Hi all: I was directed to the Dyna-Ski website, but have some questions and would like to get an idea from those who own them. Little background here. I am a die hard slalom skier, 36 mph at 22+ off. I have a small lake that is probably 12 deep at the most that I ski on. I don't have $50,000 for a Malibu or a Mastercraft. I used to own a 92 SKI RAY with a 175 hp outboard and loved skiing behind this boat and it work really well on the small lake (I have seen a few guys try to come out there with a Larson or Bayliner and they all drag the bottom when they punch the throttle down). So here are my questions. Dyna-Ski 20 footer: Looks like a great boat, but the only pictures on the website show a 250 hp motor. Seems a bit much for me. Was thinking 175 hp would still give me plenty of power and pull out of the hole...plus some 50+ top end speed. I would run a 175 hp with 5 blade stainless steel prop. Any thoughts. Also, could a guy put the pylon on the backside of the storage space? I fear I am going to get hung up on it when coming through the wake during slalom sets. Or am I thinking too much on this and shouldn't have any problems with where the pylon is located? Anybody know the weight of this boat with a 175 hp motor? Maybe 200 hp motor weight? Are we talking 2100 lbs or 3000 lbs? What about wake quality at 34+ mph speeds? Will I be dissapointed or is the wake nice and smooth? How about barefooting wakes with 100 foot ropes? much turbulence or is it nice? What if I went with the 17.5' with a 150 hp? Will that do the trick better than the 20'? Will the 150 be able to track through the slalom course with a guy pulling at each turn or will it shift on me? Looking at 5 blade stainless on this as well? Last, but not least...How is this boat "licensed"...meaning I can't find this or the bank can't find this listed anywhere so does it mean it doesn't have all the criteria needed to be listed as a safe boat like a SeaRay, Tahoe, etc...??? Obviously I would love to be ripping up the water behind a Mastercraft, but these were the original tow boats for slalom skiing. I prefer outboard motors as well. Easier to winterize, better hole shot, etc.. So dyna-ski owners, please help me out. Thanks in advance everyone.
There are a few used 20's around. That would save you a ton of money. Also there a lot of used motors around, specially in the fall from the ski clubs. They would still be under warrantee. jim
Thanks Jim for the quick reply. I probably should have been more clear. My budget is around $30,000-$35,000....so the questions above need to be answered to make my decision on whether I bump to a Moomba or whether I go with the Dyna-ski. I am interested only in the open bow family style Dyna-Ski. I have no interest at all in twin motors or anything like that. My main concerns are: 1) how do I register this boat? Is it coast guard approved? safety? Insurance issues? ect.. 2) How is the wake performance in terms of a die hard slalom skier like myself? Am I going to be dissapointed because of tall wakes or choppy wakes? Especially at short rope lengths and through a slalom course. 3) will the 175 hp be enough for me to do slalom course runs or pulling 2-3 of us barefooting? 4) weight of the boat with respective hp motors. 5) pylon placment concerns. If it is placed that far forward will I get hung up on it crossing the wake. That would not be much fun at 36mph (actually faster as I cross). Can I have the pylon place on the backside of the storage compartment? 6) Boat performance with respective motors. I tried looking this up on boattest.com, but no go there. Wondering hole shot, 0-36 mph, top end (I know that depends on the motor), bow rise, tracking, etc.. Thanks everyone for any help. Lake looks like glass out there right now. Wife is telling me to quit pacing in the kitchen. :?
The slalom wake discussion exists on this site. I think a search will find it. One of our members (MustSkiMotors) owns one of those and is also a club driver. I think he can answer most of your questions. He will answer when he sees this thread I am sure. Or, you could PM him. I don't know how many 20 open bows are out there, but probably not more than a handful. I doubt if any have been, or ever will be tested. This is a very low production custom boat. It is at the very opposite end of the spectrum from the cookie cutter production line boats. In my opinion, if it is properly set up, it will out perform any inboard. With your budget, you might want to opt for the all composite version. jim
If you are serious about time in the course, a stern drive or outboard are not a good choices; the pylon is too far aft and with the prop beyond the transom, agressive slalom skiers will pull the back end of the boat all over. Hydrodyne outdrives and outboards as well as others have this issue and I've skied and driven both (in addition to a flightcraft and mastercraft outboards and switzer outboard). The Hydrodynes are "tractors" designed and best suited to pull individual or multiple skiers for ski shows; they may have started out in the slalom course when first introduced but are never used in competition in todays pro tour for the reasons stated. I can not speak for the dyna ski wake characteristics but I have a 75 tournament skier and it is a great boat for open water training but, it/they are a B!#ch to hold in the course on short line and with tournament speed. I ski into 28 off at 34 mph (I'm 40+ @ 190lbs and 36mph is just a but too much). With your budget, I'd look to a 1992 to 1996 Mastercraft, 1999 to 2000 Nautique (or Malibu). If you don't care about the handling and want a cool looking open water ski boat, the Hydrodyne is a great choice. Try this link but read to the end. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=595 Good luck with your decision. Kevin-
Forgot to mention, the mastercraft and flightcraft outboards did have pylons forward and this helps a bit. However, they still get yanked off centerline of the course a lot more that the inboards we currently use. Kevin-
Hey there, The boat runs very well with a 200HO which is the best value out there in the BRP lineup. A 175 would be fine but probably would not see more than 50 mph, but I'm not sure on that. Due to supplier problems the motor for my boat is not here yet, but should be this week. I have a good relationship with my local Evinrude dealer and he had a guy who wanted a 225HO last fall so we sold mine and I got a 250HO on the way. I am running a 250HO this year simply because we mostly barefoot, and with the gear ratio on it we can run 40 mph at lower rpms than the 200HO. You should be able to get this boat in your price range, and I was asked if I wanted the pylon in back of the storage compartment or in front of it. I like it in front because it gets the boom further forward. This boat will track much better in the course than the 17.6 because you can force more of the keel down by staying trimmed in to help tracking. As to wake, I am no expert but have heard people describe dyne wakes as small, but hard. I think I would recommend a 20 with a 200HO Evinrude or a 200 Opti. Best value and you still get the big block motor, and I think you would be much happier. Dyna-Ski can get the boat set up with either. I am sorry for the quick, rambling reply, on my way out of town and may not get back to the computer until Sunday or Monday. My boat should be ready to go by next weekend or so, not sure where you are but you are welcome to come and drive/ski it if our lakes drop below slow no wake this next week.
H20ski I think I sent you here from the waterskigmag site? I don't agree with Kevin that an outboard is no good for slalom. They are not as good at tracking as an inboard but they can still be excellent. As far as speed control, throw in perfect pass (can be done with Optimax and E-TEC) and you have no problem there. As you have already owned outboards, you know how well they track. The Stejcraft Pro Skier and other Outboards were used in Moomba, the biggest tournament in the world up till about 1999. The further towards the centre of the boat the ski pole is, the better it will track. If the factory can fit one, a tracking fin a little forward of the pole also helps a lot. An E-tec or Optimax 150 will have no trouble pulling you through the course. The 175 version would be better for multiple barefooters. I've pulled 3 180 pound footers with a 150 Yamaha on a 16 foot boat at 40mph (21" high five prop) and 4 footers at 40mph on a 20 foot boat with a Yamaha 150 TRP (makes about 175hp). Both were full throttle with a fair bit of trim. The 150 and 175 will probably not do 48mph with a really big fella out the back one foot footing. If you want that, you need a 200HO or similar. I have to qualify my statements a bit. I've never driven a dyne but I've driven a lot of outboard ski boats and currently own two. A Stejcraft Pro Skier as mentioned early and a Matrix. The 225HO E-TEC is _way_ overkill for what you have listed. It is harder to set one of them up to drive well as they have so much excess power. You only use a small part of the throttle range which can make it harder to be precise if you don't have perfect pass. I have one on a boat that is a lot bigger than a 20 foot dyne and it does anything you can think of with power to spare. A search of my posts will show you about my boat and what it can do with the 225HO. I'm guessing from your post you like the high 5 prop. I would suggest running a 19 or 17 for your use. Many current engines have taller gear ratios than older ones. For example the 150 E-TEC is equivelent to 2" taller prop compared to the carby 150 Yamaha. As to bow rise, it can be zero if you set it up right. Search Jim's recent posts everything you could want to know is there. Tell us more about what level you ski the course at (what rope length and what speed), how heavy your barefooters are and what speed is required for them.
I just want to add one thing here. The small block engines--the 150 and 175 are considerably shorter than the big block engines. If you can live with a small block you can lower the pylon considerably. The farther forward the pylon is the shorter it can be because the boat runs at some positive deck angle. So the pylon should be as far forward as is practical in my opinion. The inboards have the advantage of having a low pylon which serves to reduce the roll and subsequent steer when the slalom skier is trying to pull the boat to the side. The motor/rope guard should be rounded (as opposed to sort of square like mine) so the rope will slide easily over it. The top of the rope guard should be the same height as the top of the engine in the trim position that you ski with. I also think you should ski behind a boat like you are thinking about before you buy one. From my perspective I would just try it, but not with a new one. You are talking about an expensive experiment! I think the builder should be able to add another fin ahead of the existing fin. I think this has already been done on an 18 that now belongs to dynebob. I would be inclined to add another fin just like the stock one mounted ahead of the stock one. Just my opinion, I am not a 20 expert. jim
The fin you are referring to is not like a 20's or an original 18s. The new style 18s come with (2) two single fins. These are just like the "inboard" style tracking fins. I was told the reason for the new style being that the boat will turn less on its sides, and more flat like an inboard by creating space in between the two fins. When I purchased the boat they were not mounted onto the hull. They were separate in a cardboard box. I had to crawl in between the batwing trailer and the hull to mount them. Let me tell you that was a lot of fun! This is an interesting topic. I wonder if River Rat's 18 has the new style fins or the single big style. I personally don't know how some owners can like running their boats without these tracking fins. I remember many years ago that the Chain Skimmer's 1989 20 had the tracking fin fall off during a show. The driver knew instantly when it fell off. The boat slid all over the place. We had to get a new fin fabricated by a local show ASAP because it was that bad. It would be interesting to hear from others on this new topic.
