101driver

Welcome to the forum @Slalom Sue Don't tell @Horton you are on a 15 year old ski you would not believe the trouble I got into admitting skiing on 1 year old ropes!!!!!! Radar Senate seems a good bench mark to start the search and is loved by many. @Horton did a really nice video review on the Radar vapor 2024 not long back, there are some good threads on here comparing the vapor and senate. Others with more experience can hopefully chime in with their personal preference

Great concept, I really hope you can make this fly @Horton. I am so pleased your initial trials have gone well. I wish you every success. I will be using as soon as I can get on the water and actually ski and get some video. Great work, great idea, love it

I bought the book, my opinion is it is a lot more than a coffee table book. It would be easy to criticise as on first inspection it contains much of what I already knew. The strength of the book is not in giving great insight into unknown mystic practice, but in giving clear focus on what fundamentals should be worked on and clear direction as to what good looks like. If you were lucky enough to be coached properly from the start and enjoyed good coaching to keep you on the straight and narrow through your development then you probably need to look else where. I was self taught then I had awful advice on the dock from people who could not ski on how to do it wrong. Having personally done this so badly and the wrong way and now having proper instruction and relearning I can see the quality of the book in its distillation to the correct focus. Many times I have struggled with what to focus on before I had an instructor, the book gives some clear direction. I have formed the opinion that if I want to progress I need to go back and focus on the basics, which I am now doing, the book has clear instruction and excellent photographs to illustrate what those basics are and what I should be doing. Filippos skill is in saying less, my instructor also says less.

@MarcusBrown A really well executed presentation. I am at the low level struggling in the 15off world, despite this you were able to give me valuable insights for now, plus elements for my road map ahead whilst you targeted skiers at a much higher level. I love the way you used the slow motion and then went back over again after making your points, In particular your free hand drawing to make sure your points were clear. The drone shots linked to boat cam took this to another level. I am steeling your drawing technique of shoulder line and centre of mass for my video analysis of my own poor technique, useful.

Ok so I am giving you the credit for this @ColeGiacopuzzi even though not a new technique you introduced it to me. First day back on the water since your update. Worked well after missing the first 6 passes due to ski operator error.........lined up with a duck instead of a buoy1.......... Got it dialled in works great so volume set for rest 4,5,6,6,6,6. Definitely works for me.

@Slalom.Steve "IS YOUR SEASON OVER" @Gale K Thanks picked up your link and ordered a pair for me and a pair for my daughter to fit over ski gloves.

@ETskier I will definitely try the #1 buoy line up with a gate width wide of gate buoy. I struggle with this more than the pull out point. I know my width position relative to buoy line, I just know I need to wait longer before rolling in and sometimes I do but it is a mental battle like putting a chocoholic in a chocolate factory, I should resist but sometimes I can't, having a tangible measure will at least give me a different focus. Thank you for posting. Looking forward to trying.

@Gale K thank you for tip and sharing will order some. @Rednucleus I did not know that will definitely use the freezer zip lock tip. I normally have a list on wipeboard and a collection of broken toys and punctured buoys before I open a tube. Much more practice solution thank you. I will try the seam grip. You must be gutted about them steeling your design, after all that work and innovation..........

@skibrain my daughter used your nitrile glove technique yesterday. She suffers with cold hands which result in carrot fingers and missed grabs. She still had cold hands but with the nitrile gloves under normal gloves there was enough insulation to not go carroty fingered and still have control so good enough and game changer. @Rednucleus interesting project and excellent write up and pics. I am adding it to my project list, going to buy some seals and when I next use Aquaseal use the left over to bond a chem glove, the aqua seal left in tube always ends up going off so a free trial, should have some gloves to try by next winter.

@Rednucleus Glad it worked for you too.😀 @ColeGiacopuzzi Thank you for clarification and additional advice on line length. I am going to go with this technique I like it. I need to fit the new ski buoys (at least on No 1, the ones I leave on during winter are nearly white, with the white caps on the rollers and the spray and icey wind it was challenging spotting alignment but I guess my brain will auto program in to do this with practice. Really looking forward to seeing how this compares to my normal pull out point on a non windy day so I can then start to dial in. It seems pretty close.

@ColeGiacopuzzi Your technique above intrigued me, so yesterday as it was my first ski of the season and I was just shaking me and boat down I tried your technique. I really like it it removes rope length variability and the trigonometry fixes the start point. I normally pull out with 55's 1/2 boat length in front of boat. Tail wind more head wind less. Yesterday @15off wind was 26-28mph straight down course so that is 55's a full boat length before bow with, at bow against. Presumably you just observe the green and 1buoy moving into alignment and go a certain distance before alinment for tail wind and a fraction after (time or distance) for head wind, is that correct?

A very tempting deal Sir, especially after to day, it was rough................but some one had to go out there and ski. I will definitely post your deal lakeside if you can clinch it, might get a few more crews out on the water with that kind of guarantee.

@DvarianDan Johnson ABSOLUTELY not many get it but clearly you do................ that is the power of wearing the right gear............

First boat on the lake, only boat on a lift, Only boat skiing so far this year on this water. I have tried the work and dedication, I have tried good coaching, I have tried new gear............now and only now do I feel qualified to unleash...............BOS apparel ................nothing can stop me now. First day of the year.

@Horton Please critique, everyone else I am not suggesting YOU do this,this is my strategy for my personal battle. I am 15 off so lower ranks. My thoughts this week have been how to use my time effectively and these thoughts mirror some of @Hortoncomments above. My goal as already stated is to ski LESS this year but really make what I do count and focus. Smashing my self against that wall at the limit practicing bad habits endlessly does not work for me. I need to warm up, both on and off water so I am going to steel a strategy I have seen a few skiers much better than me use. First one or probably 2 passes just do edging drills (basically pull out and then cross course gate) This is to warm up but also to fix or cement my body position before I start. This is my number 1 objective x-course in position stay in position. (I am 15 off level this is why). Skip lower speed its just a waste and serves no purpose, go straight to my volume set speed and practice volume. If my rota says intensity day then I will do same but after 6 clear volume, I will start pushing up the buoy count. Check video every second pass on volume, check in with coach regularly and use volume to do what he says I should focus on. Get coach to check my home skiing video volume sets.

This is going to be a game changer for me. I can now see why previously intensity didn't work and volume served a purpose but did not yield the results I desired. The blend can be adjusted and @Horton has kindly suggested a start strategy for me with feed back control loop to adjust the blend. The right mix being important. My focus starting this season will be on ensuring that I REALLY understand where I am so I can adjust this strategy well. To do that I need good feedback, professional instructor is vital for me, I plan on a trip for coaching at least once a month and I hope every couple of weeks. I video everything and for "volume" checking that I am still executing correctly is vital so i will check video every second pass, otherwise there is no point doing volume (better skiers may not need this but I do). I take the video with me and instructor sometimes points out fault cues or tells, this really helps me use this tool effectively when I am checking my passes.

@Horton Thank you I really appreciate you taking the time to give a comprehensive answer. That really helps. Reading the background was very helpful. I tend to get a bit stuck, changing things helps but I have lacked structure eg I will just push up 2 speeds for a set to knock myself out of a rut. I really think this structured approach will work very well for me using the system that you suggest. Thank you.

@Horton I would appreciate it if you critiqued this strategy. I have got this so wrong for so many years and I only have so many left to get to where I want to. So if you think something is wrong in what I say please tell me. Firstly I am self taught, never had a lesson until about 4 years ago and I had every fault you would not want a skier to have. I smashed my ankle so I have swapped to LFF which has made it a bit more challenging. So each year I worked on something and I improved. I was pretty good at 32 15off and really hoping to get to 34. Last year I realised I needed to start again. So I found a good instructor and went back to 28 and spent all season working on body posittion and technique, about 3/4 through season started skiing 30 nicely head wind tail wind no problem easily adjusted. WHAT I WANT: I want to ski technically well, of course I want buoys but I know skiing raggy will not give me what I want. I get more pleasure skiing in control, a gust of wind hits and I can stay in control and catch up. So last years strategy worked, I am hardly loading the line at all now a brief lean against the rope at 15% of my old line load behind the boat and I have all the time in the world. End of season my instructor has told me to now start increasing my speed again. Question @Horton I think my strategy worked last year, and I got what I wanted, but I think I spent way to long at 28 and I kind of got stuck there a bit. My base strategy is exactly what you advocate to ski just below my maximum pass and practice good technique to build muscle memory and reinforce correct technique. However in my case having skiied incorrectly for years and only last year started skiing properly and done so much work to get there over past 3 years, I am scared of pushing too hard and starting to get the old bad habits back. But If I don't push a bit I will get stuck at 30 or 32 like I got stuck at 28 last year. I think your strategy is perfect for me, but I am not sure when and how much to push. My current plan is open at 28, if first pass ok go to 30 I like 30 it's easier in some ways. Practice 30 if skiing technically ok for 3-4 sets. get on bike go see instructor, check if still skiing correctly. Then ................I don't know. if ok do I push or stick if so how long and when I do push how to do this with out slipping back into bad habits. I video every pass and check after 2 passes before continuing. Any advice appreciated

@Jtim3032 That is great to hear, I have one other potential interested party. I had a site safety meeting with the owner yesterday. We are leaving it where it is until the crane arrives for bungee jumping and will lift it out then. If you send me an email address I will photograph the jump when I start sorting the slalom course out in two weeks time and you can then discuss with your colleagues if it is what you want

@BraceMaker Sadly no, we already had that in place which makes it all the more frustrating. So you understand my background I have worked as a safety manager and now have key safety management responsibilities with in the chemical industry. I have levered that knowledge and experience over the past few years to help the site owner manage the risks in order that the insurance company will "tolerate" the perceived risk. I feel that we have done this very well. The jump is locked off when not in use, is inspected by a competent recorded in the safety management system person before use to a specified list which was defined in the risk assessment. Only trained jumpers who have been trained at a BWSW approved jump training site are allowed to jump. The procedures are those of our governing body BWSW and insurance liability then is with the boat owners insurance and the individual jumpers who have to be BWSW members abiding by their rules and also covered by their insurance. So no liability to site insurance....................New insurance company not interested.......will not discuss, their statement is..... anything in the water is a risk and must be removed. They are now arguing about the jetties. I give up they will be claiming the ski buoys ducks and swans are a risk next, I just hope they don't see that giant fixed structure at our lake.................the lakeside bank. Sorry for rant but I am very upset about this, I have worked hard to mitigate real risk and manage them in a professional way. Emotive decision by non professional assessor is how I see it. @chrislandy Steve has a jump at oxford so is sorted, but I was going to ask him if he knows of anyone else when I see him in a few weeks for coaching.

UK Free water ski jump to good home. This is really sad for me, the site where I ski has changed insurance and unfortunately the water ski jump has to go. This has been very much my baby so..................The site owner has said if I can find a GENUINE club where people will use it they can have it for free. Obviously we will lift it out with a crane but new owner will have to dismantle and transport away. I have fought to keep the jump for many years so very disappointing. If we can't find a new home it will be burn't on the bank and scrapped which I have no control over and obviously is a loss to our ski world. Anybody who knows of a good home in the UK where it will be looked after and used please message me.

There is a pleasure in doing the work to your craft yourself and a pride in taking out an older boat which runs well and people compliment you on, especially if they notice you doing the work yourself and trust me those who know will notice.......In that circle you get credibility for taking care of your craft yourself even if you only do the simple jobs. If you do a bit others are more likely to help you do more. This often leads to many positive benefits, not least new friends in your new shared interest

@Bill Thompson Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the world of boat ownership. Don't let the informative and excellent posts above put you off. You don't have to do it all at once but doing a bit regularly is part of the fun of boat ownership. or as Ratty put it in wind in the willows when explaining the pleasures of boat ownership to mole....................... You are always busy and you never do anything in-particular, and when you have done it their is always something else to do. And you can do it if you like. But you had much better not.

I also use the duckbill ground anchors, set correctly the wire rope will break before they pull out. I use them to secure boat trailers mini diggers generators etc. If you mark the low point of a boat trailer in the centre and put one of these in and lock the trailer to it, it's not going to be nice for some one trying to disc the rope off, so good deterrent. I put one in every boat bay in the shore compound at the old club. Perfect for anchoring course as @swaterkd suggested. Once you start using them you just find more and more uses as dead fast to put in.

@PhatTony Really good post with excellent explanation and pictures. Really like that solution. My old club we had a lake which fluctuated in depth significantly because of the river next to it. Normal depth was about 9 feet it could fall to 7feet but rise to 15 feet after a rain storm in the river catchment area. Cycle time from 7 to 15 feet could be hours. We used a full floating course for years but wind and high water level caused it to drift off, we spent a lot of time resetting the anchor weights and straightening the course. When it came to replace it we did a lot of research and came up with a trouble free solution. We ended up with a fixed course but with a long wire to a very heavy anchor near the bank with the winch on. The other end also had a long tether but the wire was replaced with a nylon anchor rope 1.5 inch diameter aprox, this had design stretch and because of the length a lot of stretch. The anchor at the nylon rope end was also weighted near the bank as well. Because the anchors were so far from the course the angle that the tether ropes moved through and the amount of extension needed was minimal. As as % of total length of nylon anchor rope small and within it's design to adsorb wave shocks pull etc on a yacht. The course just came up and down with the water level utilising the yacht nylon anchor rope stretch. I only used the winch normally end of season to take some tension off because we had experienced much higher water during winter floods. The critical element is moving the two end anchors far enough away from the course and having enough stretch rope length to accommodate the extension needed. In your case as the water will drop steadily through the season can you not just pay out some line on the winch end?