Spectacular Results at Calgary's Pro Shootout - Are Weeds a Good Thing?!?

[SkiJay]

http://www.waterskimag.com/files/2013/08/TOD4320.jpg

Calgary's Predator Bay is a fabulous facility, but its reputation for skiing hard and fast has long been well established. With its shallow rocky bottom, high mineral content, and cool water temps, even the pros participating in past events like the World Championships and the MC Pro Shootouts have scored significantly below their normal potential. But something changed this year.

 

Last spring the lakes were heavily damaged during the worst flood in Calgary's recorded history. The flood stripped rich topsoil from the upstream river banks (and people's yards) and deposited a thick layer of it on the bottom of the Club's lakes. The topsoil has provided the perfect environment for heavy weed growth this year, so all kinds of plans are being discussed to deal with the heavy weed growth.

 

But wait a minute . . . the results from this past week's Pro Shootout were nothing short of spectacular. On day one, 16 men ran into 41' off! This set a new record for the most times 39.5 has been run in a single round at any record tournament ever! The men went on to run into 41' off 35 times. Nate Smith has never run 41 off here in multiple previous visits. Last week he ran 1 @ 43' off then 2 @ 43' to win the MC Pro Shootout. Similarly, Whitney McClintock had never run 39 here before, but set a Predator Bay woman's course record with 1 @ 41' off. Even jump got a new local record with Freddie's 233 foot winning jump. The skiing was incredible!

 

http://www.waterskimag.com/files/2013/08/TOD4088.jpg

Even club members have been posting great scores lately. At the local RC tournament that followed the Pro Shootout, Kalaina Kozak matched a Canadian National Girls III record by running her first ever -35 and scoring 1 @ 38 off.

 

So what changed? Is it the softer lake bottom? Is it all the new plant life in the water?

 

[Horton]

I talked to a few of the skiers from the Shoot out. To me the scores were so good that it was actually suspicious. What I was told was that it felt AMAZING.

 

I heard the following ideas - ALL SPECULATION about the boats

• Altitude - taking hp away

• ZO searches for signal until the last second before the green balls

• 4 blade / 6.2 MC running low RPMs

 

You will notice that CP had a very bad event. One would think that the big man needs all the HP he can get and if the boats are soft he is at a real disadvantage.

[Than_Bogan]

Weeds can absorb a lot of energy, both wakes on the surface and pressure waves coming from the ski and heading downward. So it's totally possible. I think that happened in reverse at a NH facility that used to be the easy spot and then they got rid of most of the milfoil. Could be coincidence of course.

[SkiJay]

Interesting speculation about the boats. I forgot about the boats as being a significant variable this year over last--largely because of all the local discussion about the new weeds. My understanding regarding the props is that both boats are running three blades. The 6.2L boats are clearly better than the smaller engine at this altitude (3,500' asl), but for perspective, I'd say no stronger than my CC200 5.7L down at sea level. I've driven a number of tournaments here with these boats and ZO has been very good at locking in well before the greens at 36mph. All-in-all, the new ProStars had to have provided a significantly better pull for this year's Shootout than last year's boats.

 

I'm still curious to hear about other baller's experiences with weeds and soft vs. hard bottom lakes though. As good as the new ProStar is, I'm not sure if it is solely responsible for all the club member PB's we are seeing. Few of these skiers use all of the boat's power, and the wakes between -28 and -38 weren't terrible on the old boats.

[Razorskier1]

When the MC was designed they targeted a particular RPM at slalom speed that the skiers thought felt best. With that as the focal point, it was just a matter of finding a tranny and prop pairing that got it done. No matter what the reason, the scores up there were unbelievable. However, the Bu Open also saw pretty amazing scores just a few days earlier. Feels to me like you just have a bunch of skiers who are getting totally dialed in with their equipment, settings and ZO.

[6balls]

There's a good chance that a well driven Prostar makes a difference. I don't drink MC kool aid perse, but driving it back to back with shortline skiers vs. another big 3 there were some interesting things to note. I felt the back end of the Prostar was a little greasy at first but the skier hook-ups were soft as butter...which lead me to believe I was soft with them. Same skiers on the 'Bu and I'm running a good line working with the skier but the skier is hitting me sharper, which means to me I'm hitting them sharper.

[Horton]

@SkiJay‌ I am pretty sure about the 4 blade and low revs.

[Chuck_Dickey]

2014 ProStar was used last year at this event, I believe. Wasn't that their first big event for the new machine?

 

My lake is one of three on site and the one in the middle has always had a weed problem. I'm told it skis better than our clear lake.

[ForrestGump]

Yes, the '13 MC shootout was the first event for the pre-production 6.2 ProStar.

[Bulldog]

It's the good Karma up here in Alberta!!!

[Broussard]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe last year's event was pulled with prototypes and not production boats.

 

[Horton]

@Broussard‌ it's a matter of semantics. Last year's boats were the first ever production boats

[Broussard]

The two original red and white Prostars were destroyed once actual production began.

[E_T]

@Broussard‌ do you have photo proof that a company would destroy hundred of thousands in R&D

[Horton]

@E_T Guys from MC told me they were going to do that. My guess is they wanted to inspect the hulls after a few hundred hours. Those boats went coast to coast a few times.

[Steven_Haines]

Marcus brown told me the same thing last summer. he said after beating them to death dragging them over rough roads for thousands of miles and the countless hours of water time the hUlls had seen, their plan was to cut them up and inspect them prior to production.

[Bill22]

Anyone have the round 2 & final results? The link on the website is not working.

 

http://www.mastercraftshootout.com/#!live-results/c33v

[MattP]

@Bill22

 

[Bill22]

@MattP‌ thanks.

[schafer]

I have skied tournaments at predator bay for the past three years. I scored almost 1-1/2 passes better this year. So I vote for weeds. But I also think the new Prostars are great. And they spent 3 days "dialing" them in before the Shootout.

[SkiJay]

I don't know how much affect this has, but I used to measure water hardness out of curiosity. When I last tested, Predator measured 580 on the us 442 scale. That was extremely hard. I measured it today and it was 54, which besides being only 10% of what it was, is very soft. At the Isles of Lake Hancock in Florida, the water measures around 60 us 442. Where did all the mineral hardness go???

[DanE]

Ha! MC putting in selected chemicals to elevate scores behind their boat :D

[BobF]

Interesting thoughts. When we started skiing on a relatively new borrow pit in NC, the water was very clear (25+ feet visibility clear) and felt very fast and hard. 6 years later, after stocking fish and allowing a farmer to use land above the lake, there is much more organic particulate in the water. It seems to ski much better now! Seems slower and softer, and ball counts are up. Not sure how much of this is due to adapting to the site, but it just feels so much better...

[SkiJay]

Predator Bay has been a gravel pit ski site for a couple of decades. It's always had fish and some weeds, and it has always been super fast. After the flood, lots of skiers commented on how it seemed to ski better, and all that had changed was the new layer of sediment on the bottom. This year, the weeds exploded and the pros set a bunch of records.

 

The boats are definitely better, but are they proving to be nearly a whole pass better everywhere else too?

[jayski]

@SkiJay are you skiing better on it?

[Chef23]

I think it might be the sediment in the water as much as the weeds. We are on a lake that has had a weed issue that was recently treated. The water still skis the same but there is and always has been a fair amount do silt in the water.

[SM]

The best lake I've skied in is a clay bottom lake with very hard water. If you don't wipe the boat down every time you use it, you will need CLR to take off the water spots.

[SkiJay]

@jayski Yup. Normally, I'm at least a half pass better in Florida. This summer, I've been equal. Maybe I'm getting better, but so is everyone else. As you know, I suck at all one or two tournaments I run per year, but I ran 5@32 at the post Shootout RC event last week. That's the best I've ever sucked at a tournament!

[jayski]

@SkiJay Good for you! Might have to make a trip down there and see what all the fuss is about

[SkiJay]

@jayski You better hurry. Winter is only weeks away and the water is cooling down fast. Sigh . . . .