Baller bowty Posted January 5, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 5, 2015 It's cold here and I can't ski, which has caused me to come up with crazy ideas as to how I can ski in the winter. Obviously moving south makes the most sense, but why do things the easy way? Everyone has thought of a 2100' x 300' machine shed for skiing indoors, (which, does anyone know whether you can have a 300' wide building with no center columns?) but I have found a way to take it a step further. Nautique already made an electric boat, but who wants to mess around with charging batteries all day? My ski barn would have a power cable running along the length of it, with a cord running down to the boat. It would be similar to a bumper car arena, where the cars have the pole going to the ceiling for power. Solar panels will be placed all over the roof to power the boat from the sun when possible. I'm sure we could find a way to put an underwater rail system in to keep the boat going in a straight line to eliminate driving variables as well. Heating the lake (or is it a pool?) would be expensive, but it could probably be done. There you have it. An indoor lake that never has wind, can be skied in all year long, and is environmentally friendly. Now we just need someone to pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Chef23 Posted January 5, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 5, 2015 If you are going to put an underwater rail system in you could just attach a boat to that and run the power to the rail. I am sure you could do the building without supports look at indoor arenas they are more than 300 feet wide and long with no interior support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller bishop8950 Posted January 5, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 5, 2015 There will be multiple threads where this was discussed in detail. Supporting the structure is straight forward. Dealing with the environmental issues around humidity is the biggest challenge, other than the budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klindy Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 I agree with @bishop8950. A 300' wide building is simple. In fact it wouldn't need to be quite that wide but the HVAC ans water qualify issues are FAR more difficult to deal with and more expensive. There was a 2000' long 120' wide building close to where I lived (Michigan) where we looked into excavating the floor for a trick lake but we couldn't overcome the operating costs. However, this was posted on Mike Mapples FB page a few days ago which looks interesting - http://www.surfertoday.com/wakeboarding/10969-will-the-x-stream-wake-rider-shape-the-future-of-wakeboarding Tricks would be simple. Slalom would be super cool. Jump however is a mind bender! :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted January 5, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 5, 2015 @Bowty maybe a skwal and a snowmobile would solve your winter problems http://www.apricaonline.com/images/stories/skwal.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippin_2 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 why not just run a pylon down your rail and eliminate boat. Less energy, no wake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller SkiJay Posted January 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 7, 2015 To even dream about an indoor ski lake takes the imagination of someone who's not yet enjoyed the trill of annual maintenance payments on a normal outdoor lake. For about the same annual cost, I wonder if Gordon Rathbun would give you a permanent room in his Acapulco villa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Stevie Boy Posted January 7, 2015 Baller Share Posted January 7, 2015 Well ,how about a underwater rail similar to a roller coaster the carriage would have a pole that rotates at the end of the course, may even be possible to automatically shorten or stop shorten (No Boat) maybe even some sort of structure to create wake at the base of pole, this could be powered by a overhead electric rail which in turn could run a electrically powered hydraulic motor, this would give you the torque and power required to maintain speed through the course, How much money is that going to take ? Answer Lots. As far as the Overhead coverage of the lake, you would probably have to look at something along the lines of a circus tent type arrangement, there are structure around the world that are semi rigid, actually one in London which was supposed to be temporary, but still stands today, some 12 to 14 years later. The only other idea would be to have the uprights strategically placed in the lake, but opposite the turn bouys so that you would always be skiing away from them, not ideal but would support a rigid structure. Mad Mad Mad, but it makes you wonder if it would be possible, the sort of project company,s like Microsoft or Facebook would have to take on, or some totally insane rich person from the Middle East, who got bitten by the water skiing bug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted June 10, 2015 Baller Share Posted June 10, 2015 @skibrain wrong season , but one popped up on eBay last week and I had to have it. Got it for less than just the bindings are worth. Just another way to die;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller ThePantsManCan Posted June 10, 2015 Baller Share Posted June 10, 2015 @oldjeep, you are really going to have to make sure to lean forward on that Skwal. I had a Lacroix Skwal in a 185cm length. My hard boots were just too stiff and my ankle flex was really hindered. Don't get me wrong, I hope you have a TON OF FUN on that ski!! Just remember that you have no rope to pull on to assist in changing edges or provide stability and Make sure your boots are dialed in. I am going to try it again soon, but I need a shorter/wider board with a smaller side cut radius, ( I live on the East coast, so I need it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted June 10, 2015 Baller Share Posted June 10, 2015 I've had monoskis since the 80's. Seems like this should be easier, but I'm going to have to wait until December to find out. This one is a 180cm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller One_Ski Posted June 11, 2015 Baller Share Posted June 11, 2015 I'm thinking you could eliminate the boat and the rail, plus shorten the lake significantly if you could just figure out a way to get the water under your ski to move at 34 (or 36) MPH. If you accomplished this, I wonder if you could just use two stationary turn balls (one on each side) and just ski from one side to the other - an endless slalom course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller rodltg2 Posted June 11, 2015 Baller Share Posted June 11, 2015 Like a flowrider @one_ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Hugh Nichols Posted June 11, 2015 Baller Share Posted June 11, 2015 Running a boat indoors would be the least of your problems. Convert the engine to run on propane, or the fuel of my choice compressed natural gas. The boat would also have to have a old school Perfect Pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Chef23 Posted June 11, 2015 Baller Share Posted June 11, 2015 @oldjeep do you run regular ski boots on that thing or are you looking for something softer. I would think my regular ski boots would be too stiff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller oldjeep Posted June 11, 2015 Baller Share Posted June 11, 2015 @Chef23 Supposedly regular ski boots. I won't have it until Monday and then I can see how it feels. The guys I've seen on them tend to run race boots, so I'm hoping that my 130 flex boots will work decently. I know that on my monoskis that stiffer boots worked better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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