TallSkinnyGuy

@Bill22 I'm right with you on the slender issue except I'm 6'6" and 175 lbs. I finally (recently) found a height/weight chart that actually had me within their "Normal" range and was very relieved. Anyway, it can be difficult with ski sizing because height does have some influence and so it is hard when height is a couple categories different than weight.

I found the Prophecy to be fine skiing open water, but the course pushes you a lot more (those balls come up really fast!). I was on the 2014 Prophecy all last season but when I started skiing the course more in the latter part of the season I found it to be too much for me at my skill level (I usually run 15 off 30 mph passes and sometimes run 15 off 32 mph passes). I switched to the Senate so I had a ski that was more forgiving and stable while I work on fundamentals. I don't regret the decision at all.

My PP cable comes into the throttle lever from a higher angle than yours and therefore appears to be more in line with the boat's throttle cable. Mine is a '97 MC but looks similar to yours.

@gmut I think I saw a video or read something from Radar that said their Senate line is manufactured in their factory in China and "overseen by Radar employees." So, it sounded like they outsource to a China factory but have Radar employees on site managing the production and doing quality control.

I forgot to mention -- the Senates how also have the windows in the nose! Looks pretty cool in my opinion.

I just ran across the video for the new 2017 Senate line. For those of us who are not at the Vapor level yet, there are some interesting changes for 2017 in the Senate line. Here is the video if you want to watch it, but it looks like all the other slalom promo videos: Here is Radar's description of the Senate line: New for 2017 the Senates match shape to our latest Vapor. This is hands down the best Senate we've ever made and it comes in three constructions. Lithium Senate is 100% Carbon Fiber and PVC Core. Graphite Senate is 100% Carbon Fiber and a Polyurethane Core. And new for 2017 the Alloy Senate is 100% Carbon Fiber and our new Hybrid Core which is a Polyurethane Core with Paulownia Stringers for a damper calmer ride. So, new shape for the Senates and the Alloy version gets wood stringers often used in the wood cores of snow skis but bumps up to 100% carbon fiber. Really looking forward to hearing from people with experience on the last Senate shape and how the new ones compare.

My Prophecy last year was definitely twitchy -- it always wanted to be on edge. When I switched to the Alloy Senate I found the Senate to be extremely stable and un-twitchy in comparison. I assumed this was due to shape rather than materials, which is why I am so curious to better understand how materials affects the ski's forgiveness and stability. The Senate and Vapor are perfect skis for this comparison since they each have different materials used within the same shapes.

I have been on a 2015 Alloy Senate since last fall and switched to it from a 2014 Connelly Prophecy because I wanted more stability and forgiveness. I skied a course a few times this summer and now that school has started should be able to ski a course at least once or twice a week. I'm a 60-footer and make most 30 mph passes and some 32 mph passes. I'd like to run a full pass at 34 mph by the end of this season and hopefully start shortening the rope next season. When I switched from the Prophecy to the Alloy Senate last year I remember the Senate feeling like a tank in comparison, but I was tired of falling and injuring myself so much and thought I should get on a ski more appropriate for my level. Since this is the season for good deals on ski gear I've been thinking of upgrading to a Graphite or Lithium Senate. Can someone who has experience on these different versions compare them for me in terms of how much speed is gained with the Graphite and Lithium versions and how much stability and forgiveness is lost with them compared to the Alloy version?

@Lars Depends on your age and gender. Max speed for pros and some of the younger age brackets is 36 while most age brackets have a 34 max speed. Some have 32 and the slowest max speed IIRC is 30.

Last season I got pretty frustrated with the idea that "the turn takes care of itself" and started this season with the idea that I would focus on body position in the turn so that it would help me get into a better stack position coming out of the turn. Keeping my upper body more upright and open to the boat with shoulders more level and head upright has really helped me get the ski around better in the turn so that I am set up for a good stack position. I am still very inconsistent, but it seems that when I execute the turn well it is significantly easier to get into a good stack.

Many top skateboarders come from poor families. But I'm sure there aren't many sports like skateboarding that don't take much money in order to excel.

I see a need for new vinyl.

Your skiing speed RPMs really dropped a lot. Did you notice any difference in the shape or softness of the wake?

You might try posting it for sale on the MC Team Talk forum just to see if anyone jumps on it.

Look at the price of a new trailer for that boat and price yours at about 25% of the new trailer price. I'm guessing that would put it in the $750-$1000 range? Note that this is just my opinion. I did some used trailer shopping (ultimately didn't buy) for my '97 MC PS and came up with this.

@Fast351 My understanding is that 3-blade props tend to work best with 1:1 transmissions whereas transmissions like yours (1:1.2ish?) and the MC Powerslot 1:1.5 tend to perform best with a 4-blade. I'm sure Acme and OJ could guide you right. Before talking to them you'll want to have all the dimensions of your prop and the RPMs on your boat at WOT and a couple skiing speeds.

Theoretically your wake will get softer at the same speed if the RPMs are lower, so it might be worth the re-cal effort just to get softer wakes. One of my ski partners has that boat and engine and his WOT RPM is 4800 at 2000 feet elevation.

The Radar brochure says: Sm = 5-8 Standard = 7-11 XL = 10-14 I moved from rubber bindings to Connelly Talons, which are the same style as the Radar Vector. It was a pretty easy change for me and I much prefer my new boots. They provide me with the support I need at my level but they never cramp my feet.

At your level (which is also mine), the usual recommended skis are Radar Senate, Connelly V and HO CX.

The ski builders of all factories that have been using PVC for a while are probably by now pretty good at it. It seems possible that a new core material would require doing things a little differently and therefore have a learning curve that would add cost to building the skis. If this is all true, then it would also make sense for other ski companies to wait and find out if PMI really makes enough difference to use it. Since Radar is using the same ski shape and just changing the core to PMI, this will be a perfect test scenario to determine if the new core is worth the hassle. Obviously, I'm just theorizing.

@freeski41 In the other thread about this ski Eddie Roberts Jr. said the 2017 Vapor is the same shape as the 2016, so it sound like just the core and the graphics are new.

I don't remember the formula but I think it is something like 3 hp an engine loses for every 1000 feet up in elevation. So, your boat is definitely not going to be producing the same amount of power it did in Issiquah. As I understand it, the main issue is potentially lugging the engine -- like you can do in a manual transmission car if you are in a gear too high and trying to go up a hill (you push the gas down but the car still slows down as you go up the hill). Apparently this is bad for engines. There will be a recommended wide-open-throttle ("WOT") RPM range for your engine, probably something like 4400-5200 or so (check your manual). If, for example, you can only reach 3800 RPM at WOT then you are under propped and should get a new prop. If you find you are under propped you should record RPM at a couple skiing speeds and at WOT and call Acme or OJ Props and have them help you figure out what prop would work best for you at your elevation and based on your performance desires.

That was impressively fast.

Is longevity a problem with PVC cores? Or PU cores?

The Senate models from 2014-16 are the same except for graphics. These years are based on the Vapor shape. The prior years were based on the Strada shape. I've only tried the '15 but as far as I can tell from other people's comments both shapes have been well liked. The carbon version in the older shape was called the Senate-C while the carbon version of the newer shape is called the Senate Graphite. I'm sure if you skied the Alloy and the Graphite versions back to back you would notice a difference, but I can't speak from experience on that. I know that the recommendations I've read have been to go for the Graphite (of Lithium) if you expect to be in the course a lot. I couldn't find a Graphite version in my price range when I was ready to buy, so I just went for the Alloy. I'm happy with it but would like to try a Graphite version to find out for myself how different it is. I'm certainly not in need of a higher performance ski yet since I am still working on getting consistent in the course at 32 mph -15. I figure if I ever get consistent at 34mph and -22 and sometimes into -28, then I'll get serious about looking at a Graphite or Lithium Senate.