. I'd be a little irritated if I were them. Just seems like the right thing to do. Share the love man!

Yeah with the sun going down a little after 7 and me not getting home from work until a little after 6, I don't really feel the need to share the love if my neighbor that surfs with me and I each only have just enough time to get a set in. Plus, I don't have a boat like this to drink beer on, I have a boat like this to wakeboard and surf! I'd buy a much cheaper pontoon boat if I was into that...no time for those shenanigans.

Here's how I see it...I love wakeboarding on glass and I don't usually even bother riding in any chop at all anymore, but if they're out skiing, I'd NEVER go ask them to stop skiing so I could have perfectly smooth water as they are free to do what they please. I have taken turns plenty of times, but there is just not enough time to share in the evenings this late in the season. First come first serve, none of us own the water.

[newty]

Yeah with the sun going down a little after 7 and me not getting home from work until a little after 6, I don't really feel the need to share the love if my neighbor that surfs with me and I each only have just enough time to get a set in. Plus, I don't have a boat like this to drink beer on, I have a boat like this to wakeboard and surf! I'd buy a much cheaper pontoon boat if I was into that...no time for those shenanigans.

Here's how I see it...I love wakeboarding on glass and I don't usually even bother riding in any chop at all anymore, but if they're out skiing, I'd NEVER go ask them to stop skiing so I could have perfectly smooth water as they are free to do what they please. I have taken turns plenty of times, but there is just not enough time to share in the evenings this late in the season. First come first serve, none of us own the water.

So because I share the water and drink beer I should have a pontoon boat. Nice...

[Wax]

So because I share the water and drink beer I should have a pontoon boat. Nice...

Yes, that's a true statement

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[newty]

Lol wow... ahh to be 27 again!

[sandm]

Lol wow... ahh to be 27 again!

that just brings about a whole new set of issues :)
better to drink a beer and share the water :p

[Wax]

Lol wow... ahh to be 27 again!

LOL! You won't catch me on a floating dock yet!


that just brings about a whole new set of issues :)
better to drink a beer and share the water :p

Like I said, I've been cordial and sharing all year (they haven't had to ask, I would just wait for them to have a break between riders before I went, and wave them on after my set was done). Ironically, the first day I went out this year (moved to the lake last December) I took turns not even knowing who they were, and later they drove up thanked me for it and said it was cool of me to do that unlike a lot of other boaters. But the point came where I kind of stopped caring when they went over the top by actually asking me to stop doing my sport so they could do theirs. They go out every morning when I'm leaving for work, so I don't feel bad if they can't have the water to themselves every evening too :twisted: