Topcat1

Thank you eddie_roberts_jr. This confirms what the other folks were saying and I am now convinced that our position and weight distribution is the problem. Thanks for the tips on weight distribution. We'll keep working on it. Thanks to all of you for helping me figure out how to help my boys. After skiing on the Katana I have actually started thinking about seeing what would happen if I skied a course for the fun of it. I'll have to find someone with a true ski boat to do that. Too much wake on my bow rider to run course.

Thanks for all the help. After your comments I am certain our problems are about ski position at takeoff and not getting in enough of a ball position. I may try taking the wing off the fin, but it sounds like most of you don't think that should be the problem. It seems to make sense that we might be better off to drag a leg so as not to put weight on the tail with the back foot. Also, I think we were hitting it too hard with the boat at first although we eventually figured out to throttle back at the start and roll on power.

Here are the measurements: from the tail to the back of the front boot is 30.5" (prime size 7-11) and from the tail to the back of the ARTP pad is 18.5". The plate for the ARTP is tight against the plate for the front boot. We are all starting with both feet in. I used to drag one leg, which was how I learned, but switched about 10 years ago. Both my boys started out learning with both feet in. The prior skis were the slalom ski from a pair set so they didn't have a boot like the prime boot. I have used Connelly slalom skis in the past that didn't have the boot either. Questions I have now are: would dragging one leg help the ski plane faster? Would a shorter rope give us more pull up? My older son who weighs 190 has always been somewhat of a hard pull on starts but I have never been, and have never had trouble getting on plane no matter what ski or boat I was using. After reading some other threads I am wondering if posture / position is having something to do with it. But again, I have never experienced trouble with any other ski/boat combo so who knows. If anyone has tips for proper positioning I can give my boys I would gladly use them. I am going to talk to them about making sure their toes are pointed at the boat as much as possible so the ski isn't sticking straight up in the air.

Thanks for posting back MattP. It does fine with other skis. I am convinced the problem isn't the boat. The other skis are OBrien and Connelly. Both older and slalom skis part of a set but pretty solid skis. I do wonder about the wing on the fin. It seems like it might be tilted slightly downward which would seem to force the fin down which would possibly make the tail stay down longer on the starts. But not being familiar with adjusting the wing I just assumed the setting out of the factory was okay. The other skis I use don't have the wing so maybe that is it but I would really like some feedback from Radar on how that will affect the performance so maybe I'll try them again. Everything I have read indicates this ski should be really easy to ski so that is why I am totally baffled by it. That would be great if the guys at Radar saw this and could comment. Also, would it help to shorten the rope?

Hi all, I am new to Ball of Spray but have lurked around reading all your posts for some time. Looking for your thoughts. Having a hard time getting the ski on plane on starts. I am 61, 5'9", 170. I have been open water slalom skiing for 45 years and would consider myself an advanced open water skier. I have never paid attention to rope length, etc and never skied a course as none of the lakes in Kansas had them. My sons were wakeboarders but decided they wanted to ski after watching me all these years so I decided I needed to get a nice ski without breaking the bank and just bought the 67" Katana since that is what the specs say for weight. Got it from Wakehouse and took it to Tablerock Lake last week. Skied it right out of the box without making any adjustments. A really good ski once you are up and skiing, but the problem is getting up. This is without a doubt the hardest ski I have ever used to get up and get on plane. My sons, who are 33 and 31, the same height as me and weigh 190 and 160, are what I would call advanced beginners simply cannot get up on the ski as it just drags and never gets on plane. I can get up, but it takes forever to get on plane and I really have to fight it. Motor is not the problem as we have a 2012 Crownline 235ss with a 300HP dual prop Merc. The ski was dragging so bad we kept pulling the rope out of our hands so we had to really throttle back at the start and slowly advance power. So, is there a boot adjustment I need to make or one to the wing? We ski 28 - 32 mph. Should I have gone to a 69"? I am just really confused as the ski is advertised as being really easy to get up on. I emailed Radar and got the following short reply " That is very bizarre as we usually hear the opposite. Try taking the wing off." I guess I was hoping for more feedback then that, and I am concerned that taking the wing off will affect the performance. I am out of ideas to give my sons on technique or form as we tried everything I know. Thoughts or ideas will be appreciated. Thanks.