Have your put a handle into a ZO boat?

[dchristman]

Have you put a handle into the boat from behind a ZO boat? If you have, how old were you at the time?

 

Were you using a shock tube? If you were using a shock tube, how long was it? Details are always entertaining...

 

I want to know if we're getting older and wiser, or the change in technology has had an effect.

[ozski]

Never bother with shock tubes these days, never seen a handle delivered into any ZO boat ever.. Was only thinking about this very subject after reading Horton's post yesterday. Shock tube & Wake Eye = Too much messing about for me.. The Wake Eye wins.

[MISkier]

I've never put the handle into any boat. Had it go alongside up to the motor box a couple of times and land on the swim platform once. All of that was before I learned to throw it and not hold on. I do worry about it, though, and I'm unhappy anytime that I have even a short distance handle pop.

[skier2788]

I have bounced a handle off my motor box a couple of times. Girlfriend refuses to drive me at 38 now....

Watched a guy at a tournament put a pretty good size ding in the back of a 200. Little bit different angle it would have gone in for sure. Boat needed a little gel coat repair.

[ozski]

I would be interested to hear from those that don't agree. I'm simply sharing my personal experience in the spirit of the thread, if your going to use the button then back it up with some insight.

[bbirlew]

My guess would be that it has as much to do with improved ropes as it does with the speed control?

[skialex]

did not get the question first time,

I have not put the handle into a ZO boat and have not noticed a correlation

[Than_Bogan]

We send handles regularly if we aren't using a shock tube. I do it because I'm such a spas and my ski partner does it because he is strong as hell.

I don't think the change to ZO has had any impact on it.

[Orlando76]

There should be an "other" option. One of my well seasoned ski partners wrapped the driver and throttle this summer. At his age and stage he hasn't trying to hold onto what he can't.

[Orlando76]

I think the reason ZO seems to pop handles less is that vast majority skiers are now experienced, have some years on them, they aren't going to struggle with what they can't take. This level of maturity probably came about same time as ZO. I bet if ZO was around on late 80's you'd still see the pops. Just my .02 while driving to work.

[Razorskier1]

Generally I don't lose the handle. I either am strong enough to hold it, or I just toss it when I'm in trouble. However, on the few instances where my stubbornness has resulted in a pop, the handle goes a long ways, often landing beside or even slightly ahead of the boat.

 

This is worse for the driver and passengers. When the ROPE goes in the boat, which it always does, and the handle doesn't, it is dangerous. Rope around head or limb, handle drops back into the water, rope comes tight in a hurry! If the handle actually stays in the boat, which I have never seen, then the rope is not an issue, as there isn't any significant tension on it.

[Texas6]

After a good handle pop, my elbows always tell me the next day, that I should have let go sooner - but I don't see any issue at all landing a handle in a ZO boat or wrapping a rope around a driver in a ZO boat.

[PatM]

I always use a shock tube (4') so I think this helps the direction of the handle. I am a little shocked to find @Than_Bogan putting the handle in the boat though ;)

[Than_Bogan]

:) It is a bit shocking, I agree. It's almost always caused by biting off too much right out of the buoy, and then my grip simply fails, usually before even getting to the first wake. If you "dig a hole" like that, it's amazing how fast the rope tension can ramp up.

[jipster43]

At a buck thirty I'm not a prime candidate for putting a handle in the boat, but one of the club members poo-poo'd the shocktube and its necessity and proceeded to put the handle in the boat within a week.

 

I bet Powervests are more of variable than speed control.

[swc5150]

If I'm in that much trouble, I toss or let go of the handle. I enjoy skiing too much to risk injury over one pass.

[baja]

I have the only ZO boat at the Quarry and most of our members toss the handle but occasional handle pop will send it flying. Just hasn't made it into the boat. No shock tube I'm embarrassed to say. Have to get one again.

[Texas6]

What @Than_Bogan said - 99.9% of the time I've dug a big hole right at the buoy and then pinnnggggggg - slingshot

[skiboat38]

Promo boat in Ohio a couple of years ago

[Edbrazil]

Someone needs to do a study on handle recoil. This could be done without a boat and

not on the water. Load the line up to at least 700#, maybe more line 900#,and then let

it zing.

 

Should be done in both the static (load run up to the X point slowly, then the release)

and dynamic (load run up suddenly, in around one second, then the release).

 

I question whether the handle flight distance will be reduced by a Shock Tube, but the

part of the towline at the pylon will presumably behave differently.

 

From the Back When, and the old 8-strand polypro line, and someone trying a barefoot

deepwater start, with the handle sailing up and over the boat, landing well ahead of the

boat, and, even with the throttle cut, the boat running over the line and getting it

wrapped around the prop.

[Texas6]

Holy crap that hole in the windshield would have smarted on the back of the noggin - a knockout blow to the driver would be a bad situation.

[Edbrazil]

And, I heard a story from a ski show, of the towline getting caught on something on the

sidecurtain of the ramp, with a skier doing a shoe ski rideover. The towline was pulled

to its breaking point by the boat, and JUST the towline came back into the boat, giving

the driver a welt on his shoulder and smashing through the glass on a gage on the

instrument panel. Lot of stored energy. A typical 75 ft. towline can be stretched about

7 feet before it breaks, at least with earlier lines lighter than those used today.

[BRY]

But only once with a ZO boat (so far). Knocked the iPhone out of the wake eye. Didn't have the shock tube on, now 4' tube on always (wife won't drive without it). I rarely have big recoil though. As @Than_Bogan and @Texas6 said it's not slack hits but tight line overloads that do it.

 

BTW, I never toss the handle. I always hold it until the boat takes it, particularly if there is slack. Then it doesn't get caught on things. Seen bad results when people toss it then ski/fall into/on the uncontrolled handle/line.

[ski6jones]

Saw a rope on a tube get stretched and snap similar to what @Edbrazil described. The tube was front end submerged and the driver tried to take off. Middle seat occupant had welts all over her arms and legs. That's a bunch of velocity to make welts with something that light.

 

Back to the original thread, I used to pop the handle frequently, put a quarter size hole in the gelcoat above the swim platform on a buddies boat. With a conscious effort to let go it's MUCH less frequent now. Never put or seen handle inside the boat, but lots of occasions with rope.

[6balls]

@ski6jones off topic but valid. @razorskier1 had a tubing rope break a few summers back and the recoil drilled my brother John he boat right in the face. Broken glasses, embedded glass, lacerations etc. He had post concussive symptoms for a while, too. I've been buying the extra thick ropes designed for tubing and replace annually. We get a bunch of kids on the big bertha style tubes at times each year and that's a big load.

[ALPJr]

Never skied behind a ZO boat.

[SkiJay]

No handles in the ZO boat yet, but one rope around my wife's neck, then one around mine two weeks later. We went to a 2' shock tube after that and there's been no lynchings since, despite the occasional pop that's strong enough to scramble the pylon camera's brains.