OREGON85

How do you select a ski when demoing skis is not feasible?

The Omni I have is the fiberglass one with the plastic fin. The handful of times I skied a course, I was at 28 mph. When I ski behind my boat in open water I ski at 31 because the wake is flatter. There is a public course about an hour away and I plan to spend go there a lot next summer.

I started skiing a couple years ago and bought an HO Omni. It was an amazing improvement over the big ol’ ski that the seller threw in when I bought my boat. I have really liked that ski. However, I feel like I have plateaued in my progression. I’m sure that is mostly due to the fact that with a demanding work schedule and three small children I don’t get enough time on the water. BUT…. Yesterday I skied on a friend’s Omni Carbon and immediately felt the difference. It felt much stiffer and more responsive. Now I’m wondering if I might begin improving again with a new ski. Any thoughts on that? What should I ski next? It seems like maybe an HO Omega Max or maybe a Syndicate Omni might be a possible next ski. Thank you in advance for the advice and wisdom which abounds in this forum!

Any updates on Lake Powell courses? Just thought I’d check in since this is a few years old.

I just moved away from Corvallis a couple months ago. I’m near Salem now. I’m curious where you ski before or after work. I assume it must be close... just off Granger Rd?

@mfjaegersr I had seen the Salem yacht club, but you have to be a member to use their ramp. That looks like a nice pool of the river they have there. @Mike Gile that sounds great! With work and kids I’d be luck to get in a week night every once and a while. Usually we do full day outings to a lake with the kids, but I’m hoping to get more quick ski-only trips in. Water skiing is only banned in downtown Portland. I like wake surfing, but they can ban it on the whole river as far as I am concerned. There just isn’t enough space. Thank you for all the tips.

My dad still skis his old Maheraja from the early 70’s. I was I could try it out, but my feet are too big.

This time of year I am more concerned about wood floating on the water than the temperature. Lots of trees where we are. During the winter trees and branches look fall into the rivers and get washed into the reservoirs.

This may not be a question that anyone on here could answer, but it is worth a try. Does anyone know if the Willamette River near Salem is ski-able? The boat ramp in West Salem and the one at Keizer Rapids are both relatively close. I just moved to the area and the proximity of the river is appealing, but I’m also really not interested in discovering a gravel bar at 31 MPH.

When I did that a few years ago it ran a little rough for about 15 minutes first thing in the spring, then it was good.

I’m in a similar position and bought an HO Omni. It came out a bit over your budget, but it has been a great ski.

Any tips on getting at the whole hull safely? It’s tough to clean around the bunks on the trailer.

I recently bought an HO Omni. I only free ski. I skied for almost an hour the other day. I really like the ski.

@RGilmore How about a sprayer with 110’ booms going 12 MPH through a rough field or a field cultivator within an inch of an extremely valuable row crop all with repeatable, sub-inch accuracy? You are correct about a combine not needing to be super accurate.

It’s the original tower on an 2000 Air Nautique, round tubes.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a tower mounted ski holder? I’m tripping over skis all day and would like to get the out of the way. We have a tower, so that seems like a logical location. I’ve seen a few online, but thought maybe someone on here would have experience with one in particular.

As someone with a career in agriculture, it is surprising to me that this didn’t happen a decade ago.

I’m in almost the exact situation. I’m really looking for to seeing the packet of information for new skiers.

The weight range for the ski is pretty wide and we’re both well within. The bindings may certainly be the issue. They say they are for size 7-11 and (assuming that’s men’s sizing) puts her on the bottom edge. I put a Freemax front boot and ART back. I suggested that maybe we should put double Skymax on and she said she was happy with the F1. @Bill22 good idea, I’ll give that a try. Unfortunately, due to fires, cooling weather, a new job and possibly moving it looks like our 2020 season may be done. :/

Update: I bought a new Omni and have skied on it a few times. I was going to get the carbon but before I bought it I called HO and the guy I talked to said the non-carbon would ride better in rough water so I got that. I am loving the ski! I never did ski the F1 on account of not getting my feet in. However, wife who has been skiing the F1 was not impressed with the Omni. She tried it once and decided it was not responsive enough.

@dbutcher salmon and halibut come to mind. I’ve caught both in the 40 lb range. My wife caught a ray once that probably would have been 60, but didn’t keep it.

I made a small change that made a huge difference. I was having most of the passengers is in the bow. Now I have a bit more weight in the observer seat and it is much better.

Sounds like I need to think about technique and stop thinking about the boat!

These are all great responses. Thank you! Changing the number of people is difficult because the lake we ski at doesn’t even have a dock and the finger we ski in is several miles from the ramp anyway. Fortunately, at least three of the people that always come with us are 60 lbs or less and don’t want a turn until the tube comes out in the afternoon. :) @oldjeep I’m trying to stay on edge, but it is kind of scary! I’ll try harder. I have noticed that I get sprayed in the face really hard by water coming off the ski when I do my half-hearted-edge approach. @escmanaze and @Joeprunc I’ve been skiing at about 29-30. I think I could bump it up a bit. I don’t have an official ski handle yet, so I don’t know where I’m at, but I did tie a knot so that I am just a bit behind the rooster tail. It looks like the flattest spot to me. @h2onhk The ski was an HO impact of similar vintage to the boat. It was a good ski for me to get started on, but just last week I got a new HO Omni. I love it! I’ve only had it out once, but it was so fun I skied until I couldn’t go anymore, twice. I’ve been paying for that at work this week. I could hardly move the first half of the week. :D My wife skied before and is a bit better than me and she is using an old Connelly F1. I think mostly she likes the double animals on that ski better that what’s on the Omni.

When I decided to buy a boat it was because I wanted to wake surf. As fortune would have it, I could not afford a v-drive and ended up with with a 2000 Air Nautique 206, which is a direct drive. The seller left a ski in the ski locker and I figured I might as well give it a try and discovered that skiing is WAAAYYY more fun than wake surfing. That said, the wake seems huge. My understanding is that the only difference between this boat and the Ski Nautique of the same size is the tower and ballast. Perhaps I am mistaken? I try to keep weight down, but when we go out it is for the day and ski first so the fuel is full and we have all the gear and people for the day. I have anyone who isn’t skiing sit in the bow to keep the weight forward as much as possible. Is there anything else I can do to get a smaller wake?