2 Portable course questions

[75Tique]

1. My boat gate balls opposite the turn ball end of the arm (i.e. the ball at the end of the arm, left end of ball 1 arm) has slack in its line because that end of the arm seems to float higher then the the right ball. Pretty much all my gates are like this. Maybe the arm is sagging between the gate and turn ball, lifting it up. One suggestion was tighten the turn ball line, but that wouldnt make the sag go away. Maybe weight the end of the arm that is floating higher?

 

2. For an EZ slalom course, how much leader would you recommend between gates and anchors in lateral feet per foot depth. (asking for a friend, mine is set in place and I never measured.)

[WoodySkier]

Needs a little bit of a float in the middle of the arm, pvc with caps on the ends does it or we have our mini course in the middle which holds it from sagging

[WBLskier]

You need new pipe insulation to keep it from sagging between the boat gateway and the skier buoy.

[hockeyref74]

Our course is in all year we put 1 brick on the pvc where the guide away from turn buoy attaches also milk jug 1/2 way out arm with about 2/3 full of water

[75Tique]

Good reminders. I've heard of floats in the middle. I have to sink my course after each use. wonder of those floats would keep it from sinking? Milk jug route might be the way to go, that way I can fine tune.

 

[Johnseed]

Our issue was similar except instead of the outside guide being slack the inside guide sat much lower in the water. We made PVC float chambers with about a 2' piece of 2" diameter PVC and end caps. We then zip tied them at the midpoint of each buoy arm and the problem was solved. Quick, cheap, and easy. Not tons of buoyancy but enough to correct the in water sag.

[skierjp]

On a Accufloat course you put 1 antifreeze jug between the turn ball and the inside boat gate. Then 1 brick at the turn ball and one on the outside boat gate. The pipe will be level. You can leave the antifreeze jug on when you sink it. Some leave the antifreeze jug and the inside boat lane. Also, rig the ropes for the bouys to be permanent on the pipe with a hook for the buoy, this way all you have in the boat is a bag of buoys.If you are allowed, put a rope a few feet longer then the depth and a old bouy at every pipe (8). This way you can float it in minutes.The key to having a straight course is the length of the anchor lines. On 2 of the courses I have the anchor lines are 200' long in 17' of water! They are as straight as my 2 surveyed courses.

[Zman]

Ed at ez-slalom recommends a 4 foot section of the same diameter PVC pipe with caps glued on, then attached mid-span to your turn ball arms with large wire ties. I did that when I put my cable course in 5 years ago, and it is still working great. Actually, mine are 42 inches since I had 6 pieces of that length after cutting my pipes building the course. No sag, and all buoys float the same. You do this, you will not need to do anything else, so long as each anchor line is about the same. No other extra junk to deal with.

For your two anchor lines at the ends of the course, Ed recommends using at least 4 feet for every foot of depth. That's all you need. And, use 3/8 or 1/2 inch nylon rope. The nylon rope will last forever, and is slightly negatively buoyant - won't float up on you.

Plenty of ways to skin this cat. Keep it simple.

Good suggestion above to have hooks on the top of your buoy anchor lines for quick attachment and removing.

[Zman]

This method adds a little stiffness to the mid-span of your pipe as well as the flotation. But, any means to provide a small amount of lift at mid-span should work.

 

[Fam-man]

@75Tique for question #2. 4’ of anchor line length per 1’ of depth is recommended.

We’ve gotten away with 3-1 but can’t get as much mainline tension so the course will banana with slight crosswind.

[MDB1056]

Yes as mentioned mid arm buoys alleviate any sag and offer a mini course for kids and early learners . Or just jugs if floating is only need

[skierjp]

Just to clarify, I put the antifreeze jugs tied directly to the PVC. They are not on the surface. By using 1 gallon jugs you can add water if needed to level the arm. I use 42” screw anchors and had Mike Suyderhound make the 200’ anchor lines out of the same stainless cable the course is made out of. I also use a heavy duty winch to tighten the course that stays attached to the course. If I had it to do over I would make the anchor lines 180’ this would make it easier setting the 55s.

[WoodySkier]

@skierjp what kind of winch are you using that can stay underwater?

[skierjp]

It will last about 4 years. Harbor Freight

 

[skierjp]

I don't use their cable.

[lpskier]

If you can wind window sash weights, insert them into the PVC pipe under the outside boat guide. We always used half filled jugs at the mid point between the inside boat guide and the turn ball to keep the arm level. By half filling them with water we could get the right amount of flotation and still connect them directly to the arm and thus not have them floating on the surface. We also put weight on the turn ball end so that the balls floated lower in the water, but then we started putting water in the balls and that solved the problem. I imagine that if you used Wally Buoys they would float at the right height without needing more weight or water.

 

Be careful with that crank. Too much tension on the course can result in damage.

[Lars]

This is great stuff, I've always wanted to replace the foam in our insta-slalom "permanent" course with some floatation pipe but never had a chance to investigate how much pipe with end caps to use as a float.