Do TurnSoft buoys exist?

[Than_Bogan]

I recall seeing a short video and they seemed kinda cool.

 

Are they in production? If so, where would I get them?

 

Has anybody used them and able to offer a "review?"

[Gloersen]

Tim White with Inboard Solutions is where we obtained ours.

 

Skip Dunlap initially gave us a sample turn ball ("turnsoft") with relative higher compliance (dV/dP) inflation characteristics; installed in our counterweight system it is favorable to the polyforms & GBB's in regard to being softer, adequately buoyant, and minimal maintenance. The UV protection is good. The fin/wing will puncture them pretty easily though.

 

Had GBB's in but they have too much inertia imo, so we switched back to the Turnsofts with much less negative impact effects when struck.

 

[Than_Bogan]

Thanks! Based on this, I seem to have found the proper link:

 

http://www.inboardsolutionsllc.com/Inboard_Solutions/Turnsoft_Buoys_%26_Paint.html

 

@Gloersen Your review is invaluable. I have exactly the same issue with the Bubble Buoys -- more than once I ran into one shin first, stopped on a dime, and ejected spectacularly. This hasn't led to any dangerous situations (yet), but seems like we've traded more safety in a ride-over for less safety in a full-on collision. But we also had all sorts of maintenance issues last year, since we're on a public lake and we don't have anybody dedicated to maintenance.

[The_MS]

I recall @richarddoane tried them and they had issues with them tearing at the base.

[jrs]

I installed one at Okeeheelee to see how it would do on sun fade. No answer because it didn't last a full day before a skier hit it and it lost all floatation.

[skibug]

They are definitely soft and fairly priced. Color seemed to hold up OK. The biggest issues were that I bought 7 last season, 1 didn't inflate/hold air, 2 had the attachment loops tear/break within about 1 week worth of use. Maybe we didn't attached them correctly; but, I think the attachment loop could stand some beefing up.

[thager]

I have had them in my course for a couple seasons. Have stayed soft and bright. Key is to not over inflate.

[Texas6]

Really lîke these buoys. Significantly softer to strike and obviously safer than traditional buoys once you've hit a few

[RichardDoane]

@Than_Bogan‌ we tried the "soft buoys" for our May event last season, and had to take them out after quite a few were killed by skiers the first day, they just didn't have the staying power of a Polyform

[Dusty]

Whatever buoy I use, I keep them inflated at min. diameter, and I keep them pulled down to at or below minimum height exposed for practice and just at legal minimums for tournaments. Seems to keep the injuries down a bit, and doesn't affect scores much at all.

[Ed_Johnson]

Have used GBB's for 4 years now, and even though I bought 4 spares, these are the original BB's. Only maintenance has been to adjust and Burp them for changes in water height over time and pull them out, one at a time, every 6 months, to repaint and replace any broken tie wraps...If they are set up properly you can ski right through the middle of them without incident, we have done that several times...The one time a skier's fin slit the middle of one, I just used Super Glue on it and it was fine.

I have seen them set up wrong, where a lot of air is trapped inside and pulled down very tight..This will make them hard as a rock and defeat their design..They need to be burped and remain soft..Goode had a video on their Web-Site explaining this.

I feel I had much more maintenance with Regular Buoys and Water-filled Buoys, plus several injuries with those.