Well, now for the questions...

I feel better now.... Well, slightly better!!

I just got shiver!

Where is Green Lake?

By the looks of all the traffic on this post today, it must have been a pretty slow day at work all around the country!!

My big, or rather skinny, old hairy butt!!

You anti-tubers are being ridiculous, and I can't believe I missed this one yesterday! I must have been the only one working. But anyway, me and my whole mindless crew are coming back to GL next year and I'm bringing the BIGGEST TUBES I CAN FIND!   Let's see, it's the middle of a Sunday afternoon, the lake is full and rough as all get-out from every kind of boat mentionable. You can't ski or wake, and you damn sure can't barefoot. So sit there on the dock? I'd get out the tube and make the best of it if you or your kids need some action. Heck, you guys never heard of gladiator tubing? 3-4 guys/tubes at a time beating the bajesus(sp) out of each other until the last man's riding? We used to take two inboards and use the other just to make extra big waves for the riders. It's just another way of having fun on the water.

But please don't ever pull your tubers near where I'm skiing, as I'll fill your boat with water (but not yours of course, Brian).       

Good summation by the way, Joe.

reidp wrote:    Heck, you guys never heard of gladiator tubing? 3-4 guys/tubes at a time beating the bajesus(sp) out of each other until the last man's riding?

This is something that I did on the river over the 4th of July and I loved it. Seriously the most idiotic form of entertainment imaginable. What a hoot!

I'll go ahead & agree with Reid 100% you guys are kinda being crazy about the tubes. i own 2 small, single person tubes, that we only bring out on rough days, or when i have friends up & they just want to enjoy the day @ the lake & not be pressured to learn to ski or wakeboard in front of a boatload of people, it's not my best idea of fun, but it works. And if you get the small tubes like i have, going around a corner, hitting a small roller & barrel rolling the tube a couple times always gets a good reaction from everyone on the boat when they all think there's no possible way you can still be on & then you muscle the tube over.

BUT like i said & others have said, tubes belong on windy, blown out afternoons, not glassy water @ 8 am or 9pm, thats when people really get mad.

Have fun & be respectful of others & everyone will be ok,

Nate

My comment on the whole tubing thing is that kids these days seem so caught up in instant gratification and reward for activities that parents in general should encourage them to do something that may take a few tries to learn. The whole concept of "if at first you don't succeed..." can be applied with an actual sport like waterskiing and kids don't get that direct, free ticket to "fun" on the water that you get with tubing. Kids want to be entertained with zero effort today- look at the popularity of DVD players in everyone's Suburbans these days. Completely ridiculous. Mom is driving the full-size Denali through the McDonalds drive through with "Finding Nemo" playing on the DVD player in the back. Plug the kids in and forget about 'em seems to be the attitude with parents all to often these days. Kids not having fun on the boat? Give them a quick fix on the tube. Not here. As a new father I can tell you right now, my kid won't know what tubing is when the time comes for her to hit the water! Not everything is instant fun, instant gratification, and that's a lesson that should be taught early on- what better opportunity than by ditching the tube and breaking out the water skis? This is a bit preachy but keep in mind it's a sarcastic rant more than anything else.

M3Fan wrote: My comment on the whole tubing thing is that kids these days seem so caught up in instant gratification and reward for activities that parents in general should encourage them to do something that may take a few tries to learn. The whole concept of "if at first you don't succeed..." can be applied with an actual sport like waterskiing and kids don't get that direct, free ticket to "fun" on the water that you get with tubing. Kids want to be entertained with zero effort today- look at the popularity of DVD players in everyone's Suburbans these days. Completely ridiculous. Mom is driving the full-size Denali through the McDonalds drive through with "Finding Nemo" playing on the DVD player in the back. Plug the kids in and forget about 'em seems to be the attitude with parents all to often these days. Kids not having fun on the boat? Give them a quick fix on the tube. Not here. As a new father I can tell you right now, my kid won't know what tubing is when the time comes for her to hit the water! Not everything is instant fun, instant gratification, and that's a lesson that should be taught early on- what better opportunity than by ditching the tube and breaking out the water skis? This is a bit preachy but keep in mind it's a sarcastic rant more than anything else.

Joel is my new hero of the week. Well put!!

Hollywood wrote: reidp wrote: Let's see, it's the middle of a Sunday afternoon, the lake is full and rough as all get-out from every kind of boat mentionable. You can't ski or wake, and you damn sure can't barefoot. CQ and myself skiid to the sandbar from the far West tip of the lake on Sunday afternoon.

Oh that looks like some serious, heavy skill-set skiing there to me. HW, are you starting on TWO skis!? And then were you vying for the straightest line competition in that second shot? Not impressed at all, and no point made. You'd have looked better riding tandem on a big bertha.

EDIT: Tubes weren't invented in the age of the DVD or video games. They've been around forever. Pete, nor myself for that matter enjoyed having the 4" long metal valve stem from a real tractor tube scratching you in the ribs.     

Hollywood wrote: Ok so there are only 4 of us in the "no f*cking tubes on my boat" club (Pete, Joel, Alan, Kevin)? I admit I have in the past but am a born again skier.

For me, I should clarify that it's the parents putting little kids on the tubes that drives me nuts. Kids under, let's say 10-12 years of age. Besides the instant gratification angle (which, I believe, I've covered), it can be dangerous. The kids have no control of where the tube is going and often times they are tubing in an overcrowded area. The parents also rarely know what's going on, driving while standing up and looking backwards! My wife knocked her cousin unconscious when their heads collided on one of those torpedo tubes. The cousin was face-down in the water, but made it through OK in the end. Another thing is the parents who have the 2 year old on the tube, idling in no-wake zones or around marinas, bridges, and docks as if the tube is some kind of custom seat for the kid all day. Bring the damn kid in the boat and put the tube away for god's sake. The kid can go for a 1mph ride on the tube in a swimming pool next time.

Adults or teens tubing is less annoying to me conceptually (unless it's messing up good water) because let's assume they already know how to ski and are just screwing around and having fun. That to me is more realistic and acceptable than having the little youngsters on the tube. I've had some hilarious times as a teen on a tube, but I never even rode one until I was almost out of highschool. Heck, I bet if I rode a tube today (again, not that I would) it would be a riot. I did actually seriously consider getting one of those flying tubes before they were banned. That looked like a good time and the videos always made me laugh.

I didn't write that, and even if I did I just said my tubing days are OVER. PLBC is the one that submitted the Diary entry.

Owner: Kurt Fleischmann

Hollywood wrote: I didn't write that, and even if I did I just said my tubing days are OVER. PLBC is the one that submitted the Diary entry. Owner: Kurt Fleischmann

My bad, I assumed that the collective "we" in the listing would include the other co-owner.

Congratulations on your rebirth

From one new Nautique owner to another, welcome. Sorry I'm late with that. I know we've moved on to tubing, but I figured I'd respond to a couple of your original questions before tossing my measly $.02 down the well.

Backing Up. You think you've got it bad. Try spending several years behind an inboard that backs to the right and then buying one that backs to the left. I have one person who swears to me that he can back a Nautique straight as an arrow, but so far, I have to do the old reliable bump forward to correct. That is, when you put it in reverse, the transom will swing to port. Turn your wheel to the left and ocassionally bump the throttle into forward gear to bring the nose back to the left. When picking people up at the dock, we just back it in and let them hop on the platform. If you are docked sideways, to pull away, we always just pushed the boat away a bit and then reversed (assuming you're docked on the driver's side). In our old MC, you bumped the nose toward the dock just slightly, then reversed (because the transom would swing toward the dock). But with your boat, if you can get the nose away from the dock, you can just reverse away as the rh rotation will pull the transom away from the dock.

Two Speedos. My understanding is that two speedos is a throwback to the days before speed control in water ski tournaments. That way, if you lose one, the judge has a backup to determine speed. In older boats, the perfect pass gauge replaces a speedometer. Do the newer boats still have dual speedos plus a perfect pass gauge?

Tubing. What can I say? I don't like it either. Apart from and to pile onto the reasons mentioned, our two biggest reasons we don't is (1) no control surfaces on a tube (I don't count the riders feet). We had a girl die on a lake we frequent when her dad swung her into a channel marker by accident. She had no control. (2) We've found that kids who start off tubing seem less likely (in our experience) to transition to skiing (or boarding or anything else). Our little boy rides an old Zip Sled/Bob Sked that we picked up the summer before last. They are hard to find, but they are out there. You can sit on them, kneel on them, or stand on them. They float and are loads of fun. Our two year old loves it (although his mother or I are dragging behind him at slow speeds at this age).

Good luck with your new boat. You're going to love it!

I wish you and yours the best. I'm pulling for you!

I think this is also a regional conversation as well. I live on Orange County, CA. All the soccer moms with SUV's decked out with the latest in AV equipment dominate the roadways. Both parents tend to ether have jobs or dad is work-ahaulic and mom is out maintaining what god and her plastic surgeon gave her. If your kids live in an area with this influence then 2 things will occur. 1) McDonalds will be considered dinner as everyone will be too busy and 2) TV's, DVD's, Computers and Video games systems will either be in your vehicle, or the vehicles your kids rides in for carpool or visiting with friends.

I remember with my first kid, pacifier dropped on the floor, it was thrown out and a new one purcased, second kid it was cleaned and possibly boiled and given back to her, by last one it was immediately stuck back in her mouth unless something wasn't stuck to it, in which case it was cleaned off as best as possible. Guess what? They all lived and I love them all. They are as lazy as I was when I was their age. They would rather sleep than wake up, They ride motorcycles and quads, participte in school sports and make me very, very proud. Yours will to.