World's first submersible slalom course - RESTORING IMAGES LOST

[swbca]

THIS POST REPLACES THE IMAGES LOST IN BOS MIGRATION TO ITS NEW PLATFORM
(RE-POSTED NOW AT MEMBER REQUESTS)
BOS Platform doesn't permit adding images to the original thread so had to start this new thread.

LINK TO ORIGINAL THREAD 

The images are from an article I wrote for the July/August 1983 AWSA Water Skier magazine. 

We used this course from 1975 to 1992, when we moved away from this lake.

Quick Review:  This submersible course was originally installed in 1975 on Christmas Lake in Minnesota.  Later improvements added an electric winch with a dash-mounted radio remote control  in our Ski Nautique and in our house.  Another later improvement added 2" PVC spreaders at the sub buoy LEVEL to improve the width accuracy of the course.    

Was it really the worlds first submersible course ?   Can't be sure, but I later learned that Mike Suyderhoud patented his submersible cable course in 1976, a year after ours was installed.

From July 1983 WaterSkier magazine - The red ball in the middle of the course was added later to offset any friction in the line to the winch on shore that could distort the course by a few inches.

This is how I made the center anchor in 2021.  To avoid handling a 700 pound anchor I poured the concrete with the wood form pre-staged on the shoreline, so it could be pulled into position after it was setup.  Used 4" PVC this time instead of 3" PVC

Edited October 2, 2023 by swbca

[Wish]

WOW!! A lake neighbor when I was a teen must have seen these plans. Thought it was his original idea. It was on a  lake I grew up on between the Twin City’s and Rochester MN. It is reservoir that was drained for months for dam repairs in the early to mid 80s. He installed the whole thing over that horrible no lake summer. He used a winch on his dock to crank it down and back up. In the winter the cable was attached to a weight on the bottom so ice could not get ahold of it and then reattached to hand crank on the dock in the Spring. Ultimately it was abandoned as it was just in a busy part of the lake with a boat ramp and public beach at one end of the course and a narrow passage between bigger portions of the lake at the other end. Was very cool the few years I was part of using it. Fond memories.

 

[Lars]

@Wish would that be lake byllesbee?