DW

And always mark your settings so you can go back to what worked or a starting baseline. Pencil scribe on fin & ski works well, along with keeping good records.

@buechsr - that would depend on their mission. A few options could be: continue along the current course, expand a marketing program to increase visibility to attract additional membership, look at the key focus of the organization and see if it is still appealing (ie: tournament format, etc). My point was simply that the comment regarding the state of the sport comes from a manufacturer and not just passionate participants.

Rob Corum’s comments are much more telling than the news that Malibu is keeping the ability to build the TXI. I hope the AWSA is reading and absorbing the release. What it says about the sport would hopefully generate action from the organizing body.

The high cost argument as the low volume reason carries a very significant flaw - Wake / surf boats. Acquisition, operating, storage, towing cost are multiples higher than the costs of a new ski boat. Add that the actual participation time (running under load per participant) skews the cost even more Its all about participant interest or lack thereof (sadly). On my lake, there used to be several ski boats, not so much today. The wake / slalom boat market ratios would be interesting to compare across continents / country's.

One can surmise the decision was purely based on the financials, stock price & share holder pressure. Malibu does not appear to have the 3 event champion keeping that segment in play. The new ski boat market happens to compute to .00000001% of the US population, in other words hardly a vibrant market. Malibu's market share for the watersports boat market holds steady at 50% (bolstered by all the wake boats) and they keep expanding the wake segment portfolio. A quick perusal of the Malibu Crew site highlights an overwhelming focus on wake / surf boats and a negligible ski boat / slalom / 3 event topic volume. My conclusion, a no brainer they are suspending production. With that in mind, it does not seem likely Malibu will restart production of the TXI if the cyclical market theory reverses itself, it seems the market is simply too small. So, 2 down 2 left in the last few years in our coveted niche. The US market for all things seems to head down the bigger is better path, no matter what the product (houses, cars, trucks, SUV's, boats, food consumption, beverage sizes, drugs, implants ....).

If new boat numbers in the range of 15 - 50 new boats per manufacturer across three manufacturers is even remotely accurate this sport is in a lot more trouble than people realize. Thank goodness there are 3 event champions at the upper levels of these companies.

@Booyah262 - those restrictions are perfect for a deep dive in to slalom, trick and barefooting. There are a myriad of Mastercraft, Nautique and Malibu boats waiting for your purchase. All 20' and under 3500 lbs. Ski-it-Again can be your friend for this.

@Mateo_Vargas - Hold on, more to Vice than just that scene. It was a classic, from the music to the fake Ferrari Daytona. It got us all those cool teal and strawberry ski boats 😂🤣.

Seems like a great opportunity for kids attending a place of learning. I mean using wrenches, fluke meter, soldering iron rather than how to set up a go fund me page and dropping the boat off at a dealership. Doesn’t UCLA have an engineering department?

It’s surfacing now because Bernie E recently mentioned the race should have been voided per the rules which would have made Massa champion. That little tidbit surfaced, ‘new info’ so here we go.

My metric - how many of those little orange buoys:-) I will admit, I do track a lot of stuff and it might be more productive to track some additional body functions but simply tracking without a target, goal or improved result may just become additional white noise in the big picture. We have all these cool tracking gadgets yet the obesity rate and lifespans are going the wrong way.

A conclusion I would draw, the issue is not going away, looks as if one approach fails a different one will be used. As a member of the much smaller waterski community and hoping the sport does not get swept away via restrictions due to a different sport, staying aware and educating (if that is even remotely possible) the legislators is extremely important.

I imagine lifecycle GHG data will evolve over time, a typical ICE engine car can operate well beyond 100k miles with minimal component investment over the lifecycle. The question which I believe has not been answered, what is the EV comparison to that. The elephant in the room is the battery, what real world lifespan can one expect. If the battery lasts the full lifecycle of the car, excellent, if not, what is the impact. Is that factored in the data shown above? Also, as with most rechargeable batteries, they degrade over time so more frequent charging will be required. Of course, over time the technology will improve. Footnote: the Swiss FSAE team developed the fastest accelerating EV vehicle, 0-60 mph in .956 seconds! https://www.popsci.com/technology/electric-car-race-acceleration-record/#:~:text=The race car rockets from,to stay on the track.&text=A tiny racing car completely,acceleration in an electric vehicle.

@lpskier - I have been involved in misinformed although well meaning scrutineers (different sport but the rules enforcer / checker) that take the fun out of an event or accomplishment so kudo's to anybody that is proactive in heading that off at the pass. Question- traditional handle maximum length is 152 cm, T or Peckham handle max is 150 cm? thx.

When the issue was brought up and discussed on this and the previous forum I have become much more aware, conscientious and well maybe paranoid of the potential consequences of a body part through the handle. With that, both in skiing and barefooting I make every attempt to toss the handle away from me during a fall or barefoot dismount. Ski dismount I turn away from the trajectory of the boat and toss the handle to the other side of the wake. My handles all have a dw made arm guard. It doesn't take long for it to feel similar to a snow ski or bike helmet, seat belt. From the slightly distraction of hitting it with your hand once in a while, that feels like a Hans device (head and neck restraint for motorports), sometimes irritating but knowing you are much safer, also similar to arm restraints for sprint car racing to keep arms from flailing outside the cage.

@JPeckham - congrats, nice innovation. As you have navigated the approval process does the yoke dimension have to comply with the 11.5" +/- 1.5" specification? Have you experimented to find an 'ideal' dimension? Curious as to how / where the 44 lb. load will be applied? Once you get closer the questions of diameter, radius, elliptical, replaceable bar etc. will be more pertinent.

Might create an interesting discussion on the ‘how to’ for measurement.

Last pic appears to simulate a mild radius style handle based on what looks like changing diameter on the bar from inner to outer. For me the radius is key to minimize elbow pain.

For me, improved accuracy in after ball handle grab would need work. Appears to have minimal tolerance for that. Would be interesting to try.

@RAWSki - started on leather lace ups and cable bindings 🤣 Had a pair of Head 360's way back when and now have a pair of Head Kore's and they look the same, kind of an ugly flat black. Kind of like so many of my Goode's. Better not add up the $ spent over the years, if it's an expensive sport (and mechanical) for some reason I'm drawn to it. Back to the original topic - when the guest bedroom closet(s) is / are jammed full of waterski gear.

Your snow skis have an HO sticker on them.

And wind speed is the most important datapoint on the weather station mounted on your boat lift.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/01/10/92-year-old-utah-woman-oldest-female-water-skier-guinness/72173619007/

All I care about is what is learned, perhaps and hopefully something he finds that makes the ski or his skiing better. Hopefully when the ice melts in July (it is Minnesota after all) those results will be posted rather than having the topic go off the rails.

@swbca - My thought on the white ribbons, could be a form of safety strap, carbon is brittle so the potential of a fracture exists, the two cords running lengthwise may simply be to keep two halves together in the event of a fracture.