Dyna-Ski Drivers Feedback

I get some feedback from customers from time to time although most of the time I don't hear anything which I guess is good perhaps?  I decided to share some of the feedback I have gotten.

The first feedback is from the new owner of a Dyna-Ski 20' Closed Bow with twin 225 Evinrude engines with standard controls and power assist hydraulic steering.  He also has an older single motored 18' Hydrodyne that he painstaking restored several years ago.

First day: 

Having a great ski day.  I suck at driving this thing though.

Second day: 

Much better second day.  I knew I wanted ICON by the end of the first hour.
Power steering is awesome.  All three of my kids did some pulling.  No sweat.
I cannot believe how quiet the engines are.  At 30 mph all you hear is wind.

 

3rd day:

Forgot to mention.....

We suffered through a day of constant horn honking, thumbs ups, and gawkers all the way south to Illinois yesterday. At every stop we got questions.  People think it is a Hydrodyne.  Can you believe that?  Sucks having a boat with no name.    Everyone trying to guess what it is....

We felt like celebs pulling this boat down the highway. . Which we will be doing regularly....

By the way he is trying to get me to send him free replacement decals for the ones the ski team took off. What do you think should I send him some? 

One week later: 

I LOVE the Boat.  It is incredible.  It actually is EASIER to drive than the 18 despite being bigger.  Better than I could ever have imagined.

With the power steering I can whip it around with one finger.  I can also turn it on a dime with no cavitation of the outside prop... which I found shocking.  I quickly would forget that there are two engines back there.

Other than not murdering my skiers with power it was an easy transition from the single 18.  By the end of the second day I was using differential power in the turns and at the dock.  This is an EASY boat to control around the dock.

Ergonomics is likely overlooked by some but I really appreciate it.  Visibility is fantastic. Seating area is so comfortable and you just feel like you are driving a much smaller boat than you are.

No fatigue after pulling all day.  Can't say that about the 18.

I'm thrilled with the boat.  Thrilled.

Latest update:  

Six hours of skiing.  4 blade ss props made a world of difference.  Boat is still in one piece.

Seems the used 20' Dyna-Ski Closed Bow Boat had a couple beat up aluminum props on it when he got it and a pair of new unused props. Not sure why anyone would be driving a 450+ hp hot rod connected to the water with beat up and cheap aluminum props.  Like buying cheap tires for the Corvette!

Feedback from another customer.  This boat has triple 225 Evinrude E-tec engines with I-Con controls, power assist hydraulic steering and a counter rotation unit. These are portions of several emails I got from the buyer:

It is a great boat and if you ever have someone wanting to test a multiengine Dyna-Ski send them our way.  We had several of the Miller boats and there is just no comparison.  Everything from driver ergonomics to how the boat handles chop is so much nicer in the new boat.  Sells itself.  You did your homework on this one.

The power steering is amazing.  Drives with about the same effort as an inboard.

It does make a difference when driving in tight spaces like ours. 

We did look at the Yamaha controls but our main driver, and I thought that digital was the way to go and the two motor controls vs three was worth investing in.  Slaving the center engine is a clever way of addressing 3 motors.

  

With regard to independently being able to control three motors that is probably a personal choice rather than a necessity.  Not having owned one we will adapt and I have no doubt in the end it will be better than with 3 separate controls.

E-Tecs are much easier on gas than the Optimax's we used to run.  Less gas with a 225 than with a 150 opti.

I think every model year most manufacturers are striving to improve fuel economy so the newer motors are better than the older motors no matter which brand you prefer.

I'm always looking for feedback to share.

Dyna-Ski Pete
info@dyna-ski.com 

Dyna-Ski 20' Closed Bow powerd by a single Evinrude 250 HO motor with I-Con Engine Monitoring & Control

Dyna-Ski 20' Closed Bow boats usually are powered by two or three outboard engines.  Ski teams mainly purchase the 20' Closed Bow models for towing skiers in their shows.  In the past couple of years we have set up a couple 20' Closed Bows with only one engine for ski teams.  The Crivitz Ski Cats ordered a new 20' Closed Bow with a single Evinrude 250 HO and I-Con (digital) controls to replace one of their old inboards.  This new Ski Cats boat has a three color hull (red,white & red) to match their older new style Dyna-Ski twin. 

I got the chance to drive this rare Dyna-Ski boat for a couple hours the other day.  I expected it to be pretty good but frankly I was surprised by how powerful (4 blade 15 pitch prop) and smooth the combination is. When the throttle is punched from a standing start the rear facing rider has a hard time staying in their seat! The boats bow stays down and there were no sand bags under the bow.  The amount of power available requires a fine touch for pulling single skiers smoothly off the dock.  The I-Con control makes this easy.

The Dyna-Ski required no motor trimming (up) for speeds from 0 to 40+ mph. There was little if any bow steer at 40 mph on the GPS Speedometer.  A slight trim up at 40 mph did result in a slightly higher speed though.  Not having to trim at all will make it easy for an experienced inboard driver to move to an outboard powered Dyna-Ski I suspect.

The Dyna-Ski has a very nice wake for a barefoot pyramid with the motor trimmed all the way down or slightly trimmed up.  The 40+ gallon gas tank was left in the standard front mounted position as the ski team wanted the flexibility to turn this boat into a triple in the future.  In the other single motored Dyna-Ski 20' Closed Bows we put a smaller gas tank in the rear with no tank under the bow.  The gas tank was full when I was driving the boat around.

The Evinrude I-Con controls are so smooth. It is easy to set and hold any speed from zero to wide open with the digital system. The single binnacle control has adjustments for tension of the speed control portion and also for tension going into/out of gear. Very sweet indeed!  Top speed observed was around 48 MPH on the GPS with the 15 pitch prop.  All the I-Con system needs is GPS speed based cruise control or a "Perfect Pass" type of speed control software to make the digital control system perfect although with 250+ horsepower and a four blade 15 pitch prop the speed is rock steady for most skiers already.

The Crivitz Ski Cats wanted to be able to change this boat into a triple some day so setting it up as a single means no transom holes will need to be filled if the boat is indeed made into a triple as the center engine is already in the proper mounting position.  The rope guard is mounted in the standard position used for a twin or triple.  The difference between the twin and triple is the shape of the rope guards themselves not the mounting location.

We also changed the older Dyna-Ski twin over from twin Mercury 200 hp OptiMax motors to twin Evinrude 250 HO motors.  The 'Cats went with the Evinrude standard twin binnacle cable shift and throttle system on the older boat. The repowered boat has four blade 17 pitch props.

The Dyna-Ski 20' Closed Bow has an optional windshield and full interior. A rear mounted swim platform or two could be added although getting in the back of the boat with the large rope guard would not be easy perhaps?