Fam-man

Suddenly the Americans are in a tough spot. Admit the metric system is better and that's why the sport is based in metric or admit they didn't define the sport. As a Canadian I will sit back and watch, eventually siding with the winning team.

How are the rope lengths decided? There seems to be reasonable decreasing increments down to 41 off. 38 to 39.5 = 1.5 39.5 to 41 = 1.5 After 41 the next increment is 2 feet shorter at 43. Why not stick with the 1.5 foot increments?

Thanks for the responses. I thing the only thing to do is grow a beard like Chuch and try it...come springtime

What happens if you exceed the maximum recommended speed for a slalom ski. For example skiing at 36mph on a Radar Senate with a 34mph recommended max. Does it become sluggish, unstable, won't hold an edge.... Thanks

@Orlando76 don't mean to sidetrack your discussion but am just curious what you felt was terrible about the HO cx. Reason I ask is I'm debating between a cx and an alloy senate.

We take a loop of rope that is about belly button to feet and hold the line at that point while the boat gets ready. The boat then pulls the slack up to the loop. Ensure the handle is at your hips, drop the slack and signal the boat to go. The driver should pull out the same as a deep water start. I watch the line and when it begins to lift off the water, which means it's about to pull, I look out above the boat, step forward with my ski foot and focus on balance with low centre of gravity.

Hey Everyone, Mark, 35 live in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Was introduced to skiing at 24 by a girlfriend who has since become my wife. For the next few years would ski one week per year behind the family boat, Supra Comp then an MB sports. Decided to buy out own boat so we could get out when/ where we wanted without sharing. Found a good deal on at 98 Ski Nautique so jumped all over it. Now we start skiing at the end of May once the air temperature is warm enough for our 3 kids to stand being in the boat and end in October. This year Our oldest daughter learned (7) to drop a ski on the on boom and was working on long line. Our son (5) started 2 planking on the boom and our youngest loves to tube and drive the boat from my lap and figures I should barefoot anytime, any water. The family time on the lake is what I enjoy the most!

@schafer I used central Alberta pretty loosely in my first post, I live in Medicine Hat and we spend our time at 3 lakes in the area. Rattlesnake about 20 minutes away, 40 mile close to an hour away and Elkwater about 45 minutes away. A group of us are thinking of starting a club at rattlesnake and putting in a course next year. Just winterized the boat, it was getting a little cool to be dragging everyone out anymore. Thanks for all the replies, information like turning easier, feeling on rails in turns and holding edge better (I'm assuming across the wakes) is what I'm looking for.

Thanks for your reply. I've done a bunch of reading on this site and others and what I'm looking for is a description, opinions and a little discussion about what would be better about a new ski so I can make a more informed decision. Part of why I'm dragging my feet is that HO still markets the old Mach 1 so maybe it's all I need and would be disappointed when a new ski doesn't significantly change my skiing experience.

I've been skiing for a few years on a 90's model HO Mach 1. Only free ski at 15 or 22 off and 34-36 mph. I've been considering a new ski but am unsure if there would be any real benefit considering the type of skiing I do. Living in central Alberta I am a definite minority as a slalom skier and as such haven't come across an opportunity to try any slalom skies significantly different then what I have. I've read all kinds of threads about ski recommendations and numerous ski reviews so have a good handle on what interests me. The interweb tells me that new skies are much better. My question is considering the type of skiing I do what benefits would be realized by upgrading to new technology?