Ski behind a Fountain?
 

Not your normal Fountain question, but I'm looking to get into a 27 or 29' Fever, but need to be able to ski/wakeboard behind it. Is it even possible behind a Fountain? Simple prop change, or are the drives too high?

we ski and tube behind my 29 all the time........the key is a really long rope....like double length of normal ski rope or more......you get out behind the roughed up portion of the wake where the water from both sides of the boat meet and make like a little "roost" its really quite calm......my boat falls off plane with the Mirage 3 blades at about 30 mph so its a fast ride........some 4 blades will get you down to about 25 I hear

30 would be ok for slalom, but need 20-22 mph for wakeboards.

Tried it with my 27 Fever and it was a waste of time and money. Like pullmytrigger said a long rope is a must and its a fast ride and it stings when you fall off. If the people you are towing are not real good than it will take all the fun outta learing belive me.:( :chick:

Used to slalom behind my 27 for years. Used a 100' rope. Great for jumping waves, not too good for sharp cuts, always slack in the rope!

In short..........No. Maybe some other water toys like the above pic, but not wakeboarding. My 29 takes forever to plane out and almost can't hold 22mph. And I don't think anyone's ever put a tower on them anyways. They just were not built for that in mind. Living in Orlando, I get that question ALL the time. "Can you wakeboard behind it?" I reply, "No" They reply, "well what do you do with it then?" I reply, "Hawlass!!!!" :evilb: Actually I'm getting so sick of the question and wakeboarding in general, (oversaturated here in Otown) I'll just slap the next person who asks!:eek: J/K.............maybe:D

Hey oneski, there is lots of great deals on older inboard ski boats out there right now. If you are serious about skiing or wakeboarding it may be better to get two boats:D I know it may sound like a stretch, but if you have room to store them both, you will be happier in the end. Besides, half the wear and tear on each boat and the fuel you save with the ski boat will take care of the cost of maintenance and insurance for the inboard!:D :cool:

I'm glad i got a fountain then, I use the flying manta ray tube and my old CC could only do about 50mph which was juuuust enough, its going to be a painful year.

Also in Extreme boats they had pics of a ski race behind high performance boats up to 90ish i believe, check it out...I think it was Catilina.

You will need to under prop it to make an OK tow boat....ive never seen one with a tow eye. Doesnt sound fun to me. Find a person with a ski boat and trade him fast rides for pulling your kids. :D

Mine has a factory ski eye (think its factory that is), its right under the stern light approx 3" below

I remember pulling a skier behind my Chris Craft Stinger 260... once! He hit one side of the wake and cleared the other! We all told him he was a awesome skier when he admitted he was "just hanging on for dear life and the fact that he landed on his ski was pure luck." The Fountain takes longer to plane...I agree with the others, get a ski boat.

You can't have it all :) Go fast or do water sports, hard to do both. If you really want to do both, buy a 24' bow rider.

my friends and I skied behind an 80 mile per hour 27 lots of times. you just have to use a 75 foot rope and I'm tellin' ya it's still a blast. I was running a lab 28 bravo on the boat. we're planning on skiing behind my 38, not sure if we're gonna need 100 foot rope or not but it's gonna be a blast

if you need a ski eye i have one

Man skiing behind these boats hurts when you fall off. Then add storage of skiis, ropes and tubes they just arent made for it. Top it off gas is already bad, add a skier I cant imagine. I mean I guess if its every once in a while thing. But if your going to do it all the time your family and yourself would be much happier in a more multi purpose boat such as Four winns, Sea ray, larson, etc. All make good boats up to 24-26ft i beleive.

I agree a spade is a spade. You cant make a Row boat a go fast boat either. Some boats are better multi purpose use boats than others but fountains were built for one thing. Buddy has a 25 ft sting ray and that thing still pounds 55mph which isnt bad for a deep v open bow.

If yiou want to take the kids wakeboarding. Don't use the Fountain. If you are somone that gets up first time every time and skis for a mile w/o crashing most of the time. It can be fun. A pretty bummpy cross over the wakes when you are cutting. But all and all. It is good excesze and a great waY to get your body pumped up on the wat to see the Ladies!! Plus its like 110 here on the lakes so it feels real good. Freshwater only!!

Here is a vid from a few years ago

fast forward to 3.50 minute mark to see the skiing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKehD...Nil-XeL1O8mInd

I like to have the right boat for the whatever I do.

Not sure how much fun it would be for the skier on my boat.

[youtube]n166ndUEcWc[/youtube]

Exactly why i want a SSM boat!!! Perfect for skiers, tubes and A$$clown wake boarders:lolhit:

If you can afford it, and have the dock space, keep the Islander for a ski boat.

Lol! do you ski at 80?

Wake boarders.. lol. Their waves USED TO bother me . LOL!!

It's my understanding that mine was built for the Catalina Ski Race in 2002... Now get you some skiing at 110!! It actually won the race that year according to an old edition of a powerboat magazine I saw a couple years back...

Sure would be nice. Would have to have coin to do that or be signing lots of loan documents.

I like that reply " Hawlass " ....
Unfortunately some of us entry level Fountain owners can't do that , most 27' Fountains with a stock 502 or 496 can barely make it over 67 mph on a consistant basis . I often get people with wake boardboats asking how fast will that thing go ? I would love to be able to say 90mph .
For the person that is looking for a fast wakeboard boat that is capable of hitting mid to high 60's , a Mastercraft X80 might be the ticket . I had one pass me last summer so I hammered the throttle down to catch up and it took a long time before i started to gain on him slowly . That X80 had to be doing 64-66 mph cause my 27' Fountain will only do 67-68 on a good day . I ended up talking to the guy and he cliams the boat has twin engine shaft drive props . As far as wakeboard boats go .. that was " da chit " .
I love my 27' but being shamed by a "Wakeboardboat" was no fun .

get that wakeboard boat in 2-3ft chop and see if he can keep up:drink:

For those that have skied behind a go fast with thru hull exhaust, how was the noise level?

Also a thought would be how fast one could return to the skier once down. Wake and Ski boats turn pretty tight at speed. What about the go fast handling, and all that rope?

I grew up with the direct drive non bow rider ski boats. Those things up to 47-50 mph are performance boats.
They will turn and accelerate like nothing you ever seen.

wash outs are are blast with them!

Our boats just are not made for the same thing.

Turn the oposite drection your pro turns to do a u turn. (Was left for my 27) This will turn quickly w/o any blow out. As far a the though hulls. It sounds *****EN !. You get to hear your motor! not to loud.

We had a Century Arabian ( mohogany) that had a 390 w 2 4's. My pop's would wring it out to get 55 mph. At that time he would spin the wheel and it would completey spinout! and keep going.. Lol!

Ya no doubt about that , but not many days spent in 3' chop on inland lakes . Most of the chop is created by those F@#!n wakeboard boats . One thing they are good for is catching some air time off their wake in a Fountain , that gets their attention ! lol

Got a 27 Fever,, Pull my Daughter all the time on a Tube. Sucks up some fuel, hard to turn but works fine. No different than putting a trailer hitch on your corvette. You gotta do what cha gotta do......

Come to lake Michigan! Then again, a 27 fountain is a bit light for lake Michigan. Sometimes I wish I had a 42 out there

I have wakeboarded with my 47 Fountain. If you are good, it is fine. The wake is huge so it's not for beginners. A friend of mine has a Supra Launch but gets much more air time behind the Fountain.

Grew up on Lk MI now live close to Ontario. A 27 is good sized boat for the big lakes, is it perfect no. But theres been plenty of times I wouldnt be out there in a 50ft boat.

In need of video evidence.... :coolcowboy: