Best Hydrodyne Memory

My presence was requested on the Lido Deck by a certain relative of mine. So I figured I should post something. After all, this web site is not winterized.

What is your best Hydrodyne memory?

I had a hard time picking just one memory. I couldn’t even narrow it down to five. So here are my top ten Hydrodyne memories.

10. Skiing in swivel Tournaments. I’ve entered 20 tournaments in my career and skied behind a Hydrodyne in 16 of those. I have some wonderful memories of some tournaments, and well, let’s just say others I’d rather forget. Think of it as the “Thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” Plus, it’s fun to picture that dude taking that nasty wipeout down the ski hill.

9. Showing up at the Chain Skimmer reunion last year with our 17.6 & skiing behind it in the Alumni show. Fun.

8. Swivel skiing behind my dad’s 18 in Florida with no observer. Hey, it is not required in the Sunshine State. I’d love to hear what that safety dude at Nats would say about that.

7. Having a picnic in my dad’s 18. Hydrodynes have multiple uses.

6. Camping with our Hydrodyne (not in it, although that could be fun too). And hey, it is also handy for transporting all our extra gear!

5. Watching my mom ski behind my dad’s 18 this past summer. She is a pro, she doesn’t even need to take off her eyeglasses. <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_cool.gif" border="0" alt="Cool" title="Cool" />

4. Doing 360s behind my dad’s 18 on a Dick Pope Jr., Thompson and, my personal favorite, the Big Easy. Do they even make that ski anymore? I highly recommend one.

3. Teaching my niece to kneeboard. She’s got a big future in show skiing with the “smile and wave” thing down pat. I also enjoyed watching my brother slalom for the first time in 15 years. His daughters were very impressed. They said, “He is way better than you Aunt Pam!” Thanks.

2. Skiing with my husband for the first time this summer. He just learned how to ski this year so don’t look for us in the doubles competition any time soon.

1. Teaching my son how to ski and kneeboard this past summer.

 

Well,

That about covers it. I put the release line in my teeth during the barbell turns. It is fun with just the two of us with no distractions. There is usually no other traffic on this lake.

I hope that some of you younger folks can experience the sheer fun that we have. Boating is a great family sport. It builds good memories.

Your mom really laughed at some of those.

dad

 

Wow, that warmed my heart.

Though not a dyner, my best memory is when I saw my son Paul get up on the wakeboard the first time......did you know how hard it is to drive while clapping your hands and yelling WHAAAAHOOOOOWWW!!!!

 

I thought about it for a while and this is it:

My son in law went to Baghdad in the winter of 03-04 and earned enough bonus to buy their 17.6. They called me in the spring of 04 and said they needed my help setting up the boat because the speed control was not good enough, and they needed a cover.

I went up and stayed with them and did everything I knew how to do to set it up. Pete did not have much experience driving for her. I knew we did not have much time for him to learn everything he needed to know so I was pretty hard on him and he never complained.

In July he drove her in the regionals to a first place and no one drove any better than him that day. There were drivers there with 30 years experience. His first dock start ever was 2 days before the tournament.

In August he drove for her in the nationals to a first place. No one out drove him that day either. He put that boat exactly where it needed to be and on speed.

Many people at the nationals were surprised that I was not driving. One lady said that I had been driving the nationals since she could remember. It was very satisfying for me to watch it all unfold.

When my granchildren are old enough, we will teach them.

jim

 

Best Hydrodyne memories I have was probably a couple of summers ago during the 4th. We went to the annual 4th of July picnic at the Steger family household, which of course was full of many Skimmer friends also. I remember Lars and I were in charge of pulling people behind the Dyne all day. I remember going for a trick run with Chip's dad Bill. He was the one that taught me how to ski when I was just a peanut, behind his fishing boat with a whole 9.9 on the back. He taught me how to "disc" to. That memory is special to me because the following year he lost his life to a battle with cancer. Later that night my wife and I and another couple went to see the fireworks on the chain in the Dyne. It was an awesome day all in all.

I think we can all share stories of pulling someone of the family for their first time on skis. Many of those come to mind also. Especially the one day my mother "wigged out" on me when I was trying to teach Stephanny how to do 360s around the boat when she was just 10 behind the Dyne in front of the cottage in E.R.

My other memory was when we were trailering the boat 325 miles to E.R.. I remember driving down the street to the cottage when I noticed in the side view mirror that the trailer tire was wobbling horribly. When we LITERALLY pulled in to our driveway the bearings "took a dump". Went to pull the wheel off, and the rim fell off with the hub still attached! Bearing and race were toast. I ended up ordering a completely new axle assembly with new hubs, bearing, and races. They mounted it in E.R., and we were safe to travel once again. How scary.

 

have a very fond Hydrodyne memory. I am in my late 40's now, and grew up in the sixties and seventies. In the summer of 1965 My Dad bought a 1960 16' Shell Lake runabout with a 75 hp Johnson. I thought at the time, it was one of the hottest things on the water,(and it was!) That is, until I saw my first Tommy Bartlett Show, in the Wisconsin Dells, in the summer of 1966. It was then, and there, I recall be being so overwhelmingly impressed by the main tow boat. A brand new 18' Hydrodyne Tournament Skier, Powered by twin 115 hp (straight 6 cylinder) Mercury Outboards! Those twin towers of power on that sleek looking hull, the big chrome plated pylon, and rope guard, made the boat look like it could pull the world if there were a way to hook it on! The pulling power, the super quick acceleration, the way the bow stood up, as the driver hit the throttles when the multiple skier's tow lines drew tight, the loud roar of the props breaking the water in tight turns, was so impressive to me!
I couldn't believe how well orchestrated, and how well executed the water ski act's were! And how incredibly talented the performers were. Coming from a family that spent most of the summers, camping, and waterskiing, we had an immense appreciation for all of the show team members. From that moment, my brother and I decided that, "someday I am going to have a boat like that!" I am now the proud owner of a 1976 18 footer, and he owns a 1984 20 foot twin rig. Hopefully someday my grandson will come to know the rich history of the beloved 'Hydrodyne', and the old girl will be past onto him! I believe that most Hydrodyne owners (who are currently barefooters) can say with some degree of accuracy, that their boats will still be pulling barefooters, when they are too old to foot!

 

I just found these today also. This qualifies for one of my best memories. It was the first time Stephanny got up on skis. It was on 5/23/03 on the Fox River in Elgin. She has accomplished so much since then. She went on to learn slalom, barefoot, and trick ski all within the next four months, not to mention some show stuff too.

Greg

 

Memory from about 1978. I had a 77 18' with a 76 175 Mercury outboard. A friend and Itook a trip down the Chattahoochee River from Columbia, Al to Panama City , Fl. about 12 hours driving.(river in the Allen Jackson song)
The water was so rough in St Andrews bay I had to follow behinda 24' Hydrodyne deck boat at about 15 mph to keep the waves from breaking over my front deck. My passanger pulled his seat out of the bottom of the boat because of the bouncing. That deck boat belonged I think to AB Crosby Jr's uncle.
I have since taken that trip 2 other times in my 20' I/O. I am planing to take the trip again this summer. Long trips where you ride for hours without seeing other boats are so fun and relaxing.

Vann Owens

 

I resurrected this thread because there were not many responses. I thought that some of you might like to add something now that there are more boats in action.

jim