Bubble Buoys

[Chuck_Dickey]

Who is using them and how well do they work and last.

I heard they cut easily.

I've heard they easily burp when hit and go flat and you had to reinflate them. Any first hand info would be appreciated.

[RichardDoane]

I saw the Western Regionals go through about a half dozen, damage from fins cutting, and the plastic, underwater contraption falling apart.  At $40 ea. I think they are a waste of $$$$.  Just put a little water into the polyform buoy, inflate to size, and go skiing for $4. each.  They'll last a whole season.  We put quite a few sets of the water filled buoys into the western WA lakes, and they've worked great.

[chris carter]

i have a set of bubble buoys on a sinkable course and we have been pleased with them. used them for about half a season and all is well. there have been several iterations i understand on the initial design.

[Ed_Johnson]

Replaced our Waterfilled Buoys this summer with the Bubble Buoys after two of our skiers were injured. I believe it was the best decision ever. Since installing them, every one of us has hit one more than once with hardly any affect what so ever.

We even purchased four spares and have never had to replace any of the originals yet. They also have not faded one bit in the Florida sun.

I personally feel, the peace of mind, not having to worry about a trip to the ER from hitting one, is well worth the cost, and will help you ski better.

Highly Recommend Them,   ED

[jdarwin]

We installed a set prior to our late September tournament.  The version we installed was significantly more durable than the original I had viewed back in June.  So far, they have held up well w/o incident. 

[h2odawg79]

There are very few absolutes.

Maybe another Good consideration would be; if installation would be in Private or Public water...

[RichardDoane]

does anyone put bubble buoys out on public water ?

[Chef23]

I would be afraid to put bubble buoys on our public water. We lose at least one buoy a week if not more.

[vtjc]

My friends and I experimented using two Bubble Boy Buoys on our course this year. The course is installed, on the north west side of  a small public lake(Lake Iroquois) in Vermont. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=lake+iroqouis+vt&sll=44.403629,-73.177994&sspn=0.00765,0.01929&ie=UTF8&hq=lake+iroqouis&hnear=Vermont&ll=44.368226,-73.087749&spn=0.030617,0.109863&t=h&z=14 We had tried water filled buoys earlier in the year and found hitting the BBB’s was much less of an event. The BBBs seemed fine unless we got a strong north or south breeze; we had the BBBs installed at ball one and six. So if we had a south breeze the northern one would need burling and vice a versa, after a really big breeze 20+mph we would need to burp both. We plan to install all six this coming season and have a 7th as a spare. Between our group of skiers the cost was minimal and if it saved one ankle it would be worth it. About half of the skiers in our group have broken their ankle skiing one way or another.

Jamie

 

[Dusty]

 

Until then-  for practice, keep regular spherical balls  low in water (well less than 1/2 exposed), so skis can get over them without completely decellerating.

[Andre]

My course is on a small but public lake.I don't think the BB would last as long as a regular bouy with the PWC and other wallys running over them.

My .02 cents.

[GAJ0004]

My lake is private in that you have to own property to put your boat on. We have to get out in the early morning to get our slalom skiing in before the tubers and jet skiers come out. My friends and I keep dozens of spares handy. I have been marking them to return to the lake office. I have been getting people dropping loose buoys at my dock.  We have an accufloat floating course. We attach them with mason string and brass dog leash clips. We have it designed so the buoys just break off if snagged. All the skiers keep a couple of spares in their boats in case any are missing. I collect the brass clips, and restring a new one. It protects the structure of the course from damage. The bubble buoys are a great idea, but on our course if you hit a buoy hard enough to get injured you would probably break it loose. I am coaching 4 people in the course. I tell them to bail out if you think you are going to run over a buoy. The extra half buoy on one pass is not worth missing the rest of the season... We usually replace one "divot" per week.

[chris carter]

we have a set on a sinkable course. i had to remove the extra floatation and burp them sometimes. i am putting more of the floatation on the arm of the course so it will go up and down and keep the bbbfrom being too high. ours has been in for about half a season and so far no casualties. we just have 6 and not had to replace any. they are a good solution and adds to our comfort level. get em they work.