Perfect Lake Depth

[Horton]

What is the perfect lake depth?

[BraceMaker]

Public lakes = as shallow as I can be with out the skiers hitting docks or boat losing running gear. Keeps the hull up.

[skier2788]

I like 7 to 8. Being six foot two anything much less and I seem to touch the bottom a lot.

[dave_n]

I like to be able to touch the bottom.

[Horton]

does anyone know the depths of the lakes where the last few world records were set?

[dave_n]

I know that the front lake @ Lacanau is shallow enough to touch the bottom. That's where JB's record was disallowed ( in 07 I think )

[6balls]

deep enough to ski, deep enough for me!

[Steven_Haines]

Canyon Lake probably averages around 16 feet deep (I think) and skis nicely. But i don't get around much. While skiing a private site it would be nice to not touch bottom. So i vote 7'-8'

[RazorRoss3]

most man made ski lakes are about 8-10ft in the middle and probably 6-8 at the buoy depending on how long the lake has been there and the sedement wash in. Anything that I can ski on is fine by me, I think what's more important than depth is temperature and how clean the water is. Warm water tends to feel slower than cold water and thicker sedement rich water feels slower than clean clear water, I don't know why but if you go down to Florida where the water is a little thicker and a lot warmer it feels a lot slower than in Minnesota where the water tends to be colder and clearer.

[A_B]

In the Midwest, if you are under 10 feet, it can be predisposed to have weed problems.

I would say 10-12' would be my perfect depth. We have 18' and it is too deep to work on anchors and stuff without scuba gear.

[Wish]

Sounds crazy but I've skied on two of the deepest man made ski lakes here in FL (20-25' deep) perhaps in the country and have loved them. The water in both was crystal clear and on the warmest days they kept their cool. I believe it has to do with them being more like a natural lake in they get turnover of cooler water from the bottom. The aquatic life seems more natural with little need for weed control. Basically they are not to fast and not to slow. Juuuuuust right.

[MattP]

@wish what lakes are these?

[SkiJay]

Shallow lakes are cheaper to dig but ski fast and are ideal for growing weeds.

[BraceMaker]

@skijay - I always have these crazy dreams about our local rock quarries, many are at the point where they are considering filling back in... Google maps indicates you could fit a ski lake in the bottom of them..

 

If only.

[SkiJay]

@BraceMaker Those aren't crazy dreams at all. There are LOTS of rock quarries come ski lakes. The Miami Ski Club, Seth Stisher's H2O sight, and the Predator Bay Ski Club in Calgary to name just three.

[Skoot1123]

There are two lakes on our site - and the range of depth is between 3.5 feet up to 25 ft on one lake and the other lake is 20-40 ft. I have not been to enough other sites/different places to compare as well as others. Any time I'm skiing I'm happy! All the changes with water, temp, clarity, etc just make it that much more challenging!

[The_MS]

I think deep water sets you in better. Cedar Ridge is over 15 feet and it skis great.

[jdarwin]

It all depends on the "type" of water (viscosity/suspended sediment,etc.)- anything over 5' has little effect on the ski's turning characteristics. As far as maintenance, you have to weigh that against the initial cost to construct. My site is 6-7 ft in the middle and 5' at the buoy. 3 national records and 8 regionals records - no complaints.

[ForrestGump]

Deep water also sets the boat stern in deeper. 75% of the mastercrafts in 9-10 ft lakes will put a beating on your knees. Move that same boat to our 5 1/2 ft deep lake and it's a completely different wake.

[MattP]

The last few world records were set at: Yes I know some of these were denied, but still a good reference to where it can be done

 

Chris Parrish Covington, LA

Will Asher Sunset Lakes, Okahumpka, Fl

Will Asher GBR Swiss Ski School Clermont, Fl

Regina Jaquess Rosa Beach, FL

Whitney McClintock Isles of Lake Hancock lake 2 Winter Garden, Florida

Regina Jaquess Canton, MS

[boarditup]

There are quite a few factors involved in determining the ideal lake depth: Sand bottoms can be shallower, rock bottoms must be deeper, muck bottoms can be shallower on the first few passes of the day; suspended solids including minerals need more depth; weed growth needs more depth; hulls will have a shallower attack angle until the phenomon of squat is observed; skis also see a change in attack attitude as depth changes (lighter skiers tend to favor shallower water around the turn buoy, but that is personal preferance); shoreline slope plays a role; water temperature plays a role. In short, there are quite a few decisions to be made. I settled on 10-12 feet of water depth based on my local conditions. So far, 5@41 is the course record.

[MattP]

@OB how deep is our lake? If memory serves me correct the course records OM 3@41 OW 1@41 MM 3@41 the OW & MM scores were with in a buoy of their respective record at the time.

[MattP]

And we were posting at the same time

[MattP]

@OB agreed. I think I have most if not all of my practice PBs and a few tournament PB at our lake.

[klindy]

Shallower lakes are easier to homologate. Fortunately for me I usually leave the swimming to others...

[Marco]

We went 6-7 'when we dug our lake primarily due to cost and time constraints. As it was, we moved about 140,000cy of dirt to build the lake (largely due to a large knob at the very end). It skis really well for a relatively cool lake (mid 70's F in the summer), but there were issues with weeds, but carp and dye has taken care of that for the most part. Easy to maintain the course at that depth too.

[A_B]

Back on the old Pro Tour, they stopped in Grand Rapids at the old G&L Ski School site. Most of the course was around 10 feet or more, but one turn buoy sat in about 3 feet of water. Most of the pros blew out the tail of the ski in the shallow turn. I remember Grimditch saying that shallow water was much harder for the ski to stick in, and have heard that from others. I have never skied in less than 5 or 6 foot, so can't really say personally, just what I have head.

[Waternut]

I don't know the difference of a boats wake in a 6 ft deep lake and a 15 ft deep lake. What I do know is... Falling at the ball and standing in water that doesn't reach your waste is really unnerving and I will ski very conservatively from then on, on that lake. I'm not a big fin adjuster but with people running fin protectors and carefully laying ski's on their side, I can't see stuffing your fin into the ground at the end of each run when the lake is less than 5-6 ft deep helping a whole lot.

[ForrestGump]

3' is definitely too shallow at the buoy.

[eleeski]

AWSA used to recommend a 5 foot depth.

 

For slalom, the shallower the better! Especially behind the boat. The shallow water behind the boat lowers the boat wake and increases the efficiency of the pull behind the boat. In a shallow lake it is very important that the buoys are deeper than the guides if you want it to feel good. And the start areas need to be deep.

 

Too shallow leads to weed problems - unless the lake is heavily used. Then the shallow depth keeps the mud on the bottom churned up from the skiing and weeds are prevented. It is a lot easier to maintain a course in shallow water.

 

Safety in slalom in a shallow lake does not seem to be a problem. I have a fair amount of time in very shallow lakes. Most falls involve so much horizontal speed that the skiers energy is substantially dissipated by the time you hit bottom. Tricks are more apt to hit bottom with some energy - but I've gotten quite muddy but never hurt from hitting bottom many times tricking. Depth for jumps would make me more comfortable but I've never fallen deep while jumping. Note that the muddy bottom adds a lot of cushion - a rock or concrete bottom would make me want more depth.

 

I want a deep lake for tricks - the deeper the better.

 

Maybe I need two lakes? Oh wait, I have five. Anybody want to buy a lake or three?

 

Eric

[ForrestGump]

Cypress is 8 ft deep and I still managed to slide up into the muddy bank last week. LOL

[MattP]

Thats a little scary

[Skoot1123]

@scotchipman - talk about ease of course maintenance!! Soft muddy bottom - wouldn't be too bad!

[skier2788]

If you fall at a bouy how do you get back up! I couldnt shallow start in that. I would have to take my ski off and find a deep hole.

[Waternut]

@scotchipman Screw that! You'd find me doing only open water skiing or wakeboarding and wakesurfing if that's the only slalom lake I had available to me. Yes, typically I skip when I fall but that doesn't mean I've never darted into the water at high speed without skipping when coming off the second wake.

[A_B]

My friend fell backwards trick skiing in 4-5' with muddy bottom and came up looking like his head was dipped in chocolate. We joked about it, but a good thing a log or rock wasn't there.

 

I too have gone deep on slalom falls, in particular after second wake going forward and not able to flop to my back.

[BraceMaker]

@skier2788 - its a technique, essentially you put the fin in the mud under your rear with the tip higher than normal, when the boat goes you see a nice brown spot where you plow on the way up.

 

The worst is if you don't get up, then you get really muddy, also don't wear white.

[popof]

The Shallower the better! Given you have at least 3-4 feet.

Shallow water = very quick response from your ski (venturi effect between your ski and the bottom) and low wakes from the boat.

 

Water will feel "harder" for a given speed at shallow places vs deeper places.

 

Just skied in Cancun with Scott, shallower buoys on one of his courses, you'd be sitting in the mud if you fell and had to try deepstarting again. (Scott would then drag you to the center where there are 5 feet and off you'd go).

 

Amazing skiing in that course! Everything feels so easy, feels like a recently groomed snow slope vs 1 foot of powder. Sure powder feels GREAT, but your ski reacts better on a well groomed slope, want it or not.

 

Now, for obvious security reasons, I wouldn't want to go underneath 3-4 feet, If i had the choice, 5 feet everywhere would be paradise.

[Horton]

@eleeski

http://media.tumblr.com/fe497dd337d9af8479bb6398b9565d16/tumblr_inline_mg6n5ltl6X1rxe4lt.gif

[gregy]

Most of the lake I ski on is around 5 to 10 feet deep I'd guess. We depend on rain to maintain the level. Unfortunately in Central TX rain is hard to come by at times. If the lake were a few feet deeper it would sure help us though dry times. So around here the Idea depth is more driven by having water in the lake than how it skis (unless you lucky enough to have a constant water supply like SMRR)

 

@scotchipman I skied on a course years ago in a public lake that get down to around 3 feet deep in places during dry times. I buried my head in the mud once, didn't hurt but sure scared me.

[Zman]

Where I am at - take what I get. Lake I am setting up in So GA is 5-9 down the course - boat path and buoys - and about 4-5 in the drop zone at one end. EZ-Slalom course goes in in about 2 weeks.

[addkerr]

@horton Will Asher record at Jacks was on the middle lake. Shallow at islands but deeper than 6' in course as i couldnt touch the bottom. Going with 7'-8' as a guess.