HO System 8 Feeling All Over The Place

[Malibuboats91]

I have a HO system 8 and today when I was skiing all of a sudden it felt all over the place then slid out when going straight. Checked my fin and bindings and everything was tight. My bindings are at center. My fin is at 5 for the tip adjustment and 5.5 for the tail adjustment. The wings are all the way up. Whats up with this? Should I try moving something?

[Horton]

Did the ski feel good days or weeks ago?

 

Sounds like you are using the numbers that are printed on the fin. Unfortunately those numbers do not mean much to most skiers.

 

Wings? More than one? All the way up?

 

If the ski felt ok a week ago and nothing is loose, I would say you just had a goofy day on the lake. Don't move anything.

[Horton]

One more thing. Looks like you are new around there. Welcome. With any luck you will find some good info here.

 

Horton

I run this mess.

[skidawg]

@Horton

I run this mess.

 

translation: I mess this up ;-)

[Malibuboats91]

Thanks for the info! I ski it every weekend and it's the first time it has felt like that. When I'm cutting it seems to be fine but them when I go straight for a minute to catch my breath it goes nuts. Or like when I am crossing the wake it feels really tippy. Its to the point where it feels like it feels like it will slide out from beneath me. By wings I mean those little stabilizer wings that are on the fin. The front stays in one spot but the back can be flipped up or down. I have it all the way up. I'm not sure what the deal is. I only free ski and typically ski at 38. Thanks!

[ToddL]

Welcome to BOS.

 

Here are a few articles on how to measure your fin settings. They all require that you use a caliper tool. If you don't have one and don't want to buy a new one, you can look for ones at pawn shops, etc.

 

In no particular order, here are links on how to measure a slalom fin:

http://www.d3skis.com/v/siteFiles/Tech%20Support%20Fin%20Adjustment%20Literature%20Rev%20A.pdf

http://legacy.proskicoach.com/gear/fin_measurement/

http://slalomguru.com/articles.php?article=fin

 

For men, the max speed in competitive slalom skiing is 36 MPH. If you are over 35 years old, the max speed is 34 MPH. When first learning, most people ski on a 60 ft rope (a.k.a. "15 off" for the 15 ft less than a full 70 ft rope + 5 ft handle section), and work up to their max speed. Then, they start to ski on the shorter sections.

 

The stabilizer wing serves to help create a little drag when pressure is applied to the front foot during a carving turn. Typically, the wing angle is between 7 and 9 degrees. However, I believe that the wing is not really necessary until the skier has learned how to properly turn/edge change without it at max speed at -15 off.

 

Most advanced slalom skis hate to be ridden perfectly flat and straight. Their concave contour on the bottom makes the ski want to be slightly edging on one side or the other.

 

 

 

[Horton]

the wing should be fixed. Just take it off. You do not need it. Sounds like your wing is loose. That will do some strange things

[Malibuboats91]

I'm going to take that fin off and decrease my speed to see if it helps. Now would a slower speed mean smaller or bigger walls of spray?

[Horton]

Bigger

[Than_Bogan]

Does sound like your wing was loose -- or else was set radically too steep. I would expect either of those to throw you pretty much directly on your face.

 

Hopefully much better with that wing off!

 

The wing is mainly for handling the extreme speed changes at shorter line lengths inside a slalom course. I concur with those above me that you don't want one at all until/unless you start working on 28 off in a slalom course.