Hi folks, I'm new to the forum. Been skiing for about 40 years, barefooting for 32. Currently doing as much slalom skiing as I can - typically 2x a week free skiing shortline (28 off) at 35-36 mph. Ocassional slalom course but have had really minimal experience there over the years. PR is 22 off @ 34 mph. My own boat is an '89 Glastron Carlson CVX-16 w/120 Evinrude. I spend most of my time skiing behind friends '99 Malibu Response LX, '04 Response LXi, '04 MC 197. Great boats awesome shortline wake. Out of my price range. And I like outboards for their lower trailered weight, greater amount of interior room, trimmability, etc. I've thought my next boat might be a '88-91 MC Prostar 200 outboard. This is the inboard flat hull with skegs using the 200 Yam. Before they went to the slight V-hull Barefoot 200. I have not skied behind one, but hear great things about the wakes. They have a bunch of room in them. And they are a bit difficult to find. I've done quite a bit of research over at TMCowners.com. Amazingly they are sort of MC-biased! I recently came across a 1989 Hydrodyne 17.6 XB w/ 150 outboard. Not a bunch more seat room than my CVX, but a bit more floor space. That the pylon is behind the rear seat makes that a usable rear seat even when skiing. I have not skied behind it or any Hydrodyne, Dynaski etc. Question: for the slalom skiers around here, anyone have any experience behind the 17.6 XB? I don't care so much about ultimate tracking (i.e. contemporary inboard) and I don't need 340 hp to pop out of the water. (a 150 outboard propped right is quick anyway). How about the wakes? Decent for me at 34-36 mph? How about slowing down to my 14 yr olds 28-30 mph slalom speed at 15 off? Thanks.
Welcome to the forum. The 17.6 and the 20 foot dyne were awsa approved boats in the mid to late 80's, so they will definitely do what you want. The wakes are a bit hard and can kick you a bit, but at shorter lengths should be very appealing. I know of several of them around WI so if you want to take a test run and you are close enough, let me know. The 17.6 for just plain skiing is a great, lightweight and fast boat with a 150 when set up right. A trim wedge is a must on a 17.6 to provide more tuck to keep the bow down, but it can be a really fun boat with a V6. In addition, you almost cannot kill them. I've yet to see a 17.6 with a bad transom, and my first dyne was an 87 17.6 that had a huge hole in the side from being hit by an aluminum bass boat at high speed. Repaired it and it is still in service today.
http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/8/4/86818884.htm There are wake comparison threads in this forum. jim
I run a transom wedge on my Glastron. Gives it a nice low-speed plane with the nose down. It looks to me like the '89 is the same hull as the older low-profile boats but with a new deck.
If you are referring to the 17.6, it is a foot wider than the 18, and shorter. So, I guess that looks are deceiving. The wake is different. The handling is night and day different. jim
That is Tom and Carrie's boat - former owners of Lake Elmo Sports. Very clean boat. The old 150 Johnsons were not real strong, but good motors as long as tuned well. 16 pitch prop and a wedge works great on those boats, and you will probably never need to buy another boat. The 17.6's last forever. On another note, if you sell your Glastron let me know, I have a friend looking for a CVX/CSS
The 17.6 is a good family ski boat (think minivan). It was made by shortening a mold from the 20'. The 20' is the workhorse of most show ski teams. Drives about the same as the 17.6, has more space, and no horsepower capacity rating due to it being over 20' long (think suburban with a modded 8.1). The 18' is similar to the 17.6 and 20', but as Jim said is a foot narrower, and just a bit longer than the 17.6. This one handle like a sports car. Doesn't have quite as much interior room as the 17.6. And if you want a brand new one, you have to have one custom made as a blank hull and rig it yourself. I haven't slalomed seriously behind an outboard before, but from the skiing I have done, I believe the slalom wake should be pretty decent with either the 17.6 or 18. The 20' wake should be about the same shape, and a little bit bigger, due to the extra weight. I don't think you have to worry about power. A 150 on an 18' can pull 4 guys out of the water fairly easily with a 17 pitch prop.
I figured in the small world of Hydrodynes, someone would ID the boat as soon as I posted a pic (they calim only 240 hrs ont the boat). I'm not the purist, have never done show skiing, so the 18 and 20s while very cool, have less appeal to me as a family boat. This one seems reasonably priced. I just need to decide if it is enough more boat that what I've got. Windshield is pretty nice to have at 6:00 a.m. skiing early and late season. Do the Dynes have any kind of a chine or lip at the edge of the hull to knock down spray? I'm not super short line, but that can be an issue still. A 150 is plenty for me. Last year we pulled up 8 skiers behind my BILs '01 Glastron GX180 w/ 150 Johns. w/21" pitch stainless prop! There were no big people in the group, skier weights from 185, 170, 165, 150s a couple 130s on jr skis. No one on jump skis or anything special. OK. I admit we dragged for about a block. But only after giving up on three attempts to pull up 9. With kids in college I had kind of side-lined the boat shopping (but always looking of course). And I'm getting all the slalom I need with friends these days so I need to weigh this one a bit. I should go take a look at the boat. Maybe ski it too. My Glastron (handling like a sports car...looks like one too):
The 17.6 actually has a more pronounced reverse chine than the 20's did, so that should help with spray a bit. You can also obviously trim up or down to help with this as well. Only in a stiff headwind would you have much of a problem with spray I would guess. The dyne also has a fin so it should track quite a bit better than your Glastron, though the Glastron probably has a bow fuel tank which helps it track ok. http://www.hydrodyners.com/images/87rudead.jpg This is the I/O version, but a 17.6 nonetheless http://www.hydrodyners.com/images/1988adhydroxb1.jpg http://www.hydrodyners.com/images/1988adhydroxb2.jpg
The Glastron with transom wedges and running trim-down tracks nice and straight. However, because my boat is light (725 lb hull) and has quite a bit of dead rise, it rocks when using the pylon and skiing shortline where I am skiing higher on the boat, and beginning to load from the side. A short cable bridle on the transom eyes solves that. Um, speed-control is driver dependent. Not quite like Perfect Pass behind a 375 hp Malibu. Thanks for the links. and all the insights. It is great to find this site as a resource.
