netwinder

Thank you everybody for the helpful ideas! I attached photos of my current ski for the forum to criticize. Either way a few comments: "Most skiers here are going to have access to boat with platform on back to stand while putting on ski (often requiring binding slime and a good tug to get them on). With standard boat you either are standing in boat to do that and then rolling over side of boat to flop in, or you're on the dock (easy) or deep water (near impossible with some bindings) to get your ski on." Matter of fact with my current ski bindings the quickest way to get it on is liberally coating my foot in dish soap. Otherwise it is quite the process to slip on. My foot size is a size 10 in mens shoes, I have no clue if there's a special water ski binding size. "Buy another beer (or 6), think about it , and then just go ski. " Of course. Given that I'm 17 that sounds like a great idea. Maybe that will compensate for my bad form ;) The O'Brien siege and synchro looks interesting, however one question: Why are they so cheap? I would expect a higher price (not that im complaining) but what loss is in those skiis versus a ho cx or a radar senate?

Sorry about the delay - here's my current ski. Is this doable?

BTW: The 300 is in Canadian peysos not American dollars.. So a 300 USD ski is actually around 400 CAD ski Hopefully that isnt a big obstacle

Hello Again! An update: I got some photos of my current ski. Its not...entirely terrible? I rather like it. However do tell me if its a bad ski. I attached the images to this post. I may also be able to get my hands on a maharaja ski, however the ski was modified in the past (they ground the bottom of the ski so that it could only turn, its close to impossible to not be on edge with it) EDIT: Uploading photos still

I made a post asking what ski to get, http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/15729/tell-me-what-to-buy/p1?new=1

Hello BallOfSpray Fourm! I recently made a post about boat wake/weight and one of the points brought up was that I should invest in a modern ski. I started out skiing with an O'Brien Jr Celebrity but I outgrew it and I now use an older Taperflex slalom ski (not the wooden kind). I was told to make a post in regards to what ski to get, so here's some general information on what I do: I don't skii at 36 mph, I skii around 30 or under. I'm a free skiier. I weigh 130 lbs, im 5'7 , and i'm fairly strong. I'll be happy to fill in any missing information, thank you for your time! EDIT: Forgot to add my budget. I wish to spend $200 - $300, but less is better.

I've been skiing for a few years, I used to ski with an O'Brien Jr Celebrity. However I really have outgrown it. I am using my Dad's old ski, it is a little big however (imo) it handles better then the O'Brien Jr Celebrity. A little irony: The Rope was only 2 years old. I'll look for a new ski as well. For now I'm happy with the taperflex though. I did go for a Ski today and I found that speeding the boat up a bit helped alot, and by holding the rope lower and bending my legs more I could easily get over the wake and bounce. I only caught air a few times, its a matter of practice at this point. Thanks everybody for the useful advice!

Thank you for all of the constructive comments! I really appreciate it. I'm hearing mixed opinions as to the length of the line, so i'll clarify a few things: When i first skiied behind the boat the line was about 60 feet long. There was only a driver in the boat (and a dog, she likes to sit in the front). I may use an old tow rope and shorten it and see if that helps with the wake situation. Matter of fact the line broke while I was skiing (what can I say, im strong :wink: ... just kidding) so for now the line can only get shorter, so the big factor here will be boat speed. Im not looking to skii the full 36 mph but still. My ski is a little large for me - its an older taperflex ski, taller than i am and designed for a heavier weight. Still works, but not ideal. Anyways thank you for all the constructive comments! I'm at the lake now so tommorow testing will be done and i'll get back to you on what works. Thanks again for all the help :smile:

Thank you! I'll try that next time around. What about the boats weight? And would trimming it properly (so its not plowing) have a large affect on the wake?

Hello BallofSpray forum, I'm fairly young - 17 to be exact. I've been skiing for the past 4 years, and I'm "ok" but always looking to improve. When I was younger and weighed closer to 100 - 120 lbs I would ski behind a small fishing boat we had, it pulled me fine, and it had a very small wake. However in the last couple years growing has caused me to grow in weight, i'm now in the spectrum of 130 - 140 lbs and the fishing boat can't pull me anymore. Recently we did get a larger boat, its a Glastron gt185 with the 190 hp 4.6 liter mercruiser v6 engine. Its a great boat don't get me wrong, however I skiied behind it for the first time and wow it was quite the shock - sometimes when I tried picking up speed to cross the wake I would catch air coming off of the end of the wake. My concern is the boat weighs close to 2500 lbs, and the boat isn't designed to be a ski boat. It does have a substantial wake - however It could be because the driver at the time wasn't trimming the boat properly (I could be very wrong there). I do have a few questions How should I ski behind a boat with a larger wake? How should I size the tow rope? How long should it be? How do I find this length? General tips for getting over the wake without having to get off the edge of the ski? Thank you for your time :smile: