DangerBoy

@georgert I know exactly what you're going through. I just started a thread about ear drum injuries yesterday. Scroll down a bit and you'll find it and the answers to your questions. Infection is likely to follow so get some antibiotic drops from your doctor and start using them right away.

I had a bad crash slalom skiing on my summer vacay a few weeks ago. I got a lot of water in one ear and that resulted in an infection. I thought it was just swimmer's ear but I couldn't beat it with off-the-shelf Polysporin ear drops I was using. Went to a doctor about it right after I got back home and he informed me I ruptured the ear drum. He prescribed some antibiotic drops and said it should heal up fine on its own once I get rid of the infection. Went in for a checkup 1.5 weeks later and he says there's still a hole but it's healing so continuing with the drops for at least another week. The infection is gone I think. No symptoms of an infection (e.g. discharge) anyways... I'm not hearing as well out of that ear as I used to but I'm hoping that my hearing will come back to or close to what it was before the rupture occurred. I'm sure there's more than a few people on this forum who have also ruptured an ear drum skiing. It's a fairly common injury in our sport I think. For those of you who have gone through this, what was your experience as far as hearing loss/recovery? Did it mostly come back once the ear drum healed? How long did it take?

Excellent review @Horton. I have a feeling it will cause a lot of people who weren't interested in the Pineapple or were skeptical of it to now give it much more serious consideration and want to demo it. It sounds like a very interesting ski that's well worth trying out.

"The Connelly Hook" or "Connelly Hook, Line and Sinker". An homage to the beautiful old inlayed mahogany waterskis Connelly used to make and that many of us now collect. For a logo you could have a picture/painting of an old Connelly hook slalom ski with a fishing line attached to the tail and a single hook or treble hook attached to the tip so the ski is transformed to a fishing lure/spoon. Could also add a small sinker on the line ahead of the lure so you have all four elements of the second name I suggested; a Connelly Hook, a hook, a line and a sinker all incorporated into the logo. Neatly ties fishing and waterskiing together methinks. ;)

Vectors listed above have been sold.

I have an O'Neill Slasher vest that is 2-3 years but has only been used a small number of times (I only get to waterski ~3-4 weeks a year). The rest of the time the jacket hangs on a clothes hanger in a closet. A couple weeks ago, I had a hard fall when I stuck the tip crossing the wake. The jacket zipper blew apart and the jacket almost came right off me. Not exactly confidence inspiring or what you want to have happen in a hard fall. The zipper teeth on both sides are undamaged but the part that goes up and down and zips them together blew right off so now the jacket is rather useless because it can't be zippered up anymore. I have to say I'm a little disappointed in how not robust the zippers on these jackets are. I only ski at 30 - 32 mph, not 36. I can't remember where I got this vest but I know I bought it new from somewhere when I got it. Most likely I bought it on-line. It wasn't second hand. That, I know for sure. I'm almost 100% sure I won't be able to find any paper receipts for the purchase but I might be able to find something in my email archives that could show where and when I purchased the jacket. I can take it in to some local shop to get the zipper fixed when I get back home from the cabin but I'm wondering how O'Neill stands behind their products and if this is something they might remedy just out of a commitment to quality and standing behind their products. I figure there are many on this forum who have had many more dealings and experience with O'Neill and would know how well they stand behind their products and would be likely to react to my situation.

This one's pretty nice, Decent condition. Not minty perfect but decent for a ski that's seen some use. https://ebay.com/itm/294276809237

@SportSki I'm in Wildrose Bay. Main Arm, south side at the end of the publicly maintained part of Eagle Bay Road. Right across the lake from St. Ives. That said, we ski wherever the calm water is so some mornings it's in our bay or another one just west of us. Other mornings it could be just into Seymour Arm, not far from the Narrows. Other mornings it could be just into Anstey Arm or even almost at the end of it. It all depends on if there's any wind and which way it's blowing that particular morning. If there's calm water to be found, we'll find it and put it to the use it was meant for; waterskiing! ;) @S1Pitts There are just as many BC people on the lake running aircraft carriers as Albertans. Personally, I hate the things and have no use for them but I do have friends (many of them from Alberta) that own aircraft carriers because they like to do the surfing and crap but they never operate them early in the morning because they're just as into waterskiing as I am and are out waterskiing either with me or at the same time as me but just in another ski boat. Here's a picture from yesterday morning some friends I ski with sent me from their Prostar. A great morning of skiing was had by all. Wish I was there. :| Next week I'll be shreddin' it up with 'em. :)

@Andre No, but he takes his responsibility as bow ballast very seriously. He's a consumate pro. Meticulous in his work. Name is Radar. ;)

Live in Calgary, do all my skiing at my cabin on Shuswap Lake, BC On my way in my old boat to my friend's cabin (little light brown place with white trim at 10 o'clock) to pick him up for a phenomenal morning of skiing. Mirror, mirror on the wall... Coffee and Bailey's in my friend's hot tub after a terrific morning of skiing on very calm water.

Looked like a pretty eezy-peezy glide through 35' off. Smooth and effortless. Turns look real nice, tip down. And the ski does look fast across the wakes. Must be some ski.

@nathanroskam I agree with @jjackkrash, I skied on a Mach 1 for a lot of years and thought it was great but then I treated myself to a new and much better ski (a Monza) and couldn't believe the difference. My skiing ability shot up several levels very quickly after that and then I was kicking myself for staying on the antique tech Mach 1 for so long and not getting a more modern ski way sooner. It's time to turn the ol' Mach 1 into a wall hanger and get into the new technology. If you don't want to spend a lot, you can get a 3 - 6 year old ski off SIA for a pretty reasonable price. It won't be right up-to-date but it'll be close and it'll still be light years ahead of the Mach 1. There will likely be an adjustment period at first when you're getting used to the new setup but when you finally do, you should see some rapid and significant improvements to your skiing. Modern skis can do so much more than the old ones! I sure don't regret retiring the old Mach 1 but I still do regret not switching to something newer and better a lot sooner.

As an aspiring amateur photographer, I have to say that is a stunning image of that boat and that skyline. Beautifully composed. Whoever created that image is very gifted. Two thumbs way up from my corner. :o

I have lowered my price on the Vector Bindings (see post above) for quick sale. Asking price on my Vector bindings setup is now $245 USD/$299 CAD. These bindings are great for men with smaller feet (Size 5-8 Men's) or women with medium to large feet (Size 7 - 10 Women's) I have them listed on SIA (https://ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Bindings&postid=60322)

@PurdueSkier I'm wondering if those might be home made. As for era, my guess is 50s or earlier. 40s maybe. @H20Skier94 Are we talking inlaid mahogany Hooks, Comps or Comp 2s from the 70s here? Or something else? A fair number of the inlaid mahogany skis get listed and sold on eBay. Most people ask too much money for them and they don't sell. If you have an eBay account, sign in and do some completed listings searches for things like "inlaid mahogany connelly" and tick the box for sold listings only to filter out the listings that finished but didn't sell. Only limitation there is that it won't tell you what the final price was on Buy it Now or Best Offer auctions because chances are that something lower than the buy it now price was offered and accepted but at least you'll know what the upper end was.

@Morg, I asked this exact same question for the exact same ski maybe a month back because a friend bought one and all I got was the exact same answer, go stock except @savaiusini also suggested trying stock fin setup with the front boot moved up 1/8th inch from stock. It appears HO nailed the stock fin setting on this one as no one suggested anything else might be better. Makes things easy. ;)

Odd... The seller ended the auction early so the ski never sold. At least not to a bidder. I wonder what happened. Anybody see what the bid was at just before they ended the auction? Last time I looked it was at $47 with three people bidding on it...

Not getting a lot of action on my posting for the Vector bindings so far. Would like to get them sold. Open to offers... ;)

@JayG80 @MDB1056 I think eBay estimates the shipping cost based on where you are or where it thinks you are. That isn't necessarily what the shipping cost will be. I went into the Shipping tab on the auction ad and input a zip code for Montana and it gave me three costs for three shipping modes ranging from $44.54 for USPS Parcel Ground to $68.15 for Fedex something or other. Doesn't seem ridiculous to me given the size of the package... Bid is now at $47 with three different bidders in the mix...

There's a pretty nice vintage 67" Connelly Hook up for auction on eBay. Looks to be in decent shape. A few little nicks but not bad. The bid is only at $9.99 USD and there's only one bidder so far. Might be a chance for someone to pick up a nice mahogany wall hanger for a low price. Good luck to whoever bids on it! https://ebay.com/itm/334042976306

For sale: Radar Vectors Size Small. Lightly used and in Excellent Condition. Mounted on a Radar Sequence double boot plate which is also in good condition. New, Vector bindings sell for $250 CAD each and the plate sells for $110 CAD at full retail. So new, the whole setup would run you $610 CAD PLUS tax. Asking price is $350 CAD (negotiable). I'm in Calgary. Will ship to anywhere. Buyer pays shipping

@MattP Holy Crap!!! That was a SCARY fall! :o He could've had a severe or even fatal head injury not to mention spinal or other serious injuries. He is SUPER lucky he wasn't hurt. :#

What's the supposed advantage of a Radar Sequence double boot plate vs separate plates on the front and rear bindings? Is there any real performance advantage?

No helmet?!! Who does waterski jumping without a helmet?!! He's lucky he's not dead. :#

Many of the things being suggested such as soaps, shaving creams and shampoos are polluting to one degree or another and have ingredients that are not biodegradeable and are long lasting in the environment. Barbasol has a toxic disinfectant in it. Read the ingredients lists/SDS sheets. The Polywater stuff I suggested is just water with a little biodegradable protein mixed in. It's quite slippery and slimy but washes away almost instantly in the water and breaks down 100% very quickly and naturally. I contend that it's the most environmentally friendly/least harmful option of all those suggested and it's also very inexpensive on a per mL basis. As @TomH's ski team will surely testify, it is an excellent product for this application. They've been using it for over 10 years and they haven't gone away from it. Methinks that says a lot. At any rate, all I wanted to do was put this information out there so people would be aware that this option is out there and would know how to get the product if they wanted to try it. I have done that. People can venture to try it if they want or just stick with what they've always used in the past.