DefectiveDave

Could it be a video compression artifact? Unless it's a keyframe I would be skeptical that the image is an accurate representation of the relative ski and buoy positions.

Just my opinion, but I think by definition there can be no clarity in this situation at this point in time. If there was it would have been resolved at some level and/or the investigation would have been concluded. Details at this point are likely rumors and hearsay, even for the majority of those "in the know".

I actually have a similar problem with my TSC1 Ski Nautique. It's slow out of the hole and only works well with a long setup. I'm also not sure whether to blame the engine or the prop. I'm running a Michigan Wheel Ambush 4-blade 13R16 prop which the previous owner installed. It runs: 3550 RPM @ 34.2 MPH 3350 RPM @ 32.3 MPH WOT is approximately 41.5 MPH, but I forgot to check the RPM at that speed. The RPM's at a given speed are a little higher than an ACME 422, but only by around 3%. The top speed on the other hand is at least 9% lower than expected. Any thoughts?

2-3 boat lengths before the pregates seems pretty standard for many pros (@ 34 and 36 MPH). Starting at that point, you should be passing the boats platform around the time you reach the pregates. If you find yourself drifting in before it's time to go for the gates, try to pull out further or with more intensity. However, at 32 mph it's going to take more time to reach the gates and you have more time to drift in regardless of your pull out, so maybe 1-2 boat lengths before the pregates would be advisable: Here's a good reference video: https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/18834/gut-gate-video-walkthrough

Awesome! As someone who is not a judge, how is the boat path video assessed?

@Than_Bogan Don't you mean 1111101000 awesomes? I was so confused at first.

I have trouble stomaching more than $1000 in expected depreciation a year. That's already a good chunk of the annual skiing budget I've agreed to with the boss. Of course, I'll take lower if I can get it because that means more money for gas and repairs.

I would say yes, but with pretty significant caveats. 1. Without additional evidence, there would need to be an objective statistical threshold so that politics wouldn't enter the discussion (say plus-minus 4-sigma for the entire event with respect to contestants average scores) 2. A 3-month waiting period (or so) to see if scores start creeping up near the outlier tournament 3. A record would have needed to be set or someone would need to file a protest We have to trust the systems in place, but it is potentially good policy to investigate outliers if warranted and necessary. It's not a perfect comparison, but medal winners in the Olympics are subjected to some additional drug testing scrutiny because they are the outliers. The key to this additional scrutiny would be that no one is being accusing of foul play. There are so many things that can cause this type of clustering and I would argue that the majority of them don't involve foul play on anyone's part. One benefit of such scrutiny might be that we are able to identify site, weather, and boat conditions that perhaps result in higher or lower scores and allow us to provide skiers with more consistent conditions and a more level playing field during competitions.

@Horton, Anonymous sources can remain anonymous, that's their prerogative and I support it. Furthermore, they can be informative and break a story. However, they can't be the basis of a final judgement. I'm simply saying that it's too soon to jump to conclusions.

All I'm hearing are some anonymous accusations of something not being right. Show me a lapse in the tournament procedures or proof of something specific and I'll listen. I agree that suspicion is healthy given past events, but I'm inclined to give everyone the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. All of these guys appear capable of running 41' off, and a few had already done it. Yes, it seems low probability they would do it all at once, but low probability stuff happens all the time. Regardless of the final outcome here, time will tell us if these scores were a fluke or indicative of things to come.

At 41-off, being at 90 degrees up on the boat your handle would be at a width of 34 ft. Looking at the above video, my guesstimate is that he is about 12 ft (straight line distance) from being at 90 degrees assuming we're approximately perpendicular to the boat's position. This translates into being about 70 degrees up on the boat, which would put his handle at a width of about 32 ft at 41-off. So to get to 37 ft 8.75 in, he would need to get the ski out about 6 ft. I don't think it's totally implausible that the above video is 41-off, but I've made some pretty big assumptions and 2 ft is a big difference at those line lengths.

Thanks for the insights so far. It gives me some hope that I'm getting close. :-) Regarding my body position at the off-side wake crossings, I wasn't hooking up well off the ball and didn't have good leverage going into the wakes. It doesn't look too bad in the video, but on the water I was fighting a losing battle with the boat. Here is a pic coming off of one-ball which shows why I might have been in a weak position from the get go: My perception going into my off-side turns was that I was fast and narrow while riding a slack line.

I feel as though I'm slow and in bad position at the finish of the downswing going through the gates. Things I'm trying to accomplish are: 1) Getting as far up on the boat as I can manage 2) Getting weight on the front foot in the glide 3) Getting handle close to my body and vertical So essentially I'm trying to do the GUT gate from that great thread, but so far it seems like I'm missing something. The most obvious thing I observed is that I seem to fall back on the ski during the start of the downswing, but this has proven very difficult for me to correct. Anyone got any pointers on the things I can do to improve my gate? Here's some video of a recent pass (attempt):

Yesterday the perfect pass screen started glitching. It briefly becomes unreadable and then back to normal again. This occurs at about 30 Hz if I had to guess the frequency. Perfect pass still appears to be functioning normally most of the time, but on two separate occasions yesterday the speed started decreasing for no discernible reason. Once in the course and once while turning at the end of the course. This is a stargazer model of perfect pass, but we are running it in classic RPM mode. Anyone have any ideas what might be going on?

Was that 2 @ 43-off?

What lake in the Charlotte Area?

Thanks for the input! I hadn't thought of grass or running along the shore. Those are probably great places to start. Also that think @WoodySkier posted seems like it might be money. Now I just have to find another kid that already skis to make her want to do it!

My daughter will turn 3 in the next few months and I hope to get her behind the boat once the water gets warmer. I just want her to have fun, feel comfortable on the water, and be as safe as possible. Any suggestions on the best methods and equipment to get started?

Here's a previous thread: https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/comment/221741

Wire rope isolators work well. You just have to choose the right wire and length to damp out frequencies above 10 Hz or so. Camera stabilizers often assume any shake is at low frequencies, not those higher frequencies coming through a pylon, which is why they don't work well. So the wire rope isolators help mitigate that design limitation. Cameras meant for drones are another option, given those have higher frequencies. However, the amplitude is often less than what comes through the pylons. Finally, many have had luck with JVC camcorders which use digital stabilization which works at higher frequencies.

I think the early pull out can also be verified by looking at timing in boat videos. Just look up some youtube videos of almost any elite skier not using a one-handed gate, and also Terry Winter even though he's using a one-handed gate. 5.0 to 5.5 seconds is a pretty typical time lapse from beginning of pullout until passing through the gate. Assuming a roughly constant 36 MPH, this translates (@ 38-off) to the boat being about 37 to 63 ft from the pre-gates. Seems very consistent with what @adamhcaldwell is saying.

I'm not even able to get to 1-ball @ 15-off from a narrow gate, haha. In a way, the narrow gate exercise turns one-ball into a pull out drill. Which makes me think that myself, and probably others, are not as efficient on the pull out as we need to be to truly get high on the boat during the gate glide.

@mwetskier , Is this the one? link

My wife spends more money on me.

@Lieutenant Dan , Isn't that kind of what the other GUT articles already cover (among other things)? First, you need to have enough speed, height on the boat, and course width before starting the downswing (either at the gate or rounding a buoy). Then the goal is to move efficiently without generating excess load in order to generate speed into centerline. This can be achieved by keeping the COM in the optimal position over the ski. However, I'll admit that knowing "what" to do and "how" to do it are entirely different things!