My 2 oldest want to water skii.
Ages 9 and 7. The 7 year old is so athletic he can do what the 9 year old usually can do. 9 year old is about average.
I"ve seen some skis that have a bar that hold the tips together and some that the tow rope actually attaches to the skis (I think that is what I saw).
I want them to progress w/o being discouraged.
Both have snow ski'd a couple times and both have played ice hockey since they were 3 so they should I think have a good time at it.
I have a tow rope that I got w/ the adult skiis. It's multi colored and the line has like different colored rope that is like linked together.

Any suggestions for beginner skis?
Do I need a different tow rope for them?

The one with the bar and get the "new" parabolic style skis. The tow rope will be fine as long as they can hold the grip handle comfortably.

While you're at it at the end of summer clearance rack, pick up a wake board. For their age, you need something in the 125-129cm range.

We have these.

First time we tried them with my oldest she was 5 and was able to ski a little ways...was probably a bit young. The next year my son was 5 and she was 6, again, skied a bit but don't know if it was all that fun for them. We skipped last year completely and just tubed which they enjoyed.

This year my daughter is 8 and has been practicing on a HydroSlide Powerboard like this.

She just skied for the first time yesterday and had a blast. It was a completely different experience. She skied as long as she wanted and got up amazingly easy. First start was w/ wife in water, after that she went solo (deepwater). Next time out we are going to do away with attaching the tow rope to the crossbar but with the bar still in place.

Your 9 year old might be okay for that stage already if she is fairly strong and you could of course use any rope, not just the "V" shaped bar attach and handle one that comes w/ the trainer ski set. The nice thing about the trainer line is an adult can hold the other handle in the boat and release it if the kid forgets to drop the rope after falling or on a bad start.

Biggest tip...VERY light on the throttle. I didn't have the GPS but we were probably going 10 mph or less.

Other suggestion is to practice pulling a short ways in the yard (we took the fins off) to make sure the "V" harness is set correctly if you go the trainer route. My neighbor had kind of a bad experience not having his set up right last year.

EDIT: One more suggestion if you use a regular ski tow rope is to shorten up the line a bit so she is closer to the boat. It'll be easier to communicate. After she gets comfortable skiing and wants to try to cross the wake at some point you can make the line longer so the wake is smaller.

My son learned on this type of device. He would hold the rope attached to the board and someone in the boat would hold a ski rope handle attached to the rope that is attached to the front of the board. If need be the person in the boat would let go of the rope.

Ditto AT, both my kids learned on those, started at age 5 and were good for junior skis by 7. Light throttle lets them feel the skis in the water and get their balance.

I have the ones Athiker posted about. The ones with the bar and the rope attaches to the skis. They were easy for my 6 year old to get up on. He's out grown them. They are for sale. $75 plus shipping.

I have a couple pairs of beginer skis, the kind with the bar at the tip and you can even tie them in the rear. If your kids are that athletic you wont be using them long, the kids will "get it" quickly and you'll be looking for a traditional pair of skis or a wakeboard.

Shoot me a pm if your interested in a lightly used pair - cheap.

How important is it to get in the water w/ them. If I do that, I won't have the required extra adult to skii in Maryland.

I have my kids put the skiis on on the swim platform. Standing. PITA but we manage. Get the feet and the skiboot wet. I hold the boot and they wiggle their feet in. Then they lean and I give them a push on the shoulder. They are just starting to be able to put the skiis on in the water by themselves. Can't wait.

I would not want to try this with any kind of wave action around.

I think it depends on both the kid and the skis. Some small kids don't like floating out in the lake away from the boat by themselves, some could care less. If that is not a problem then I think ski size is the other potential issue. If you try to use larger junior or adult skis then it may be hard for the kid to keep the skis and their body in good position. If you have the smaller trainer skis that are connected then it will be easier.

In previous years when the kids were younger we started near the shore and my wife actually helped hold them in position and gave them a little shove up at the start. She said last time, in deep water, she didn't really do anything except talk to my daughter about "arms straight, knees bent, etc". That shouldn't be necessary next time. Like I mentioned, shorten up your tow rope so you can easily talk to your skier and you should be okay.

Finally, again...it will take very little throttle to get them up so be gentle. Good luck!...it was cool seeing her even more excited than I was this time and wanting to go again. That wasn't really the case the previous years, she could take it or leave it before, which is why we didn't push it or do it many times then.

The option of putting skis on on the swim platform is awesome. Much easier than reaching over the side of the boat while they float.

Our kids had the opportunity to try skiing at age 4,5,6,7,8.... I was sort of the pushy dad for my oldest and then backed off. It wasn't until we were at a resort with other girls her age (9) trying it, that she wanted to (girls = social).

My middle son tried a couple times age 6, then didn't want to again until 8.

Youngest was up at 7 I think. My point is that they were all pretty different in their approach to it and the had lots of exposure, support, options for help in the water, right equipment, experienced coaching, etc..... They had quick success once they were good and ready on their terms. We most frequently pulled them two at a time once they knew how. A bit more line management, but like tubing, it is more fun when you can do it side by side with a friend or brother.

Oh yeah, and after all of them learning to slalom and being very competent, none are that excited about it (now ages 16, 18, 22). On the other hand, what teen really likes to get up at 5:30 a.m. when they could sleep?

They'll get it back later in life. My teen likes to get up at 5:30 to go run x-country and also to get the glass at the lake, but he's not normal I suppose.

I talked the guys into tubing and skiing today. First slalom of the year for both of them. We've been trying to decide whether or not to keep the boat and having some good hours on the water with them was a lot of fun - helps tip the scales toward the "keep it" column.

....having some good hours on the water with them was a lot of fun - helps tip the scales toward the "keep it" column.

My 8 year old made it up just using the regular handle on Saturday (We kept the bar across the skis, but didn't attach the line to it). She got up easy all three times but the 1st time she went over the top fairly quickly, the 2nd time she lasted longer before doing the same. The 3rd time was a charm and she went as long as she wanted, then let go and glided a bit to a stop. She's really been wanting to do the "glide" thing after seeing Mom & Dad do it so she was beaming.

Earlier M&D got a little skiing in too. It was just before sundown when my daughter was done so we cruised over by an island not far from our community docks and rafted up w/ some friends. The kids swam over and "explored" the island (the excitement was a large dead fish found and poked!), I floated w/ my youngest and just enjoyed the evening shooting the breeze and watching the sun set. One of those evenings where the water and air were both 80 degrees...before the air cooled off a bit.

My vote is keep the boat Skibrain...even if you don't use it much now. You know the boat, like it and if you ever decide you want another, it'll probably cost you more $$ and have less certainty of its history. You never know these days, your current ride might move someday or have a job change where they can't meet up!

EDIT: After seeing the great pics and smiles on your other thread, no question about keeping the boat...worth it even if its only every so often.