you know you are a water skier when....

[Horton]

You're 9-year-old tells you that she had a dream about skiing with @twhisper

[aupatking]

you've got  $8,000 worth of skis in one corner of your office and none of those are the one you ride

[chrislandy]

you've still got the pair of wooden skis you learnt on in 1985

[thager]

It's -9 F and you walk down to the storage shed  to talk to your Nautique and make sure everything's OK.

[Jody_Seal]

if you participate on Ball of Spray!

[skialex]

When you take a picture of your garage for the storage ideas thread and realize that you have quite a collection. 
81 skis including a special skis collection, a wooden reflex and some broken ski to be used in Adirondack chair project.

[The_MS]

You stop to look at every small lake and wonder if a slalom course will fit

[6balls]

You have a garden sprayer modified to fill turn balls partially with water.  

[S1Pitts]

You can directly relate to 7 of the 8 posts above.

[BKistler]

You’ve still got the 54” trick skis you used as a Junior Boy in your first tournament in 1964. 

[DonT]

you check the water temp of your lake -  when you know it's frozen over

 

[aupatking]

2 hours ago, The_MS said:

You stop to look at every small lake and wonder if a slalom course will fit

I used to do a lot of work in Nebraska and would fly into Omaha or Lincoln and drive west. Every exit on the interstate where they dug for dirt is a long pond. I figured 75 mph= 110 ft per second. Anything over 15 seconds needs buoys.

[The_MS]

@aupatking I think a few of the highway dig lakes along 80 have some courses on them. 

[lpskier]

You can barely walk due to a lifetime of accumulated injuries, but you can still count on your -35. Or in the case of my friend LH, Boy Scouts help you cross the street but you’re still good for age group national records and gold medals at Senior Worlds. 
 

And the most important option in your car is the seat heater, even if you live in Florida. 

Edited January 15 by lpskier

[RAWSki]

4 hours ago, thager said:

It's -9 F and you walk down to the storage shed  to talk to your Nautique and make sure everything's OK.

@thager does it talk back to you?  Only the really good ones do!

[thager]

Only if I connect the element 115 containment field to the inertial anti-

gravity computer.  

[Rednucleus]

... you wish the glassy sewage lagoon along I-5 had a course down the middle

[BrennanKMN]

You carry slalom rope sections with you daily...

 

I've carried a -38 section on my backpack that has been with me basically daily for the last 15 years. It is always fun explaining the what/why to everyone. 

[skibrain]

You have three wind apps on your phone to monitor favorable ski conditions. None of which you look at November through April. 

[DW]

And wind speed is the most important datapoint on the weather station mounted on your boat lift.

[Taperflex]

...when you suffer through another round of "Safe Sport". This year I had to do the whole thing from the beginning. Another hour and a half of my life wasted!

[swbca]

When you take your slalom ski all the way from Minnesota to Acapulco Mexico to take a 5 minute ride behind a Hotel boat with 3 foot rollers in Acapulco bay

[503Kento]

@swbca and here I thought I was the only one. 😉

[ToddA]

When your garage is +10 deg warmer than your house, b/c "you wouldn't want your boat to feel like it isn't well loved" in the off-season.

[LK_skier]

On 1/15/2024 at 11:51 PM, The_MS said:

You stop to look at every small lake and wonder if a slalom course will fit

Ditto

[swbca]

When you have been the only skier using your course on your lake for 20 years and the neighbor ladies ask "what rope length was that?"  when you pull up to their dock to say "hi" after a set.

Edited January 18 by swbca

[503Kento]

You use black beans for buoys on the table at Chipotle as you discuss ski technique with one of your ski partners. 

[BlueSki]

It’s ten degrees outside, you look out you office window over a river you wouldn’t ski, and then text other skiers, “the river is glass.”

[Cooper_Trelawney]

@swbca here is a picture of my mom with my grandparents on the beach in Acapulco at the old Club de Esquis in Acapulco Bay.  People have been taking their skis to the bay for a long, long time.  My family still has that ski!

[swbca]

6 hours ago, Cooper_Trelawney said:

@swbca here is a picture of my mom with my grandparents on the beach in Acapulco at the old Club de Esquis in Acapulco Bay.  People have been taking their skis to the bay for a long, long time.  My family still has that ski!

That's a memorable photo!  Thanks for sharing it.

Edited January 22 by swbca

[2Valve]

you're having a conversation with a stranger and you mention skiing. And they say, "oh, I love downhill skiing". And you reply, "did they just invent that?"

[Mastercrafter]

1 hour ago, 2Valve said:

you're having a conversation with a stranger and you mention skiing. And they say, "oh, I love downhill skiing". And you reply, "did they just invent that?"

Ha, while waiting to pick up a waterski at oversize baggage claim at home in Detroit last week, the guy asked what I was looking for. No lie, this is about how it went:

"a waterski in a case"

"is that different than a snow ski?"

"well.. yes.. one is used in a lake and one is used on a hill"

"is the lake frozen?"

"no, it's liquid. You do it behind a boat"

After this I walked away and let a friend finish the conversation because I wasn't feeling especially people-y. Made for a good laugh. 

 

[2Valve]

15 hours ago, Mastercrafter said:

Ha, while waiting to pick up a waterski at oversize baggage claim at home in Detroit last week, the guy asked what I was looking for. No lie, this is about how it went:

"a waterski in a case"

"is that different than a snow ski?"

"well.. yes.. one is used in a lake and one is used on a hill"

"is the lake frozen?"

"no, it's liquid. You do it behind a boat"

After this I walked away and let a friend finish the conversation because I wasn't feeling especially people-y. Made for a good laugh. 

 

Love it.
Similar to my conversations when I'm on my BMW motorcycle and someone in a BMW says, "I didn't know they made bikes". And I'll reply, "I didn't know they made cars".

[DW]

Your snow skis have an HO sticker on them.

[RAWSki]

8 minutes ago, DW said:

Your snow skis have an HO sticker on them.

The "good old days" when you really could ski the same brand of sticks in summer and winter! 

[BKistler]

21 minutes ago, DW said:

Your snow skis have an HO sticker on them.

I just added a Performance Ski and Surf sticker to my Dynastars. Did that after I discover that Performance tunes snow skis. They’ve got my business in both seasons. 

[lpskier]

@RAWSki I can only think of the following that made both snow and tournament water skis. Are there others?

1. Northland (Warren Witherall autograph) 

2. Hexcel (KLP)

3. Goode

4. Hart (bought EP)

5. K2 (just got my ankle replaced from a crash on one of those babies in 1973). 

[BKistler]

Hedlund is the only other one that I know of. 

[skialex]

57 minutes ago, lpskier said:

@RAWSki I can only think of the following that made both snow and tournament water skis. Are there others?

1. Northland (Warren Witherall autograph) 

2. Hexcel (KLP)

3. Goode

4. Hart (bought EP)

5. K2 (just got my ankle replaced from a crash on one of those babies in 1973). 

Fischer…

[503Kento]

Jobe made snow skis as well as waterskis back in like 1985. At least they had the Jobe name on them, no idea if they were made in the same place as the waterskis. 

[RAWSki]

Good list @lpskier   Jobe was the only one missing from your list I could think of and @503Kento got that one.  I am sure there are few very obscure others.  I remember "honeycomb" cores had its moment on both the water and the slopes.... (Hexcel, SkiMaster, etc).  I am sure @DWhad a pair of Hexcel 'split tails' at one time too!?

[swbca]

 

7 hours ago, lpskier said:

@RAWSki I can only think of the following that made both snow and tournament water skis. Are there others?

1. Northland (Warren Witherall autograph) 

You know you're a very old water skier when you owned Northland snow skis and Northland slalom ski at the same time.

and Warren Witherall cuts 2" of the back of your Northland ski a week before you head off to the 1964 Nationals in Massachusetts. (and uses the same saw to move the fin slot forwards)

Edited January 24 by swbca

[DW]

@RAWSki - started on leather lace ups and cable bindings 🤣    Had a pair of Head 360's way back when and now have a pair of Head Kore's and they look the same, kind of an ugly flat black.  Kind of like so many of my Goode's.  Better not add up the $ spent over the years, if it's an expensive sport (and mechanical) for some reason I'm drawn to it.

Back to the original topic - when the guest bedroom closet(s) is / are jammed full of waterski gear.

Edited January 24 by DW

[Horton]

you see this on your kitchen counter and it doesn't seem unusual

[skibrent]

…when your spine tingles anytime you see calm water -winter or summer

[Jaypro]

On 1/15/2024 at 7:39 AM, thager said:

It's -9 F and you walk down to the storage shed  to talk to your Nautique and make sure everything's OK.

@thager I do that all the time!!  I also keep the road to the barn fully plowed knowing full well there is no need as we are months away....but you never know....

[swbca]

When you cook bacon so your wife won't notice the smell of the stuff you are using to refinish your swim platform in the basement bathroom  with the bath fan on.

[Mateo_Vargas]

When you only watched Miami Vice to see the last scene of the credits

[BlueSki]

When you mention that you went skiing (snow skiing) over the winter months to someone that knows you well, they assume you went to Florida for the weekend.

[BlueSki]

Your wife hears the music playing in Terry Winter Quarter Speed and knows what you are watching. She's a skier too, so she stops what she is doing and watches.