vtmecheng

Sleeves are really important for color blind

Has anyone on a MOB actually found that raising the rear up has provided a meaningful benefit? I'm questioning if my current RTP shims, totaling 0.12", are even worth it. My front binding is about 1/4" higher with the shims on my RTP. (Edited heights after measuring)

Thank you @dchristman. I was just curious how much of a difference in height some of the pros ski on with great success. Sounds like a 1/4” or so difference may not be much of a thing.

JB weld, the longer cure original version. Make absolutely sure it’s completely dry, even give it a few days with a fan on in a dryer part of the house. Use alcohol to clean the area, painters tape all edges so epoxy only goes where you want it. Don’t ski it for a couple days.

Bringing back an old thread. I only ever added a thin spacer to my RTP, between the binding and aluminum mounting plate but not sure if it was enough to really make a difference. Looking at some of the pro skier binding setups I notice that some, like Will Asher, use a Reflex/HO style front release with a RTP that looks to have no cushion (just plate with non-skid for the RTP). This got me curious how high off of the ski is the foot with a Reflex/HO style release binding? How much difference between front and rear does the non-skid only RTP result in?

I can’t believe that I’m saying this but, @Horton is right (I feel a bit sick). That’s exactly what I was getting at. His ability to hold the handle tight up to the last moment is the first thing that jumped out at me.

Stays connected to the boat

https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Hitch_Anti~Rattle.aspx

Seems really dependent on the area. To northern VA, I’ve seen FedEx packages that are like new condition. Pittsburgh, FedEx delivers every package destroyed. They destroyed two new skis I ordered and will avoid them here at all costs. UPS seems to treat packages better here.

@Broussard thank you for the information. I knew that the pylons have been different over the years, using screws for many of the years. Whatever the reason for the recent issues, it's good that they have added a screw to the top for 2023. I plan to apply some threadlocker to ours and tighten with rubber strap wrench. Hopefully that will be enough. We deal with enough danger in this sport to have yet another thing. One addition: Non-captive threaded fasteners in a vibration environment is always asking for problems. Any engineer who has been around the block a few times with this kind of design work has seen it. At my employer we have lessons learned training on this every few years just so the new engineers don't make the mistake.

@skierjp it should never come loose. This comes off going across the wakes and it’s a really bad day. Also, that metal hits you in the mouth or eye and it’s a real bad day with stitches or more. As an engineer, there is no excuse for not including some method of thread retention. I’m going to add thread locker to ours but that is not really the right solution for high vibration applications like this.

That pylon cap coming off highlights bad and dangerous engineering by Mastercraft at their own event. You can see the boat crew tightening it many times during competition. The cap constantly comes loose on other Prostars I’ve skied too and it has to be checked. The friction in one threaded fastener should never be all that is relied upon for safety, especially with vibrations and rotation against it. It wouldn’t have cost much to add a locking method here and there’s plenty of room for one. Thank goodness no one was hurt at the even when it came off but MC needs to update the design. I’m using this at work to teach young engineers why we have requirements that do not allow such a design.

@03RLXi I thought about doing that. The pipe part of the top results in greater rotational moment of inertia, meaning it will want to keep rotating. I may start by flipping it over just to see how it works. No harm in trying and it will prove if it works better. I do like that it essentially has a protective cover around the tubing but that’s not essential.

Quick update. Pulled a heavier shooter yesterday at 28 off and there was a bit more shake at the turns due to rope hits than I wanted. I’ll either need to shorten the tubing a bit or reduce weight off the top (driven mass) to improve that. The problem is that both changes will increase the natural frequency of the system, possibly bringing back some of the issues with camera stabilization induced jelloing. We will see.

Also, thank you @tap and @Xpropman for the idea to use vinyl tubing on this. They had posted similar devices a few years back.

Yes, this mounts to a skidoc. The slot is for access to the inside to hold the wing nuts in place when tightening and let me add or remove tubes easier during the adjustment process. It’s possible that I could shorten the tubes up a bit and still get a good result but I’m not worrying about perfection unless I find this has too much motivation with shorter line lengths. I am sure a GoPro or dedicated camera without the phone stabilization would be a great answer but they aren’t $25. This also works for other skiers if they want to use their phone.

About $25 in parts. Really simple to make.

It definitely helps but the springs look to be a little too soft and with too much available displacement. That is why the video shows so much shaking at each turn. What you want is just soft enough to dampen our high frequencies but stiff enough with lower deflection capabilities that the low frequency hit from a rope shock doesn’t cause large motion. It needs to be designed in a window. I just made this and it works fantastic with phones. The camera mount on top was replaced with a screw down type. The 1/4 inch vinyl tubing seems to provide just enough motion and damping. I played with different lengths and number of tubes. The height is easy to determine, this is a 2” pvc pipe cap on top. Four tubes seemed to work best on our 2021 Prostar. More was too stiff (I started with the 6 in the picture) and fewer caused too much shake at rope hits.

What @Drago said. Use painters tape and clamps to squeeze it back together. Cover the clamp surfaces that touch the ski (and may get glue on them) this packing tape so they are less likely to stick.

It took a long time to get a call from Brenda. That said, I can’t pass up an InTow even if it was frustrating as hell to get. Got the handle Thursday and skied today. It would be nice if it wasn’t so hard to get that call but I love the spectra handle. Definitely a bit more grip than my HO Syndicate or the Masterline handles others I ski with have. Also like her ski guard more. In the end, it’s just a solid handle.

I tried a set on a blue bomb using my vapor-k boa gloves. It was more grippy than my HO syndicate handles for sure. Something doesn’t sound right with yours.

Anyone try the Radar Hydro gloves?

Can’t ski with more than maybe 4 crammed in the boat. 6 can work for a boat ride but that’s really it. All about realistic expectations.

If you have a solid position before the wakes, then it’s likely all a mental game. It isn’t easy to trick your brain into believing that more edge and speed results in a smoother crossing. Everyone with the problem has to find what mental thought works for them. Not sure “hips up” has worked for anyone ever, sure did nothing for me. Handle down, hips to handle, and stand tall all did nothing too. Corey Vaughn told me once to think about keeping my shoulders back, knowing I would never get them so far back that it was bad. He said to picture water spilling over both shoulders evenly, so I think “spill” when in the pull. That seems to have been my key. Really similar to the “proud chest” idea from Rob Hazelwood. Point is, no one mental key works for everyone, try different keys and find what works for you.

I already said that I would completely understand if there were no parts to make the handles or if orders were too backed up.