How does a 8 buoy course work

[JAS]

Are there an extra set start gates?  55 meter buoys?

[MattP]

when i have skied them we just used the 2 ball boat guides i think it has been a while

[Horton]

I have used one. It takes a set to get your head around all the balls then it works great

[MattP]

I agree with Horton, I missed everything my first times through but you get used to it. Its a great idea for those short lakes.

[Horton]

I did almost break a rib from laughing so hard. Until you ski a set or two, all those balls look like a joke. My short gate  . .  . very bad. Can't ski and laugh at same time.

[Ed_Obermeier]

Here is a simple diagram of an 8-ball course.  Basically you have two 6-ball courses overlaid and staggered, effectively giving you an extra 250 feet of setup on each end.  Basically turns a 1600' long site into an 1850' long site without all the unnecessary digging and expense...  As you enter the course you pass through what appears to be an entry gate; you then pass through two more boat lane gates for a total of three gates.  Just past the third gate is the entry gate for the course going in that direction.  You ignore the first three, start at the 4th, you then have a normal 6-ball course to ski through. 

As a bonus, due to the layout the 2nd gate you pass through as you enter is 55 meters from the 4th gate (the 4th gate being the actual entry gate for the course going in that direction) so you do have de facto pre-gates built into the course.  Mark them with gree buoys rather than yellow so you know where they are and you're good to go.  All clear as mud, right?

Ed 

[MattP]

thats what it looked like when i was on one just crazy with all of those buoys,

[RichardDoane]

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_I-Kt0bXum5I/S3S7ys8HU5I/AAAAAAAAALU/-sV3EZPOsGY/s800/8ball%20course.JPGFrom Cool course Pics