eleeski

For 3k you can visit the USA, go to a ski school, demo lots of skis and buy one or two. It would be an incredible experience as well. Any top ski can work for you. The right setup will do a lot. Maybe you will have to move bindings around by a few cm but if you are "stuck" with a ski you should be able to make it work. All the high end skis have someone who has proven the skis performance potential. So you can too. Choose a ski, loyally stick by it and enjoy. Eric

The only reason to buy a ski is "will it make you ski better?". A minor blemish is not important. Nor is a fancy new name brand. Demo both skis. Both are excellent skis and work well for certain skiers. But preferences are very personal. Try before you buy - even if you have to pay a little more for that privilege. Maybe that old Monza or Sixam suits you better than the latest and greatest. Try lots of skis to see what you really like. If you like the Evo with its defect, ski it until it breaks (if ever). By then, all replacement Evos will be old and cheap. As long as the ski suits your style, it's the skier - not the ski! Enjoy whatever ski you get. Eric

Love MC197s! Best all around boat ever. Look for 2008 or newer with ZO. Or 2004 or older with the servo PP. The drive by wire boats didn't interface as well with PP. Minor complaint and PP might have worked things out for the DBW boats. As a trick skier, the 197 is fantastic. Add a fatsack and the wakeboarders loved it in my shallow lake. The slalom wake is good enough for getting into 41off (my boat has pulled it, not me!). Still skiing and loving my 197. Eric

@So_I_Ski Thanks. I was hoping you had a trick but it sounds like your tank was designed for easy removal. Things are improving from 1979. I might check the pickup lines for cracks. Air might get in and cause the problems? @BraceMaker Mine is definitely welded in place. To access it I will have to cut some sort of hole. I'm reluctant to cut the steel tank for fear of sparks blowing it up (I know someone who was killed that way). I'll probably fill the tank with water to cut the hole. Big pain. The outboard tanks are pretty easy so not much incentive to do the job. Eric

@So_I_Ski How did you inspect the in tank pickup filter? I did an old 66 Mustang and there was a hole built into the tank to access the (horribly clogged) filter. But my 79 American Skier has no way to access the filter. Blowing backward got a nice reverse flow but the flow was restricted again on forward flow. I'm running an outboard tank now with no issues (similar problems to yours before). My scotch solution to your problem is betting on a dirty tank pickup. Note, my check valve at the top if the tank was sticky. Bypassing that didn't work for long. When I ran carbs, I never did much troubleshooting. I just replaced the carb with a new one. Rebuilt carbs never lasted long. I'd get a few years out of a new carb but the moist environment (my boats lived in the water) really took its toll. A new carb was cheaper than the mechanic and always made the boat run better. Sometimes I had to do a tune up as well (including lubing the distributor weights) but there's not that much to go wrong in those older engines. Only had one fuel pump failure - that pumped gas into the carb from a leaky diaphragm (use a marine fuel pump! Saved me there.). Replaced a few coils - never had that fix a problem. One last possibility, check the water flow through the manifolds. If you get salt or hard water time, your cooling channels can get restricted. Localized overheating can cause poor running without the temp gauge showing it - especially under load. My manifolds don't last very long in my water before they are quite plugged. Good luck, Eric

You are worrying way too much about a tiny bubble. Keep the ski out of the sun and it will be fine. It's not an aircraft spar which will go through millions of load cycles. Even if it were, the bubble is way out on the ski and not heavily loaded. Structurally, the chances are good that the ski will outlast you. Skis are typically skins of carbon or fiberglass cloth wetted with resin and sandwiched over a foam core. Pressure is applied in a mold to form the desired shape while the resin cures. A defect in the mold can cause a thickening bump but that doesn't look like a mold defect. Your bubbles are probably voids in the lamination. Somewhere after it was out of the mold the bubble formed. I've had skis that molded in trapped air bubbles, been too little resin and not bonded to the core, overheated and pulled the skins from the core, and been dinged. Lots worse than that - and haven't caused a break. To repair that bubble, I'd cut a hole in the top of the bubble, work some epoxy inside, heat it, clamp it and add some more heat. If I overtighten the clamp, some filler might be needed to level things out once everything has cured. The last bubbles I fixed, I used Gorilla glue (a foaming polyurethane glue). The Gorilla glue flowed more easily into the void but I had to put water on the repair to get it to cure. Clamping was not called for in this case as my voids were collapsed - not sure that the Gorilla glue would have cured under clamps. My repair looks OK. I will have to see how it lasts vs epoxy. Eric

The inserts might not hold for a long time in the foam. But, they will hold some. When the insert fails, the reinstallation of the insert is an opportunity to have the top skin carry more load. A judicious use of steel wool impregnated with epoxy can allow your insert to be reasonably well supported. I've gotten reasonable service out of inserts placed in unreinforced areas. Use anti seize and don't over torque your screws and the inserts should last a while. A couple inserts should not structurally compromise your ski. So worst case will have you putting tape back on the ski. Eric

Regarding the repair, I've never broken a ski while skiing that far forward. It's not that heavily stressed there. You will need lots of clamps - at least. A crude mold might be easier (plywood over cut 2x6s) but it will need lots of clamps or sandbags. That is a possible repair but not an easy one. It will be somewhat heavier in the tip - especially if you aren't getting enough pressure to squeeze the resin out. This could affect the balance feel of the ski. If you don't get the rocker right you might change the feel of the ski. Lots of variables to consider. I did one modification of a ski similar to your needed fix. I wanted to change the tip rocker profile. So I slit the ski down the thickness of the ski, reset the rocker in my mold, added epoxy and pressed it in my mold. Worked great and I liked the new rocker. But that was a proof of concept experiment. I built a new ski pretty soon after. Normally I'd end by saying "the ski is shot, send it to me for proper disposal." Instead, save the shipping and look for a new ski (demo as many replacements as you can). Unless you want an interesting project (definitely worth it then!). Eric

As @MattP stated "Send it to @eleeski for disposal". Someone will get years of awesome performance out of that ski. Honestly, I wouldn't even fix that until you are searching for some change in the ski in a couple years. Don't leave it in the sun is the only real concern. Eric

Radar really improved the ski with the new model. It is now an excellent choice. Choose the new ski over an older model - it's worth the difference! Eric

Bent wings are pretty common. I don't like the hooky wings so a replacement might help. I like a big flat wing. Might be interesting to try without a wing at all. Setting wing angle is not super critical. Your fin has marks so you can use them. I like a pretty steep wing angle - I guess at the setting and if it feels weird I back off a bit (the marks make it easy). I also like the wing upside down from where you have it. It's a learning experience for you - both in figuring out what setup you like and from a skills standpoint to decide what feels best for you. Setting the fin isn't as critical as some make it to be. It can't be with the good performances coming from wild fin designs. Still, a set of calipers (or a quality machinist's scale) is very useful. But there are likely some watermarks indicating your original settings so you can eyeball it to get close. I try lots of adjustments. When I find one I like, I mark it with a scribe line on the fin and eyeballing it works well when a reset is needed. Do take the fin out and check that it isn't damaged. If it is damaged, this might be a good time to experiment with one of those new fins. You should enjoy that experiment! And your skills will likely improve. The ski looks fine. A squish into a lawn is not guaranteed to break a ski. Keep an eye on it. In the future, use it as an excuse to get a new ski. Eric

Anza? Canyon Lake isn't far from Anza. But Anza is high, cold and windy. Not the great snowbird destination. Anza Borrego is nicer with a true desert experience. Ski with me on the northeast side of the Salton Sea, at Shadow Lakes in Indio or Imperial in El Centro. Eric

Thanks to Anne and Shelby for a fun evening! Great people, great food, great times. Eric

Skier weight does matter. Both ways. You never see obese people on the podium as well as extremely thin people. You need the strength and associated weight to ski well. A blanket "lose body weight" is not right. Your ski is at the end of a long lever. Ski weight effects are magnified by this if you are strongly moving the ski's position relative to your body. The more advanced you are (or the more ragged you ski), the more you will notice it. Binding weight counts in this equation. Eric

Not sure what kind of boat you have but some boats have a check valve at the top of the fuel tank where it connects to the fuel line. That can fail and restrict fuel flow causing your problems. Some fuel tanks have a sock filter on the fuel pickup. If this is plugged you can get the same symptoms. My old American Skier had both a sticky check valve and an inlet that would intermittently plug up. Similar issues even with the new ZO engine. Running on outboard style 5 gallon tanks cured the problem. I removed the stock tank and will clean the tank and bypass the sock filter in the tank (unless I can figure out how to service it) - someday. Blowing out the sock filter didn't solve the problem but something popped for sure indicating that there was a filter there and it was plugged. Bad design when one can't service a filter - but the boat is 40 years old. New boats sure are nice... Eric

Weight matters! But it's just one factor in a ski's performance. (Sometimes light weight is a disadvantage - did I really say that? Sacrilege!). Nobody adds lead to make a ski work better. But you are unlikely to gain buoys just because you shed a few grams from your setup. Different materials and processes allow different characteristics to be engineered into a ski. Carbon has usefully different properties from glass as well as being lighter. It is a lot more expensive and requires different resins and mold times. Weight is a by product of these differences. Of course, some extra effort can (should?) be expended just to make a ski lighter. So the ultra premium skis should be lighter both intrinsically and through more refined processes. I remember testing the Monza (which I loved) side by side with the System 8 (same mold, different materials). Huge difference in feel and buoy count. The premium Monza was worth the extra in performance. To your question, I have no idea exactly how many grams different various models are as you go up the cost/performance spectrum. If you can demo, pick the ski that works best for you. Eric

My PVC cores need to be scribed to optimize the bond. Sometimes I get too aggressive and cut all the way through the core. I experimented with putting cloth (either carbon or glass) in auspicious places to bond top to bottom. This process actually really helped with the durability of the old urethane cores (I've been doing it for a while - urethane cores didn't last for me without the cloth through the core). It was a difficult process which was quite time consuming. My process was not particularly material intensive but took a lot of critical labor. Expensive if I was selling. @Brewski 's pre manufactured core could be quite expensive. Might be worse if it was part of the build. Not defending ridiculous prices but I can see where they came from. The core could be a real improvement. How much does each buoy cost us? Eric

Goode has been a major innovator in ski design. Many of his advances have filtered into other skis. His skis do perform extremely well with a proven track record. I have no idea what a "carbon core" is. But I'm sure details will eventually get out. I won't be surprised if it is a way to make the ski stronger, lighter, tougher with more flex control. Things that can incrementally make one ski better. Tech like that costs more. Time will determine if it's worth the money. I'm intrigued by the new ski. And the new technology! Eric

I use old car batteries. I drain the acid out for safety. They are easily lifted by the stock handles to add or remove - except the tractor battery which is quite heavy for my old back. Three or 4 car batteries offsets the driver perfectly. I line them up along the passenger side of the boat when there is no spotter - put one in the middle of the back of the boat with a light driver. Note that I'm tricking so I do need perfect balance. I do lose a couple bucks worth of core charge... Eric

I use a heat gun to work on skis a lot. With enough heat, I can distort the ski. Resins are certainly not stable to 1000 degrees. A black ski in direct sunlight will quickly hit over 170F (we measured that!). That's enough to soften resin. Even if the resin stays together, thermal expansion of the skin will cause lots of stress on the ski - especially if the side out of the sun is still cool. Warping and delamination are quite possible with a ski left in the direct sun (had it happen personally more than once). My skis do fine left in the boathouse or the container. We hit 50c (125f) (in the shade and no shade!) during most summers. The container gets even hotter. Skis that are slowly and evenly heated to hot temperatures should be fine (environmentally hot, not industrially hot - you can certainly destroy a ski in an oven). Cars can rapidly heat up. If you must keep your ski in a car, wrap it in some blankets to slow and moderate the temperature swings. It is just a ski. Store it sensibly where you will be able to use it most. The skiing is what really matters not the lifespan of the ski. Eric

Kill switches add another potential failure mode. Having the engine quit at an inopportune time can be more dangerous than randomly being thrown from the boat. What is a necessary item for a jetski is inappropriate for a driver sitting in a ski boat. Shutting the boat off (or pulling the neutral pin on the throttle) is a good idea anytime you get out of the seat. Reasonable to fail a driver test for not doing so. Not all of us have nice new boats with new reliable kill switches and batteries (engines) that restart on command. Shutting off an engine is not always an option if your focus is on skiing. Be safe and aware within the limitations you have. If the rope is wrapped around the prop, turn off the engine and pull the key out even if you need a jump. But pick up the released trick rope with the engine running - like the thousands of other times. Be aware of what can happen, pull the neutral pin, be ready to shut off the engine when needed regardless of the restart. Apply your personal rules to stay safe. Skiing is a safe sport. Stressing over improbable possibilities is not a good thing. Eric

Skiing at Nationals is such an honor. I'm in! Sometimes things work, sometimes they don't. Thanks to @BHarwood and the folks at Rehab United for quickly putting me back together enough to give it a try after some physical issues. Got to grab every opportunity you can - you never know how long the ride will last. My apologies to @JeffSurdej and the people who work so hard to put Nationals together for waiting to the last minute. Eric

@Eljaybee If you are just getting started, a barefoot harness or a really big soft beartrap style harness is best. Just kick in. You don't need a heel strap for learning the basics. A big soft harness is safer (especially if your release person is also learning with you) as you can shake it off your foot if you are in trouble (really old school trickers learned in the day of no releases where you had to kick off your harness on your own). The big soft harness is great for runs as well. Do your tricks and kick in quickly for a TB TF at the end of the run. When you get a few more tricks start with TB TF TS TWB TWF then rip the harness off for some stepovers. TO, TWO, RTB and advanced toes are helped by a heel strap somewhat. TWLB RTO T7F and the really big toes require a heel strap. But by then you'll be on your (at least) fifth toe harness with a few hundred (thousand?) hours of practice. Some harnesses require putting the harness on in the water and getting up with your foot already in (and sometimes wrapped). Good drivers and release people are needed for this! Toe harnesses will eventually be a custom fit to your foot and trickers spend a lot of time getting it right. But when starting, big soft and comfortable makes the right fit. Equipment matters. Eric

Sad to hear, sorry. Learning experience. You do now have an interesting story. I got there a long time before I skied. Dock started to kill the time. It was fun and useful. Regionals is an experience that is more than just the time on the water. Next year! Eric

Ski lines are not particularly dangerous tricks. It's common to not make it over the line - you just unwrap the opposite direction and hopefully don't even fall. Another common problem is landing on top of the rope. These are a bit harder to ski away from but that's the reasonable goal. Not exceptionally dangerous but rope burn and a bruise aren't rare. Still, anytime you are generating so much advance on the boat and slack there's risk of getting tangled in the rope. Add the difficulty of the trick to the big amplitude needed and the risk is even more. With that said, I'll happily practice ski lines without a release. It's nothing like toes where a release is pretty critical. Weird falls will generate the problems. Note that you will take more weird falls when you are learning. I always have a release for beginners - but I've never really needed it. Stan always has a competent release person for ski lines. I use a Masterline split pin release when I'm driving and releasing. I have the trigger rope adjusted for length so that I can hook my toes in the end loop. A reactive push pulls the trigger. My truck has a clutch so it's pretty natural to trip the trigger quickly. Other setups that work connect the trigger rope to a low mirror. It's easy to find it to push it enough to get a quick release. Or just to have it handy to grab it and hold it for the release. You need speed control, a good mirror and some practice to release while driving. I can't recommend it but I have thousands of hours driving and releasing without serious injuries - as both the skier and pinner. A competent driver releasing can be safer than an inexperienced release person directly watching.. Eric