Deke

@ToddL I'm not sure pressure under the feet would tell you the whole story of where the COM is. COM can move forward with pressure from the behind or no pressure for that matter. Think walking or running... you "fall" forward before picking your foot up and moving it forward to continue the stride.

Wasn't this the subject of the the G.U.T. high speed/low load article? One way to demonstrate this to yourself is to let go of the handle before your pull and see how far you can continue after the turn into the wakes without the rope to support you. Chris Rossi suggested this a few years back and you can also do it as a mind experiment. If you are back with no rope to hang on you will not go too far.

Flew with SportTube once. SportTube was crushed, but luckily only had a bent fin. Collecting anything for the damage didn't go well. :(

I own an Eagle baggy drysuit which is great for those conditions, but honestly there are better things to do when it's that cold :) That said, I pretty much need the 3/2 shorty all summer. If we're lucky enough to have "warm" conditions I wear a hot top, no less.

I like backside and frontside... :)

@gregy is this A-60 driving drum or disc brakes and did you do any other work beside the actuator? I also plan to replace my actuator this winter but was also planning to replace the original drum brakes with discs. Would like to hear anything else from your experience that you care to write about.

@JDM good post. You would know based on your experience, going from public to private. As for me, I can say I have adjusted my expectations of ever being competitive long ago.

@MS good taste. I agree on Sweetwater, and Odell's, but have not had Surly though. Will be lookin'.

6.845

@Howa1500 CP and stick figure are the same relative to the ski. If you tilt stick figure to the same ski attitude they match. CP is not standing on the water, he is standing on the ski.

I also have 2 of everything and even do that in summer! Don't forget the heavy wool hat and crank the boat heater.

@Wayne I am am with you on your points about being incapacitated. My wife and made a decision years ago to stick with USCG type vests due to exactly this. We ski on public water, usually "poaching" as we say, which means we have no observer. It occurred to us that if one of us, especially me, was unconscious dead weight, the other would probably have a tough time getting you back in the boat. I think a comp vest would be great under any other circumstances.

@jhughes I hear ya on how hard it is to appreciate the pro level if you don't do it yourself and sometimes even if your do it yourself. That goes for ANY sport and on TV especially it all looks like a snooze. Nothing like being live and up close!

@dbressel I guess I was lucky. I considered two different surgeons and neither discouraged me from continuing any of my sports. Maybe I'll need revision surgery one day, but really the whole purpose is to live like the age you are. If you didn't do anything you'd be 90 right now. Good on you for doing it. Now be patient and stick with your PT.

@slalom frog I skated looong after I could barely walk. As in, I could hardly get home after playing. Not being able to skate was when my decision was made.

@m_pags the more I learn from my PT the more I'm finding that hockey or skating is pretty rough on the hips. Especially goalie! It is still a great sport and honestly it's why I got my hips done. Like @dbressel I got to where I could hardly walk, let alone do sports. And, it came on quickly so my decision was easy. Get my life back now and do stuff I can at my age or just be miserable and settle for just riding "it" out.

@slalom frog I had both hips done 12 weeks apart a year ago at 57 with the anterior approach. Initial recovery is very fast, though I had some muscular imbalance issues a year out that I am still working on. I say initial recovery is fast because you will be out of pain and gaining range of motion immediately, but it takes a while to get up to full strength and you can't really rush it. That said, I was ice skating in 5 weeks from each surgery. I was waterskiing again 12 weeks from the 2nd surgery. Playing ice hockey and snow skiing 6 months from the 2nd surgery. Much of the timing was based on the season because my doctor gave the go ahead for anything at 12 weeks. Admittedly, I am not at your level at waterskiing, but I don't see how it can be an issue if you take the time to rehab. The greatest positive with the anterior approach is that there is much lower risk of dislocation and they are not cutting through any of your muscles.

 

Feel free to PM me.

Hip problems forced me to go back to a toe plate after using various double boot setups for many years. The driving factor was really just getting up which is much easier in the toe plate. I then discovered I have no issues with control, slippage, etc. so there. Absolutely a personal preference.

OK, so if you want to think outside the box...

 

It might sound weird but what if divisions weren't set by age and gender at all? What if divisions were set by qualification instead, such as previous performances at line length and speed? Who cares what age you are, you would be placed in a division based on your previous performance.

 

Just a thought.

I put GoreTex packing in my boat 10 years ago and have only adjusted the nut, maybe twice. Doesn't leak and is still going strong.

Plugs? We're not talking about rocket science here. I might not trust a stranger's skills, but if they were a serious buyer I'd at least do it for them.

@schafer

@GregHind knows a lot about this PP voltage stuff. You might ping him directly.

@Dano I hear ya, but I think some kind of cruise control is essential for a training boat. I have friends without speed control that can't even run their "opener" behind a boat that has it. IOW, they're not as good as they think they are. I guess it really only matters when we are comparing (bragging).

I think it is funny that the original poster has not chimed in since the original post. :)

@Horton agreed.