ESPNSkier

@storm34 that boat looks great, nice job! It's not hull serial #1958 by any chance is it? I'll see if I can dig up some other pics this week.

Thanks @Hallpass! Let me know if one of them is my old boat (Hull Serial #1958) as I would love to know where it is now. I bought it in Louisiana and it was headed to Arkansas the last time I saw it about 35 years ago. It was such a step up from the Glastron Carlson CVX17 that I was skiing behind. Yes @Gar, as I recall the wakes on the 70s Nautiques were fairly consistent up until the launch of the 2001 (1981?). It was an awesome boat to ski behind at 36 mph but I did break two EPs in half over a couple of years.

I don't know Don but that boat sounds familiar! Mine was a 1972 and I had it for a few years in the late 70s and early 80s. Great boat!

 

1977, orange top EP Comp1, vinyl vest, cut off jeans, knees locked out, etc!

 

This thread also made me think about my 1st inboard ski boat: orange/black 1972 Nautique. I loved that boat but hated that wake!

Bill and the staff at Performance Ski and Surf have been consistently good at supporting all levels of skiers over the years. I was with the old Central Florida Ski Club back when Bill started Performance and it was refreshing to have a full service ski shop with friendly staff here in Orlando. I got out of the sport for a number of years and Performance was there to help me with demo skis when I started skiing again last year. Recently I bought a Ski Doc Orbit camera mount and Bill reached out to the manufacturer to have him custom build a mount for my older MC. Performance Ski and Surf is my first and last choice when I'm looking for equipment!

@blinddog, I was in a very similar position last spring (60 years old, 185#, skiing 15 off @ 32 mph, etc) and tried several skis (thank you Performance Ski & Surf!). I loved the 67" HO Superlite CX from the first turn and ended up buying one in April. I stayed at 32 mph last year for a lot of reasons (age/injury history/not skiing tournaments/etc) so I don't know how this ski performs at 34 mph. However, by the end of the year I was regularly running into 28 off with a couple of buoys at 32 off for a new practice PB. I find the ski to be very forgiving and it has a lot more potential than I will ever use. I don't think you can go wrong with the CX!

Back when ESPN owned B.A.S.S. I worked a good many BASSMasters tournaments and saw people ejected from boats a couple of times, always at high speed. They were required to use a kill switch and wear an auto-inflatable Mustang PFD. Never seen it happen in a ski boat and I don't wear one in my MC.

I'm early 60s but also ski 32 mph. I was running 15 off and a few at 22 when I bought a 67" CX Superlite last spring. I love this ski and was running 28 off with a few at 32 by late fall. Very forgiving and easy to ride ski that I would highly recommend to anyone!

Ski rides great in all conditions. Not sure about the discoloration as my ski rarely goes in the bag. It goes from the wall rack in my office straight into the boat and it never touches anything other than water or carpet plus the swim platform when I put it on.

@wettek69, I have a 2016 CX Superlite that I have skied quite a bit since April. Absolutely love the ski and highly recommend it! I take good care of it but it is showing some signs of discoloration along the rails and at the tip (see attached pics). Speed skin is fine and it does not seem to ride any differently, just losing some color.

Thanks @Edmund, glad to hear that you healed! It definitely takes longer for us older guys to heal.

Thanks @ScottScott, hope to ski with you again this spring.

Thanks @ToddA, I'll give that a try when I can. I sneezed yesterday and it took me to my knees....man that hurt! I have seen a lot of differing opinions about heat vs cold and have been going the ice route a couple of times a day. Sounds like maybe I should try heat? I read about your shoulder surgery in another post, good luck, I hope you heal quickly!

 

@adkh2oskier, your post about me skiing 36 so I must be young made me laugh....again, something you don't want to do when you have a chest cartilage injury! That's because I have not skied a tournament since the early 80s. I'm 61 and usually ski at 32 mph now so the healing process may take a while.

@AnnaRipley my company does a lot of work with Musco and I can provide a contact if you want to send me a PM.

There was also Whit's amazing US Open, running 2@-41 in two consecutive rounds to win the US Open!

Thanks all, good advice! Trying not to sneeze, cough or laugh. Did this many years ago with the lower ribs and it did take a long time to heal. What really sucks is that I had a great session with Matt Rini yesterday and felt like I made real progress....then I go out this morning and do exactly what he told me to stop doing....go figure! Matt is awesome and I highly recommend getting a few sets in with him if you are in Central Florida!

Yes, it sucks as any movement hurts. Worst thing is that it was self-inflicted and at my age I know better than to go for that last ball when you are out of position.

Great conditions this morning (air 75/water 72) and tried to squeeze in a quick run before I had to be somewhere. Did not have my head in the game and form was horrible. Tried to throw my ski around 6 ball on my 6th pass (stupid move this time of year for sure) and ran square over the ball taking a hard OTF and apparently tearing the cartilage around my sternum in the process. I have had many lower rib cartilage injuries over the years but never around the sternum. Anyone experience this before and any recommendations on treatment?

Air 75/ water 72 in Orlando this morning before the wind started to kick up. Great conditions but managed to injure myself anyway!

@ral I feel your pain and went through the process last year including 3 steroid injections, stretching, rolling my foot on a frozen bottle of water, etc. I bought several pairs of Powerstep ProTech Full Length PRO shoe inserts and wear them in all of my shoes now. When it was at it's worst I also placed one of these inserts in my Radar Vapor front boot but have now gone back to a Vapor insert. It does go away but will quickly come back if you are not careful. Good luck.

So, never mind my earlier post! Checked it again tonight and 32.3 mph is actually 3210 RPM and I got times within tolerances by hand timing....good enough for now until I can get magnets back in. I don't know where the 3025 RPM came from. And yes, I checked the GPS without a skier and it was 33.7 mph which does apparently equate to 32.3 with a skier in the course. On the plus side I did finally run 28 off again at 32 mph with good times.

Thanks all, good advice and I need to check a few things. But first, yes these are old baselines that I set a few years ago when my course had magnets and I was getting good times at both 32 and 34 (when I remembered to enter weights correctly). Of course, I did not write these settings down so it is quite possible that the RPM settings have somehow changed and my speed may in fact be slower. Although I do occasionally ski behind a 2016 SN 200 with ZO and the speed feels the same to me so I don't think it's off by much. My course no longer has magnets and I have not put a stop watch to it in a long time. I'll likely need to put magnets back out and then reset my baselines. And yes, @BRY, it probably was the time off of the water coupled with cooler temps. Thanks all and Happy Thanksgiving!

1993 MC ProStar with carbureted 250 hp Indmar Ford.

Yes, weights entered correctly. BTW: This is an older 2004ish PP without all the new bells and whistles. Version 6.0 if I remember correctly.

PPC with accurate skier/crew weight. Speed based on straight line GPS readings outside of the course.