03RLXi

On 3/2/2024 at 6:25 AM, Fam-man said:

@03RLXi Looks like a beautiful site to ski. What's the boat speed? How do you typically do when in the course?

Have you ever tried free-skiing at 28off? You may find improved ability to maintain a more aligned stance if not dealing with the wake bump.

Boat speed is 49kph. That's my normal free ski speed. I do occassionally try 52kph. Given flat water I can run course fairly consistently at 46, and sometime at 49. Have never tried skiing shorter than 18.25m. I'll certainly give it a try. 

On 3/2/2024 at 7:26 AM, Horton said:

As with most skiers at your level, you have more intensity before the wake than right behind the boat. You need to not diminish your connection with the boat until right after you pass the prop wash (centerline).

I'm aware of this however it feels like if I hold the edge longer I get excessive speed and width after second wake. I will give it a try though! Wake fear always used to hold me back from attacking wake but since getting the LXi that's become a thing of the past 🙂 

On 3/2/2024 at 1:28 PM, jjackkrash said:

Better yet, listen to all of them, over and over again.  🙂

I'm doing that. Listening is easy. Implementing is hard! LOL

4 hours ago, UWSkier said:

I'd say to have your driver maintain a consistent speed would be a good starting point.  

Initially when reading this I thought "What!!!!!! I've just spent >US$1000 upgrading the paddlewheel Digitalpro PerfectPass to Stargazer 3 event and you're saying its speed isn't accurate enough.............." but then, doh, remembered I edited the video to include some 1/4, 1/2 and 2x speed. I'll repost the real speed video 🙂

Real speed this time https://gopro.com/v/DkEkk0r9yeaqW

Haven't videoed myself this summer but did get this on 18th Feb, just a few days before getting Covid for first time. Covid has sucked bigtime (my wife's first time too and she ended up in hospital) however being home rather than work it has finally given me a chance to get a skiing video online. 

I'd welcome any technique suggestions. Speed was 49kph. 18.25m. Free skiing and not course as there was another boat using it.

I did like the tower bimini combo that appears to motor up and down. 

3 hours ago, Horton said:

@03RLXi I have no doubt what you're saying is true but I don't understand what it has to do with the subject of this thread.

I may have misinterpreted however I was thinking the topic was if the cost of new boats is causing a decline of skiing numbers, or if it's something else. I'm not seeing skiing declining here, however competitive sport skiing is. Costs are part of that reason, but not the dominant reason. To me it seems to be sport promotion and water access. Those who really want to will find the money (& the water access if pockets are deep enough) however if they're never introduced to the sport aspect of skiing they won't get hooked to begin with. 

Maybe this should be off topic since it's the wake barge but it might be ski boat future too so I put it in boats section 

https://arcboats.com/arc-sport

Costs are relevant but not the dominant reason. For example there are a lot of water skiers in New Zealand. They're once a year during summer skiers, behind their own or a friends general purpose trailer boat. My guess more than 30% of population has tried sometime in their life and 5%ish participate most years. However general public and these skiers do not see it as a sport. Most don't even know it exists as a serious competitive sport. It's simply a fun reactional activity to do occasionally. In my opinion lack of publicity of it as a sport, and limited access to suitable water conditions is why it'll always be a fun reactional activity for the majority and it'll be a sport for a tiny tiny minority.  

Best keep our mouths closed when skiing as a triangle won't fit but.... 🤣 

I'd love to try one!

Wondering if changing the length of the rope support 'tee' can make it feel just like a triangle handle? If the tee length is the same dimension as rope connnection onto triangle handle tdoes that make it feel the same? @chrislandy arrows seem to say no, if I'm reading them correctly. So make the 'tee' longer? Shorter? A certain stiffness? Intriguing!  I hope development goes well and it becomes a thing

35 minutes ago, Horton said:

My apologies to Jason. Normally I would have inserted both of the above videos directly from his Instagram, but the internet was not cooperating with me this morning.

Thanks for posting up alternative links. I could only put facebook as don't have instagram, X etc. If it wasn't for viewing skiing stuff I'd probably drop facebook too 

3 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

Jet boats are perfect if you don't really want the boat to track in straight lines, deliver efficient power to propel the boat through the water, or need any semblance of low-speed control when docking or picking up fallen water sports participants.    

Seriously, the biggest benefit is no prop to hurt someone or get bent and shallow water capability, but  there are some big tradeoffs.  

 

?? I don't disagree with tracking but that's more the typical hull than the drive system itself.  Jet drives are more efficient than props at certain speeds. It's why many ferries world wide are jet. Low speed control is vastly superior to direct drives. Can turn them on the spot, move sideways etc. It's why many supply and service boats are jets. Jets used world wide are very different than the US drag boat style big block noise makers with berkleys and tiny nozzle.

@VONMAN @S1Pitts there's a lot of jetboats here in New Zealand because of the braided rivers and I've owned 2. Most are noisy because the DIY builder or the manufacturer only puts in marines manifolds and then straight pipe(s). However some go to the effort of adding internal mufflers and they can be really quiet. 

As far as towing goes they pull fine (can get near maximum thrust when stationary), but they don't have the same 'grip' hence the tow feels a bit soft. Also the wakes are soft and foamy due to the jet trust. Fine for recreational skiing and wakeboarding. Maybe setup well would be ok for surfing too, but I think they'll struggle to get the solid wave the surfers want.   

But if people are thinking they'll allow them to access and surf in shallow water think again.  They will but only once or twice before environmentalists will get them shutdown. Around here many people power load onto trailers. It causes a hole to form at the base of the ramp and a mound of gravel further back. Props on inboards, IOs, outboards, etc don't move much gravel but the nozzle of the jetboats blows big holes at bottom of ramps. It's like a really high power fire nose. Imagine surf boats not planing and at 30 deg angle. They'd destroy lake beds that are less then 8m deep (25') 

2 hours ago, APB said:

Lots of speculation here…. If it was another brand this post would have been buried in minutes. 

It's a good thing there's so much interest. Shows that everyone here wants competition and not only 2 brands. That's healthy. 

Less good is that Malibu hasn't made a media statement now that the rumour is out there. That would be respectful to the sport, plus current and past customers. 

Binding centre hole. Fin factory setting (approx anyway because I only check it once a year). I know I am the limiting factor. 

On 2/11/2024 at 9:09 PM, aupatking said:

That when I ski the rivers here, people love it. Slalom skiing is still really awesome to watch and it makes people want to do it.

There are zero public slalom courses in my area anymore. I live on public water but ski a private lake.

We went into a closet with this sport and expected the world to still be looking. 

Three very true statements right there that apply worldwide.

• People do appreciate seeing it done well.
• Access to courses is limited and added to that even the semi flat water is then shared with jetskis, other boats, people fishing etc
• Hide it away to enable the top of the crop athletes to get mirror water every time just means few will see it or follow it  

@chrislandy why will it feel different at light load? If weight is about same and connection to rope is same won't it be same? 

Here's a video of the tee handle in use

https://www.facebook.com/100071408267877/videos/1377925579512108/

More info

https://www.baselinewaterski.com/news/new-t-shaped-handle-to-be-trialed-in-tournaments-aims-to-prevent-handle-injuries/

My physics knowledge is limited but to me anyway it seems like if the central 'tee' length is similar to normal triangle length the feel would be similar

11 hours ago, Shell said:

Is it really that important to track your every move? I have an Apple Watch and like it a lot but can I live without it? Yes! I once knew someone who would flip out if they forgot their tracking device, what difference is it really going to make? You know if your active or not and what you have or have not burned so to say. I could comment more , but I’ll keep it clean for @Horton. Not knocking anyone who loves to keep track , just not that important to me. 

Similar. I tracked everything for about 3yrs but by then I'd learnt my body, it's needs, it's recovery, etc for a variety of sports and movements so I then dropped all gadgets. Felt so much better simply training and racing by feel. I kept simple $10 bike computer to help with navigation but that was it. 

1 hour ago, GregHind said:

It won't be _exactly_ the same as a new boat, but then it was never going to be anyway.

and unless you compete in tournaments it doesn't need to be 'exactly' the same. No point chasing exactly the same when it's not required. Non tournament skiers can still have 99% of the fun with PP paddlewheel, Stargazer or even hand driving.

Possibly even low to mid level tournament skiers would benefit from occassional non ZO experience with variety of hulls. Toughen them up, make them more resilient to wind, ripples, nautique vs mastercraft vs malibu pulls, etc.  

On 1/23/2024 at 1:30 PM, dvskier said:

You can determine maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. I think Jaime is 23 so that would put her at maximum heart rate at 197 bpm. Hard to believe that in 16 seconds her heart rate would be that high, I could certainly be wrong. I’ve run 2 marathons and hundreds of 10k races. I never got anywhere close to 140 bpm in a long distance race.

Everyone is different. The max heart rate 220 minus formulae and it's variants work for most people i.e. near the middle of the bell curve, but can be incorrect by 10, 20 or even 30bpm for some people. Both high or low error.

I've done a lot of endurance stuff and when in my mid 40s my resting HR was low 40s.  Not super athlete but pretty fit, finishing in top 20% in most events. Formula suggested my max would be approx 175 but I would occassionaly reach 212 and regularly saw >205. In one particular 2hr MTB race my average was 184. Around then I had an ECG for a work medical check and all good, no issues. When I was telling doctor about my health and fitness he told me I had a 'revy' (sp? revvy? revvie?) heart and be careful, to ease off if I felt unwell, weak or dizzy, but don't stop what I was doing as I obviously tolerated it well and that just how my heart was. During 12hr lap MTB races I would set watch or bike computer beep if HR got above 155. When it did I knew to back off and I'd target HR dropping to below 150 within the next couple of minutes. Average over the 12hrs would be mid to high 140s. For adventure races involving MTB, kayak, trek etc over 1 to 7days duration my average would usually be in range 100-120bpm.

@Cnewbert I pulled my Orbit apart and sprayed it with silicone spray. Turns much easier.

1 hour ago, disland said:

Step 1 get a hot girl to ride in the boat

Step 2 ask her to video you with your iphone you already own

Are you still talking about skiing? 😉😜🤣

On 8/2/2023 at 9:14 AM, BrennanKMN said:

@SlalomSteven

It has been a while, but this is what I recall as the basic steps. 

1. Get your QR code string. Mine is "mVr1080p120fW20oSM50,50e2hS0dR0aWg1v0q0oV0B1D4R1CSW0L0!SK25-20!R!MBASE="[yyyy-mm-dd_HH-MM]_"

2. Create a file with no extension on the root of the SD card directory. Basically a .txt file with the .txt removed. I called my "waterski". Put the raw QR code string in the file. My file is also attached. 

3. Create a QR code to tell the GoPro to run that script/file on each boot. 

4. Scan that code. 

5. Be sure that every SD card you have has the same command on it. Otherwise if you boot the GoPro and walk away it wont run the script. 

6. If you want to be even more fun. Use the power on commands to automatically power on the GoPro with the boat. So then when the engine starts, the GoPro starts, and runs the command to always record. Pretty bullet proof...

waterski 92 B · 71 downloads

@BrennanKMN I've got a working QR code for the speed start stop and understand your steps 1 & 2. 

For step 3 to create a QR to run the script do I use https://gopro.github.io/labs/control/custom/  leaving everything unticked and only have the text BOOT=!Lwaterski ?  Or can I just use the QR you're posted? (so long as I name my file ' waterski ' with no file extension)

Then with step 4 only ever need to do that once? i.e. from then on every time the camera gets fresh battery put in it and manually powered on it will load the waterski file which in trun will set the speed start stop.

Interested in your step 6. IS that because you have a external power charge lead to boat and the gopro sees it go live hence it boots, loads waterski file and sets speed? 

Apology for the many questions. Trying to lessen the load on driver and observer. Thanks in advance

I think next time it comes up I'll remind them that apart from a few exceptions a 1980s designed car newly built today, possibly with inferior materials and skills, even if it was a classic, won't perform as well as a 2020s designed car.

4 hours ago, Horton said:

@03RLXi I would assume the current O'Brien don't suck at that level but I would push you towards the Radar.

@Horton I agree with you and I've been steering them towards buying more recent Senate and Omni, however they do ask why not these other 'new' lower cost skis