DefectiveDave

I hate it when I have to agree with @Horton. "If it is too cold for my Camaro it is too cold to ski."

@cragginshred, What you are likely seeing is either some form of image stabilization or rippling due to the rolling shutter of the CMOS camera sensor. I would guess image stabilization is the most likely reason. Either way, the problem is vibration coming from the pylon. Wakeye sells a shock isolator meant to counteract this: Wakeye Shock Isolator I'm not entirely sure how effective the wakeye version is, but I've built something similar myself and it proved very effective at solving the problem above. Alternatively, you could also use a JVC camcorder (even the cheap ones are fine) which has electronic image stabilization that works pretty well at the higher frequency vibrations coming through the pylon. The reason most image stabilization doesn't work is that is calibrated to work well at the frequency that a human hand might jitter which is almost always less than ~15Hz.

Regarding shock isolation, I'm not aware of any recording platforms which come with it built it, so it wasn't really fair of me to call out the skidoc for not having anything. I use a shock isolator with my wakeye to dampen shocks and vibrations coming through from the pylon for better video quality: Shock Isolator Post Such a setup would work just as well with the skidoc and I'm sure you would get great video out of it. It's not totally necessary to get decent video, but I think it's worth the extra effort if you make the plunge.

I don't own one, but at first glance I don't see anything to absorb shocks from the pylon. That's not to say something cool isn't hiding within the red cylinder or at the bearing though. What's it called?

@Horton, That makes sense. To be fair and positive about BoS, I hear proportionally more negative stuff, rumors, mudslinging, etc. in face-to-face conversations than here. However, almost all of this stuff is just stupid, easy to ignore, or based purely on personal preference or bias. Sometimes someone just needs to vent about something and then they are over it. Of course, the flip side is that those conversations generally don't go past me, whereas BoS serves as a continuously accessible global archive of everything we've said for literally anyone to read (so long as they understand english). So the rules for respectable dialogue are definitely different and we need to be mindful of that.

Sounds like we just want to keep the community positive, which I think is a great policy. Drama and mudslinging just isn't constructive or desirable. Perhaps it would be advisable as a community to resolve to make more liberal use of the Flag button? I think if content gets flagged heavily it is a pretty clear indicator that it is not the type of post or content that Ballers desire. Of course, it would be up to the @Horton to decide how or if to act, but at least it could send a message and serve as kind of a crowd-sourced, self-policing action.

@Broussard, I've just had bad luck with several ski buddies 15-20 year old boat's (and now my own) and the lake we ski on isn't well trafficked in the early morning hours (for the most part this is a positive). There's no tow-service and very few people live on the lake. Unfortunately, no one we know there has ever answered their phone when we needed a tow, haha. Though I have towed one other person back to their dock when their engine died on the same lake, so I would have hoped karma would be on my side. Seems like most people recommend just having the paddles; this is also the cheaper option. I did move the paddles into the boat last night while I was trying to figure out what was wrong with the boat, so the next time it happens (hopefully it doesn't) I will be ready. I also do have an anchor in the boat in-case it is windy. To be honest, before it happened I had totally forgotten I had the paddles in the truck. They've been there for months so that I could put them in the boat when I went to trailer it from storage to the lake. However, generally my mindset when I get to the boat is, "quick, quick, let's get out on the water before the sun gets up and the wind picks up" so I never remembered.

Is this a stupid idea? I've just been stuck out on the water for the 4th time in 2 years and had to swim a boat about a mile back to dock. Luckily there were no other boats on the lake, no wind, and the water was glass. This made it much easier for me and my father to drag the boat back to the dock uninterrupted for a new PB of only 1.5 hours. This is the first time it has happened in my boat, so now I must take action. I should note that I steadfastly refuse to learn lessons and therefore did not have any flippers or paddles in the boat. In fact, the paddles were safely back at the dock in the bed of the truck where they couldn't be lost in case I ever needed them. They also take up less space in the boat that way which leaves more room for dead weight. So would a trolling motor be a good idea or should I just stick with paddles/flippers? As I've never used paddles/flippers for this purpose (though I have used skis which seem to work OK), as far as I know they could make the job 10 times easier and negate the need for the trolling motor.

Thanks @SM!

I've never really been able to figure out my eye dominance, but I think it's the right eye. I've been told you're supposed to point at something without thinking and then close your eyes one-by-one to figure out which one lines up with your target. However, when I do this I always see the two ghost images of my hand and it's kind of random which hand I line up with the target without thinking. So, when shooting since I'm right handed I always use the left-most ghost image of the sites because I know it lines up with my right eye. Any other methods to determine eye dominance? Definitely right-handed and RFF though.

Since I was a kid it has always been: 1. Skier Announces: "I'm Ready" or "Let's do it" 2. Driver Confirms: "Alright" or "OK", then pulls the line tight and goes Around here it also seems common for skiers to do something like this: 1. Skier Announces: "Ready" 2. Driver pulls out slack but never talks 3. Skier Announces: "Hit it" 4. Driver goes If you're dealing with a more inexperienced skier the second method seems to work really well. They can get themselves balanced/prepared for the boat's pull and as soon as they are ready the driver can take-off before they lose their position. However, there are some pretty good smartass comments here I'll need to start using. I now realize I haven't been anywhere near creative enough.

@skibrain, Thanks for the tip! I hadn't gotten around to watching that video yet. There are definitely some good angles. I can't add it to the original post due to the time limit on edits, but I can add it to this new post in addition to some other videos I came across recently thanks to BoS. Other Passage Slow-Motion Shore Camera

Anyone got any ski videos taken from interesting angles? The passenger seat and wakeye perspective videos are great, as I'm sure we've all watched our fair share. However, there are things we just can't learn from these videos as it is often difficult to tell what is happening out of plane. Often I have a theory I want to evaluate based on available video (water time is limited) and I find that I just can't draw conclusions from the boat's perspective. If anyone would like to share, please post anything you have or of which you are aware. At the moment, I'm particularly interested in any high quality overhead camera footage which matches the skiers speed, but really anything interesting is good and can be examined upon discovery. Also, others might not be looking for the same thing as me. :-) I will get started: Helmet Cams Terry Winter Chest Cams Handle Cams Reverse Ski Cams Forward Ski Cams Overhead Drone/Helicopter Cams Back Pole Cam Other

@Horton, 10-4.

@Horton, Could you write a script to parse each post upon submission to find long links? The script could then automatically fix the links if necessary before the post went live. Finally, it could automatically email/message the offender with a panda or something. Is that possible within the existing framework? Seems relatively straightforward but I don't know anything about the BoS back end. If possible I could potentially write the parser and script if you'd like.

All other things being equal, being higher on the boat for the gate should give you more kinetic energy through the gates. This would translate into being earlier and wider at 1 ball. Without video it is hard to say, but my guess is that what you call a non-traditional gate is more progressive. Being progressive generally means that you load the line more gradually while you get into a stronger body position approaching centerline. While you might not have as much velocity into the wakes as you would getting higher on the boat and being more aggressive, you are likely in better body position and better able to maintain your outbound velocity after passing through the gate. This puts you in a much better position to make a strong move to 2 ball and sets a good tempo for the rest of the course. It is also possible that you just feel slower when you use a more progressive gate, even though you might be traveling just as fast or faster. If you are indeed maintaining better outbound velocity, you wouldn't be pulled narrow going into one ball. Being pulled too narrow towards the ball makes the skier feel like they are traveling much faster with less time to react.

I agree with @Than_Bogan and @Chef23. There is something for you to learn at both 32 MPH and 22-off. The the ski reacts differently at 32 MPH due to the increased speed of the water and you obviously have to react somewhat faster while maintaining a slightly higher average speed. The main thing I learned at 32/34 MPH was maintain my pull through to the centerline of the wakes. 22-off will teach you to stay better connected off the second wake and into the buoy, otherwise you will come in narrow. It's still very runnable narrow, but its much easier once you learn to stay connected. You'll also feel very wide when you go back to 15-off. The most important thing is to stay focused and get as much time on the water as possible. Try to mix up pushing your abilities at higher-speeds/shorter-lines and reinforcing learned concepts or learn new concepts at lower-speeds/longer-lines. I think this is called volume and intensity training. Good luck!

Even with the bad sync I still kind of want to make this work. Is it possible to enforce an offset for the video timing before making the overlay videos? Perhaps we could use a secondary device to determine the approximate offset by say, jolting the accelerometer of the trace while simultaneously flashing a LED visible to the camera? Such a device would be quick and easy to build.

-32 feels faster because you take a narrower approach to the ball. You also generate more slack and fall further behind when you make mistakes, so proper handle control and stack become even more important. I think they feel very similar, but -32 is just less forgiving.

When I first switched back to an RTP I had an issue with my rear foot slipping out. This resulted in a few ankle sprains when my foot partially came off the ski going around turns. These were not serious injuries, but with constant skiing and winter activities it took my left ankle almost 18 months to get back to normal. However, this is probably an experience issue as I no longer seem to slip out of the RTP (knock on wood).

One of the only good non-private ski lakes near Charlotte, NC (Lake Davidson) is pretty much closed off to the public for the foreseeable future and long-term it's becoming a lost cause. Myself and probably 15 others use this as our primary lake throughout the season. For years we've been at the mercy of a property developer who graciously turned a blindeye to people launching from their property, but they've finally roped off the access road due to liability concerns. We are negotiating with the developer to regain some access, but it's unclear at this point if will get it or not. And even if we get access, I am not comfortable with the long term prospects. Pretty much our only hope at this point is petitioning the local government for a public launch on the Mooresville side, but that's already been shot down in the past. So it feels like only a matter of time even if we regain access. For now, I'm leaving the house at 5am to try to ski from sunrise to 8:30am when there are just too many boats to even bother. Even before then there are periodic boats passing through and we're lucky to get in 2 sets with only two people in the boat. I consider myself dedicated and obsessive, but to be honest, trying to work through all these problems to ski in crappy conditions just isn't any fun. I kind of had it good before, but I can see why people would leave the sport. I'm not necessarily very important, nor are the 15 others, but how many times does this happen every year? Death by a thousand cuts? Anyway, I just felt like bitching.

Other than practicing consistently as often as possible, does anyone have an opinion on the most important practice habits that have helped improve their skiing and make the most out of practice time? I'm not talking about things like counter-rotating, tightening butt cheeks, straightening that back leg, or getting stacked. I agree that technique is important, but interpreting each of the above suggestions seems to be subjective and the magic sauce for one person is often useless to another. We, or at least our bodies, each interpret those technique adjustments differently and the techniques themselves are often up for debate. For me, I have personally found nothing that seems to improve my skiing other than time on the water. I can analyze my skiing all I want or try any crazy idea to improve my technique and there has never been a eureka moment. However, regardless of that, over time I see steady improvement and the more I'm on the water the faster I improve. Unfortunately, for myself and others practice time is limited for a variety of reasons. Good practice habits seem like they have the potential to improve skill by making the most out of practice time. To give people an idea of what I mean by practice habits I've come up with some examples. I'm not endorsing these approaches to practice (I'm not good enough or experienced enough to do that), but they are just examples of practice habits so its clear what I have in mind: - skiing manageable line lengths and using the extra 'time' to work on technique - skiing with 100% effort no matter which line length one is working on - skiing more sets but fewer passes per set - exercising off the lake so you are more prepared when you do get on the water - relaxing before pulling out for the gate - clear my head and just ski - focusing on improving just one thing for long periods of time

@Jordan, Nice pun. It is my firm believe that since this is the internet, it is our privilege and duty to create new, stupid, and often offensive words. Someday etymologists will study this era and think, OMG WTF (probably with hashtags).

Flowgasm.

I've been grounded from skiing all summer by my wife, haha. I just got back on the water recently, so nothing to report yet. Keep up the good work!