The absolute dumbest, hardest to understand thing waterski manufacturers do

[DangerBoy]

I know there are some representatives from various waterski companies on this forum and I sincerely hope they see this post because this is a grievance I've had with the way recreational waterski pair skis have been made by pretty much all manufacturers for decades now. HO, Radar, O'Brien and others, hear my rant.

 

This year, I had some friends visit the cabin and one of them had done some waterskiing before and came out with us every morning to ski. He was just at the starting on doubles and dropping a ski stage so I broke out my pair of O'Brien Celebrity combo skis for him. The lake I ski on is quite large: it has three arms about 20 miles long and another one about 14 miles long. The width varies but probably ranges from about 1/2 to 1 mile across everywhere. It's nothing like one of the Great Lakes but in my part of the world it is considered quite a good sized lake and is easy to lose something small on. It's also fairly deep, with depths ranging up to 650 feet deep so pretty much everywhere the lake looks dark right up until very close to shore. On any given morning we could be skiing in a number of places depending on where we can find calm water.

 

From my experience, whenever a ski gets dropped, the vast majority of times it ends up floating upside down. And do you know what color every waterski company seems to make the bases of their pair skis? Black. Can you guess what color of ski base is the absolute most difficult to see on a huge expanse of deep dark water? Black! So what do you think happens every time the ski gets dropped and the skier goes on down the lake for some time before he/she crashes or throws in the handle? We spend 10+ minutes trying to find a stupid drop ski we can't see because it was made the exact same color as the background it was released into. It's so stupid you can't help but channel your inner Louis Black and smack yourself in the forehead.

 

I know some people's solution to this is to mark the drop point by throwing a brightly colored lifejacket or something else overboard when the skier drops the ski but the easier and more intelligent solution to all of this is for the water ski manufacturers to grab a brain and start coloring the bases of their pair skis some highly visible color like neon yellow or orange so they can be seen from a long distance on a dark background. Are you listening ski manufacturers? Stop making the bases of your combi skis black! It's a terrible idea with no thought behind it whatsoever.

 

I have now resolved to purchase a can of neon yellow spray paint and paint the bottoms of those pair skis. Those skis don't often see much use but I hope I can find a paint that will stick to the bases well and last for a long time. If anyone has a suggestion for what type of paint and primer I should use, I'd be glad to hear it.

[lpskier]

If you keep losing skis, you keep buying skis. Sounds pretty smart to me!

 

On the other hand, I haven’t had to buy combos in years. I keep finding singles floating in the lake.

[BraceMaker]

Ummm tail weights and if theyre dropping they just get looped back and forth we stay near it. Regardkess if color if I hit your drop ski id be pissed.

[APB]

I’ve hit one w the boat before

[APB]

A few people on our lake have neon paint on the tips

[Bongo]

@DangerBoy, I agree with you. On my combo skis, I do paint the fins with a neon yellow. Sadly, flakes off fairly quickly. Much, much better if the manufacturers used bright rather than black on bottom and fin.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Ummm, it’s called personal responsibility. How can ski manufacturers be responsible for where you ski and where you leave them? If you want to paint the bottom bright pink that’s a good idea and by all means do so. Ski manifacturers are not responsible for your actions.

[bishop8950]

My open water drop skis have long since been painted yellow

[Orlando76]

 

I can’t really blame the manufacturers on this subject. When I used a drop ski I painted the entire ski neon colors, top, bottom, binding. Surprisingly it didn’t help too much, like not at all, but our water is typically brown. I would never use a ski I actually paid for as a drop ski. In the 20 years I’ve been driving a car and skiing I pay attention on trash days and pull the skis out of the trash cans, I’ve collected 50+ perfect drop skis this way that needed nothing. When I lose one, no biggie, I dig deep in the shed and pull another freebie out. The attached picture was a score I made about 3 weeks ago on my way to lunch from 3 houses on one street. It took me years and years to learn to start on one ski. I was actually in the course and using a drop ski on either end, pffft what a PITA that was. I could never convince my dad (the all mighty I can teach anybody to ski guy) that I needed more power to take off.

[hoppy]

Same as others here. take an old ski, screw a small lead weight on the tail, spray it a bright colour, take the heal cup off the binding so foot can be easily slipped out by skier. We've had the same drop ski all my skiing life, there's always someone needing to use it.

[John Brooks]

Sounds to me like Tupperware. I never can seem to find the right lid.

[klindy]

Would you lose a ski like that on a smaller lake? Why do you drop the ski and then (apparently) continue 10 minutes or so away from the place the ski was dropped. With a lake that big why not loop and stay somewhere close to where you dropped it? Let him ski as long as you want just keep making large loops.

[Stevie Boy]

@DangerBoy

"The absolute dumbest, hardest to understand thing waterski manufacturers do"

 

Really are you sure you got this right, I am looking at a name right now that says it all, were are all accountable for our own and other peoples safety out on the water, responsible people do not put others at risk.

So somebody comes along collides with your drop ski and badly injure themselves, they then find out that the drop ski belongs to you, OUCH!

Like others have said it is very simple weight the back end of the ski and paint the tip with a bright colour that everybody can see.

This is not a manufacturers problem it,s yours, take ownership my friend do hot blame others.

[BrennanKMN]

When I lost my drop ski it was great motivation to learn how to get up on one. :D

[PatM]

The absolute dumbest rant. First world problem. I'm sorry but I'm 100% with @Stevie Boy

[OldboyII]

Makers produce bi-ski to ski on both and they produce mono ski to ski on one.

The rest is our fantasies.

Same as a hammer - I use it as a "press papier" although normally it is made to hammer a nail

;)

 

 

[thager]

@Horton This post is at least a well deserved Octopanda!

[dvskier]

Agreed. Just ski in a area away from other boat traffic and keep it tight. That way you shouldn't lose sight of the drop ski. Another hint is drop near a landmark on shore. I seriously doubt ski manufacturers will heed your request.

[h2onhk]

We were out with the kids last Sunday in our little aluminum fishing boat just cruising slowly near shore. River was very busy with boats everywhere. Watched a fish n' ski outboard pulling a gal on 2 skis with several boats behind her....watched her drop one ski and continue slalom down river. Ski flipped over and was black on the bottom and hard to see in the brown muddy water. Immediately buzzed over and grabbed the ski and followed them down river. Dropped it off to them when she fell. They were thankful. I just said no problem and be careful with all the boat traffic. Unfortunately most folks don't realize the danger.

[oldjeep]

And here i thought the dumbest thing was making skis that can't sit out in the sun. :D :D

[The_MS]

I just wish I could use Radar hole pattern on all skis.

[DangerBoy]

I should point out a few things here. We are skiing early in the morning in a place where there is rarely any other boat traffic at that time of day so we are not really endangering anyone or any other boats by dropping the ski. We do not do loops because they mess up the water. We only go straight in one direction and then back in the opposite direction so we're always inside our wake and are never crossing our wake.

 

When we drop a ski we are very careful to do it straight out from a recognizable landmark such as a set of cliffs or whatever so we can get straight back to very close to where the ski was dropped and find it as quickly as possible. The skier waits until they see a landmark the drop location can be referenced to before they drop and both the spotter and skier make note of what the landmark is and about how far out from that landmark we were when the ski was dropped. Despite all that, it's still often really hard to find the ski owing only to the invisibility of its black base on the water.

 

Weighting the tail of the ski so the tip pops up is a good idea and I think I will find an old crap ski and do that. I will also paint it neon yellow. I don't want to drill into the Celebrity drop ski but I am going to paint the bases of the Celebrities neon yellow.

 

Despite the arguments to the contrary, I still believe the point of my rant is remains correct and valid. Ski companies can choose to make the bases of their combi skis any color or colors they want just as they do with slalom skis. Almost without exception though, they choose to make the bases black which is the absolute least contrasting, hardest to see color they can be when floating on a lake with any depth to it. When you consider how combi skis are often used, this makes absolutely no sense at all and defies all logic. It's like deliberately choosing to make grass green coloured golf balls. No golf ball company would ever do that because it would be completely dumb and golfers would be the first to call them out on that yet somehow it seems that a good portion of the waterskiing community doesn't think it's right or valid to call the waterski manufacturers out for making the bases of all their combi skis black but doing that is just as poorly thought out as making grass green colored golf balls would be. I mean, why would you do that when it's just as easy to make them a color that's easy to spot when the ski is floating? Yes, people can easily paint the black bases some more visible color but why do the waterski manufacturers make it so their customers have to do that? Why don't they just make them a visible color in the first place?

[eleeski]

Black skis are really stupid. The dropped ski aside, black is extremely efficient at absorbing heat. Waterskiing is an outdoor summer sport - with plenty of bright sun to heat things up. To the point where the resin can be affected or the ski can burn you.

 

We tested some graphite prepreg in just the sun. 170F in just a few minutes! That's hot! A lot hotter than I want my steak cooked.

 

The other end of the spectrum from the combo skis and the valid visibility issues are the ridiculously expensive top end slaloms. Overheat these and you'll be buying a new ski. Maybe the manufacturers aren't stupid - but we are for going for dark graphics.

 

White rules! At least for what will preserve your skis and make them visible.

 

Eric

[aspski]

 

 

I painted the bottom of the drop ski neon orange. No problem ever seeing it floating around. Its a $5 fix and you will never loose another drop ski again or spend valuable flat water time searching for it

[vernonreeve]

The Waterski Drop Ski Buoy works good. https://www.liquidationsports.com/index/page/product/product_id/21561/category/45/category_chain/35,45/product_name/Waterski+Drop+Ski+Bouy+-+Find+Your+Skis+EASILY%21

[swc5150]

Growing up, my drop ski was white. Very easy to find and quite visible floating in the water. I see the OP's point.

[thager]

@eleeski Try to find a white bottom ski on an overcast day. Good luck! My buddies G-10 Saucier trick ended up in little 3 inch pieces! Thank god for good insurance policies!

[BraceMaker]

@oldjeep @MS

 

Both 100% true. A standard insert pattern would assist development of new binding systems and allow skiers to demo a wider variety of skis without binding culture shock.

 

I also think the sun tolerence is a no brainer.

 

If I were a ski manufacturer I would not encourage dropping.

[Mrs_MS]

@hagar

Policy on the boat or the ski? :)

[Than_Bogan]

I think @BraceMaker has nailed it. As a ski maker, encouraging dropping of skis is just asking for future legal problems. Sad but true.

[DangerBoy]

@Than_Bogan By that logic can't you also argue that deliberately making a ski that is a color that is hardest to see and easiest to lose and therefore more likely to get lost and run over and cause damage to expensive boat propellers or perhaps cause serious injury to a skier or boarder that hits it is also asking for legal problems?

[DangerBoy]

@vernonreeve That drop ski buoy looks interesting but they're "Currently Unavailable". Since it's a liquidation store I suspect they won't be getting any more of them. A Google search did not turn up any available anyplace else so finding one to purchase anywhere is probably going to be difficult. Do you happen to have one? I'd like to see how they get attached to the binding like they show in the picture. I'm thinking one could be recreated from a fluorescent orange canvas dog retrieval dummy but again I'd like to see how they get attached. The drop ski buoy looks like an elegant solution but in the end, it's probably easier just to get a cheap ski, paint it neon yellow and attach some weight to the tail to make it float tip up as others have suggested.

 

Edit: Just confirmed with liquidation sports that they will not be getting anymore drop ski dummies in stock.

[vernonreeve]

Yeah, I like the idea of the weighted ski with the painted tip. I got the drop ski buoy a long time ago, and it worked great. It had a Velcro strap attached to the back of it that slipped under the rubber binding overlay and back to itself. We could see it for an amazingly long distance. I lost it in the divorce, however.