In boating

Boating

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

, a ski boat is a boat

Boat

A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...

 specifically designed to safely tow

Towing

Towing is the process of pulling or drawing behind a chain, line, bar or some other form of couplings. Towing is most visibly performed by road vehicles, but anything from waterborne vessels to tractors to people can tow cargo. Troop carrying and cargo carrying gliders were towed behind powered...

 one or more water skiers. This is achieved by using a high-horsepower

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

, marinized automobile engine usually positioned in the midsection and driven through a direct drive to the propeller

Propeller

A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...

. A skier is pulled on a towrope attached to a tow bar located in front of the drive motor and affixed to the bottom of the hull

Hull (watercraft)

A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...

.

U.S. requirements for ski boats

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, in order for a boat to qualify as a ski or towboat, it must pass a series of eleven tests measuring the following boat characteristics:

• Power and Acceleration
• Handling and Maneuverability
• Engineering
• Drivability
• Sound level
• Slalom course center-line drivability
• Slalom spray
• Jumping center-line deviation
• Jumping wake
• Slalom wake
• Tricks wake

Each approved towboat meets or exceeds a preset set of standards defined by the USA Water Ski Federation, Formerly American Water Ski Association, AWSA. The tests are performed by members of the USA Water Ski

USA Water Ski

USA Water Ski is a non-profit water skiing association headquartered in Polk County, Florida consisting of the following organizations:*American Water Ski Association*American Barefoot Club*American Kneelboard Association...

 Towboat and Speed Control Committee, technical experts, and elite water ski athletes.

See also

• Air boat
  Air boat
  An airboat, also known as a fanboat, is a flat-bottomed vessel propelled in a forward direction by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine. Airboats are a very popular means of transportation in the Florida Everglades, parts of the Indian River Lagoon, the...
  
  
• Boat
  Boat
  A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
  
  
• boat building
  Boat building
  Boat building, one of the oldest branches of engineering, is concerned with constructing the hulls of boats and, for sailboats, the masts, spars and rigging.-Parts:* Bow - the front and generally sharp end of the hull...
  
  
• Cruising
  Cruising
  Cruising may mean:*Cruising , driving around for social purposes, especially by teenagers*Cruise , in aviation*Cruising , leisurely travel by boat, yacht, or cruise ship...
  
  
• Electric boat
  Electric boat
  While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...
  
  
• Jet boat
• Jet sprint boat racing
  Jet sprint boat racing
  Jetsprint or sprint boat racing is a form of racing sport in which jetboats with a crew of two race individually against the clock through twisting series of channels in less than a metre of water....
  
  
• List of ski boat manufacturers
• Luxury yachts
• Motorboat
  Motorboat
  A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
  
  
• Offshore powerboat racing
  Offshore powerboat racing
  Offshore powerboat racing is racing by large, specially designed ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing.Probably one of the largest, most dangerous, and most powerful racing machines of all, the extreme expense of the boats and the fuel required to participate make it an expensive...
  
  
• Sport
  Sport
  A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
  
  
• Water Skiing
  Water skiing
  thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
  
  

• World Water Skiing Champions
  World water skiing champions
  - List of Tournament World champions - Men & Women :- List of Ski Racing World Champions:- List of Cable Ski World champions - Men & Women :-1980s:1982*Willa Cook, Deleon Springs, Florida, *Ralph Samuelson, deceased, *Richard Pope, deceased,...
  
  
• World Water Skiing Hall of Fame Members
  World Water Skiing Hall of Fame Members
  This is a list of the United States Water Skiing Hall of Fame Inductees since 1982.-1980s:1982*Willa Cook, Deleon Springs, Florida, *Ralph Samuelson, deceased, *Dick Pope Sr., deceased, *Chuck Stearns, Huntington Beach, California,...
  
  
• Yacht Charter
  Yacht charter
  Yacht chartering is the practice of renting, or chartering, a sailboat or motor yacht and travelling to various coastal or island destinations. This is usually a vacation activity, but it also can be a corporate event....
  
  
• Yachting
  Yachting
  Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
  
  

Manufacturers

• MasterCraft
  MasterCraft
  MasterCraft is a United States manufacturer of luxury high performance boats that was founded in 1968 and is currently headquartered in Vonore, Tennessee...
  
  
• Correct Craft
  Correct Craft
  Correct Craft is a U.S.-based builder of powerboats primarily for ski and wakeboard use. It was founded in 1925 by Walt C. Meloon as the Florida Variety Boat Company.-History:...
  
  
• Malibu Boats
  Malibu Boats
  Malibu, which is headquartered in Merced, California, is a United States manufacturer of recreational boats, founded in 1982. Malibu is notable as a major manufacturer of water sports boats, used in water skiing and wakeboarding tournaments.-History:...