Fresh water vs Salt water

[cougfan]

Don’t know if this topic has ever been discussed on this forum but since I have been following the BOS forum I haven’t come across any info about it.

I know some people ski in salt water. I saw a couple of Flow Point episodes by @MarcusBrown where he is skiing in Hawaii and in Baja.

Up here in the PNW we have a great choice of fresh waster lakes and rivers to ski on but the Puget Sound is only a stones throw away. This is a huge body of salt water with many islands throughout it. I myself commute from the mainland by ferry 4 days a week to 2 of the San Juan islands for work ( Orcas island and San Juan island) there are many inlets around these islands that are protected and are usually very skiable. I have also seen whitecap conditions but u also get blown out on fresh water lakes too.

What I am getting at is

How does skiing on salt water change things?

Does the fin setting change?

How about binding placement?

Length of ski?

Has anyone skied the course in salt water that can tell us what if any the difference is between that and fresh water?

Does it affect your PB?

These are just some random thoughts that I came up with while staring out the window on my hour long ferry ride back to the mainland this afternoon

Maybe I am way off and will have to give myself a lake Curlew panda for this post...but then again?

[dave2ball]

I skied in salt for for over 30 years. Switching from fresh to salt and viscera is no big deal other then salt water is faster because the ski is higher on the water. I never changes ski size or binding placement. I have had PB’s on both fresh and salt. The only thing I would change if anything is wing angle. After your done for the day rinse your ski equipment good with fresh water. If salt water becomes a normal thing I would use antiseize in your fin block screws.

You are over thinking this a little much. Just like a new site it may take a couple of passes to figure salt it out.

[mikegile]

Agree with @dave2ball. Did a tournament on salt water and blew right by one ball and couldn't slow down. I recommend 20 degree wing. :smile:

[skialex]

I ski both, even on the same day, not a big deal. Same scores on both, have to rinse your gear meticulously after every set on salt water, skiing on fresh water helps rinsing your gear from salt water too. ?

For me, boat, driver, temp, wind, etc, chance things more than fresh vs salt water.

Where we are, sea body of water stays at higher temps throughout the winter, past month I was skiing full suit in fresh water, shorty in sea water.

Hate the the affect salt water has on my gear though... especially on steel parts.

 

[Jody_Seal]

Lived the island life in Puerto Rico 88-92.

No fresh water to ski on. The after clean up of the boat and gear was a pain in the ass.

All though I really liked how the ski felt on the salt water. Rode a concept at the time..

[ALPJr]

Grew up skiing in salt and brackish water 15+ years. No problem, didn’t notice any difference other than it was easier on the palms. Just make sure to rinse with fresh water after.

 

Once I got started skiing on freshwater lakes I heard people talking about this water feels fast, feels slow, adjust this for this and that. To me the feeling of fast and slow has more to do with the skier’s path (wide vs narrow), and the distance of the skiers path from the shoreline. If the shoreline is close and runs parallel to the skiers path things feel fast to me. I never adjusted the ski for that.

[Fastguy888]

I Ski Misson Bay San Diego sometimes. Pic of me below during first set ever there last year. With a wetsuit, USCG vest and new Radar Senate I was floating like a buoy. I missed my pull-up as the ski was so floaty. There is 1.6 pounds more buoyancy in salt water than in fresh. An object with a volume of 1 cubic foot weighs 63 pounds it will float in salt water and sink in fresh water. Multiply this by many other factors and things are different, but manageable. At my level the water feels harder skiing on it, but probably no effect on my score.

Skiing a Salt Water Course; I get a feeling, as long as there are oceans we can keep Ballin!

 

[jjackkrash]

Jump crashes = less fun than usual.

[swc5150]

Slalom crashes = less fun than usual.

[WaterLoo]

@Jody_Seal where did you ski in Puerto Rico if you dont mind me asking? Looks like Crash Boat Beach offers jet skiing, tubing etc. but I can't anything online directly referencing skiing.

[gschorr]

@Cougfan I had a course in Manzanita Bay (Bainbridge Island) for years back when I skied tournaments. There was also a course in Oyster Bay, and they even ran tournaments one a year. There were also courses at times in Eagle Harbor, and I think there is still one down on Fox Island in south sound. As others have mentioned, it's great to train on and really forces you to keep weight forward to decelerate in the transition. I think the differences are much more extreme when skiing at 36 mph on salt, going to 36 on fresh water versus slower speeds.

 

The other bummer here in the Pacific Northwest is all the debris....not to mention the sporadic massive blooms of moon jelly's that can make you feel like your skiing over the top of water that's got the texture of a golf ball!

 

I still ski salt, but try and avoid taking my good ski. Unless you take off the fin block and bindings and soak them for a good long time, you will get galvanic corrosion damage.

 

If you ever want to come out and ski the salt in Puget Sound, let me know and we'll hook you up!