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ski adjustments, cold to warm water


Razorskier1
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I don't know anything about adjusting my ski -- I just ski on it. Now that the water is about 50 degrees I feel like the ski just runs so nice and easy, whereas it can get a little "sticky" as the water gets warmer in the summer or down south. What do the rest of you ballers do to adjust your ski for warmer water conditions?
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Wing is so easy I will prob start there. I found it way easier to ski up here on the cold than at skiwatch in FL (not that scores are much different, just more effortless...though set practice PB with 2 @39 right after returning to MN). Would be nice to free the ski up like that in the warm water.

Thanks for the advice.

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Another easy move is bindings. Moving binding (or bindings) back one hole (or 1/8th of an inch at a time if you have slots) is worth trying. I usually make this my first move and leave my fin alone. What it comes down to is less tip in warmer water. Anyway yo uget there is ok; some techniques might work better than others depending on the ski and the person.
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What I consider warm and what most of the nation considers warm are two very different things, I've found. The gulf states can regularly have water temps bordering on 100+ in the summer. There's a big different in ski performance between 85 degrees, which most of the country considers warm water, and 100.
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To me it seems (for me) that somewhere between 80° and 85° is where the transition is for making an adjustment. I will wait until the upper end of that range on the way up and opposite on the way down. Funny, the ski seems to feel the best between 78° and 83° water, mostly on the heating up side. We hit above 90° water and it holds for a good 6-8 weeks usually, Mid June to Mid August.
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That's been my feeling too. Once the water temp goes about 88, it starts to feel more and more sluggish.

 

It's interesting that you say between 78 and 83, though. That's the temp that sports physiologists say that the body performs it's best at. I wonder how much of what we feel is based on our body's performance?

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I'm talking the big adjustments here. In the spring I start with the water around 45 degrees. I live on a deep, spring fed public lake with very little sediment. Water is hard and fast. By June/July, my lake gets to 75-78 degrees, and the surrounding private sites (where we hold tournaments) can get to 80 or more. They are shallow, full of sediment, slow and sticky. Then when I go from here in the fall (60 degree water) to Florida (75 degree water), it is very different. I'm not a fan of changing my ski for little differences -- too much screwing around wiht equipment. However, I do think there is an advantage to making adjustments from the 40s to the 80s. That's what I'm trying to assess. Water is now in the low 50s. Probably breaks into the 40s this week.
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Razorskier1, I guess this would be one of the pros to keeping a log (see other thread). Once you figure out the 3 or 4 settings you need based on the site and or water temps you can dial it in. I am still a fan of binding movement before fin. You may be able to leave your fin completely alone and play around with binding position and / or a quick 1° change of the wing (another advantage to riding a wing....that's for Horton if he is reading this one)
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Razorskier1, I guess this would be one of the pros to keeping a log (see other thread). Once you figure out the 3 or 4 settings you need based on the site and or water temps you can dial it in. I am still a fan of binding movement before fin. You may be able to leave your fin completely alone and play around with binding position and / or a quick 1° change of the wing (another advantage to riding a wing....that's for Horton if he is reading this one)
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