Are these old D!ck Pope Water Skis any good?

[ratdude747]

(Using the word "D!ck" to get around the curse filter... as using the actual brand name results in "****" )

As part of a "free" 1976 Starcraft Montego 16 Tri-Hull Ski Boat I was gifted, I received several ski tow ropes and a couple pairs of skis.

The ropes I've gotten settled out- a couple are good to use (one of which was attached to a transom cable system that's a bit worn), one was good OK until an animal got in the boat and shredded the foam handle off.

The Skis on the other hand are hard to say:



One pair is a set of D!ck Pope III skis that other than some bubbled labels, seem to be in passable shape:



The other is a set of longer D!ck Pope Jr. skis that were left in the ski locker, which unfortunately had a lake festering underneath it (see thread ) and as a result, the clearcoat and inner glue is shot with some rot starting as well:






Gosh knows how old they are... family owned the boat since it left the marina in 1976 (and I found foam life jackets in the boat as old as 1989 )

At the moment, I'm not looking to ski (will use a tube and related ropes also included for initial testing)... no rush here. That said, I'd like to know if either set of skis is worth fixing/using, and if fixing, how one would fix such. My gut feeling is that the III's are usable but the Jr's are firewood due to the water damage (especially the rot). But I have no idea what I'm looking at.

 

[stresspoint]

most people just send them old wood skis off to land fill , however , i have a pair that i have saved / restored for my man cave wall.

restoration is a big job and in retrospect not worth the effort monetary wise , but the do look great on the wall..

 

[dubs283]

Got a pair of **** pope jr cypress gardens wood skis in great shape a while back from a neighbor.

Cut one down and made a long board out of it and the other I gave to a coworker that big time water skied in the 70s/80s. His went on the wall

 

[ratdude747]

Noted. One picture was out of sequence... the mildew'd rubber is on the Jr's (the III's are spotless).

May hang onto the III's since as far as I can see, other than being old/heavy and the labels being junk, they're at lest usable. Not looking to spend $150-$300 on sports gear I'm not sure I want yet. But if that weight (and the skis being short) is enough to make them comparatively unusable... then I dunno.

 

[Scott Danforth]

The skis need restoration if you plan to use them. The wood is splitting at the glue lines. Which means they will split on you if you try to use them. Which usually results in an injury

Mildew is easy to address

However wood skis make better wall art than skis. Being wood makes them probably 45 years old or older.

 

[redneck joe]

If you're 'stupid' enough to take on an almost 50 year old glass boat then please, please be 'stupid' enough to restore them, even if you never use them.

All I ever knew was wood ones.

 

[cyclops222]

I have a caring auto body shop guy. Would not think of a glass boat. Without him helping us. We have never redone any glass mixes.

 

[ejnichol]

I reworked a pair that split like that. Son in law skied on them before split and one came apart while he was getting up or underway on them 2 seasons back. Kind of funny since no hurts involved

You get some waterproof wood clue and some clamps. We are still using them to blow peoples mind. Since no one on our lake water skis just wake boarding and laying around on inflatables.

 

[Scott Danforth]

since you asked how to fix them......

de-rig the skis (take before pictures)

then using a DA, sand down the old varnish to bare wood. I start with 180 grit. if you are careful, you can use a heat gun to remove most varnish prior to sanding.

the splits are fixed by prying apart the split, cleaning out the inside of the split with oxalic acid (wood bleach) to kill any bacteria and compressed air to remove any dirt and debris.

a good clear, repair epoxy in the crack, clamp the wood together and use tape to keep the epoxy in the crack

to take care of the rot, you need to use a router, remove the rot, and then make a wood plug that fits exactly. use the clear epoxy to glue the plug in.

then sand the surface to 240 grit.

apply 3 coats of marine spar varnish, sanding between coats

last coat gets buffed

re-rig the skis.

now you have shiny 50 year old skis that you spent 100 hours on restoring.

or mount the old skis on the wall of the man-cave or garage since they have been in the family for 49 years...... go on facetube racketplace, find a set of composite skis that are 20 years old for $50 and buy them. you get much newer skis for a lot less money.

 

[redneck joe]

Don't listen to scott....

 

[cyclops222]

Humbug to you.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Don't listen to scott....

I have 2 sets of O'Brien skis I will sell.

Im keeping the restored Thompson "Big Boy Special" skis as they were bought when I was 1 month old, then modified by moving the bindings, shortening and carving for a better slalom by dad.

 

[ratdude747]

If you're 'stupid' enough to take on an almost 50 year old glass boat then please, please be 'stupid' enough to restore them, even if you never use them.

All I ever knew was wood ones.

I'm not much of a woodworker... that's my FIL's domain. Nor do I have a way to reproduce foil decals.

Turning wrenches, metalworking, rewiring, and sawing sketchy ski locker floors is one thing... this, nah.

I did offer the family that gave me the boat the skis if they want them as display pieces... while they consider me family, they have memories tied to this that I do not... I literally didn't know/remember the boat existed until several hours before I agreed to take it on.

Again, no rush here since my wife and I haven't done boat sports before at all and the friend's rusty... I figure tubing is probably pushing the first run enough as it is.

 

[southkogs]

I cut my skiing-teeth on skis like that. I still have two pair.

If you restore them, understand that while you can ski on them they really don't perform any where near as well as the more modern design. They're a little heavy on your legs maneuvering and the rudders don't give you the control you get from the new stuff. Fun for a retro-ski, and cool lookin'. But if you start to slalom or anything like that, you'll want some newer skis.

 

[stresspoint]

i got my "fred wiliams' wood ski in a package deal with a almost brand new kidder , a couple of wake boards ,3 knee boards , some inflatables. ropes and bridals and other odds and ends $200 for the lot .
gave away the wake boards , kept the kidder thinking i would still be able to water ski "" one can only dream '. knee boards got broken straps on the first outing because of age " 50 bucks each to replace , inflatables are still being used .
the fred williams is in storage ATM (shifting house), it was a nice touch hanging from the shed roof beam ,
the old wood skis are kind of the remember when we only had that crap to ski on ,
OP ,as posted look in the classifieds and find as i did a package deal that will get you a heap of gear for a couple of hundred bucks,., don't bother with new at this stage as there are Plenty of deals out there if you look around the start of summer boating season.

 

[dwco5051]

Got a bunch of **** Popes and other wood skis in the loft of one of my garages. Since I haven't skied in about ten years when I was in my mid seventies I still can't bear to throw them away. I figure if George H. W. Bush sky dived when he was 90 I still might need them some day.