How much use does the slalom course closest to your house get used?

[Horton]

How much use does the slalom course closest to your house get used on an average summer weekend? I am specifically asking about he course nearest your house and not about some other place you go if you have access to more than one site.

I am specifically asking how much the course gets used when the conditions are at least acceptable.

 

Please assume

normal weekends - not holiday weekends

Your typical weather - if you only get a few hours a day of flat water then how busy is your course for that time

Wake boarding or surfing or fishing or whatever - if you only get a few hours a day of flat water then how busy is your course for that time.

 

please only consider slalom courses that are usable and in working order

 

[Windsurfnut]

Large lake with Public course. Calm weekend mornings its busy. Other times its dead.

[IGski]

Spring and fall it's hit or miss. Summer months it is packed!

Midwest region.

[Fam-man]

Southern Alberta, public lake. When the conditions are good there will usually be 1 or 2 boats using the course with anywhere from 1-6 skiers between the boats. In total probably a few hours out of the weekend. All are club members that help install, remove and maintain. There is also the occasional jet-ski using it as a race course.

[skiep]

Lake 38 full all the time except really cold days. My 2013 boat has 1915 hours and my 2014 has 1009 hours Repower in the future!!

[Buxrus]

I probably shouldn’t have participated. My course is in my backyard. I’ll take 2 sets Saturday and again Sunday. During the week, one set 4 days or evenings depending on weather or wind.

[gsm_peter]

One has to skip 1set a few times per season.

Normally in early season a day / evning with great conditions.

[Horton]

@Buxrus Access is access. you slalom course that's underused regardless of if it is private or public

[Bdecker]

The course on the public lake where we spend many of our summer weekends hasn’t been floated in 2-3 seasons due to conditions (other boats out early) and required maintenance.

Every winter starts with good intentions of tackling the repair piece through the ice, but life tends to get in the way. Doubtful I would use it much anyway due to conditions.

 

The two sites I ski at regularly fit into the busy to very busy category on a weekend with good conditions.

[MISkier]

Weekdays, after work, it can be quite busy. Between noon and 4:00PM, there is some frequent activity, but not full. Weekends are actually not too crowded, either, but a few really exceptional days will bring a big turnout. Very rare use before noon on weekdays. We will put 350 hours on the boat across 20 club members each season from the beginning of May to mid-October.

[Horton]

@Bdecker

I know it's probably my fault for not being even more explicit but if the course is sitting on the bottom of the lake and nobody has used it in a couple of years it essentially does not exist.

[2Valve]

3-4 hours on summer weekends. Maybe 1-2 times during the week when I can get home early or play hooky from the office.

[Johnseed]

Ours is on a public lake....on weekend mornings there is sometimes a wait, weeknights it's usually open. Tuesday and Thursday are 'understood' as ski nights by the lake residents. We try and observe a 6 pass per boat at a time if there is a wait.

[Nando]

Ours is hit and miss. We're on a pretty visible public lake and I've heard comments from other skiers that it's always empty. While it's hardly in constant use, we did get a complaint from a resident that it's used too much in the early morning. It's not a noise complaint- the lake has an interstate highway at the north end (115,000 vehicles per day) and a railroad on the south end; it's more that a couple of people on the lake have decided it's "their" lake and they don't want outsiders on it. We've come to terms with them, but it will probably mean self-policing and an agreement not to ski too early. We kind of turn it over to tubers, fishermen, whoever, after noon on Saturday until Monday (though we usually get our passes in before noon Sunday). On a public lake it's always a balancing act to keep the neighbors happy.

[503Kento]

I’m amazed at how often me and my buds can roll up on the course and be the only boat regardless of time of day or weather.

[aspski]

@Fam-man What lake is there a course on in Southern Alberta?

[wawaskr]

Only 8 members in our club, and everyone has their known schedule. No wait, just go ski, leave - its GREAT! The reason it is under used, is that there are not that many dedicated buoy chasers left. It takes TOW to get to a decent level, and most cannot or will not dedicate that time. When I talk with people at work about what I do, most if not all have NO IDEA what slalom skiing in a course is. More interesting poll would be to ask the General Public if they know what a slalom water ski course is?

[BraceMaker]

The only one currently permitted is in an area which is unfortunately extremely popular. For awhile it was popular with jet skis, and then kayaks but this summer has brought a new perversion. We are now inundated with these low slung "pedal" fishing kayaks/inflatable pedal powered fishing pontoons and such.

 

Any morning that the water is relatively calm the area near this course now has a veritable floatilla. And not that I think they disrupt the water - zero wake is super cool but it is now just frankly dangerous to ski. Our AMs tend to be cool with a bit of misty fog if there's no breeze and these things are just about invisible.

[Fam-man]

@aspski it is on Rattlesnake Lake which is 20 minutes west of Medicine Hat. The lake is accessed from Golden Sheaf Park. If you're ever in the neighborhood....

[PatM]

We try to ski a couple of times during the mornings of the weekend. But if my ski partner and I are not skiing the course it only gets rarely used by others. And 95% of the others are extended ski partners/ski friends of ours. Part of the issues is the course is unusable if another boat is on the lake (public lake).

[ALPJr]

Gets a few regulars weekend mornings. Quiet mid week daytime. Busy lake late afternoon and evening.

[thager]

Two to three times a week.

[BrennanKMN]

Nearest corse to me is a submersible on a public lake. If the weather is good enough for skiing there will be 1-4 boats with 2-3 skiers on each waiting for passes from 6:30am to around 9. That time can run into 10 or 11 if there are a decent number of public boaters using the lake as well causing us to have to wait for rollers or other boats.

 

Course almost never gets used other than early mornings and early afternoons. There is generally too much public boat traffic for it to be a viable daytime option.

 

There are almost no courses that are a viable option during the weekends (outside of early mornings) around me. You have to ski before Memorial Day or after Labor Day for the weekend day time to be an option around here.

[igkya]

About 8-9 years ago, we had 20+ members. Showing up after 9am on a weekend typically meant you may be waiting an hour or 2. Nowadays, there's no waiting and we ski whenever we want. We could use a few more members.

[Jody_Seal]

I have a course in a box and one on a reel . Do those constitute under use?

There are probably 5 courses within 20 min. 3 are on public lakes and 2 on private.

All are wide open most every day.

Pickos about an hour away , that facility goes hard but then again it is a school with walkins welcome but call ahead.

 

 

[dave2ball]

Under used. I’m the only one on my lake who uses it. Kind of nice actually.

[6balls]

We used to use 4 courses between pairings of 4 of us whoever was available...all within 10 miles. They were only used by us...all on public water.

 

Now one course on my home lake, seldom used lack of ski partners

[Horton]

@dave2ball @aspski @Windsurfnut you guys that comment but then don't vote are killing me.

 

 

[aupatking]

We’ve got 3 active skiers at our private lake. The three of us use the course a couple times a week. 3 if we are super lucky.

Our public course on the river we live on usually grows barnacles on the buoys between times we get to use it. I’d be surprised to hear it gets run even once a week.

[Dano]

The public lakes around here both have courses on them and both get used regularly. The course owners maintain them remarkably well. Courses are generally enjoying decent water early mornings and offer great skiiing spring and fall months. July and august you gotta be pretty early to beat the surfers out.

[cougfan]

The private lake where I ski is very under used. Can go there most anytime of the day and ski. The public lake I use is a different story. During the summer months you have to be done by 10 am to avoid other boats that come out to wakeboard and surf (yuck) and destroy the water.

[lpskier]

There is a surveyed course just off my dock here in Orlando. I’ve lived in my house for a year. I’ve never used the course and I’ve never seen it used, although neighbors tell me it is. Since it’s a busy lake with lots of traffic, I ski at LaPoint Ski Park, just a few miles away. And the three skiers that I know that live on my lake also ski at LaPoint’s.

 

When I lived in New York, our local course got a fair amount of use between 6 and 8 AM, but generally it was unskiable after that due to wind and boat traffic. A “fair amount” means two or three boats.

[Orlando76]

Not a fair question to ask. Public vs private are major determining factors. Within sight of my front door I have 2 courses in view. They’re private and only 3 of us ski it 4 days a week, maybe 1.5 hours per trip. Heck, so private even I don’t have true access to them. A block behind my house there’s a public course and 2 guys ski it about a dozen times a year. Pretty sad, public course where there’s sunshine 13 months a year and probably only 15 days a year not skiable and that’s all the use the public course gets.

[Horton]

@Orlando76 to get the whole picture a number of different narrow /specific questions need to be asked. I'm sure not everybody that answered the question understood exactly what I was asking. This question is specifically about gross capacity. The question was not how much access everybody has but if the courses that existed were fully utilized.

 

as always, now that I see the responses I wish I could rewrite the original question text...

[MattP]

We are usually are packed 4:00-Dark 4-5 weeknights a week. Weekends are usually hit or miss. Sometimes it can be hard to find a pull. Only one or two weekend day’s come to mind from last season where there was more than 3 people at the lake.

[dave2ball]

@Horton what the French Toast! i did vote before committing. The triple panda needs to be revoked. System error.

 

[Horton]

@dave2ball I am pretty sure I owed you a few Pandas anyway.

[Hockdog]

Course is on a public lake in a cove. When conditions are good, it is up to a 2+ hour wait between sets. Weekdays are hit and miss....

[dave2ball]

@Hockdog come to Florida and you will see the light. And lower taxes

[lpskier]

@Gloersen Its all about management.

[Hockdog]

@dave2ball, the Mrs won't do Florida, something about cockroaches....

[dave2ball]

@Hockdog sounds like an excuse. On a plus we don’t have tent cities on streets. Just Great Lakes to ski on year round

[BCM]

My local site can get busy on a Saturday afternoon or the occasional week night, but, I don't think I have waited more than an hour to ski. Finding a ski partner is often more of an issue than the lake being too busy.

 

I regularly drive by 3-4 private sites and it is very rare to see people skiing on weekday afternoons (4-5pm) or weekend mornings. I would argue that all of these sites are under utilized.

[mmosley899]

We ski on Lay Lake in Alabama, public course that has been there for over twenty years. Hardly ever see other boats there other than the three or four regular users. Great place to ski on most weekends until about noon. Weekdays are wide open. We would welcome new skiers to join us!

[Hockdog]

Lol @dave2ball, people spend loads of money to camp in tents.....juzz sayin.

[75Tique]

Not really sure if my situation/story helps this poll much, but I'll share it anyway. Kind of a unique situation. Several good news/bad news aspects.

 

Semi private lake, meaning not private ski lake with just my house and a few others on it for the sole purpose of skiing, but a "neighborhood" lake, no outsiders allowed, but on weekends and some evenings, enough traffic to fill it up.

 

Good news. Several years ago, a few people on the lake got HOA permission to deploy a course. I really never thought that would happen, based on typical attitudes of our HOA. Reasonable terms, too, can be out pretty much any time except weekend afternoons.

Bad news. Can not be left out. Has to be deployed/recovered each use.

 

Good news. I now have custody of the course. The folks that paved the way many years ago are no longer skiing

Bad news. Kind of a fuss to deploy/recover every time, so we dont do it as often as we should.

 

Bad news: Small lake. If there is one other boat out there, the lake is shot.

Good news. The weekend mornings we deployed this summer, we had the lake to ourselves from 8 till noon. That is a crap shoot tho. Some days tubers will be out there at 9:00. Last summer I had an out of town skier friend/guest in the middle of the week. I took a couple days off work. Lake to ourselves for 2 full days. It was glorious.

 

Good news; there are four people that ski the course, in fact on our lake, there are four people who even have a clue as to what it is and what is going on. Its me and 3 of my ski friends, but usually an outing is just 3 of us as typically someone cant make it for whatever reason. Further good news, since we are the only ones that use it, no waiting. Stirring up interest to get more skiers is always good for the sport, but selfishly, I like having it all to myself.

 

Here's the setting. Live at red arrow (yes I am lucky/fortunate) yellow line is typical course location.

 

 

I am thinking of sinking the course this year with a leader tied to one of the lakes many no wake zone buoys. That could speed things up. Some of you may recall my story last summer about using a submerged buoy and losing the course (not mine, furtunately I found it) So I didnt do that again. Tying of to a permanent buoy might do the trick, although I do kind of hate to get a course that is not mine all slimy and gunky. Its 10 years old and the nylon mainline still looks new.

 

[markn]

Holy crap Dave2Ball.....a TRIPLE Panda!!!! Nicely done!

[dave2ball]

@markn I’m surprised it took this long. My original post did not post to the site like 2 others.

[dave2ball]

@75Tique not sure of the state regulations in NC but the HOA may not have any say if the course needs to be removed. The count or state should regulate the water rights I would check the state or county for a course permit on a similar lake as yours is.

[UWSkier]

Closest course to me is San-Tan. You can't really get on it without knowing someone so I have no clue how over/under utilized it is. Next closest is Crystal Point. I'm not working with that sort of $$$. Next closest is Firebird, which is salty water with a layer of jet fuel on top. Think you can get on that pretty easily any time if you're willing to wear a hazmat suit. Next closest is Buchli. You can do pay for passes there too but there's not a club scene. Next closest are Lakeside and Spring Mtn. They're out in the boonies and also private, though I don't believe very heavily utilized during the week.

 

Around here you pretty much need to buy real estate if you want to ski a course regularly.

 

I don't know of any public courses on the lakes in the area.