TB29

Not "brand new" but upgraded from a 2018 Senate to a 2018 Vapor Lithium. Excited to give it a try.

I had a lot of success on the Senate when I shifted from freeskiing to course skiing. Allowed me to slow down to 28mph and not feel like I was sinking, and was a solid ski as I worked up to 34mph. I have no experience with the Omni so I can't comment on it, but I don't think you'd be upset with a Senate!

The small club I've been at for the past couple of years is around $400 for membership fees, then around $5 per set to cover gas. Has an '06 196 on a tiny pond that is tied in to the rural irrigation system. No drivers, so you have to find a partner to go out with and pull each other. I love the place - affordable, fun, and has a great vibe amongst all of the members.

@CPC_1 Those skis are both pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum - the Butterknife being a very stable open water ski for a max speed of around 30mph, and the V-Type being a course ski "meant" for 34-36mph (could definitely be used at 32-34mph). What are you currently skiing on?

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I’ll do a little more digging but it seems like the Tail 41 might be just fine!

@Skoot1123 Well the Masterline isn't mine - I joined a small private club recently and one member I often ski with had the Masterline handle and let me try it out. I've always been okay with the less tacky Radar handle, but if the Syndicate is any tackier I would switch to that one.

I'm in the market for a new rope and handle, and have been looking at the Syndicate 41 Tail handle. In the past I have used Radar handles which worked great, but this summer I tried out a Masterline handle and the grippiness of the handle was fantastic. It was much tackier than the Radar, and it was clear how much more I enjoyed that. Is there a chance that the Syndicate handle is tacky in a similar way? Unfortunately I can't get my hands on one to try out before I order. Also, I would buy a Masterline, but I can get new HO and Radar equipment at a big discount so it's hard not to pass that up! Thanks!

As a side note, is there anything more boring than sitting in a boat and watching a group of 10 people alternate through their turns surfing? I get that it's a nice, easy activity with hardly a learning curve (and I do enjoy doing it a few times a summer) but I can't imagine sitting in my boat all weekend every weekend and watching people surf. By the third person it's overdone.

@FSSPCat Haha was wondering when I'd eventually stumble on a post/picture of Rocky View on this site!

Happy to see that the floor looks to be carpeted! Some sea dek is a nice touch to certain areas of a boat, but I haven’t been a fan of the recent trend to only have sea dek

I remember a few years ago my brother in law brought a friend on the boat who used to be a collegiate skier in the states (from Canada). He had told me and my brother in law that him and all of his teammates used to buy good, strong velcro and velcro their boots to the ski. This way the boots would release when you take a hard spill, much like a releasable binding such as a Reflex. Has anyone else tried this? I haven't, but am curious.

It is unfortunately. 10 years ago, a sunny and hot Saturday would have the lake packed with wakeboarders in the afternoon. Now, I hardly see any all summer long. Hell, I hardly see tubers anymore! Everyone is just wakesurfing now. Maybe it's because there's a near-zero chance of getting hurt, and it's easy to get a video of you shotgunning a beer for instagram. Who knows! I hope to see a rise in wakeboarding again.

@HighAltitude I've surfed plenty, and I agree its a great activity for when I have a lot of friends on the boat and want to do something social to enjoy the lake. But I disagree that its not easy, its quite easy in fact. Sure, trying spins like 360s are harder, but I've had a number of friends who had never been pulled behind a boat get up on their third try and are letting go of the rope by the end of the weekend. Now, that's a great thing because I see them have fun and enjoy themselves, but its painfully obvious how easy the sport is. And when it comes to trying tricks, its so low risk that anyone can try it (you don't have to have guts like on a wakeboard). All that said, I don't bash people who are out having fun surfing. I will however, bash many of the surfers that I see on the small lake where I ski. Families and partiers alike, many of them have 0 lake etiquette. They drive in circles, get too close to your boat, and outright cut you off if even if you have a skier/wakeboarder being towed. Hell, there's 1 guy in one of the bays who has outright talked about his hate of skiing, he says its "too fast, dangerous to others in/around the lake, and the boats are too loud". So, if he sees someone skiing in the bay (might I add the best place on the lake to ski) even if there's nobody else in there, he'll lower his boat off the lift and deliberately ruin the glassy water (he'll just drive in circles in the bay, not even towing a surfer). I've never once seen a boat full of skiers or wakeboarders have such low lake etiquette like surfers. It's hard not to pass judgement when you have people in their big surf boats ignoring everyone else on the water.

It is 100% on surfing. I've grown up on a lake by Edmonton, Alberta and I had the opportunity to work at a local pro shop during high school and university, and have seen the shift. 7 years ago there was a bit of surfing on the lake, skiing from the purists, and a ton of wakeboarding. The lake I have a cabin on is mostly full of tournament boats, and all of the families that had boats were wakeboarding and tubing. Then, something changed. I don't know what caused it exactly, but I hardly even see tubing anymore, and practically zero people wakeboard. The ones who own these massive boats (mostly Mastercrafts) surf and only surf. They'll get in their boat on this tiny lake and drive in circles in front if their cabin, it's insane. They also have 0 lake etiquette, if you can't tell, this topic gets me riled up. I have noticed one thing though: families who have history on the water slalom skiing stick to it. For example, I have a good group of 5 guys, all around 22, all of us from families who grew up watching our moms and dads ski. We all had our little stint of wakeboarding when we wanted to be different from our dorky dads, but all ended up coming back to skiing. Now we all try to get out during the week, and thankfully have parents who love it and allow us to use their boats. And I think this is where the heart of the sport lies and why it will never die. Skiing is in your blood. And the dorky dad thing? Guess what the next generations of kids will be doing after they grow up seeing their dad going 11mph and want to be different? They'll go to wakeskating, they'll go to wakeboarding, they'll go to slalom skiing. Watersports may be in a strange place at the moment, but watersports will prevail.

Always a couple of courses up at Jackfish lake by Edmonton too!