brettmainer

Depends on the wind. In tournaments if there is no wind or a tailwind on the first pass, I start at 28 to get three passes before 38, which I have been running less than 25%. If there is a head wind off the dock, I start at 32 to get 38 in the head wind. In practice, I usually start at 32 unless I haven't skied in a few days. Horton is correct that 28 doesn't correlate to 38, except that basic body position and things like keeping your head level (my biggest problem) can be worked on at any pass.

I thought of taking up bowling instead, but anybody clumsy enough to fall at 6 ball so many times is likely to drop the ball on his foot.

I've run 5.5@38 three times in tournaments in the last two months. I will submit that as even more frustrating than 5 buoys. Those are really cool videos. I am wanting to get one of those helicopters, not just for waterskiing but snow skiing videos. Does anyone know how well they work at 10,000 feet?

2.5. It looked like he had it going, until he didn't. It was still good enough though.

Horton's boat pulled M3 slalom this morning. Dan Lafavor seemed to like it, as he won his first regional title. As predicted, Steve Shroeder got 2nd for the 19th time in a row.

He got motivated when he heard that Horton was starting to catch up to him.

I need to get one of those red and white checkered outfits. If you are going to wear something like that, you have no choice but to be a good skier.

My personal suggestion would be to leave MM intact for all events except nationals. That way, the top 55k skiers could ski against each other in local tournaments and at Regionals (which makes local tournaments more fun), but the national champion in M3, M4 and M5 each year is the true age group champion. I would venture that the Big Dawg champion is the real MM National Champion anyways, so it is not like the top end MM skiers wouldn't have the opportunity to compete against each other on a national and international level so long as Correct Craft sponsors the series. To any top end skier that still doesn't want to compete in the age group nationals, there is always Open. Open has always been where anybody of any age (who is qualified) can truly ski against the best, not just the best over an arbitrary age limit.

Schroeder, while the lazy part of me wishes you were skiing MM for the Western Regionals, it cheapens the M3 podium to have the top skiers ski MM. I am actually disappointed to see a couple of the other top skiers (Lafavor and Milford) not signed up and Menasci injured. If I get on the podium, I want to earn it by skiing against the best skiers, not by default. Of course, I do think we should go to the bars on Friday night before we ski Saturday. I will cover your bar tab, and you can drink till you fall down. That will give the rest of us a better chance and you can get second place for the 73rd time in your career.

Sometimes you fall. Especially when you get lean locked. That doesn't mean it is the boat's fault. I missed an opener at Regionals once and it wasn't the boat's fault. The 4 boats all are a little different, but I truly don't care which one I get at a tournament. They are all good and I can ski to my limited potential behind any of them. The key to skiing well in tournaments is to do what you do regardless of boat, wind, or rain. Don't overthink it.

Coming from a Nautique promo team member with a '14 promo boat for sale for >$50k, that is a screaming good deal. Our '05 196 club boat has 3500 hours and still runs strong. There is nothing wrong with 1000hrs. My 2011 truck has 2000 hours and is just getting broken in.

With respect to gginco's comment, I have had the opposite experience in that the ski is more forgiving of mistakes at the ball, not less, than other skis I have ridden. I do find that I tend to get narrow on the ski and have to concentrate on holding maximum angle and speed from the buoy to the wake so as not to be narrow at the next buoy. The funny thing is that while I feel narrow coming into the buoy, the ski seems to keep going out more than other skis, so I don't hit the buoy even when I feel like I might. This ski is either drifting out or it is coming in; it doesn't seem to want to stay parallel with the boat if I am early and waiting. This is why the 35s are not as smooth as I would like (I generally ski 35 very early) but why 38s are better (for me) on this ski, as I am not good enough to be "too early" at 38. With respect to Mike T's ski set up, I would say the proposed moves would be the correct ones for the perceived problem. Are you sure that the fin is at factory settings? The reason I ask is that Goode measures fin length differently. The engineer in me hates this, as 6.768 inches should be 6.768 inches if measured by a scientific laser accurate to the millionth. Instead, Goode measures the length with the body of the caliper tight to the fin rather than using the tips of the caliper, which should be the actual length. Not having messed with Goode fins for 10 years, I had forgotten this and was wondering how the factory could have sent me a ski set up so far from the factory settings. Dirt straightened me out and reminded me of what I had forgotten about 6.768 inches not really being 6.768 inches. Before moving the fin, I would also take the wing from 9 degrees to 10 degrees and take a few passes and see what difference you feel. Conventional wisdom would say that more wing angle would cause even more hesitation at the finish of the turn, but I actually felt the opposite.

Be sure that the hesitation and buckling are not caused by you pulling the handle in too early or pushing on the ski before you start moving the fin. If I stay patient in the turn, it turns perfectly. If I get impatient and push the ski or grab for the handle, things get worse. I've yet to run a super smooth 35 on the ski, but I love how the ski stays with me at 38 and allows me to run the pass with mistakes that would have put me in the water on my A2. I am hoping that with more practice and patience on the ski I can keep things smoother at all of the line lengths. I have in the past made the mistake of adjusting the fin to compensate for pilot error and am trying not to repeat the mistake when the ski as is works so well at my hardest pass.

I misstated in my original post that I moved the fin back. I meant to say that I moved the bindings back. The fin is at factory settings except for the wing steepened from 9 to 10 degrees.

I was under the impression that you tossed the handle going out the gates at 38 in order to save $1940 plus shipping.

I got a 66" N1XT this week. I started 1/8" forward and the ski bit hard and hesitated on the onside and 32 was difficult. I moved the fin back 1/8" rear of stock and set the wing to 10 degrees and ran 38 in first round of Shortline tournament yesterday and 5.5 @ 38 the second round. Those are the best two tournament scores I've had in 7 years and I didn't even feel like I was skiing that well. The ski is awesome and turns great. I only weigh 175 and think that Horton may have been better served on the 66". I have always been a proponent of skiing on the biggest ski that I can slow down and turn well at my hardest pass, which the 66" certainly does for me. I feel like this ski can get me back to skiing like I did 10 years ago when I was skiing my best.

Mark, I had something similar with my neck in late 2009. I couldn't sleep at night for more than an hour before I would wake with the feeling of a knife stuck into my deltoid. I quit skiing and only did lifting with 15lb or less weights (just to keep things moving but without stressing the neck). I purchased a stiff tempurpedic pillow that held my neck straight when I slept on my side and next to taking a break from skiing, getting the proper pillow was the best thing I did. It took several months, but one day I woke up and the pain was gone. I stayed away from skiing for about 8 months total, including 3 months after I was pain free, then stayed at 32 for a long time when I did start skiing. I didn't ski any tournaments in 2010 and didn't ski 38 again until shortly before the 2011 Regionals (which you won). I still occasionally feel a twinge in the right trap that shoots up the right side of the neck and back off when I do. Other than that, it feels good, as the pain and weakness haven't again started going down the shoulder to the arm. Point being, I stayed away from the surgery (I was scared of the potential problems) and so far it has worked out for me. Either way you go, I hope you recover and can get back on the water pain free.

Vonman, have you tried the bindings at the Factory recommended 29"? The ski worked much better for me at or slightly rear of 29". It also worked a bit better with the wing moved to 10 degrees. I am 6-2 180 right foot forward.

66" was delivered today and I took my first ride on it. My bindings gave me a choice of 1/8" forward or 1/8" behind factory recommended 29". I took 4 passes at 29.125 and the ski didn't work. I took 4 passes at 28.875 and the ski was much better. I remembered that my last Goode (a 9500 picked up at the 2003 Nationals) was the same with respect to binding placement. The fin was delivered to me slightly shorter, to the rear and deeper than the numbers recommended on the Goode website but I skied today as delivered. The ski felt OK but not great. If it doesn't feel better tomorrow, I will move the fin to website settings unless someone gives me better advice.

As a Nautique promo boat owner who is on my 3rd 200, I will say that the wakes can vary from 200 to 200, with the biggest difference being the hydrogate. Not only can the gate be mounted too high (I haven't had that issue since my 2007 196), but the screws holding it tight can loosen after a few hundred hours and lots of shifting. This is a super easy fix, as it takes longer to find a screwdriver and sit down under the platform than it does to tighten the exposed screws. I last had that issue with my 2011 200 that I had for two years and 400 hours. The wake at 28 was becoming a thumper, but the problem went away after 60 seconds of tightening screws. I have had no issues with my '13 and '14 promo boats. All of the 200s have fantastic wakes at 15' and Long Line and the lack of a trough at deep shortline is what makes the 200 the best slalom boat for my money. The '14 boats with the new props are running much lower rpms (3750 at 36mph) than did the previous boats, which will help engine life. Our club boat is a 2005 196 with over 3500 hours and it still runs, drives and skis great. I have my doubts that another brand boat would have held up as well.