r_maniak

So much fun to see how many are able to run right through the winter. We've got a ways to go here in WI. That's not stopping us from enjoying the lake, though!!

@swbca - I start my sets at 32 and generally finish at 38 if I'm skiing well and conditions are good and the splash marks never seem to sneak up on me. Just like skiing a course, anticipation comes into play. I had not thought much about exactly WHERE I am in the turn when the ball fires, but we took some video in September, and I looked closely at it and paused it right at the moment the ball fires (35off).

If you're on the cheap, the CIPA Extreme Mirror is quite effective and good bang for the buck.

I've been dormant from this forum for some time, so I apologize for the untimely response, but I feel I should jump in real quick. I'm perhaps one of the most "seasoned" OffCourse users, having fired through approximately 17,000 markers so far (just 2 users - my ski partner and I). The small Klein level was something I came up with and shared on a different thread here years ago. There was one mention of the occasional errant fire (too wide), I believe from @Windsurfnut. Someone else on the forum hit it on the head when he suggested that's due to being late on the turn. While driving for a skier using OffCourse, pay particular attention to what the boat is doing while the skier is loading the rope coming out of the turn. There is tremendous torsional pull on the boat at that point, causing it to tilt toward the skier. If the skier is late, OffCourse is firing the next marker when the boat is tilted, causing the next marker to shoot wide. If you get late down course, you are no longer in sync with the device. When I'm skiing good, OffCourse fires somewhere in the early stages of my pre-turn when there is no load on the rope. Overall, I cannot say enough about this product and the company. It's changed our skiing... oh, and back to the OP - yes - you can see the markers no problem. Glad to hear you bought one and either have already figured that out, or will find out soon. PM me for any other tips or tricks.

To all who have followed this thread and are considering a significant upgrade to the free-skiing experience and injecting a new level of FUN to your ski sets: Rodics Innovation (makers of OffCourse) are having an OffSeason promo for $500 OffPrice. Ice will be gone soon! Cheers!

I transitioned to telemark skiing years ago and find it to draw far more similarities. High speed telemark carving on perfect groomers - oooh sooo much fun!!

Even though I love this thread and the fact that OffCourse users are sharing tips on effectively working through little variables, I just wanted to share a typical USER EXPERIENCE from a morning set - perhaps to help keep this thread OnCourse and not so lost in minutiae (which I've been guilty of). I hope this would help the NON user who is just coming here for guidance on a purchase decision. Late last week we had a perfect morning. I was first in the water. Started 28off (34mph) where I always do. Ran 2x clean. 32off - also 2x clean. I was skiing perhaps the best I have. Perfect symmetry. I don't often get into 35, but took a crack at it. Nailed it (didn't even screw up 4-ball which is my nemesis). I never thought I'd use the purple loop, but my buddy convinced me to try 38. That's just a whole different gaggle of geese and I was late on 2, but wow! My buddy jumped in and had a very similar morning. What does this mean to just about anyone reading this? Really... just nothing. What would this have meant to either my ski buddy or myself just over a year ago when all we did was free ski? "Great skiing today, arbitrarily speaking". What does it mean to us now? Hoots and hollars / fist pumps and high fives... and about a half days worth of adrenaline!

Years ago, I was part of a group that went out on the ice in the winter and laid out a course and drilled holes in the ice and dropped anchors (bucket-cast concrete with eye bolts). We had a section of rope fastened to a chunck of foam which "floated" about 4' below the surface to which we attached a bungee cord. When we used the course we just went out and hooked the buoys to the bungees. It was a lot of work to construct, but setting up and taking down the course was A LOT faster.

@xraydoc It is just to set a baseline when the boat is stopped.

@xraydoc - I used these little Klein levels (mounted using Gorilla brand double-sided tape). Get the boat @ Zero using the level in your iPhone, then zero out both of the OffCourse levels, and you've set your baseline. At that point, no matter what you have going on in your boat, if both levels are set to zero, you're good. Pretty easy. Of course, you have to do this AFTER calibration.

I know this is a long shot, but if anyone in WI/IL stateline area has one of these and shares LFF 34mph 180lb, I'd gladly trade a 6-pack for a quick ride!

@Siouxcitysmitty We have attached very small digital levels to both marker barrels. When we have accurately calibrated course width, we jotted down the angle of each marker. Since each marker is easily individually adjustable, it's relatively easy to re-adjust the markers to the correct angle setting - no matter the load in the boat.

I've been very active on this thread as an enthusiastic user and supporter of this product, so I wanted to share yet another WIN for this company. We typically use OffCourse on a Malibu Response LX. Mounting it on that windshield has been no problem at all. We keep another boat (ProStar 205) at a different property and have yet to use it there. When I went to check mounting on that boat, I noticed a big problem. The standard mount clamps are designed such that your only option is to clamp it on to the center windshield section. That windshield panel on the 205 droops like a basset houd's ears, so mounting was pretty much impossible. I reached out to Rodics and within days, I had an extra set of clamps which were already designed and available to solve the exact problem I had! Super easy to install and perfectly addressed the problem. Amazing! Great work... and THANKS, Erik and Rodics!

@swbca I missed a couple of your other questions. Once it's dialed, mounting and re-mounting does not affect projectile placement/course width. We try not to mess with the course width settings adjustments once it's accurately calibrated. If I'm feeling squirrely and want to get a 38 pass, I might have my driver give me a half turn or so on the width knobs to bring them in... just for fun. Given that the width adjustment tool is literally right at your fingertips, it really adds to the fun factor. It's a great feeling climbing back on the swim platform after "getting" a clean 38!

@swbca Yes. Boat leveling is the heart of a sucessful user experience. We have a 24" level velcro'd on the dash (highly recommended). We often just ski two of us, so we keep weight under the observer seat. We occasonally gain a 3rd in the boat, so we remove the weight and position the observer such that the bubble level is dialed. It might sound like a lot of screwing around, but once you get it figured out, it's really quite simple. Our 3rd actually knows exactly where he needs to sit and manages his own position based on taking a quick look at the level.

@swbca As a seasoned OffCourse user, I'd have to say that you and your driver would need to devise a plan and execute it properly in order to TRY to get hit by a projectile. Even if you tried, it would be a challenge to get hit.

Nice! You won't regret it!!

How much do you weigh? What size is your ski? How fast do you ski? If these numbers don't line up, you could be putting an undue amount of stress on your grip.

I really didn't want to share this video because the odd sun angle makes it so you cannot see the markers in the video. I don't want people jumping on here and saying anything about that. Ask ANY OffCourse skier and they will tell you - YOU CAN SEE THE MARKERS plain as day - even on rough water. There - that aside... this dropbox link below is a video of a 32off pass. Put your speakers on and you will clearly hear the markers firing. They are rather high velocity, so the splash takes place a fraction of a second from the time you hear it fire. Depending on how well I accellerate out of the turn, the marker fires generally around the second wake/foam area. This gives me plenty of time to set up for my turn. I feel the same when I ski at 35off. When I ski at 28off, I feel that perhaps I have more time (but I think that's simply cause I'm moving faster at shorter line lengths). I really think it fires when you're in 2nd wake/foam no matter the line length. I'd be interested in Eriks comments on this, but thought this vid would be helpful. https://www.dropbox.com/s/kd4a3p4xg3wjgda/IMG_0760.MOV?dl=0

@swbca I'm a seasoned user of OffCourse. Trust me - if you buy one, you'll use WAAAY more than 1000 balls a season. This thing is just too much fun! My ski partner and I each take 8 passes during our morning ski set. It uses 7 balls per pass (it fires a "Zero Ball" as a marker to time your "gate"). 56 balls per set. Balls run about $90 for 2000 of them. That's about $2.52 in balls. Add your CO2 cost (you will consume (2) 12g CO2 cartridges per ski set and those run about $.75/ea, so your total consumable cost (not including gas for the boat) is just north of $4.

I ran 32 off 2x in a row clean, so I asked my observer to grab the camera. Of course I screwed the pooch on ball 4 with the camera rolling. The splash is FAR FAR more evident to the skier than it seems to be in the video. I hope to get some more video available soon, but the season up here in WI is dwindling quickly!

@Nashotah Holy Cow, Nashotah! You hit the nail on the HEAD! We got ours in early June and have literally fired through 5500 balls. I'm 51 and my ski partner is 63. Both of us have had a history of regular pulls through courses which have all dried up 10+ years ago. OffCourse came along at THE PERFECT time as both of us were starting to feel a little burned out on free skiing. Since we started back on the course (OffCourse), my skiing has gone from struggles in 22 off to having taken a clean 6-pack at 35off earlier this week (34mph)! My ski partner has seen similar changes in his skiing and the barefooter who rides along with us is amazed every day at what we bring to the table. Free skiing is fun, but it really puts you in a rut and allows for bad habits. Amazing product! Great company! Great guy who stands behind the product (Erik)! Incidentally, I spent YEARS growing up skiing on a lake which mirrors your username in this forum (upper). I cannot imagine you call yourself that for any other reason than that's your water. Cheers and thanks for starting this thread. This is a very niche market and I really want this product/company/individual to succeed!

I used to HAVE that exact boat. I was hard up for cash when I replaced it with a 205 in the late 90's, so I sold it to a buddy of mine. He put it up on some racking in a warehouse and has not touched. I've since offered him to buy it back for as much as $3000 more than what I sold it to him for. He keeps telling me no. It was clean, too. New stringers, new floor/glass, etc. Engine ran like a TOP! The original trailer even had all the fiberglass intact.

Looks clean... and with the new motor... If that boat were in WI/MN/MI, it would sell for $20k in a weekend given the current market for boats up here!