Preamble: These boats are all hand laid and hand built in limited numbers. The decks are fastened to the hulls with structural fasteners and then the deck is glassed to the hull on the inside. This in conjunction with the compound curves in the hull produces a very strong and stiff structure that has withstood the test of time in very rough service. The story: I am going to start with the 18 foot skier. We can go back later and fill in the other boats if anyone wants. Several of us here own 18's skier and I know there is interest in that boat. The 18 was designed by Ab Crosby Sr as a race boat. It evolved into the ski boat. It came in two basic groups. The early ones had a two layer balsa core hull and no stringers. The floor was very low and the balsa filaments ran parallel to the bottom (not end grain). The later ones had an end grain balsa core hull with stringers and a slightly higher floor because of the stringers. The floor ended near the front of the drivers seat so the drivers feet actually rest on the hull giving him a little more leg room. They were produced in both outboard and inboard outboard configuration. The inboard outboards included Mercruiser and Volvo, Chevy and Ford V-8's and a six. The 18's were used in many water ski shows. The first one I ever saw was at the Tommy Bartlett show in the Dells WI. It had two Mercury straight six's on it that had a sound of their own. Sort of like a 12 cylinder Ferrari. I remember seeing them turn hard enough to get the outside prop out of the water and the engines would scream. 2mercs on this board owns a beautiful example of a twin rig 18 with the in-line 6 "tower of power" engines: The 18 performed well with a wide range of power and was good for slow and fast acts and would pull big acts for it's day. It makes a great personal boat too. Lately there has been a resurgence of interest in the 18, with a few being restored. In the near future markbano on this board will host a restoration area on this board with pictures of his beautiful restoration now almost complete. The 18 is the most fun boat I have ever driven. In the hands of an experienced boater it can do some amazing things. An inexperienced boater should TRY to use some restraint with it until he gets used to the handling. I say try because this boat sends the message to the driver to "get it on". Anyone that takes his girl friend for a ride dressed in street clothes on a big rough lake is going to subject her to a rough wet ride and has missed the point of this boat. Checkout this video link: http://www.lakecityskiers.org/ Click on the barefoot pyramid slingshot video link. The 18's wake has no equal in my opinion. The swivel ski (14-17) wake is smooth with a hard spot on the left for those that like that. The slalom wake is flat. A few years after production of the 18's stopped a new company was formed to build a newly designed 20 foot Hydrodyne. This boat was designed by Ab Crosby Jr. It had more beam than the 18 and would handle a lot more power. The venerable 20 became the backbone of the show ski teams. Nothing else can touch it for hauling big acts. These boats are regularly equipped with two or three V-6 big block outboards. Chain Skimmer Dyne Backwater Gamblers There were family models including a few bow-riders. The 17.6 model was created by shortening the 20 so the story goes and that is what is looks like. It is a great family boat. swvski1 and her family own one: I have driven the 18 and the 17.6 with the same motor which was a Johnson/Evinrude 150 carb motor. This motor is nice and light at 370 pounds. The 17.6 turns a little flatter due to it's wider beam. It is not weight sensitive and will haul a load. It has the advantage of a big storage area in the bow because the fuel tank is in the stern. The wake is quite good with a little more turbulence at swivel speeds and with the same hard spot on the left side. I have also driven the 17.6 with a Mercury 75 hp carb motor that weighs 303 pounds. The boat is amazing with this motor and it will pull up a 200+ pounder on two skis with a 17 prop and I believe it would pull him up on a slalom with a 13 prop. The 20 and the 17.6 were also offered as I/O's. The company stopped building outboards and focused on the Hydrodyne inboards. I will leave the inboard history to others. Later the inboard production stopped also. This left the teams with no source for a boat that could haul the big acts and the value of used 20's started up. This situation existed for 3 to 4 years when Tom Miller decided to start building 20's. He had purchased one of the 20 molds. He started producing 20's with the same workmen that built them before, including himself. The teams now had a source for their heavy duty tow boats. Tom improved the 20 and now some of them are powered by 3 250 hp outboards. The decks are bolted to the hull with 1/4 inch bolts and then glassed together on the inside resulting in essentially a one piece boat. Here is a link to a classic example of Tom's boats. It has 3 250 Yamahas and 1000 pounds of ballast in the bow. This is the Wonder Lake IL team at the 2006 water ski show national tournament, it is a slide show, so wait for the slides to change. The explanations are at the top: http://www.wonderlakeskiteam.org/ This was the highest scoring act in the 2006 nationals. Tom continues to build the 20 and the 18. His boats are now called "the Dyne". Tom redesigned the 18's deck to include a built in pylon and a rear seat. I am looking for a picture of it now. It should be noted that Tom builds 6 or 8 20's per year for the teams and less than one 18 per year. They are mostly custom built to serve the needs of the buyers. He can custom build one for you. He is not getting rich building these boats and it is my opinion that he does this to serve the needs of the great water ski show teams that buy his boats. This is the part of the Hydrodyne history that I am familiar with. If there are any corrections or additions out there post away. I am hoping that Bev Miller will provide us with names and dates. She was present during the whole time period I covered and knows a lot about it. Note: This history is a work in progress and will be edited to add new information.
