Dano

I’m on a 66” ski 175lbs using radar cabitex and Hrt rear bindings. Fin and front boot have always been exactly as D3 recommended boot was measured to the bottom stitch. It was good but something just wasn’t right. Recently I pushed front boot forward 1/8”. And hello sweet spot! Kinda crazy how that changed the whole feel and attitude of the ski. If you’re not feeling like this ski is planted to the water, it doesn’t shut down the way you like, or it’s over turning both sides. Try going forward with the binding.

I own an '89 Centurion Falcon and my dad owns a '97. Both of them are essentially the same running surface. In my opinion the Falcons wake is tough to beat. A lot of skiers comment on how well it skis. Tracking is fine, takes a little more driver input than some other boats but it's certainly not bad. You will enjoy the extra room in this boat. It's a little wider than most of this era, if you just want to ski, take out the rear seat and enjoy the space. Best upgrade for them is the 3 blade OJ CNC prop. Biggest downside is wood stringers in the older ones. Not sure if they moved to composite stringers in the later years.

Stealth Kevlar by Ryan Dodd. I wear smalls. I can not get them on dry. Get them wet and first and they fit perfect. My hands have never been happier and I no longer wear liners. My last pair I wore all of last season and I just got my new pair out now. I ski March-November probably average 4-6 sets per week. https://www.perfski.com/stealth-kevlar-gloves-by-ryan-dodd.html

Last summer i did exactly as @ColeGiacopuzzi has outlined above to learn -28 and -32@34. I’ll do that same this year and hopefully it will help me get thru -35.

@MarcusBrown is this move just a slight shift back just before apex? Seems like doing this could give you the ability to kinda step into or lunge forward into a strong accelerating position just as you come back on the handle without having to manage excessive tip pressure. Maybe allowing you to carry more speed, have quick tight turns, and be accelerating sooner off the back of the ball.

The surfing has won over the boaters simply due to ease of operation. The boats can handle the rough public waters, the surfing is low impact, and easier for people to get started on. The whole family and friends can fit in the boat and enjoy a party even those who don't surf It's a "good time" for everybody and you can do it all day long. Skiers on the other hand we need calm water, 3 maybe 4 people in the boat if you squish. We are spent after 2 sets. If you are not a skier you likely have zero interest in participating. Myself I have always enjoyed the "lake life". the early mornings, the calm, the swimming, the cruising around the lake, the cold bevy in the hot sun, the other lake dwellers doing the same. The skiing is the part i like the most but without the rest of it, it wouldn't be the same for me. It's all a part of the package that makes this sport awesome. But because our boats are small our circle of friends we get to share the experiences with doesn't really grow unless we provide an environment that includes people watching from shore or more importantly enjoying themselves while they wait for their turn or watch from shore. There needs to be something for them on shore. Ski clubs are a great way to keep everybody involved. Here in BC Canada private water is very difficult to find and finding a body of water that will permit waterskiing outside of the major public water ways is again very difficult. Result is very few ski clubs. Having recently participated in my first couple of tournaments I was able to see what a ski club adds to the enjoyment. The kids were coming off the water smiling, their parents and siblings and friends were cheering them on from shore. The people that weren't skiing had music going, playing games, making new friends, BBQing, swimming etc.... I may have enjoyed it more than most because I am a skier but the environment looked fun enough to my 10 year old daughter to get her interested in learning to ski. (previously she had shown little interest). So the issue is not that the sport is not fun or that the culture is not a good one. The issue is with access. Ski clubs with a focus on the "whole package" are super important to the sport if we want gain interest. Having said that those clubs need access to water. We don't need the water to be water ski club only. Why not share it with a rowing club, or a diving club, or a kids summer camp etc.... here where I live its the way we are regulated that limits our water access. Private lakes don't really exist here, the idea of legally digging one likely never gets passed the idea part. The lakes that would be ideal for the sport will be very difficult to convince fisheries to make an exception to allow skiing. And so we settle for early morning sets on public water hoping we get to at least do that for the foreseeable future. Growing the sport kinda takes the back seat when you're just hanging on to what is left hoping to maintain before somebody decides "courses on public water are no longer allowed" or "This lake is paddle only now".

@buoyboy1 the R2 really rewards weight forward. It just keeps getting more stable the further forward you can get.

I am really enjoying this ski because of the attributes @6balls listed. the ski is stable, predictable, and fully capable. For me it has really provided a great platform to work on my technique with the performance that matches any other top ski I have been on. The ski really is supportive and responds well to skier inputs. I moved to this ski from a C65 and previously a Vapor (the blue one). For me each of those skis were drastic separations from each other, but all of them including the NRG R2 have aspects that I really like. The Vapor was fast across course and really a fun ski to ride, I do miss it. The C65 was insanely good when I was skiing well? Was hard for me to find consistency on it though. The NRG R2 has given my skiing consistency, confidence, and therefore fun. It's a lot of fun to ski up to your PB every set without feeling like it was just a lucky day. I don't mind a ski that feels different than my old ski. That's the whole reason I bought a new ski, to get a different ski. I do enjoy learning what each ski can teach me while I learn how to use each ski. I do think if you have a high end ski from any brand you have a ski that can take you places.

I have really been enjoying mine.

@vtmecheng agreed, would be helpful if manufacturers would list which binding was used for their measurements. I get it it, it's only meant to be a starting point and we can adjust from there. But not all of us are pros at setting up skis. I've moved my binding around enough to know that 1/4" has a huge impact. So that leaves a guy wondering if the binding i'm measuring puts my foot in the the same spot as what the factory measured. Maybe it's not as important as a I think but if I knew for certain my foot was located in the right spot i could just go ski it right out of the box with no worry.

As a former lifeguard I will tell you that getting in the water as a rescuer is a last resort. @dave2ball sums it up well. Take some training. Stay calm. assess the situation, Establish the basics ABC's and then decide your next move. If help is likely to arrive you have done enough to keep them face up and breathing. If help is not arriving and you are alone you will have to decide how to proceed while limiting further injury. As for getting a body out of the water as a single rescuer. You should have a plan specific to your boat. My boat has a low transom then the swim platform, I'm very confident I could pull a body into my boat. Spinal injury will make that plan less attractive.

Stokes has impressed me. I was skeptical i'd like mine when I bought it, It seemed a little bulkier and than my previous vests. Having worn it all season i can honestly say i'm really enjoying it. Fits well, is comfortable, seems durable, has not stretched out at all, does not inhibit movement in any way. It has significantly more flotation than my old slasher vest, which is a nice feature on public water. It does what its suppose to do and it does it well.

I can’t decide if the actions of the parties involved here actually happened or if this thread is designed for pure comedy? I can’t imagine trying to win over customers in this fashion.

Being in Canada demo skis are hard to come by. So I buy the ski that I think will be most interesting or contrast my previous ski's characteristics. As has been said, all of the top skis are great skis. Especially when skier has good technique to go with it. I find every ski teaches me to be better skier by exposing my weaknesses. I have set PB's on nearly every ski i've owned. So i conclude that one can ski well on any of the current top skis if they are using good technique. My last ski was a Denali C-65 which was vastly different than anything I have ever been on before. It was fun to learn how I had to adjust my style to work with that ski and I learned a lot about my own skiing in the process. This year i'm on a D3 NRG R2, again huge adjustment coming off the Denali. Took a few sets but i'm back up to my usual ball count and enjoying the process again.

After spending some more time on the ski and with guidance from Terry Winter, I've moved boot and fin back to D3 numbers and I'm really liking the ski more and more with every ride. I had my doubts the first 5 or 6 sets I had on it, it was such a departure from my previous ski. Now I'm just excited to see where this ski will take me.

I have pp stargazer zbox on a 351w carbed. In my experience the issue is not PP or the carbureted motor. It was difficult to get a solid pull with my original prop. I installed an 0J 310 cnc prop. The prop was such a huge improvement and now PP gets solid ball times and behaves about as good as can be expected. Very very close to to a DBW setup. I’ve been playing around with Kx+ And ++. You can certainly tell the difference between the two, I think kx++ is closest to DBW but I don’t have a lot of time behind a DBW to reference. I’m very happy with the set up, Perfect Pass and OJ props had the best customer service I could imagine, and they delivered on their promises with a product that has performed as advertised. I have not messed with the background settings at all. The only change I’ve made was I lowered all my baseline rpm’s a little so that PP would lock onto and settle into set speed a little faster without overshooting the desired speed.

@BigGerald3 I left mine at recommended. I'm using radar carbitex front measured to the bottom stitch with HRT rear. I don't know what binding D3 was measuring but that seems to work for me. I did try a little forward and a little back, ended up back at stock.

@BigGerald3 I'm on a 66 @34. not sure if it will translate to your setup but pushing the fin forward has shown good results for me. Try moving .020" but don't be afraid to add .040" either. I settled at .025" forward of factory DFT. At factory settings i found the ski to be a little more work thru the wakes than I like which is what prompted me to push the fin forward. The ski turns great always but it does finish the onside turn a little better with the fin forward.

I'm on the NRG R2. Previous ski was a C65. Havn't had course to run yet but will this weekend. From the free skiing i've done the R2 is a very stable predictable ski. It is not slow, It may seem slow because of how stable it is but I don't think it gives up anything in this department. Ski turns with confidence on both sides with no hint of tip rise. Compared to my C65 the R2 seems to require less effort.

@Drago is there no skiing on that lake? What is the reason?

@ski6jones agreed. It would be super helpful if they would state what binding is being measured. That way we as skiers we could compare different brands of bindings and measuring points. Example. Radar recommends vapor boots at 29.5". If you know that reflex has to measure 29" to give you the same position it would take the guess work out of it. I remember an old thread where several bindings were measured to see where ankle bone was located in different bindings. If my memory is correct the variance was roughly .25". When I get a new ski i throw bindings on at recommended, if moving i move .25" forward or back. You know right away if it was the right direction or if it was too far.

What @ToddL said. I think there are too many factors to label one measurement the best one for every boot. To top it off we have different brands of boots on skis. So if you have a D3 ski and they are measuring Tfactor binding I would think that measurement changes if you are mounting a radar binding on a D3 ski. Your own technique may prefer the boot forward or back. The binding itself may be stiffer, softer, or limit movement compared to whatever binding factory is referencing. Mount whatever binding you have as close to factory as possible, go ski, adjust to suit.

I always measure to the bottom stitching, But I find i usually end up back by roughly 1/8" from either factory or what others have recommended.

@Horton did your contest lead to any conclusions as to how high on the boat is necessary? At -28 to -35 I hear comments to get higher or wider but it feels awkward to be out beyond the buoy line. I get it, at short lines you basically need to be high on the boat to reach buoy width. At longer lines a guy can get well beyond the ball line but doing so is a different turning point than the rest of the course . It’s a different visual and rhythm.

@MISkier I’m working on those items pretty much word for word. Some things I have found that have helped. 1) turn in for gates, try to square hips to ski in the glide (I am LFF) and initiate turn with your feet (not by moving or leaning with upper body). 2) I think about trying to advance left hip to the handle thru centre line (heading to 1). Really focusing on not letting that handle to get pulled away. If I take too much angle or create too much load Into the wakes things go bad. I can get away with it at longer lines but 35 is humbling.