Just purchased '85 Sunsport, want to ski but no tower...

Hi guys,

I just purchased an '85 Sunsport and was hoping to do a little skiing behind it. I know it is not a TS6M but can I still ski behind this boat. Does anyone here ski behind this boat?

I see a lot more interest in wakeboarding behind this boat, which is fine, but I grew up skiing and want to get back out there.

The thing is there is no ski tower in the boat. The traditional spot to mount one in front of the engine compartment there is a larger bench seat that comes right up to the engine.

So, am I out of luck? Can I somehow mount a tower elsewhere? There isn't a traditional "rope hook" on the transom like other boats that do not have towers, only the lift ring, which has a sticker saying 'do not use for waterskiing' right below it, haha.

So what should I do, I want to ski behind my first true inboard boat I've ever owned!

Take pictures of both the area in front of the engine and the transom for us and post them up here or reach out to me via PM if you are having issues uploading.

You can get a recreational ski wake but not slalom coarse worthy . There should be a D ring in the center or the transom you can pull from.

I thought sunsport had pylons? Could have been removed. You should have a dring on the transom. As for skiing sunsports are little bigger then my Labrisa and has a taller freeboard. My wake is pretty nice I would assume that it should be pretty good. If it was me I would ski with as little fuel in as you can and remove the back seat. The less weight in the rear the higher it will sit out of the water. I would also check the wake plate to see where it's set

I free ski behind this boat(well actually an 84 Rider but it's the same boat), and I ski behind a Nautique 200 in the slalom course. The Nautique is arguably the best slalom tug on the water. I'm a 15 off skier and I can run the course most days at 49K, and am currently PB'd with 3 @ 52K.

When I free ski behind my boat, I ski at 52K because that's the pass I'm working on in the course. When I first get behind my boat after skiing all week at the club behind the Nautique the wakes feel huge and hard. After a set behind my boat I get used to it, and it's no big deal.

Bottom line, unless you're skiing short line at 55K (34MPH) this boat is more than fine for slalom. As for your pylon, for sure that boat came with a pylon, it's called a Sunsport Skier for a reason. The Rider was hailed as the first open bow tournament ski boat. Lift the floor in front of the motor and you should find the original bracet for the pylon. If you're lucky, the yob who neutered your boat managed to remove the pylon without cutting anything.

Please tell me that the bench seat that is covering where the pylon goes is not facing forward!