could a shetland 535 or similar be used for ski

[disschord]

Hi i want to get a shetland 535 or similar primarly for fishing. But would also like to try water skiing and turbo tubeing stuff like that.

Could i use a shetland for this? if so what sort of engine would i need and how would i attach the rope?

cheers

 

[lanason]

Yes - it can be used. If you are towing a child / teenager then 40hp would be sensible minimum - if towing an adult I would go for a 60-70hp, I seem to remeber that 115 was the max for a 535 but I stand to be corrected as per usual. Check the transom is in good condition.

 

[gjgm]

tubing gets rapidly more risky with speed.. 15/20 knts is ample. Skiing, the problem is the speed in getting the skier out of the water quickly, or he gets dragged around 3/4 in the water. For casual skiing, you can get away with 20-25 kts top speed is enough.. but you do need to accelerate pretty fast.

 

[disschord]

thanks guys would that be the same for wakeboarding.

 

[drewstwos]

HI my friend has a 535 with a 75 hp on the back... It goes like the proverbial................It gives the accleeration you need to get a skieer up on the water fast.. and it can be throttled back for tubing and wakeboarding...
Hope thi helps
Drew

 

[Dave_Snelson]

Ha ha ha - of course!! You just ask raven how many happy hours we had with his Shetland 535 with 55 Mariner on the back. Tough little boats and good allrounders! Ski, Ringo, Fish - you can do the lot.

 

[Dave_Snelson]

115? You brave chap you! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Davy_S]

If you have not yet purchased a 535, why not think about a sheltie, (same hull) but more cockpit space. The Sheltie gets onto the plane easier because the weight when loaded is further forward. I have owned both hulls and they go well with a 75 Mariner or similar on the back. I would not consider a smaller engine if you have the boat well loaded up.

 

[lanason]

No, not that brave. My limit would be around the 70 mark - but I think the hull can take a max of 115 for the nutters amongst us.

 

[ExcaliburII]

We had a Shetland 535 for many years, initially with a 50HP, then later with an 80 or 85 - can't recall exactly, it's quite a long time ago now.

Anyway, it was OK for skiing with the 50 as long as not too heavily loaded which was primarily the reason for the upgrade. With the 80 it was very quick and would hoik an adult out of the water very quickly, even with 3 more and a couple of kids on board. Deep water mono starts were possible with 2 adults on the boat - any more and the skiier had to be quite good at it. Fortunately SWMBO is (or was then, anyway!).

To answer the second question, I started off with a simple stainless U-bolt through the transom beside the motor with the ski rope clipped to it. Trouble was, you had to compensate for the off-centre pull with the helm as the load came on. Not a big issue, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist with such things and it didn't feel right. So I put another U-bolt the other side and made up a short rope strop with a running block on it, then clipped the ski rope to that. Much better, as it pulled from directly behind the engine, and ran across to either side nice and smoothly in the turns. Needless to say, the strop has to be long enough to let the motor tilt up without going tight, and short enough not to let the whole gubbins reach the prop when it is slack.

Spent many, many happy hours with this rig and never a problem. Ah, happy days . . .

In summary, would deffo go for a 75-80 ish HP if you are serious about using it for skiing. As others have said, you can always throttle back a bit if it gets too exciting.

Hope this helps.

 

[raven]

Well as Dave Snelson said earlier we had some good fun with my Shetland 535 "Precious Time" around Porthmadog. She was powered by a 55hp (Yam) Mariner engine which provided good balance for the boat - a little underpowered for skiing but didnt stop us getting up.

Take a look at the Shetland website (google for it) and it will tell you that the max engine size is about 60hp otherwise the weight of the engine has the bows pointing up to the stars. I would suggest that this is correct and the 535 is not designed to be a ski boat. But if you want a combination of skiing, touring, picnicing, fishing and generally pootling about, the 535 is a great little boat.