quinne

Please chime in with any information you have on ski clubs or courses within 1 hour drive of Cary/Raleigh, NC. We have a place on a lake that does not have a course and are there every weekend. Thanks to a couple of friends putting in a temporary course I had the chance to (attempt to) ski a course a few times over the summer and I loved it. I would love to get on a course more often during the week and have looked online about local options but there isn't a lot coming up. I think there is a place called Panther lake fairly close by but limited info available. Feel free to PM me if you have suggestions. Thanks!

Ditto what @StackedUp said... is there a notification list? We're in NC and I can guarantee there are 4 free-skiing ladies who would move mountains (i.e. ditch children and husbands) to get there.

@Skibabette my daughter is slaloming using the O'brien Jr. Vortex Combo set. It can be used for slalom or two ski, and has a removable bar if other kids want to try to learn. She got up on one super easy, deep water start, one handle, without assistance and can go in and out of the wake. The boots are adjustable for size and really easy to change. My daughter is a small 7 year old around 50lbs. I know you're super proud. That's awesome!

@ballsohard I'm okay with being the pansy on the lake. My shin isn't black and blue anymore... And I imagine that I care more about how my legs look in a skirt than you do! (Truth be told, I haven't actually tried going without the spray guard in over two years. Since then my ski and my form have improved substantially so I might not even need it anymore.)

@75Tique you got it! Since you can't count on your other BL friend to have a working boat. :* JUST KIDDING!

@Peterhead if your leg continues to take abuse from the spray you can get a neoprene leg guard.

... and I freaking LOVE IT. Thanks so much everyone for the advice and support!

@xraydoc also subscribe to waterskimag.com. They email articles that are often pretty good. One of my favorite tips was when you're frustrated and can't seem to get anything right "just go back and forth back and forth".

@xraydoc I love that you've got the bug. And it looks like you have a combination of factors working in your favor to support it! You've got a boat driver, a boat with great wake, smooth water, a daughter to have fun and share your passion with you, and it seems you have the ability to get on the water frequently. Most importantly, you're having fun while working on progressing. You're set up for success! I would ski every day if I could but our place is 1.5 hours away and if I'm lucky enough to get there on Friday before sunset I have the joy of taking my 7 year old daughter out to ski but no one to pull me. It isn't until the next morning that I'm likely to have a fellow skier/driver along and then we're battling the wake boats and jet skis. My philosophy has become this... even on the choppiest water I am on a ski on a lake enjoying time with people I love! Keep us updated!

Great insight @RAWSki. I would love to find a '19 model for a good price. I'm on the fence between the Lyric and Lyric Graphite. Wakehouse has a good comparison write-up that makes me think I should stick with the standard Lyric. https://www.wakehouse.com/blog/comparison-2019-radar-lyric-vs-lyric-graphite/ "The standard lyric is built with a wood stringer down the center, allowing the ski to be softer around the buoys and a little more forgiving across the wakes." I'm concerned the graphite will feel less stable for me across the wakes. However, @Chris Rossi read my posts and suggested the Graphite. So tough to know without being able to demo. I can also call Coble's and see if they carry Radar so I could demo when we head out to ski school in the spring. *and in my original post I said I bought my current Lyric in '16 but it was actually '17, so not too long ago. We've skied it for two seasons.

I've been skiing behind a friend's '01 Sunsetter LXI all summer and loved it. Great wakes. Great family boat. SS are good between '99-'04 but sounds like you're looking to get into a little bit newer boat. I just bought an '07 Response LXi and skied behind it for the first time Sunday morning. At 15 off 30MPH the wake was awesome. My sister then skied right after me 15 off 26-27MPH and was encountering a huge rooster tail. We sped her up to 29-30MPH and it smoothed out but felt a little fast for her. She's pretty small, 5'4" about 125lbs. We primarily free ski. I was really surprised with the size and storage of my '07 Response. Ton's of storage and plenty of places to sit. We ski in the early morn and then pile a lot of kids in and play hard in the afternoon.

Thanks @Chris Rossi and everyone else who has shared advice. This community is so helpful! I'll start looking for a graphite lyric.

@escmanaze you read my mind as I was typing... Doing a little more reading on BOS it sounds like the Lyric and the Senate are the same ski, with the Lyric being lighter for smaller weight women. Also, until recently, I guess the Lyric didn't have the option of Graphite. What is the advantage of Graphite in open water (sometimes a little choppy from wind or other boats)? And, I weigh 130 lbs and am pretty tall so how does that factor in? My current Lyric is really light, if the Graphite Lyric is even lighter how does that fair in variable lake conditions?

Thanks all... Reading other threads on the differences in Senate and Vapor it sounds like Vapor is a step up in intensity than the Senate and maybe the Senate turns easier? What is the difference in the two? Also keep in mind, I spend 99% of my time free-skiing. Other than going to ski camp in the spring and occasionally having access to a temp course I'm not on one. Also, sometimes deal with less than perfect water due to the wave runners that come around and ruin the 7AM glass we got up out of bed to find.

Bought myself a Lyric in '16... My sister loved it so much she asked to pay me half and share it. No problem we can't use it at the same time anyway. Now my other sister is using it too. We're heading to ski school in the spring so logic would say we each need our own ski. Can ya'll share thoughts on buying a new Lyric or going to a Senate?... Or something else? I do not have the ability to demo where we live. I free ski every weekend. 15 off @ 30 mph. Skied a course last weekend for the first time in two years (third time in all of my 44 years) and had no problem "touching" each of the bouys so I'm hoping day one at Coble's I'll be getting around them! I weigh 130lbs and am 5'11". I don't have a video to post but can try to get one next time we're out. Thanks in advance for the advice!

In that price range, take a look at Malibu Response TXi. Flat, soft wake and excellent boat for the family. I just bought a '07 Response LXi and my criteria were 1) amazing wake, 2) family friendly. I did a ton of homework, including skiing behind a '16 MC prostar, '05 Nautique 206, '01 Malibu Sunsetter and then the '07 Malibu Response that I purchased. I am 44 yrs old, female, weekend skier, 15 off @ 30 MPH so some of the best advice I was given on BOS is that some of these boats being recommended have great wakes at 32-34 MPH and a short line but 28-30 MPH on a longer line changes the experience substantially. You might want to check out the discussion below. https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/21955/advice-for-free-skier-on-best-wake-open-bow-used-boats/p1 Good luck!

I'm not a pro and certainly have my own bad habits I'm always working on. I free ski on weekends and it's my favorite thing to do... With that disclaimer... -Your speed looked a little fast. -Sharing a ski with your brother might be tough, unless you are similar in weight. My sister and I share a ski but we weigh the same. -Rear toe plate -Whatever you buy, give it time. Two years ago I went from my college '93 Connelly Concept to a Radar Lyric. Flat out hated it the first five times I used it (which in my world means 3 wknds burned being frustrated), then it started coming together and it wasn't long til I absolutely loved it. -Find somewhere to do a half day of coaching. I've been slalom skiing for 30 years and 2 years ago my sisters and I packed up our vintage skis and headed to a ski school. It was so useful to learn a few basic things we were doing wrong and also a few basic things we can work on. It transformed our enjoyment of the sport and two years later our skiing has improved dramatically. We don't have the benefit of a course on our lake and yesterday a neighbor put in a temporary for the morning. Both my sister and I skied it and had a blast!

soooo.... this happened on Saturday. Bought my dream boat! '07 Response LXi. Got her in the water by Sat evening and skied first thing Sun morn. Wakes are beautiful, super family friendly, takes chop amazingly well, immaculate condition. You guys have been tremendous. Thanks so much @escmanaze @UWSkier @moski @Canuckskier @DW @jhughes @ScottScott @Ski_Dad @andjules @Siouxcitysmitty @WaterSkier12 @6balls @vtmecheng @pjnyk @jjackkrash @Lieutenant Dan and everyone else who weighed in. All of this information and hours of homework helped me to know when the right boat appeared and I grabbed it. Took my dad and husband along (both mechanical engineers) and turns out the owner is a ME too. Not too far of a drive from our lake, skied great. It was one of those "meant to be" kind of things. Buyer and seller both happy and now I'm sending him photos like I've adopted his baby. @cletuspapa good luck! PM me... there is a Nautique 206 I've been keeping an eye on in VA only a couple of hours away. The owner is motivated. Looks sharp. Thanks so much everyone!!

@Canuckskier I totally hear you. All of your points make sense. However, I'm kind of like @escmanaze I LOVE waterskiing. I'm 44 years old and am loving our ladies morning ski runs every weekend with my sisters and our kids... I want to make the most of that at this time in my life. This boat is about ME. It's MY boat. (My husband, a mountain biker, is being extremely supportive God bless him!) My 7 year old daughter, fortunately is loving slalom now as well as knee-boarding and we're having a blast enjoying these sports as a mama-daughter team. That's why I want the best ski boat I can find (and afford) that works for a family too. When she grows up, gets a job and saves her money she can buy HER dream boat, whatever that is! @escmanaze great videos! I'm skiing 15 off @30MPH behind a SS now. Have to slow it down behind the Dixie given the wake jumping. Better skiers (ex: my sisters) handle the Dixie wake just fine. Trying out an '07 Response tomorrow.

This. is. AWESOME. Can't wait to see it come out. Hope they do a few demos around the country. Definitely interested!

@jwakes my 7 year old learned on the fat O-brien's. (Actually she learned last year on a pair of cheap wooden ones I found on amazon, but she hated them.) So this year I bought her the O-brien's and she popped right up. Against my better advice she immediately went to slalom after getting up a few times on two. I tried to reason with her on all of the common sense around first taking the bar off and learning to go outside the wake. Her response was something like this "Mama, I am a slalom skier. I'm going to slalom." I thought ok girl, we'll see. She got up slalom third try, deep water on a long line. They're ready when when they say they're ready! My daughter is about 50lbs too. Use one of the trainer slalom ropes that has the V. Also, have them stand on land and practice with you pulling them up by hand.

This is a tough one and I can see both sides. In the past we always followed the rule of turning off the engine in between runs or when folks were getting in and out of the boat, including little ones. We drive an older red Dixie. It doesn't always crank on the first turn. Not exaggerating here... About two years ago we had an experience that nearly killed everyone on the boat, which was three moms (my two sisters and me) and our collective 5 children all under the age of 6 at the time. It was about 7AM, glass, not another boat on the lake. We were sitting at the entrance to the cove in plain site. One of my sisters was just getting in the water with ski on and I was getting the rope set. We saw a boat coming toward us pulling a skier from pretty far off in the distance. We decided to sit and wait for them to finish their pass and being that the cove was really wide with space all around us we didn't worry. As the boat approached closer we realized they didn't see us. How could they not see us? Surely they see us. They're driving a nice ski boat and out as early as us, they know what they're doing. We were right in front of them. They got closer and closer, FAST. My sister started swimming frantically back to the boat, my other sister stood up on the engine cover and started waving her arms and yelling. We were all yelling. I was scrambling to get to the drivers seat to turn on the boat, but then, which way do I go once it's started... I can't know which direction they will correct once they realize we are here. Their skier saw us, started yelling and pointing and at the very last second threw the rope in the air and let go, knowing that would be the only way his driver would turn off, which is exactly what happened. They were so close to us that we were able to hear the driver say in a low voice to her skier and spotter "I didn't see them." She was sitting so low in the drivers seat, obviously only looking into the mirror at her skier that she didn't see us sitting dead center in the middle of the cove... in a red boat... with three adults waving arms yelling. I sat down shaking and cried. Nearly everyone I love was almost gone in an instant... My parents, our husbands, all would be left with nothing. I don't think I have ever felt that kind of fear in my life... How fast it all happened, seconds. The constant replaying in our heads "what should we have done differently?" We've grown up boating and are diligent about safety. The bottom line is that when you spend as many hours on the water as we do, you are going to have close calls. Usually they happen in a split second and can't be predicted. We do the best we can to pay attention to small details that could make a life saving difference. Now, our spotter always has an airhorn in hand. Now I leave the engine running, but in neutral. We only ski and kneeboard early in the morning or on weekdays. Otherwise we're towing a HUGE bright super mabel. We always assume they don't see us. I'm not sure there is any best or right answer. As for us, certainly a prayer at the end of the day for a safe, fun day of boating.

@moski I already inquired with sellers for both of those boats. Thank you! @uwskier super helpful. Noted. Thank you!

@escmanaze yep, typo- 340. Thanks for weighing in. I doubt at my level of free skiing I would know much diff between years.

Thanks folks! @Nole_Skier beautiful boat! I'm trying to lean toward a newer boat because we plan to keep it forever. And I'm willing to wait through the fall to see if any more come up in the SE as people predict. If that doesn't pan out I might start flexing my "nice to haves" and "need to haves". Thank you though! @moski I've reached out about that boat. Not loving the color but depending on the price, we might be willing to live with it. It's through a dealer who hasn't replied yet. Thanks @jimmyjamesbrown and @UWSkier! .... noted. Soooo... what do you all know about 2007 Malibu Response Lxi Monsoon 340? Looks like one is coming up for sale pretty close by. Pretty far out of my price range but only 50+ hours so basically brand new. How is the wake? Ya'll have pointed me toward years '03-'06 for Response. What did they change in '07? Any concerns over such low hours? Thanks! Elissa