Porkfight

I really wish I didn't have to work on August 22nd.

Both the Triumph and the Theory are going to blow your mind, considering you're coming from a 15 year old ski that's too small for you. If you can demo, awesome! But both will serve you well on open water (or in a course). If you can't demo, buy the newest of the two you can afford. The newer Theories are based on the Vapor and the new Triumph is the "TX." Ooo, and I second @davemac 's suggestion for Clincher style gloves. I resisted until I spent four days at a ski school and bought some Masterlne Pro Locks on day three. Haven't looked back since.

Haven't even put it in the water yet.

That evenly distributed 3% or so weight gain won't make much of a difference in public water, where G25's are sending rollers your way anyway. It was a non factor when I was looking for a boat. Kinda wish mine had one, but it would have to be the factory tower in the photo @Texas6 posted.

That looks so physically abusive.

Add an airfoil to the tower and create lift at speed.

Boat is in the locked garage. A project car worth far less was displaced. In the off season, the trailer sits on jack stands and wheels live elsewhere.

I believe the '12-'13 Lyric is wide version of the Strada and the '14-'15 is a wide version of the Vapor, so there is a difference.

Simon Says..... ride one in a slalom course.

Super very.

Good tracks are mostly in the desert, hours away, but there is a nice indoor cart track in Anaheim. K1 Speed Anaheim 1000 N. Edward Ct. Anaheim, CA 92806

@Texas6, I appreciate that. Within the next two years, I do hope to enter a tournament. I just got a real boat and know of a course that I can rent by the day so there will be a few new course addicts out there soon.

I would love to play couple of hundred rounds of golf with my pals before entering a tournament. Public golf courses are everywhere in SocCal so that's actually possible. It's pretty tough to find a place to have a friendly afternoon slalom competition with my friends and get confident enough to think I won't embarrass myself at a tournament amongst people who belong to ski clubs with monthly dues higher than my boat payment. Without easy and inexpensive access to courses on public waterways, the measure of skill for "serious" recreational skiers will continue to be big spray and touching shoulder to water. Why are there no laser-projected slalom courses on the market yet?! Plug in, focus, ski, unplug, go home.

Cool. A Nautique houseboat. #shorechanger

@jcamp, awesome! I read your post about a week ago but was reminded of it the other day when some guys I work with overheard a conversation I was having about an RLXi I'm getting next week. Apparently they go out and try to drag their shoulders in open water on 20+ yr old skis behind someone's Bayliner (or whatever). Suddenly I have a bunch of ski dates lined up with people who's wakeboards are starting to collect dust. There is hope!

It would still be a nice addition to the D3. There's nothing wrong with going 26-28 on a ski that is designed for those speeds. A P6 might feel weird at that speed too, given its width. The Freeride is a good ski for open water cruising and carving but if you need to ski 30+ mph you may need something narrower and more aggressive. Senate maybe? Or maybe borrow someone's Freeride. I'd let you try mine if we weren't thousands of miles away.

Whatever it is, it's going to be less impressive than the hype they are trying to generate. 196 "R" with a walk-through open now? That'll be $60,000 please.

I would say no-go on 32-34 mph. I bought one a couple of years ago for open water, but it's pretty much my wife's ski now and I haven't ridden it in at least 12 months. My father in law pulled me at 32 on the Freeride and it was all over the place. 28 is about as fast as I want to go on it. It's not designed for normal slalom speeds.

My wife and I generally start thinking about other things when it cools off. Fall means the dirt bikes come out of the garage and GP's, enduros, and trips to the dunes start populating our calendar. Literally all of the people I ski with transition to dirt bikes this time of year, but none of us are tournament level skiers either. Do you don a dry suit and keep slaying buoys or do you shift gears and do something else during the off season?

Nope on carp in my face and nope on snow in my driveway. Nope, nope.

I ski behind a 36 year old outboard and my turn buoys are gallon orange juice jugs. We use a target buoy instead of path buoys. Those guys have it made!

Comedy Central last night too.

Recovered just in time for cold weather.

Never pulled anyone through a course, but driving open water, I get annoyed when the skier pulls all of the rope into his/her lap trying to make the handle arrive faster after a fall or failed start and then complains about getting yanked when the submerged bundle of rope suddenly becomes a tight line. Patience! As a skier, I hate when the driver ignores my speed request.

I want to try the new Senate shape. I'm on the Strada-shaped Senate C and the Vapor-based Senate seems universally loved. Mapple Torque would be fun too, but not nece$$ary for a primarily open water skier.