Fam-man

Lake temp = solid at the edges ?

@Nando this season I picked up a Follow comp vest that has a single thin belt at the waistline. They have a few different vests in the product line and seem more focused to the Wakeboard market. The one I have is the Token Oli. Check them out, so far performance has been good.

Awesome start to the season with solidifying some great friendships in April thanks to @skihard Hit my Season peak mid July with sking through 28 off at 34 mph (season goal) and getting to a few at 32 off. Slumped Through August but figured out the weak link in September and had some of the most fun runs to close out the season. Seem to have a mental block at 28 off. All 3 kids hit good development milestones. Now it’s the end of September, hockey has started and the boat hasn’t left the garage on a few weeks. Short Canadian season. Now I dream of next season and fun times.

When working with someone new I typically 1) Have them think about what their steps are to be successful. Positive mindset 2) Relaxed position until the boat starts to pull them in idle 3) Driver pulls skier at idle until skier says to go. This give the skier more time to get set into a stable position before power is applied. If the skier is wobbly at this point the ski is likely too vertical and pushing too much water. Back foot tucked close to bum, front foot slightly ahead to give ski some climb angle. Skier force should be applied mostly through ball of front foot 4) When skier says to go they take a big breath and tighten their core. On go driver pauses for 1 second then gradually applies power.

@MISkier Homage to the killer what’re movie “Willie” As in free Willie

The Black Pearl

@Stevie Boy last spring I went from a 2015 senate graphite to a 2017 vapor probuild. I was skiing 32mph 15 & 22 off. I felt the vapor cut through the wake better however it may not be a fair comparison due to ski's being from different years and serious focus on technique on my part.

@Stevie Boy that 22 off bump can be a killer. What about 30mph 28 off then 32 mph 28 off? Or is skiing recreationally what about a 25 off loop?

@DGravelle Are any of the PVC sections resting on the bottom? Is the lake weedy? If it’s resting on the bottom shorten the pvc to ball risers a little so the pvc is floating but still below boat draft. We set in a weedy area, the weeds prevent straightening. When setting We tie the risers very short so the pvc is at surface and tie something floatie to the mainline between pvc sections like a fender, bouy or life jacket. With everything at surface we pull tight and let it all straighten then go along and sink everything.

@HighAltitude having a similar experience where I've seemed to plateau on progress. I've got issues with breaking at the waist and losing efficiency. Also ski straight to the ball and closing off my offside turn. After reading this thread and thinking about what I wanted I had a great set last night by keeping things simple and staying at an earlier pass that prevents scrambling or pushing hard. For me that's 15 off at 34 mph. My thoughts before and during each pass are below. These work for me, you may need to consider your own wording to execute the actions you're after 1. Global Focus (keep head up) 2. stand tall (especially in gate glide and between wakes and ball) 3. handle close (connection from wake to ball) I did extra passes at 15 off 34 mph to reset technique where I wanted. Then had good passes at 22 off 34 mph keeping my focus the same. My suggestion is don't try to think about too much, the 3 things above are almost too much for me be mindful of during a pass. #2 really seemed to help with speed and efficiency out of the turn and through the wake. By actively standing tall coming into the ball I was leaving the ball in a better position. Drill it in at a pass you can run before going to your challenging passes. Personally (as a 15 offer) I believe as long as settings are close the fix is more in me than the ski.

@bananaron I skied that boat with Rod a couple seasons ago. It skied very well, pull was good and wakes were minimal. Compared to other boat I've skied I felt no wake disturbance at 15 off 30&32 mph and 22 off @ 30mph. Comparison is based on 98 & 04 SN196 with PP, SN206 & 12 TXI with Z.O. Condition and mechanics of the boat all seemed very good. As @gregy said Rod's a great guy and will be straight about the boat.

I’d suggest going back to what settings were working and see how you are after a break. I tend to break at the waist when I’m tired. Can be too long of set, can be too many consecutive days of skiing

We’ve broken lots of arms deploying and tensioning and weeds is the biggest reason. We now tie the risers short to keep the arms close to surface. Mid point between arms we attach a fender or bouy to mainline. We also try to keep things as straight as possible as we go along. This method keeps everything out of the weeds and allows us to put in straight. If there’s a slight bow to an arm when you put tension on the mainline the bow will quickly buckle. Downside is we need to swim back along and untie risers and unhook midpoint floaters and let everything sink down.

@DaveD I think with a little more use it may begin to form to your foot contours. I had double vectors for a while. When I upgraded I gave the front to another skier. I’m Lff they are Rff. The immediately noticed the footbed had formed to my foot and it felt like having a shoe on the wrong foot. After a little use it had formed to their foot.

We use a section of irrigation sprinkler line with end caps glued in. These fit inside the B-arm section so we are still able to collapse the sections as designed. When we've had a sag mid season we've added an extra ball on a riser to the b-arm. Looks a little goofy but we didn't have to take the section apart. We put the course in in the spring and pull it out in the fall.

Great cause, great people, great community. Our hears are there even if we can’t.

Practice without a skier. 1) driving through course exactly how a set would be run from pull up to set down. If you spin and go through a second time practice that 2) what to do if someone falls mid course. How to slow/ stop and go back for pickup. Awareness of skier and balls while handling boat From experience - pointer are offered as suggestions for improvement on what's already great. NEVER you did this wrong...

This was my spring tune up; Cardio - mix of running and rowing machine Push ups, pull ups and static hang from bar Plank and sit ups Body weight lunges, step up and squat Results after over 6 months off the water Free ski Sunday, 3 long sets - strength was good, possibly over did it and was sore from fingertips to neck. Rest Monday to Wednesday Thursday to Sunday - course & clininc. 4 days, 7 sets, 48 passes. By the end I was worn out but didn't have any soreness. Next spring I will probably do more free ski sessions with fewer shorter sets.

Got out yesterday for the first dry suit sets of the year, finally had an afternoon without wind. Water 47F air 55F. The shady banks still had snow!

Serious and fun can happen at the same time and Serious isn’t synonymous with exclusive or unpersonable. On the water I will be serious, focused on a specific aspect and striving for improvement. In the boat I’m with friends or family so celebrate achievements and laugh at shortfalls, serious stops and it must be fun. If you sit or pout etc you aren’t fun and probably would see dwindling opportunities. As with anything it is a personal connection between serious and fun. For my kids it’s more fun to ski together behind the boat and have spray wars then ski one at a time working on technique. Fun can be the catalyst for involvement and some will develop into an enthusiast or obsession. I think that goes for any recreation which is why there’s such variety of activities and levels within those activities.

A ski buddy had a 2008 with 343hp & zero off. Purchased to be a family friendly boat and sold it this past fall because the family wasn't that interested. My only experience with the boat is in the course with a driver and up to 3 passengers. I skied it at 30-34mph 15&22 off. I feel the boat is very well built and drives the course well. We never used the open bow for anything but gear storage. With 3 passengers and no walk-through seat there was people sitting on the floor (choice we made for how we were using it). Skiing at the speeds and lengths listed above I was always able to ski to the equivalent of other boats we used. Early on I found the wake & zero off disruptive. As I got used to it and my skill progressed I didn't notice these things anymore. The wake did feel a little harder right behind the boat then the others we use. My other experiences are with SN196, Malibu TXI, LXI and VTX. I feel the one benefit Malibu has for an all-around boat is the wedge. If I was in the market for a boat I would definitely consider a SN206

@MISkier really like the looks and can’t wait to hear how it skis.

@oldjeep don’t you run a VTX? One of my ski buddies has a VTX of about that year, his focus is hydrofoil however we have skied his boat more than one. Not as flat wake as a DD ski boat but is definitely ski-able. IMO it is a good way to reinforce good technique and edge strongly through the wake. If you go flat through the wake you will feel a large bump. Have skied it successfully at 15 off 30 and 32 mph in the course. That was 2017 season and was right in line with my PB at that time.

@ScottScott was the dislike a finger slip or something else?

Thanks for all the responses, I’ve passed along the info.