ChadW

@livetoski In the past year I've skied a 2011 Strada (my old ski), a Vapor (my new ski) and a Nano One (a friend's ski). I would agree, the Strada rides high in the water. The Vapor doesn't ride as high as the Strada, but rides higher than the Nano One. I don't have any issues getting the tip down. For me the ski is easy to turn and creates tons of angle. The Vapor is a completely different ski than the Strada.

@mbabiash I would consider my offside turn balanced to front foot heavy. I've been on a vapor since October and I love it. My offside turn has become more dependable and gains more angle than my onside turn. I was previously on a Strada and my pb is 4@32 off.

You can try moving both boots back 1/4 inch. If that hurts your offside too much, then only move the back boot back. If you want to adjust your fin, I would move it forward and up. All of the adjustments mentioned will put the back of your ski deeper in the water, which should help your onside turn. Try one adjustment at a time.

@ToddF I have a 2011 Strada 67" for sale. PM me if you're interested.

I can tell you the vapor is nothing like the Strada.

@Jody_Seal I was the one there when you unwrapped that boat at performance ski and surf. Ballers, the boat looks even better in person. I was the beneficiary of fortunate timing. I was at performance buying wing gauges when he pulled up with that boat in shrink wrap from the factory.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/11/22/epa-power-grab-pols-states-claim-new-reg-could-bring-feds-into-your-backyard/

I drive buy there occassionally on my way to visit my inlaws. From the interstate, it looks like they have removed all of the slalom courses.

For the last month I've been comparing the Nano One (65.25) vs the Vapor (66). The Nano One takes a lot of effort, but I ski well on it. It skis very consistent. It slows down quickly because it rides deeper in the water, therefore I can ski with less than ideal technique approaching the buoy and still maintain a tight line. The Vapor requires less effort, skies wider, earlier and gains tremendous angle. However, the Vapor is more technique sensitive than the N1. As long as I keep my hips up and forward approaching the buoy, the Vapor is awesome. At the end of the day I prefer the Vapor, but I haven't tried an XT or a Mapple.

Thanks @mattp

@MattP Do you know the schedule for prelims tomorrow?

I'll be there.

I felt like a train wreck at 29.25 (tip rise, wheelies, etc). My 2nd set I moved them up 1/8th and the ski felt better to me, more stable and predictable. My 3rd set I moved them up another 1/8th to 29.5 and the ski felt even better. My 4th set I moved them up another 1/8th to 29.625 but it felt too far forward, the tip really grabbed in the turns.

@markchilcutt I have no regrets. If I'm late and fast into the buoy, I can throw the ski out there and it will turn and come back under me...that's true of the 66 strada I tried and the 66 vapor I'm currently on. I was never able to do that on the 67.

@markchilcutt 5'9" 175lb. I've always felt the 67 was too big, but I also knew there were a lot of form issues I needed to work on. As my form has improved, I started realizing how much body input was required to get the 67 to turn. I tried a 66 strada and was amazed at how responsive it was compared to my 67. I originally bought the 67 a couple of years ago because of the Radar sizing chart.

@rq0013 I've had 5 sets on my 66 vapor. My fin is set at Rini's settings, but I've settled on 29.5 for the front boot instead of 29.25. My pb is 4 @ 32off (34mph). I ran 3@32 on my first attempt at 32off with the vapor. I've found my 28off pass is more consistent and if I get in trouble I can make up time and still run the pass. I've run some 28's that I would have never made on my old ski (67 strada). Granted I've gone to a sorter ski which helps, but I've found the vapor gets tremendous angle and is more forgiving than the strada.

Chad Wright - Married, 36 years old, 2 kids (6 months and 2.5 y/o), Dentist. Live in Maitland, FL (north Orlando). Grew up skiing, but always open water. Started skiing the course 6 years ago. Live and ski on a small public lake with a permanent course. I came to this site a few months ago because I kept seeing Ball of Spray advertisements on Ski-it-Again and when I'd watch webcasts of tournaments. I initially would visit for the news feed, which always seemed the most current. Then I started reading the forum and have really enjoyed it.

One of the many benefits of living in Florida.

Joel, I had Roland Hilliard in the boat a couple of years ago, when I first started skiing 28off. He changed my gate, telling me to go from hip to hip with the handle like Parish. That was one of the most frustrating days of my skiing life. Gate, 1 ball and fall, over and over. I sympathize with your frustration. However, I started feeling the wide cast and saw the backside of 1 ball on a couple of those falls. It was just foreign and different. You'll figure it out!

@jhughs I was a fifteenoff follower, thanks for your work on that site. I am currently skiing 34mph with a practice PB of 4@32off. Your video above looks like me from 1 year ago, maybe even earlier this season. I ran 28 for the first time at the end of the 2011 season. During the 2012 season I was able to run 28 more frequently, but inconsistently. This year, with the help of great ski partners, I've realized I was skiing 28 and 32 very narrow. The main reasons for my narrow skiing were: 1. Coming off edge too early 2. Riding a flat ski in the pre-turn. 3. Poorly stacked offside All of which you seem to be doing in your video above. I've spent this season trying to correct those. So, here is what I think about now: 1. Throwing my trailing shoulder back in my pull. This gets me stacked (hips up, shoulders back and open to the boat, arms straight). I know there are a lot of ways to say this, but thinking "shoulder back" works for me. I also concentrate on maintaining this position well off the second wake. This helps me stay on edge all the way through the wakes. 2. Hold onto the handle until I'm at the buoy line (this also keeps me from coming off edge early and prevents me from riding flat). I went to West Palm and watched the Big Dawg this year, I was amazed at how long those guys hold onto the handle. My ski buddies also tell me I ski the 2nd half of the course better than the 1st half because I get late and can't ride flat. Holding onto the handle gives me the sensation of being late, even though it creates a wide and early turn. So the voice in my head when I ski says: Throw your shoulder back...hold on, hold on, hold on...ok turn...then repeat. I can only think about 2 things at most when I ski, Shoulder Back and Hold On. As far as running other lines, I felt 22 was too different, so as the season progressed I quit running 22. I always run 34.2mph. If I have a bad 2ball (my offside), I shadow 3 and then run 4,5,6. This is how I've learn to run 28 wide, early and easy.