I got new to me ski's!

[Irv964]

I wrote this as a reply to the "Water ski lenght" post below but I reposted because I have some more newbie questions below this post.

"Well I picked up those other set of ski's tonight and they were 67" inches long and best of all they were O'Brien's as well!! They look brand new and the lady I picked them up from said they were, her father bought them and never used them? They still had the orignal price tag on them at $250 with a sale price of $192.57. He also threw in an O'Brien ski handle and what looks like at least a 60' ski rope? Plus he threw in the mechanism for attaching the rope to the rings on the back of a transom with the wheel inside(don't know proper name?) ( I don't need it as my boat has the ski pylon)
To say the least I am very happy and especially knowing I picked up everything for $100.00 bucks!!"

This brings up another question, what kind of maintenance should I do to these ski's? Are there any types of protectants to put on the boots to keep them from drying out and cracking? Also with the adjusting tabs that you squeeze together for your foot size, should they be lubed with anything especially over the winter months? Is it also a good idea to wax the tops? Anything needed for the bottoms? They are O'Brien Freestyles which are Black and red and have a plastic/composite bottom? Any and all info would be appreciated............Irv964

 

[craze1cars]

Re: I got new to me ski's!

You got a great deal with all the xtras thrown in!

As to your question on maintaining skis, I will be of little use. My rigorous "maintenance" schedule generally involves jamming a misc variety of about 6 different skis (depending on who's skiing with me on a given day) into a very tight ski locker, which often creates gouges/scratches and other such blemishes as they bounce and rub against each other throughout the course of a long skiing day. And I have never washed or waxed or treated a ski or binding in my life. Nor have I ever replaced or damaged a binding. I have some skis that are between 20 and 30 years old...most are still used semi-regularly by certain members of my skiing posse. The older ones are kinda ugly, but 100% functional. The same could be said for the skis...LOL. And I'm far more interested in functionality than appearances.

I will say that beyond the scraching/gouging habit I seem to have, I believe my storage habits are actually better than many, as my boat is always trailered and parked in a dehumidified/climate controlled workshop between uses. And I'm very careful to spend 5 minutes opening all hatches and storage compartments so they air out while it's in the garage, and I hang any wet vests and accessories out to fully dry. So my stuff ALWAYS dries 100% between uses and is never left sitting out in the sun. This is difficult to accomplish with covered outside and/or slip storage in the humid and sometimes rainy summer months (depends on your storage location of course). But I believe these are the two HUGE keys to keeping this stuff lasting long, especially the rubber on the bindings (and your boat seats/finish/floor/structure/lifevests, etc).

So I say just keep 'em out of the sun and make sure they're fully dry between uses. As far as rubber is concerned, Wet + sun = rot. And dry + shaded = indefinite lifespan. As your 7 year old turns professional, I bet you'll be wanting to upgrade your skis long before this pair wears out!

Congrats and enjoy!

 

[Irv964]

Re: I got new to me ski's!

Thanks for all your help Craze1cars, you have gone above and beyond with all the info you have provided! This second set is by far the better set and better deal than those 64" O'Brien's I was considering, and thanks to you I got them instead!
I will do as you say and make sure they stay out of the sun and are kept dry, I do try and do that as often as possible with everything else I own related to boating so this shouldn't be too hard looking after the ski's either. Thanks again for all your help, I appreciate it very much!..............Irv964