BrennanKMN

The 422 did not come from the factory on the Ski Nautiques.

I am going down to Orlando for 5 days in January and all 5 days will be spent skiing. So I want to be in shape before I go. Unfortunately my ski season has already ended here, so I cannot train that way. Plus, I am only used to running 2-3 sets a week not 2-3 sets a day! What types of activities or training can I do to get myself into better skiing shape? I would like to work a lot on my endurance as I believe that is what will kill me the most over the 5 days. I am usually wiped after a 10-12 pass set. I do have access to a gym with machines, but I would really like to avoid it if I can (it's overly crowded). What do you guys recommend? I would like to start training now for January. If I am going to take the time to go to school I might as well take the time to get something out of it. Thanks.

The whole culture and people. I have not ever met a true slalom skier that was mean - or even normal for that matter. Everyone I ever meet is always happy and wants every one else to ski their best. They are just friendly folk. I think that is absolutely awesome. I met a guy of Ski-It-Again. We sat in the parking lot and talked for 15 min about skiing. That doesn't happen unless you are both crazy passionate about what you do. Just think of our coaching. What other sport allows you to call up Andy Mapple and get some lessons? The slalom course. The day you make your first full pass is probably one of the best feelings ever. That is until you drop a loop and do it again. I like the competitive style of skiing the course. I am competing with myself; not everyone else. I am always trying to get that next loop to get that feeling back. The boats. There is not a single boat on the lake that is sexier than an closed bow 3 even tow boat. No question in my mind. But it all comes back to the people. I don't know many people that run the course personally. But the people I have meet over the years are the nicest people I have ever met and they are all willing to bed over backwards for the sport. I hope some day I have the ability to be that guy for some young person like myself.

Thanks for all the advice everyone! @thager That is definitely a worry of mine. However, being 22 I think I can manage but I'll be dead by the end. I plan to start training now so I can be in shape for my trip. Right now I only ski 2-3 sets a week, so going to 2-3 sets a day will be a rude awakening.

A while back I asked about various ski schools and coaches in the Orlando area and got an overwhelming list of places to go. Thread: http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/11643/water-ski-school-coaching-recommendations With so many recommended places to go would it be wise of me to go to a few different places over my 5 days? I could go to 2-3 places for a day or two each or I could stay at one place for all 5 days. What would you recommend? My thought was go to several different places so I can get a variety of different coaching styles and advice. As this is my first real lesson I don't know what my style is yet. Thanks.

That is a good looking boat.

@budge I was pricing out the model for a ski pylon, not a tower. It looks like shipping is $30 for international. So, for the pylon mount it is $246 + $30 = $276. I guess if wanted a tower mount it would be $370, which I agree is quite steep.

For the ignorant, what is it?

@swc5150 I skied with Ski Jammers since I was 6 and I raced with my high school (Hopkins) up until 2011 when I graduated. It was a great time and I miss it. However, at this point it my life I am much more into water skiing. Funny enough, my high school alpine coach was the guy who gave me first pull through the slalom course. I entered one side a snow skier and come out the other ski a water skier.

@oldjeep I mean no offence! I stared running the course behind a old SeaRay. My love for the course probably comes from my years of snow skiing. For 10 years all I did was race slalom between the gates, so it was a natural progression to buoys. There is a course on Auburn, but we try to keep it a little quite. The fisherman are not overly fond of it and often like to park in the middle. I have been skiing almost exclusively on that lake for 3-4 years.

I know that if I never had the opportunity to ski a course water skiing would not be my go to sport. The slalom course is what got me hooked. Otherwise I would have been that 1 ski hack you see take a pass or two every few weeks behind his Bayliner. I don't know about the rest of you, but open water skiing is extremely boring for me after spending my days running the course. That is 1 thing I believe all these other sports have going for it. You don't need a course or private water to have any fun. You can go out on almost any lake and have a blast. That is very hard to do for me as a dedicated course skier. However, learning to trick has changed that!

@Budge Not sure where you are getting that number. For a normal camera mount (1/4-20) it is $267 shipped. Just priced it out. That not any more expensive than a Trakker and this product looks MUCH better. My question for those that have this kind of thing. How do you use your shock tube with it? It looks like I wouldn't be able to have my shock tube installed and use the Wakeye at the same time. That is a little bit of a sticking point for me. I have had some pretty powerful sling shots in the last few years.

While I am no means someone you should be taking advice from, one thing I can say is think about 1 thing per set. If you go out there any try and do 3-4 things differently each set you will have a bad time. I am not talking pass, I am talking set. Work on 1 and only 1 thing until it is second nature. At that point you move on to the next thing. You will almost certainly struggle if you try and fix several things at once.

Wade is an awesome coach and just a blast to be around. I had the experience of attending a clinic of his in MN back in 2011. Absolutely worth it.

Brent at Cover Sports is awesome. He can be a little hard to get a hold of but makes some of the best covers. I would not consider anything else. http://www.cover-sports.com/index.html I will see if I can get his phone number from my old order.

Well it looks like I better replace my rope! I have been using the same masterline for 3 years and handle for 6+ years. I am not near good enough to notice a difference. I will have to try the old and new back to back and see if I can tell.

Check this out.

My goal this year was 28 off @ 31MPH and I made it to 2.5 at 32 off. Next year my goal is 22 off at 36 MPH. I want to get prepared for entering tournaments in 2016.

Yeah, I was hoping for some more 'specialized' recommendations. There is such I large list here I would have no idea where to begin. @ Than_Bogan: I honestly don't know too much about my learning style. I would bet I would be along the same lines, where I need to know why I need to do something. I am not too great a blindly believing something. I know a huge thing is having someone tell me visually what position I need to be in. You can describe a stack to me all day long and I can go out there and do what I think is right; but when I look at video I look nothing like what I felt. (If that makes any scene) I am not looking to get to that next line length or add one more ball. I am looking to get better fundamentals and up my skiing speed. I want to be skiing at 36 MPH as soon as I can (skiing 31 MPH now). Are any of these coaches too good for me? I don't want to go to a place that is super specialized for the 38' off skier. What other questions can I answer to help you guys out? Thanks much.

I am interested in going to a ski school or to get some coaching this January. I am not a tournament skier, I am self taught, I can run 22 off at 31 MPH easily, but I am looking to get into tournaments in the next year or so. (I am a 21 year old college student) I am looking for a place that is in the south east. I live in MN and go to school in NY. So I would be going to ski school on the way back to college after winter break. So Florida or somewhere in that region would be awesome. There is also the possibly that it would be a 'vacation' for several others as well. So a location or school that caters to having a family would be ideal even tough I would be the only one skiing. I'd like to go for 4-5 days with several sets a day. I would also prefer a more 1-1 coaching style over a group of 5-6. I have only ever done one other clinic with Wade Cox and that was just a day deal. I'd prefer a place where I can demo some equipment and have someone around that can help set it up properly. I have never been able to try many other skies or know how to set them up best. Anyway, please let me know what you think and let me know if I can answer any more questions. Thanks all!

@klindy‌ I go to school in upstate NY (Rochester) but live at home (Minneapolis) during the summer. I'd love to ski at while at school in NY but there doesn't seam to be much of a following around there. They have Hidden Pass in Penfield, but I don't know anybody to contact there. MN has a better following, but it is hard to get involved in the 3 months I'm home. Thanks all for the advice. I will start working my speed up at the 15 off length and see where I get. I am hoping .5 MPH increments should be okay.

Howdy everyone. I have a question for some of the more experienced slalom folks out there. I am a 21 year old that has self taught myself to ski the course. I can run 15 and 22 off pretty consistently at 31 MPH. I have been working on 28 off this year and so far I have made it around ball 5 at 31 MPH. I almost never adjust the speed on perfect pass, I set it at 31 and leave it. Each set I run one pass at 15 off and a few at 22 and jump into 28 before I'm too tired. I'd like to get into tournament skiing after I graduate college and live in one place again. That means I will need to be skiing at 36 MPH. Should I knock the line back to 15 off and work my way up in speed or keep training like I am and work up in speed at all line lengths? I am not sure what is the best way to get to an M1 level. I think the worst part of this is I only have a week left before my last pass of the season. Going back to school sucks :( I'd love to get some real coaching for my skiing, but there isn't a whole lot of formal training available in Minnesota.

Impeller. Does it cool off at speed? If it runs cooler at speed you have a failing impeller. If it runs hot all the time you have a failed impeller or a cooling system clog. Here is a really good guide to follow. http://www.aquaskier.com/articles/impeller_replacement.htm I did this just a few days ago. All it requires is 2 sockets and 2 spanners of the same size. 1/2 and 7/16 if I remember correctly.

Thanks for all the advice! I will try and work more on my balance. It is a whole new feeling! Like learning to walk all over again. Would it be unwise to just have one foot in the boot on the ski? That would force me to keep my weight on my front (left) foot. I might see if I can get a used ski next year. I agree with you, it is not the ski but the skier. One question I have though is if I get a 43" ski will that be too big after I get decent at tricking? I don't want to go spend $$$ just to have to re-spend it after I learn a little more. Money is hard to come by being a college student and all. I'd love to get some coaching time, but it seams up here in the mid-west (Minnesota) it is hard to find a legitimate coach. Thanks again and hope to learn a lot out on the water trickin'!

This weekend was my first time on a pair of trick skis. My word that is fun, but there is a lot of time waiting for the boat to come back around! I got a pair of old 1980’s Kidder 42” skis. I got up on two a few times and got my feet under me and by the end of the weekend I was getting up on one. The skis have just the standard adjustable rubber boots. I was skiing at 16 MPH using the 28 off loop on my slalom line. While I don’t expect to be amazing I was surprised how hard it was to balance. I have been water skiing on a slalom ski for years and have been slalom ski racing in the winter for even longer. I always thought my balance was pretty good. Every time I would even go past 45* for a slide I would lose the ski right in front of me and fall backwards. A few times I fell forwards even! I was keeping the handle low and close to my hips but no matter what I did I could not rotate that ski without it coming out from under me. I have never seen anyone trick before so I have no idea what I am doing right or wrong. I am just trying to teach myself. My question is would I benefit from a larger newer ski? (I am 6 feet and 150 lbs) Do I need to use an actual trick rope with no stretch? Are there any good resources I can use to teach myself some basic trick skills? I appreciate any help you can offer. I would love to learn how to trick ski, but I need some guidance from some people who know what they are doing. Thanks!