ktm300

Thanks all. I am going to give the Strada a try. I loved the rails on the RS1 after the buoy but not so much in the preturn. Sounds like the Strada may have toned the sharpness just enough to have the best of both.

After not skiing for a long time, I am starting back. I have an RS1 that I never really set up. I skied it with stock numbers only for a short time. Trying to decide whether to invest the time setting it up or getting a Strada. I liked the RS1 speed and its ability to maintain direction off the second wake. What does the Strada do better? Is it merely different or are there marked improvements over the RS1. My heel side turn would prefer a little more tail slide than I get out of the RS1. Would this be one of attributes of the Strada. Thanks for helping with my decision.

Scott, I need you advice about how to treat an injury that won't let go of me. As I need you professional advice, I have my credit card in hand and or check book. Don't want something for nothing but, need some advice. Thanks. davidmcleod at mindspring dot com

I have C5 and 6 fused together. However, my body fused em not a surgeon. X rays revealed old compression fractures of the vertebrae. My body's response was to fuse them. Solid bone. I remember when I did this. Some well meaning skiing know it alls told me to pull harder. That is about the only advice that I got for some years. Out the fronts hard enough to break my f*(&) neck. While I am unsure of the strength of the hardware in a surgical fusion, I think that you will be able to ski again. I would also consider seeking out alternatives to surgery.  How long have you been symptomatic? Neurosurgeons tend to think surgery is the answer and they are often correct. However, the physiatrist from whom I sought help with my neck said that there is a growing body of evidence that fusion surgery is not always the best option. The fact that your disc is not herniated is good. Perhaps targeted physical therapy focusing on some cervical traction?  I hope it goes well for you. If you get back on the water, spend money on good coaching.  I can run passes now with about half the energy recommended by the well meaning know it alls.  You may have this figured out already but slalom skiing is a dance not a tug of war. The dance falls are manageable, the tug of war falls can break your neck or otherwise maim you. You can learn more in 30 days of skiing with a good coach than you can skiing a decade with well meaning but ignorant skiers. Sorry if this is all something that you know but, at one point I sure didn't and have suffered for the ignorance; hence my sharing this with you. Good luck.

It is my understanding that the Warp does not have a flat spot or as distinct a pivot point. Assuming that slalom evolution includes carrying more speed through the turn, why the flat spot? When way up on the boat, does the flat spot turn depend more on deceleration whereas the continuous rocker sans flat spot would allow the skier to turn to the wakes earlier i.e. without the delay of deceleration?

Latex Swimmer's cap keeps your head 100% dry and warm. Makes you look like a giant condom but, fashion moves down the list of priorities fast when the water is 42.

One thing that Paul says that makes sense and that I feel when I ski is that in cold, the course feels shorter.  That being the case, a shorter ski for smaller radius turns would help. Moving the fin and boots forward together as he suggests accomplishes just that.

skiron   It is a simple question. However, having asked it a lot, my guess is that not many people really know the answer.  I still don't. Paul's viscosity theory is stated as a scientifically accepted principle. Is it? If Paul is correct that the cold water is slower (more viscosity=more friction), then adding wing can't be the answer. Of course the tail rides higher in the cold so that added wing would pull the tail back down but, it would also exacerbate the loss of speed. I asked Paul if the extra friction of the cold was not offset by the ski riding higher. He said no but, I'm not sure why. A lot of things in this sport that fly as common knowledge aren't really known or proven. One interesting thing (at least to me) is the notion of keeping speed up in the turn and being light on the line. Did you see the strain gauge in the West Coast video? Is 750 lbs light? I rode in the boat with a guy who is a hell of a good skier and one smooth cat. Strain gauge- 650 lbs. Are people really keeping their speed up in the turn?  If so, how much? At 41 off how much difference in the ski path can there be? Anybody ever measure it?   I have another friend who is a really good 55k skier who says " go around the orange ones". He honestly does no further analysis of anything. Given that most of these physical property questions seem not to have an answer, maybe he is on to something.

I have skied with an FM front for a long time and have loved the 99.9% reliability. It is clunky though. I am going to try the toe clamp that they now offer instead of the power block I now have in front. This allows us to mount the boot directly to the aluminum plate without the HDPE plate that is screwed to the bottom of the boot for the tongue and groove toe block. The HDPE plate eventually wears out and creates some slop.  Seems a more direct connection to the ski couldn't hurt. There have been discussions before about the weight not being an issue if it is in the center of the ski. Not sure about that one. I love the way the FM boot sits flat on the ski/plate. Very solid feel. The Reflex boot is not flat on the bottom. I wish I could ski with a hardshell rear but just cannot do it. Tried for two weeks with a hundred different suggestions about how to adjust it to work. The end result was something akin to the Remi rear which is a hardshell cut down enough to allow the movement you would get in a Wiley's rear. So, I kept my wileys.

After a really long break, I am skiing again on the RS1 I had last year. 55k 67" 6'0" 180. I set it up with numbers I got from ER on a gray fin (Chambon fin) and ran my top full pass on the second set (35). However, I ran the pass purely off of the speed of the ski. Hauls ass side to side. Turns sucked. I have always struggled with setup on my onside. Can turn the offside no matter what. The gray blade had more surface area and made the onside pivot too much tending to leave me falling away from the handle. I now have the std round blade I have always skied with. I ski with my feet close together 11.5. Rossi said to set the rear at 17 and ignore the front. Rini says to put the front at 29.25 and set the rear to suit. I simply cannot ski with the front at 29.25 just too much ski in the water. Currently at 29.00 and 17.5.   For the onside turn, a forward fin setting works okay but the ski hops up at the wakes too much and has me fighting for balance through the get busy zone. I moved it back to about .755. Felt more solid through the wakes but was getting onside slack. Shallowed to about 2.483. Depth was not the problem and shallower did not help. I previously skied a monza with the same boot setting listed above and skied it well with the fin back, shallow and long. With the RS1 I feel like the tail is stuck onside and I am either going to get a pivot or nothing. WIth pivot, I am picking up the boat a full ski length before I like. Hope some of what I said makes sense. Thanks for suggestions.

I don't know Eric Lee but, I totally dig his positive attitude. After getting pissed about the ZO situation, I finally realized that skiing has no other purpose whatsoever but to provide pleasure to the skier. I am eliminating everything that detracts from this. Went free skiing with a neighbor behind an 82 Mastercraft with no speedos and no tach. It was fun to be on the open water and was such the anitdote to the panties in a wad vibe that slalom skiing tends toward. No wonder wakeboarding now rules the world. I have even located my Cory Pickos trick videos. Ain't another trick skier within 40 miles but, if I can get a driver who doesn't tire fo having the turn the boat around every 60 seconds, I'll try it. Also rode in a towable that could very well cause death. At about 20 mph it will take flight. I mean 15 plus feet. The dive is a mother. Got out my calipers and tried to dial it in to no avail.   Well, so much for trying to run 38 this year. My daughter had more fun on a cut down pair of Dick Pope Jr. than anybody on a Goode. By the way AWSA, how is that grow the sport thing working out?

Skiing is so much fun. I am not going to let these %^*& ruin it for me. I am looking for a used ACCUSKI if anybody has one. I am going to ski with what I want, how I want and where I want. If you go to even one tournament pulled with ZO, you may as well stop complaining because you have given in. They win. If we make it hurt in the pocketbook, we will get what we want. Otherwise, just sell your 2006 boat for scrap and go write a check to the boat companies for a new one. That's what they are banking on. So many have said that we just have to adapt. No, we don't. We are the customers.

Andy Mapple said it was great. That settles it right.ÂÂ

Great. Ask him why he believes that tricks has remained the step child of three event skiing. As my slalom situation deteriorated to the point that I no longer desire to pursue it, I thought I would just trick right off of my public lake dock with zero travel time, driving is not as critical, broader range of acceptable wakes, always something totally new to learn, despite its step child status is very physical, creative etc. However, there is not a single trick skier within 40 miles. Kinda isolating. Kick ass Masters performance !

I have learned the very hardest way that even with a ski that may fit your style, you need to ski on three of them and pick the one that works best. While some manufacturers do a fine job of meeting consistency targets, many don't. Get three different "X" skis, and you may be surprised at the difference between skis that are supposedly identical.

I like the idea. When almost everyone agrees that the boats, if maintained well, will go 2000 plus hours without issues, why the pressure to buy year after year a boat with a steep depreciation curve? Also, it stops the ZO conspiracy which has as its sole motivation the selling of new boats. PP needs to start the "PP Series" complete with a championship and some prize money. Let all those cats that love and practice behind ZO ski tournaments behind PP. It won't make any difference in your skiing performance. Really.

John, you were right to bounce out my previous post. Total smart alec born from the frustration of watching the sport dry up like a prune. However, with your diplomatic delivery, I respectfully suggest that some of the things I asked about are some of the things that need to be addressed by the guy running AWSA.  Many of the problems have nothing to do with Steve Locke and he should not get blamed for them. However, he should be made aware of them. I know that I am not rowing in the boat alone with the issues I raised. The ZO debacle being a major one. I dig the free market and am naturally inclined to buy the line that speed control was lost and won by two companies duking it out and that AWSA had nothing to do with it. However, this argument is specious. It is AWSA that approves boats for tournment use and by approving for tournment use only boats (year model) that can legally run ZO, AWSA has entered the fray. AWSA needs to exert some authority. They also approve speed control and could have refused to approve ANY speed control that will not work in our boats. Hand driving? I doubt it. My guess is that with AWSA taking the bull by the horns that the various private interests would have worked something out.  Of course, maybe ZO will light on some version and give PP a chance to try to emulate it. PP wants to do this but, they are shooting at a constantly moving target.

Other than the fact that you have to be a member to ski tournaments, why would anybody join AWSA ? Why did AWSA sit there and allow a patent dispute between two private speed control companies to create a situation where most of the tournament skiing public can't practice behind what they will ski behind in a tournament ? How is requiring tournament skiers to buy 40k boats so that ZO can sell them a 2k speed control helping "grow" the sport ? Why did AWSA not simply refuse to approve any speed control that won't work in our boats and leave it up to PP and ZO to figure out a solution ? Are you presently seeking other employment ? Is smoking weed carbon neutral ? Can you not sell ads on the AWSA website and ditch the magazine to save money ? Has AWSA lent assistance to anybody in the USA to build a ski lake in the last decade ? If so, what was the assistance ? Has AWSA successfully helped anybody gain permiting or access to public water for a ski course or jump in the last decade ?ÂÂ

Ken makes a good point. Attitude matters. That is the part of my earlier post that sounded frustrated. It is bad enough that the cat in the drivers seat is incompetent: intolerable that they could care less and make no real effort to improve.ÂÂ

With all the attention on skis and speed control, I'd love to hear from every skier on this forum who has run 38 or 39 in an "R" talk about DRIVING. At least where I live, there are very few people who can drive. There are a lot who think they can drive and who get offended at a contrary suggestion. One reason top skiers are sometimes viewed as snobs is because they cannot ski at their level with some hack in the driver's seat. They stick together for survival's sake.  No, simply engaging the cruise control and weaving down the boat lane is not driving. We spend a ton of time and energy talking about fins, skis, speed control, water viscosity and a host of issues which are legitimate and do affect us. However, at a certain point, I say all of that is trumped by the driving. A friend of mine who has run 39 multiple times in R tournaments at 58k finally drove the point home to me. I have personally watched him run 39 four times in a row back to back in same set in practice. This was a personal best outing for him. He does some clinics around the country. At the clinics everybody wants to see him ski. At one clinic, he could not run 35. He missed the first time, went out the front the second time and said it was a momentous fall. Said the driving was that bad. With this guy driving, I ski great. In fact, I was convinced that he was helping me. He swore that the passes were legit with legit path. He told me and told me and told me that the trouble when I skied at home was the driving and that he sees it in practically every club he goes to.   My driving could certainly be improved and I am not one of the skiers who has run 38 or 39. I can tell you that with the driving I get where I live, I never will be.  I would love for a top driver to produce a video that teaches driving and teaches us why it becomes so critical for the skier at a certain point. I just think that we need to raise the awareness level so that drivers will at least start to try to get better and so that they will come to understand that they are killing the skier behind the boat who is busting their ass to get to the next level. I am sure that some of this sounds negative and it is born out of frustration. I would just love for folks to embrace the idea that they can play with their fin 24/7 but, if the driver they are skiing behind sucks and, further, does not strive to learn to be better, they are chasing their tail. Two of the best driver's that have driven in my area are guys who aren't great skiers. One could barely run 15 the other 28. However, they put in the effort and had the consideration to learn to drive. By the way, they were welcomed with open arms by slalom skiers wherever they went. A lot of the driving I do is without a passenger. Every single time, I have an observer in the boat, I ask them to watch the driving. I need to get better. If somebody gets even one bad practice pass behind me, I am sorry. I recognize how much effort goes into their training. If a skier says something to me about my driving, they are not rude, they are merely helping me get better. How many times do you ask the skier about your driving and whether they see any room for improvement and something that you could do better? Are they the asshole for suggesting that you could improve, or are you the asshole for thinking that you don't need to?

My 401k is down over 30%. My real estate agent tells me my house is worth 20% less or more. When boat prices start to reflect the reality of the deflation we are experiencing, they will start to sell. Shoot the messenger if you must but, boats are a luxury and their current value is at least 1/3 less than before the economic storm. We all just need to settle for treading water until we can start moving forward again. The good news is that you will be able, soon, to buy new boats for 1/3 less and can, without relative loss, take 1/3 less on the sale of used boats.ÂÂ

I have no financial interest in PP whatsoever. I am not typically a brand loyalist. PerfectPass has provided GREAT customer service to skiers for years. They are honest, openly acknowledge problems and follow up with corrective action, communicate with their customers such that we don't have to "know somebody" to figure out where they are going with their product, have an informative website backed up with prompt email and telephone response and they produce a speed control system that will work in everyone's boat. Understanding that this topic is worn out, I still cannot get over the fact that a very small number of people have been allowed to force a system on skiers that does not operate but in a very low percentage of boats. I know, I know, I know it is simply a business matter regarding patents. Fine.  Not being a fan of government, I am cool with AWSA's laissez faire position. However, in keeping with that position, boats going back to around 2003 or so should be approved to pull tournaments. Then, people like me who don't much like being manipulated could make a business decision to avoid ZO, refuse to buy a new 40k boat and be happy to ski tournaments hosted by those with similar sentiments and who choose PP. By dictating the year model of boat allowed to pull tournaments, AWSA is being anything but laissez faire and is ensuring (or attempting to ensure) a market for ZO. ÂÂ

There was a post from Joe Darwin on Nicholls about brand new 08 loaded RLXI for 29k. Boats were in California. If correct, that would make a used 06 worth about 22k or so? All of my assets are worth about 30% less than they were a year ago. So are boats.

Thanks to Scot Jones, I got the McGill books and became my own quack Dr. Seriously, I did know more than most of the Drs. I met with after having studied the McGill books like I was going to be tested on the material. 80% plus of low back issues resolve within six weeks doing absolutely nothing. This is why most Docs and many insurance companies suggest that you wait 6 weeks to get MRI. However, this wait time is for regular people not skiers. I suggest that you get the MRI now and rule out any obvious disc problems. Knowing what you are dealing with will really help you decide what to do in rehabing your back. Reading x rays is as much an art as science. The MRI will most likely be performed with you lying down which gives a misleading view. See if you can get your Dr. to refer you for MRI standing up with your spine loaded. Some facilities can do this. This is not advice but, to me, funny. I went an entire winter with little sleep because I had to get up and walk around 2-3 times a night as a result of sciatica. Tried everything to help it. When spring came my sciatica was still there but, I skied. By the second time I skied, the sciatica went away. 90% improvement. Go figure.

Some will disagree with me on this but, try some different skis. I have wasted time on bad skis because like so many other skiers I believe the mantra that my problems are my fault not the ski. One story: I could not make a decent onside turn to save my life. Moved everything on the ski around. I was getting professional coaching from someone who is a true master at setting up skis. He insisted that it was something I was doing. After a lot of sets, I guess he figured that if only by accident I should have made a good onside turn. He kindly mounted up my ski and he rode it for three passes. Every onside turn he did the exact same thing I had been doing. Got in the boat and said this ski is not balanced right, get a new one. I did, problem solved. It is not that easy to discern whether the glitch is the skier or the ski and the guy in the boat cannot feel what you are feeling. Trying some other skis will give you the confidence to know where the problem lies. If you have the same issues on three different skis, it is all you.  Having said all that, $800 worth of good coaching will do more for you than a truckload of skis. If you can afford it, go ski with a pro and take your demos skis with you. If not, shoot video on each new demo ski and send the tape to pro for advice. Good luck.