Retro Crestliner Discussion Forum

54fleetwin · Joined: 07 Sep 2010 Posts: 30 Location: North of San Diego

How do I hook a ski rope up to an aluminum Crestliner?

OutBdNut · Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 593 Location: Minnesota

I always use a "V-Rope" which is a short piece of rope connected between the boat's two lifting handles on the rear of the transom. You can tie a loop in the center of the V-rope behind the motor and attach the ski rope to that loop (put a brass clip on the rope or tie it on), or, if you want to get fancy, I found that placing a pulley on the V-Rope and attaching the ski rope to the pulley works great. The pulley helps equalize pull to each side of the boat as the skier crosses the wake from side to side. You will want to use a pulley that is nylon or plastic with a brass clip or ring on it, as this will not corrode in water. Be sure the V-rope is short enough so the center, when stretched out, cannot go below the cavitation plate. The V-rope should be long enough so the motor can be tilted all the way up/ out of the water on the transom. The pulley will nick up the paint on the motor's exhaust housing some, but should not be hitting the motor at all once the slack is out of the ski rope.
-
I tie the V-rope to the boats lifting handles, as using metal snap-clips to attach to the handles stresses the handles at the edges and the cast aluminum handles are more likely to break.
-
When not pulling skiers, the rope can be taken off, or, I just pull the ski rope to one side, around a cleat or other detail on the side of the boat, and secure the ski rope somewhere in the boat - this keeps it out of the way of the motor when not pulling skiers.
-
If a pulley is used, you may want to add a small float to the end of the ski rope to keep it on top of the water - it lessens the chance of gtetting the rope in the prop if somebody backs it up with the ski rope attached. I've also seen floats attached to the V-rope between it and the ski rope attachment.
-
If you are running mid-1950s through 1960s johnson/Evinrudes of 35 Hp or more, if your motor still has the lifting bars that extend outward from the motor at the rear, just above the top of the exhaust housing, you may want to remove them, as the ski rope will occasionally get caught on these bars, and if you don't notice it, the pull of the skier with the rope on a motor lift bar can disable your ability to steer. These bars were standard equipment for many years on 35 and 40 HP models, and optional on some of the V4s.
-
Another alternative: Back in the 1950, there was an aftermarket metal clamp that clamped around the exhaust housing a few inches above the cavitation plate. This had a metal ring at it's rear that you could hook a ski rope to. Personally, I don't like these, as they put a lot of stress on the exhaust housing and could cause it to crack. It also makes steering a bit more difficult if you have a skier pulling hard to the side, as in slaloming.
-
There also were aftermarket bars that went up and over the motor and down again; that attached to the transom on either side of the motor. These had a hook in the center of the portion of the bar that was horizontal over the top of the motor. The ski rope attached to this hook. These worked pretty well, keeping the rope well above the propeller, but can put some wierd stresses on some boat transom configurations, and, personally, I never liked the looks of them - they were very convenient for attaching the rope and some were hinged to collapse the bar into the boat if desired when not being used. Voyagers, Commodores, and Vikings, with the large, wide transom wood covering much of the outer rear of the transom, supported these "over the motor" bars quite well.
-
Sooooo......there are a number of ways of attaching a rope - take your pick and seek out the hardware. The simplest, a V-rope with no pulley, requires no hardware.
Dave
_________________
57 Commander 12 Custom Deluxe 550
58 Commodore 14 Speedster (modified)
58 Cadillac Riviera 14 split deck
Dozens of old outboards

vspeedster · Joined: 12 Feb 2004 Posts: 29 Location: Stevens Point, WI

I use a rope attached to each handle with a pulley, as described above. Also took the lifting handle thing off the 1959 Super Seahorse 35 hp I'm running, as described above. Works great; I've slalomed behind it many times with driver and spotter (I'm pretty light at 150).
_________________
*1958 Crestliner 14' Viking Speedster
*1957 Crestliner 14' Viking Deluxe Runabout
*1956 Crestliner 15' Voyager Convertible - SOLD
*1954 Alumacraft M
*1954 Alumcraft R
*1955 Alumacraft FD with front and center deck
*1957 Alumacraft FDS

Chris · Joined: 15 May 2004 Posts: 270 Location: North West

Good thread here. I've been pondering this myself.

My thoughts were to get the D shaped brackets that they sell for the transom. Just drill thru the transom and put plates and nuts on the backside.

The way I look at it, I may have to replace the transom wood someday, so holes in the wood are not a concern. However, if I broke a handle, well, chances are very high that I'd never find a replacement. I might not hear any of you tell a story about one breaking, but I'd rather not take the chance.

I'm hoping to do this sometime this winter or Spring, my kids are old enough to probably enjoy being pulled in a tube or sled of some sort. Will be fun.
_________________
Chris
1956 Commander 520
1956 Viking
'55 Johnson 10,'57 Johnson 18,'55 Johnson 25
1958 Evinrude Lark 35

http://www.retrocrestliner.com/viewerphotospage53.htm

http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/7car7/Aluminum%20Runabouts/My%20Boats/

bigwheel · Joined: 19 Jul 2010 Posts: 17 Location: MN

It's good to mount a ski rope as high as possible, in order to avoid dragging the line.

On my Viking Speedster, I built a long-shaft transom, then added u-bolts as high and far apart as possible. (My handles were in bad shape, and didn't look trustworthy.) Then I got a ski rope bridle, which has snap clips, and a floating plastic pulley that is nice when the boat is turning. The float and polypropylene rope are nice, because they keep the rope clear of the prop. The setup works great, and we use it for skiing almost every summer weekend.

OutBdNut · Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 593 Location: Minnesota

One more option - back around 1960, Dad bought an off the shelf thing that was the equivalent of a V-rope with a pulley and float on the pulley. What was different was that instead of rope, it was plastic coated cable, like steering cable, except larger diameter. It worked great for several years until the plastic started cracking and coming off the cable - then the pulley caught on the loose plastic pieces. The plastic was a solid red color that looked great with the red/gray Voyager 14. Plastic coated cable is available in various sizes by the foot at larger full-service hardware stores.

Dave
_________________
57 Commander 12 Custom Deluxe 550
58 Commodore 14 Speedster (modified)
58 Cadillac Riviera 14 split deck
Dozens of old outboards