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I have a 03 Horizon 180 with 4.3 GL engine. How do I go about pulling a 200lb skier out of water? At what RPM do I throttle to and get it going? I've tried it a few times and haven't been able to do it. I've read a manual on water sking and it appears easy, but out in the water is another thing. Oh, same issue for Wakeboarding. Thanks.

First, let me ask is your problem with the boat not planing with skiiers with average or above skill levels, or do you have a 200lb inexperienced skiiers that is failing to get up? I'm confused by what you mean when you've tried a couple of times and haven't been able to do it. I've pulled a lot of skiiers, but would like to understand your issue more before throwing out some recommendations.

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2005 FW Horizon 250
8.1L VP DP

I have an H180 with the 3.0 and i can pull an experienced skier or wake boarder out of the water no problem. For example my brother is 6'2" about 225lbs and with his experience its a piece of cake pulling him up but someone that size with no to little experience would be tough. But all i do to pull someone out is after they say go i put the boat in gear than nail it to full throttle and back off once on plane. Hope this helps a little

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2006 Horizon 180 3.0 Volvo SOLD
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee

+1

You put it in gear to tighten the rope and helps to stabilize the rider. Inexperienced skiers will need more power to pull them out, but the 4.3 has more than enough. Wakeboards, I probably use 1/2 throttle to get someone out of the water.

To pull around 18-20 mph for a wakeboard the RPMs are around 2800-3000, a skier will probably be around 3300 rpms (both are once they are up and out of the water).

I also use a 4-blade prop for watersports, which has extra holeshot and will plane out faster than the stock 3-blade, but the 3-blade does work for the same purposes.

I think there are skis that have a larger surface area and are geared towards beginners or larger riders, something like this may help if you haven't already looked into.

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-Rob.


Current boat: 2011 Yamaha AR210
Previous boat: 1998 Horizon RX 4.3GL SX

The skier is inexperienced as is the captain. I think the boat runs fine and gets on plain rather quickly.

If your wakeboarder is inexperienced as well, you are facing similar issues. It is not the boat. When it comes to pulling a wakeboarder up, the "nail it" approach is not really the best. Easing to full power is a better approach. Your inexperienced wakeboarder should be patient in letting the board plane on its own before trying to stand. An experienced wakeboarder can handle more of the "nail it" approach and will be able to adapt to whichever way you decide to pull them out of the water.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

It sounds like patience will be your best friend. Skiing is fairly simple, but not as easy as it looks. For the boat driver pulling a heavy skiier, he has to help the skiier get out of the water. This means starting with the drive trimmed all the way down, and giving it full throttle until the boat is fully on plane. Even if the skiier appears to be up, pulling back on the throttle too soon will cause them to sink a bit. Throttle movements should be slow and smooth as to not jerk or slack the rope. Also, as simple as it sounds, make sure you start off in a straight line. An experienced skiier can compensate for these things, but they will cause some grief for an inexperienced skiier.

As for the skiier, I was taught there are three basic principals in learning to water ski: 1) Arms straight, 2) Knees bent & 3) Feet together. As simple as that sounds, it can be difficult to put all three together at first. For #1, the skiier will have a natural tendancy to "pull back" on the rope (pull the handle towards their chest). This will cause the skis to move forward and the skiier will end up on their backside. For #2, many beginners try to "stand up" on the skis, especially as they are coming out of the water. This causes the skis to sink, and the skiier winds up on their face. It may look funny, but I tell people to stay like they are sitting on a chair even after they get going, then slowly stand up as they get comfortable. Carefully, because as they stand up, they will have a tendancy to pull back on the rope (see #1 above). For #3, it seems obvious, but is difficult to master for a lot of beginners. Failure to do this is obvious, unless your beginner is much more flexible than I am.

With the skiier in the water, make sure the skiier has the rope between their skis (obvious). They should essentially be in sitting position in the water utilizing the three basic concepts above. The skis have the tips out of the water at an angle greater than 45 degrees from the surface. A lot of skiiers think they need to start with the skis as close to horizontal as possible, but this is not true. The boat will pull them up and the skiis on to the surface, they don't need to help it. The driver should idle forward to take the slack out of the rope, once the rope is tight, the skiier should give a yell indicating they are ready. The driver should give it full throttle until the boat is on plane as stated above.

Most of all, have fun and don't get frustrated. It may help if you have any experienced skier friends to go with you or even pull you. They can tell you a lot by watching you. Once you put it all together, it's a blast.

You'll have to get someone else to walk you threw wakeboarding. I'm not nearly as experienced in that watersport as I am just picking it up myself.

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2005 FW Horizon 250
8.1L VP DP

Besides the above, I recommend a cheap video cam-corder. This allows quick play-back for the individual so they can see immediately what they did right, and wrong. I did this last summer, and it has helped a bunch.

I have found (teaching peeps to wakeboard, that is) that being in the water with the "learner" helps even more. I have two boards, and ski ropes. This puts me just feet away from the trainee. Add an experienced driver, and PP, and you go from first try to comfortable beginner in no time! Too bad my GF is having troubles yet.

As said above, have fun and be patient.

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.