Shattered Glass

[skyski_tige]

Mine was a bit more. The tempered glass installed was about $70. It took about 5 days to get back as they had to send the glass out to get the tempered coating put on.

[murphini]

happened on my old boat. Brought some shards into the auto glass shop so they could match tint. Flat glass was ordered, cut & fit in window. Installed no biggie. Maybe $50ish?

[Dave S]

Kimber,

Doesn't surprise me, assuming your traveling through the Houston area with all the highways around here, big trucks, rocks,construction, etc. I have heard of this before with other friends boats. Oh, and I just got a new windsheild today also because of a crack from a rock.

The only thing I would be concerned about with leavng the window commpletly out, is how your road cover fits. The cover may now press down against the two corners when going down the highway where the window is now missing and your cover may rip at those locations.

I run with a set of big mudflaps off of my hitch similar to Rock-Tamers (google with images). You may want to invest in those, but since it now happened to you once, it should not happen again. What water ways do ya'll ride in?

[Kimber]

Kimber,

Doesn't surprise me, assuming your traveling through the Houston area with all the highways around here, big trucks, rocks,construction, etc. I have heard of this before with other friends boats. Oh, and I just got a new windsheild today also because of a crack from a rock.

The only thing I would be concerned about with leavng the window commpletly out, is how your road cover fits. The cover may now press down against the two corners when going down the highway where the window is now missing and your cover may rip at those locations.

I run with a set of big mudflaps off of my hitch similar to Rock-Tamers (google with images). You may want to invest in those, but since it now happened to you once, it should not happen again. What water ways do ya'll ride in?

Just bough the boat in Dec, so haven't even had it on the water yet - still getting it ready. Bringing it up to Brandon at Texas Tige the week after next, just want him to go over everything. Have a friend with a house on Lake LBJ, have a camping trip planned for Memorial Day at Bethy Creek (haven't been there before), and plan to hit the San Bernard River for day trips.

What are good areas to go around here?

[Dave S]

Kimber,

Are you new to boating and/or watersports? I don't want to bore you with details if you already know.

Did you buy the boat from Brandon? We bought our 09 Z1 from them Oct of 09' last summer was our first full summer using the boat. I had a few minor issues we are working out but other than that, Brandon and Steve has been great to us. I need to get our boat up there also in the next few weeks for regular service.

The local boarding club here is gcwa.com, you may want to check that out also. The forums have been a little slow the last few years, but still a good place to find local information. My forum name is the same there.

Bethy Creek and the Trinity River ("T") are great places for boarding. Bethy has a small 2 post cable that looks fun and the river is one of the best places in Texas. Just make sure someone shows you the cut to get from Bethy Creek to the T. Randall at Bethy can also help you, he had a V-drive previously, but now he rides the cable mostly. Don't be afraid to ask.

We have not been to LBJ before; we have been west to Lake Travis last summer for us so far.

I have been boating most of my life and have been to almost every spot in Houston with the old boat, but only been here for 7 years.

San Bernard (SBR) is a fairly good place, I haven't been there in years, but people tell me you need to get there early to get good water and there is a lot of tubers. It is fairly narrow, so be careful going around the corners. It is also brackish water. The ramp at FM521 is old and steep from memory, make sure you have a capable tow vehicle, I needed 4x4 there once.

Clear Creek - in the Clear Lake area is another spot but my feelings are that it is to narrow and brackish water similar to SBR. I don't like areas that are to narrow.

We ride at the Lower San Jacinto River (LSJ). This river is on the east side of town, just below Lake Houston Dam. There is a marina called Good Times, they have boat storage and we keep our boat there as well, then we do not have to drag it across town. This area is much wider then SBR. Great riding most of the summer except for mid afternoons when all the crazy redneck wallies are out, jetskiis, etc. There is a great beach area where us and a bunch of our friends with other boats pull our boats up on and hang out after riding to socialize and hang out. We get there 10-11ish ride till 1ish, when it gets busy we go to the beach, then in the evening when the crazies are gone we go ride again and call it a day. This area is the only area with a beach that you can pull your boat up and hang out. Kids? The upriver beach is more kid friendly; the down river beach is more of a party area in the summer. We go to both. If you are interested, we can meet up and/or I can give you directions, real easy to get to.

[Dave S]

Wow, I guess I got carried away and typed a book, lol. Sorry.

[Kimber]

Dave S - been boating my whole life, but always skied behind the Blue Wave fishing boat - great wake for slalom, bad for boarding. I grew up skiing the SBR, so I know that one pretty well. I assume Bethy Creek will be similar. I have also heard about people skiing the Chocolate Bayou area - ever done that?

Yes, 3 kids, 6,4,2 - so we will need kid friendly areas where we go. LBJ has some good areas, but you need to be up early to hit them. We live in Katy, and I store the boat at my dad's land another 30 miles west of me - so it is hard to travel the east side of Houston for a day trip. We also have gone to Lake Placid in Seguin, and plan to do that again this summer.

Didn't buy from Brandon, but met him and Steve at the boat show and spoke with them for a while - very helpful. Bought my boat used from a guy in north Texas.

[Dave S]

I have never been to Chocolate Bayou, I think it is saltwater, not sure how you feel about that? IMO - The "T" is much better then the SBR. It is wider and deeper, maybe about 30'-40' deep and goes the whole way to Dallas. I only ever go about 3-4 miles up river though, because I don't like going to far where there are no boats. One main thing to watch out for with the "T" is rain in Dallas. If there is a lot of rain in Dallas, only the trash washes down the river and it can be bad for a week or so. You can always call Bethy, ask to talk to Randell Jr. tell him who you are and you have a Tige and ask him about river conditions. There is a few in Houston who go to the "T" every weekend, but that is just a little to much driving time for me.

We are similar in that we keep our boat on the east side and do not travel west very often.

[mikehayburn]

Nice Interior..Love the red!!! Was the red grab handles in front and rear ski pilon stock??? Very sharp!!

[Kimber]

Thanks! The previous owner owned a powder coating business, and he covered the grab handles, pylon, and window reinforcement poles running from the dash up to the windows. The wakeboard racks are also metallic red. Makes the boat stand out. I like it.

[Kimber]

Dropped the window frame at Binswanger Glass today, quote is $34 to replace the 1/8 inch tempered glass. Here's another thought I had - should I take it to a window tinting shop and have them install a clear film on it? Then next time it shatters (hopefully there won't be a next time), I won't have glass all over the boat and in the carpet. So I called a window tint shop - $40 for the tint. Only $34 for the glass, but $40 for the tint. Now I am leaning towards no tint, and just risk it again.

Any thoughts on adding the clear film? If the window is going to shatter while towing, it would def. cause a change in plans if I was heading to the lake. If I had the film, the glass would stay in place and I could probably still ski that day.

[NICKYPOO]

Might be good idea. I like it.