Baller jipster43 Posted April 22, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 22, 2011 This is kind of a companion thread to Scot Chipman's "Waterski companies of the world". How many waterski companies are now defunct but hold a place in your heart? For me it's these three: 1.) EP - First real slalom ski my brothers and I had. 2.) Excel - Somehow my family received a prototype for free. My dad knew someone I guess, 'cause my oldest brother had only skied in one tournament. 3.) Cut 'N Jump - I learned to ski on a set of 67" Cut 'N Jumps. I weighed about 40lbs, had to wear shoes to fit into the bindings, and could stand up as soon as the boat went into gear. I'm also going to include KIDDER even though D3 lives on. I grew up on Lake Tapps (Sumner, WA - home of Denny Kidder). If you skied Lake Tapps in the 80's you were either on a KIDDER or an HO. The KIDDER crew was way more obnoxious and dominant. The HO crowd were usually the folks that wished they lived in Redmond or on Lake Sammamish. JP :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller MrJones Posted April 22, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 22, 2011 SkiMaster was made in Texas back in the day. (I think) Maybe Bruce can chime in here, but it seems right when I was starting there were a few decent skiers on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Ed_Obermeier Posted April 22, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 22, 2011 Saucier and Schnitz Skis, or whatever they were named, are two that come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller jwr Posted April 22, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 22, 2011 You already said my favorite EP, but how about Mastercraft and Cypress Gardens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller jackski Posted April 22, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 22, 2011 Sea Glider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Bulldog Posted April 22, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 22, 2011 Sea Gliders are the best combos ever made! "Do Better..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Chef23 Posted April 22, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 22, 2011 Stinger. I still have an orange and yellow Stinger slalom in the basement. How about Northland I also have a Northland Bantam although my dad stripped it and painted it yellow. Western Wood is another one that comes to mind I bought a Western Wood slalom ski from Carl Roberge out of the Water Skier when I was about 11. It was the first ski I had with a tunnel. I moved from that to an EP Comp 1 (still have it) to the Stinger to an EP Stilleto. The HO Monza I bought 3 years ago was the first ski I had from a company still in business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thager Posted April 22, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 22, 2011 White Bear, K2, and Torque Waterskis. Would love to find the fiberglass flag theme Torque slalom ski some day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller rq0013 Posted April 22, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 22, 2011 I have some cut'n jump trick skis. I have been using them for the past few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Ham_Wallace Posted April 23, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 23, 2011 Hedlund made the Joe Cash Concave. My first competition ski after the Cypress Gardens Lil' Monster (that I still have)(Billy Spencer Tournament Bevel). Torque, MasterCraft, Northland, Excel (have one at the lake), Saucier, Lund, SkiMaster, SkiCraft, Sea Gliders, EP, and more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kona Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Awe the old Hexcels. I had some Hexcel Hexcelators for alpine skiing in the 70's. Another aerospace company pioneering ski technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller ForrestGump Posted April 23, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 23, 2011 the Ball of Hair needs one of those shower/swim caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thager Posted April 23, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 23, 2011 Kona, I had that Hexcel waterski followed by the LaPoint version with the flex fin. I still ski my Hexcel snow skis! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Chef23 Posted April 23, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 23, 2011 Thager you might have the only pair of Hexcel snow skis still in one piece. They were unbelievably fragile and a pain to mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller eleeski Posted April 23, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 23, 2011 Maherajah! Do they still make race skis? But their slaloms were the best - ask KLP. Until he picked up the Hexcel line and renamed it (or sold it to?) Ajax. Ajax sold to Kimball (who built tons of doubles and also bought the EP comp 1 molds). Kimball switched to making train parts for BART - some nice molds got lost. Hexcel snow skis rocked! Mine didn't survive the cabin rebuild - bummer. K2 Threes Red White and Blue survived for display only after I spruce them up but the edges didn't make it. Nor did the old K2 slalom water skis - which were horrible - survive. Then of course, there is the Leeski... Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Chef23 Posted April 23, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 23, 2011 I forgot to add that I still have an EP Wingtip at 43" in my basement as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Horton Posted April 23, 2011 Administrators Share Posted April 23, 2011 Chef I have a 70s EP trick - still in the bag w/ warranty card and all. Never been opened. Goode ★ HO Syndicate ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes Drop a dime in the can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller MarkTimm Posted April 23, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 23, 2011 I still have a couple Wally Burr slaloms and a pair of trick skis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Horton Posted April 23, 2011 Administrators Share Posted April 23, 2011 Hey Gravel - looks like you are new around here. - Welcome Goode ★ HO Syndicate ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes Drop a dime in the can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller MarkTimm Posted April 23, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 23, 2011 Thanks, been a lurker for a while, love the site. Mark Timm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TylerR Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I still ski at least 1 run each season on the Cypress Gardens ski i got for my 11th birthday for my first real ski. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil2360 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I know some one mentioned Stinger. I seem to remember the name as "Western Stinger", & I think that was from the mid to late 70's. Was Denny Kidder who was behind them or someone else. I know it was one of the well known names from the industry. Still got a 1979 EP Comp X-2, Comp 1 & '80 Trick ski on my wall. Actually my boys were on the trick just yesterday. Anyone know who was behind EP back then (Besides Hart Industries & Composite Structures). Few more names to add to the list from Aussie Manufactures:- Fred Williams, Ron Marks, Vel Aqua & Rapid Waterskis. Maybe John can dedicate a page in the history section to all these old names & we could all send in some photos. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil2360 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Here's a few links:- http://www.ronmarks.com/Site/History.html http://www.fredwilliams.com.au/ http://www.rapid.net.au/ http://cgi.ebay.com.au/VINTAGE-WOODEN-WATER-SKIS-VEL-AQUA-DISPLAY-/320686528238 Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Chef23 Posted April 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 24, 2011 Horton that is pretty cool having the original EP in the box. Phil I remember the Stinger being late 70s at my lake at least. The one I have has a Maherajah high wrap on it. The beach we used to ski out of went through phases where everyone was on similar skis and I remember EP, Torque, Taperflex and Stinger all being on the beach. I had the Boys Life magazine with Sammy on the cover when I was a kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kona Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 thager. I bet you turn some heads on those hexcels. That would be like me pulling out the old Connelly Hook that is still kicking around our family somewhere. I also remember the hexcel split tails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thager Posted April 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 24, 2011 Phil 2360 , Roger Teeter was behind EP and was at our tourneys a lot in MN. Was running 35 and into 38 and I thought the guy was ancient. Must have been 35 years old or so. I think there was only senior Mens for an old farts division then. He usually won if I remember correctly. Kona, The comments from the kids going up the lifts are usually hilarious! One girl wanted to know who made them. She said "Shaped skis were so boring"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
454SS Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Hey Eric I think maharajah is still producing skis I posted a link to their website in the current ski companies thread a few days back. From the looks of the site racing skis are now what they make primarily but you can still buy new wooden slalom skis. http://www.mahaskis.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcalibu Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I inherited a beautiful old wood Connelly Hook from a buddy (He had no appreciation of it). It's got a handle pop mark on it but otherwise is pristine. I'm gonna take it through the course once before I refinish it and mount it on the wall in the living room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller jwr Posted April 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 24, 2011 I didn't see anyone mention medalist. I'm still jumping with a medalist helmet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Horton Posted April 24, 2011 Administrators Share Posted April 24, 2011 good call or what about Basset? They had great ads in Spray Mag. Goode ★ HO Syndicate ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes Drop a dime in the can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller rayn Posted April 25, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 25, 2011 I have a ICONN in my shed, that I bought from Chuck Dees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Not_The_Pug Posted April 25, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 25, 2011 I just mounted up a brand new Iconn wide ride for Ron Phelps to try this summer. It is good to see some of the old skis around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Ed_Obermeier Posted April 25, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 25, 2011 The Iconn PowerCarv was the first performance 30mph wide ride ski and it ROCKED. Wore that sucker out. I think Obrien ended up with the design and still makes it under another name, or did up to the last couple of years. Anybody know anything about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thompjs Posted April 25, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 25, 2011 MasterCraft Skis Ski Tech Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thompjs Posted April 25, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 25, 2011 Western Wood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalibuV Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I still have a Western Wood ski. Green bindings. I got it for my high school graduation from my girlfriend (1978!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ lpskier Posted April 25, 2011 Baller_ Share Posted April 25, 2011 My personal favorite wooden ski was a Mesle. Made in West Germany. Very bright orange or very bright greeinish yellow. Paul Seaton of GB and Willi Ellimeier of WG skied on them. I also had a bright yellow French made Reflex. In fact, I still have those skis Lpskier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Craig Posted April 26, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 26, 2011 I learned to slalom on an old Cypress Gardens ski, it now hangs on our wall. The camp I worked at used Dick Pope skis for years. I skied on a number of those growing up. However, I have no idea if Dick Pope ever made tournament skis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Nando Posted April 26, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 26, 2011 So, having been a lurker for since the original ballers were just starting, what would I contribute but a photo from 40 years ago, but Lake Saucier was where I skied my first tournament. Dave Saucier had purchased most of the land around it and it was a pretty much perfect tournament lake. It was also known as "Lake X" because the actual name of the platted lake was as racially offensive as any lake in the country. Google Nowthen, MN and you'll find it with what I assume is Google's attempt at making it less offensive, but, well, nice try, guys. It's been renamed "Burns Lake" and as far as I know, hasn't been skied on for a while. BTW, I have joint custody of the jump that Dave built for the 1974 (yes, 1974) Saucier International Cup pro tournament. Nando /vanilla2/uploads/FileUpload/14/774.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thager Posted April 26, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 26, 2011 I have those tricks on the shelf downstairs. I saw the slalom and a pair of G-10 tricks for sale on Craigslist the other day. I think the guy wanted $50 a set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller ral Posted April 27, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 27, 2011 Freyrie. My first performance ski. VERY difficult to get out of the water on it at that time, and loved to bite the edges when flat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller AggieSkier Posted April 27, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 27, 2011 I was going to comment that I missed Wet Tech gloves. Did a quick search and found some S & XS gloves for $10 and XXXS Gilrls USCGA Vests for $20 http://www.closeoutdude.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller thager Posted April 27, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 27, 2011 Forgot to mention Kahuna. I've got old 68 or 70" jumpers up in the garage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Horton Posted April 27, 2011 Administrators Share Posted April 27, 2011 @Nando that is SO COOL! Goode ★ HO Syndicate ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes Drop a dime in the can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ DW Posted April 27, 2011 Baller_ Share Posted April 27, 2011 Cool stuff, sad that we can add a newish entry like Fisher to the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller maverick Posted April 27, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 27, 2011 I think we still have a 63" Jobe from the mid-70's still sitting in my folks storage shed, but my Western Wood from the same has long since disappeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Horton Posted April 27, 2011 Administrators Share Posted April 27, 2011 Fisher = Razor. Razor is a better ski but sort of same thing. Goode ★ HO Syndicate ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes Drop a dime in the can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ RichardDoane Posted April 28, 2011 Baller_ Share Posted April 28, 2011 would you consider the Coyote Bros. Carbon Fin Co. to be defunct ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Drago Posted April 29, 2011 Baller Share Posted April 29, 2011 Taperflex ! Original Lurker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Horton Posted April 29, 2011 Administrators Share Posted April 29, 2011 Drago, You have been lurking so long I should make you a badge "Original Lurker" Goode ★ HO Syndicate ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes Drop a dime in the can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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