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New extremely portable slalom course

E_T

By E_T
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SandSki135 Apprentice

SandSki135

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Dang rodecon, I am being a baby.. still just a little to cold for me. Ive also been called out by the Canadians that I dont know what cold is... Promise I will be in next week! But really, from playing around with it, its going to be fun.

 

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ErikBerghiller Enthusiast

ErikBerghiller

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@Andre OffCourse we are gonna make some more videos! ? The pandemic and the really long winter here in Sweden has slowed us down but now we finally have some great stuff in the making!

 

The second batch of units reached North America a few weeks back, and I’ve understood that the lakes are just getting warm enough. So, hopefully the first buyers are getting a whole new waterskiing-experience as we speak and can give us some reviews soon!

 

 

I’m really looking forward to seeing people posting videos on when they are using their units.

 

Thanks for bearing with me! Make sure to follow our Instagram @rodicsinnovation for more updates.

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Horton Intergalactic

Horton

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@MDB1056 my current plan is to pull my turn balls under water and do it here. If someone in So Cal who skis on public water with a MasterCraft wants to help then ....

 

( I never have CF numbers on my boats and do not even have whatever license you need to drive a boat on public water.)

 

 Goode ★ HO Syndicate ★  KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki  

Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes

Drop a dime in the can

 

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Tom351 Enthusiast

Tom351

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@Horton It would be great to see a pass with the turn balls floating for reference...obviously it would be difficult to time the OffCourse to be totally in sync with the actual course as it passes by, but seeing the buoys for width and timing reference would be revealing.
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SandSki135 Apprentice

SandSki135

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Sorry everyone.. just got back to the lake. Dont make fun, but 45 degrees this AM. If we dont get out in the early morning, there will be to many boats. Some fun news, Im headed to the Boarding School first part of June and Travis said to bring it and he will help me dial it in
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ErikBerghiller Enthusiast

ErikBerghiller

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Hi Ballers!

 

I get a lot of questions regarding the accuracy of the OffCourse™.  I’ve been meaning to do this video forever and yesterday the fixed course on our local lake finally got in the water. One turn buoy was missing but it still gives an idea of the OffCourse™ accuracy compared to a fixed course if properly dialed.

 

This slow-motion video is shot in an Insta-Slalom course at 34mph and with a 7 mph headwind.

 

 

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6balls Grand Master

6balls

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looked like perfect width, and very consistent just ahead of the turn balls. If the slalom course arms are being blown back in the headwind it would appear to be spot on where the buoys should be.

 

If not it really matters not if it's 2 feet upcourse as long as it's always 2 feet upcourse which means you have really close to real dimensions in the open water.

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moski Collaborator

moski

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@mlange crap forget about the damn rear view mirror. Agreed any solution to have mirror and off course on at same time?

 

Also maybe magazines are bent so mirror can be used.

Looking at their system on their boat- looks like I would have to slide down my mirror a good ways to the right. ? hmmm

gohy95azjvzg.png

 

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ErikBerghiller Enthusiast

ErikBerghiller

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Thank you guys! 

 

BOS has been fuel for this project since the start and I’m super excited to finally be able to provide this product. Hopefully, it will create a lot of great skiing experiences and make more people discover our sport! :)  

 

@mlange I still have not seen any mirror that does not fit with the OffCourse™ mounted. Some models need to be slided a little to the left, especially on older narrower boats but usually that’s not a problem. Seen from above the markers are panned forward which leaves room for most mirrors. 

 

@swc5150 Sounds good, get yours here! 

 

@6balls That two feet is me being a little late on the start button entering the course. While on open water the OffCourse™ starts with a zero-ball on the left side. That is the indicator for the skier on when to pull to the right to get just in time for the first “real” splash. 

 

@Rednucleus We are currently developing our own ball, but before that is finished we recommend using a paintball called Empire Heat. It has a shell of gelatin and fill based on a natural, food-based vegetable ingredient. They are fully biodegradable. These balls retail at approximately $20 for a case of 1000p in the US, CO2 cartridges retail at approximately $0.5 and are good for 20-25 markings. So, one pass through a slalom course with 6 turns is roughly 40 cents.

 

@Stefan Yes! Correct observation, after a certain Swede asked for it we started working on these ;) The new Z-Magazines holds twice as many balls as the standard ones and still fits under most biminis. This way balls and CO2 can be reloaded at the same time. And if you feel like it you can ski til you drop. They will be available on the website in a couple of weeks.

 

Also, watch Marcus Brown lay down some turns with his OffCourse™ here!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO0yTP6jjw_/?igshid=2011q85c12lg

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Edmund Collaborator

Edmund

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@ErikBerghiller This is neat: "While on open water the OffCourse™ starts with a zero-ball on the left side. That is the indicator for the skier on when to pull to the right to get just in time for the first “real” splash."
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UWSkier Veteran

UWSkier

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Nice! Does it have to go on the windshield or can it be deck mounted? How do you adjust the distance since each boat will have a slightly different mounting elevation? Any thoughts on including a compressor with a regulator instead of CO2 or would humidity be a problem? When you say 20-25 markings per CO2 canister, do you mean 25 buoys or 25 passes?

 

Super intrigued.

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ErikBerghiller Enthusiast

ErikBerghiller

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@UWSkier The standard clamps are made for windshields only. The distance between markings are automatically adjusted by the built in GPS. For width, there is an angle adjustment on both markers. The cartridges are good for 25 “buoys”, we have looked at different options for pressurizing the markers and this is by far the most cost efficient. A compressor would be cool but would also jack up the price big time.
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r_maniak Explorer

r_maniak

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I've been lurking on this for months. I'm very pleased to see the outcome of the fixed course test... So much so, I had to register on BoS to post (first post).

@ErikBerghiller - I know a guy who ordered one. He would let me borrow/test on my lake (my boat) in order to qualify it for purchase. Is it accurate to assume that we'd need to go through the entire calibration process if moving it from a ProStar to a Response, or if windshield height (from water level) is virtually the same on both boats, would we be OK with just moving it from boat to boat?

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ErikBerghiller Enthusiast

ErikBerghiller

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@r_maniak Stoked to send you one! Maybe someone else has the same question. If the windshield height over the water were to be exactly the same and both boats were leveled once the unit is transferred, in theory you should not need to recalibrate. However, that will rarely be the case so my guess is that you will always have to make some fine-tuning when switching between boats.
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UWSkier Veteran

UWSkier

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Another geeky question. How much variance in width have you guys observed if the boat crew varies? If you calibrate with a spotter and ski without, are 1-3-5 appreciably more narrow or is the difference negligible in your experience?
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ErikBerghiller Enthusiast

ErikBerghiller

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@UWSkier Yes, 1-3-5 would be more narrow. You don't want to set the width with a 200 lbs spotter that then leaves the boat. Ï don't have any numbers on how much difference that would make since it would differ depending on the boat.

We always use sandbags to keep the boat leveled even when not using the OffCouse™. It does not have to be leveled since both sides are individually adjustable but I would say it is easier/faster to keep the boat leveled than to tune the angle on the markers. Or maybe it is a matter of taste :)

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ErikBerghiller Enthusiast

ErikBerghiller

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We have one OffCourse™ that was used during a full-day photoshoot last week.

It has some minor scratches but overall looks good and all moving parts have been inspected and/or refurbished.

 

Will ship the same day to a Baller at a 20% discount, send a PM for discount coupon.

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DonMunro Newbie

DonMunro

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I purchased the OffCourse and wrote a review. I hope that it helps someone!

 

I was very interested when I first heard about the OffCourse system a couple years ago. I have struggled with public courses since 1984. Over the years, I have had several floating courses, 2 submersible systems, 1 portable, 2 sub-buoy courses, and also helped many skier friends with their course on other lakes. I currently have a submersible course permanently in our lake and a portable course as backup.

 

The concept of the OffCourse of being truly portable to ski wherever the water is smooth is very attractive to me. Sometimes where our submersible course is located is wind chopped, or used for fishing tournaments (they naturally fish wherever a course is!), or there is a lack of time to raise/lower/maintain the submersible course.

 

I have been following many forums to get end-user feedback of their experience using the OffCourse. There was not much feedback online so I decided to purchase one anyway. That is why I am writing this review in hopes that it helps someone.

 

I have used my OffCourse system twice in the last week. Both times it has been very easy to mount, set-up, and activate. The system worked very well. For many questions that I read on the forums, the system does not interfere with my mirror at all. The “zero ball” does take some getting used to. My wife and I are still working on timing for the “zero ball” (splash). So far, we are just running our simple passes and not skiing beyond 15/22 off in the OffCourse. Once we learn our timing for the zero splash, we will be able to run more difficult passes.

 

We calibrated course width per the instructions. Splash placement is exact for length but for width is subjective. Per the instructions the skier swings out to the rope mark on the boat (measured), then observes 3 splashes for proper width. It took us a few passes to get this where it felt right. I have been skiing a regular course on another lake twice a week so tweaks were necessary to get splashes where buoys “should” be (again subjective). We have not raised our submersible yet this year but when we do, I plan to calibrate the OffCourse width by shooting at the fixed turn buoys. Course width is affected by boat loading, so this may be a struggle if we ski with an observer(s) or not.

 

Does the OffCourse replace a buoy course? No, but for us, it supplements it very well. We will be using the OffCourse when we want to ski other areas of our lake for smooth water (when our submersible location is rough), when we ski other lakes that do not have a course, and when we don’t have time to mess with the submersible. It is a GREAT alternative to skiing open water. It certainly helps timing of where buoys are spaced. Open water skiing is great, but without some markers over time, the timing and rhythm of the course is lost. OffCourse will definitely help bridge that gap.

 

For people that don’t normally ski a buoy course, an OffCourse will be a nice challenge to begin the slalom course addiction! Course width and course length can be easily adjusted which will help new course skiers. A buoy course does not have this flexibility and would be a lot of work.

 

The OffCourse is definitely a win for public lake slalom skiers. Hopefully skiers will utilize this tool to advance the sport and their skill.

 

Don Munro

 

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r_maniak Explorer

r_maniak

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We had ours on-water for the first time this AM. I'm very impressed with the quality and elegance of the build as well as the product presentation and packaging. Set-up/install is easy. NOTEWORTHY: If you are like me and like pressing buttons and what-not on new toys, refrain from playing around with the cocking pins until you have it on-water/loaded and energized with pressure (or in other words, follow the instructions). On the plus side, I sent an email to Rodics asking if anyone could take a support call. Minutes later, my phone was ringing with support on the line! Thank You! We ran out of time and did not complete calibration this AM, but we were very close before we had to shut it down and go to work. More to come!ocynnkbab7n8.jpg

 

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