boarditup

In NH today and have worked on these issues a lot. Call me at my number referenced at www.placidwaters.com. I have dealt with these issues in MI for many years.

The people on this board are typically the Type A, competitive personality types who want to be at the pinnacle of their possible performance. That is why there is discussions on what ski, setting for fins and bindings, rope stretch, and a host of other details. The nature of the competition is one person at a time. It takes a very long time to run any competition. It is not like a race where many participants are on the course at the same time. It is tough on the spectators. The INT US Championships is the concept Ham Wallace is speaking of. Typically, it is run in 3-4 days. It works well, although you don't get to ski much. I have not been to an AWSA Nationals, so I cannot compare. I believe BOS serves best as an enthusiast site for the more competitive personalities. Those aspiring to run the course need to be supported and served - hopefully by the core group on this site. We should be very welcoming, open, and offer help, pulls, and whatever support novice skiers need.

Good advice. Please send me an e-mail on the insurance mechanics.

GK - any advice?

I did not intend on setting it up this way, it just worked out. I do see the benefit in letting the beginners see how a C is run. It would be a lot of fun to see some of the slalom skiers in the INT wakeboard event....

For those of you in MI - on August 11 Placid Waters will be hosting an INT tournament on Bays 1&2 and an AWSA C tournament on Bay 3. I suspect this will be the first time that the two organizations have held concurrent events at one site on the same day. This is a good opportunity to ski both and have fun with the other side of the house. For the AWSA types, the wide-ride division is a complete blast - wide ski (Radar Theory), 30 mph, cutting rope. A very different flavor of skiing. Sign-ups through the usual suspects....

Yes. As long as one is not splined. In 05, they started making the transition to splined shafts.

The faster you spin a prop, the more drag it creates. Drag robs the torque curve. Gear reduction allows the curve of the motor to match the curve of the prop with the drag of the vessel cutting through the water and the air. Additionally, the more blades and the greater the surface area, the drag goes up. You need some drag for the prop to work - that is propulsion. The selection of the prop and the gear reduction is an art form in the compromises it makes for the entire boat speed spectrum. Hole shot is basically a function of surface area and drag versus the torque curve. Reducing pitch will allow the motor to spin up faster and get going sooner, but at the cost of top end. Adding cup to the prop allows a bit of both. Gear reduction allows for greater surface area and pitch while spinning the prop slower to avoid drag caused by blade speed. So, on the 197, the Power Slot allows the 5.7 V8 variants to perform almost identically up to about 2,700 rmps and then the MCX breathes better and has more power at 34-36 mph. With 1:1 drives, the MCX has a bit of an advantage, but not much.

Replace the bearings, races, and seals. Most any marine grease or heavy duty grease will work - clean and repack if you switch greases. PB blaster will soften up most stuck greases and rust. You can also use a torch and wire brush (brass bristles to avoid scoring). If the bearings fail, the wheel will fall off. That really sucks on the highway. It is much easier to replace in the driveway without trucks fanning your butt at 75mph. Keep one grease gun filled with marine grease - you need it for your rudder anually anyway.

How to drive a pro nuts: challenge them to 26mph long line....

Not long ago Masterline employed a new machine to make their ropes. If you have old stock, they are not the same lay as the new ropes. If you look at the specifications for rope in the rules, there is 2.4% stretch. So at 15-off, that equates to about 1.5 feet. That is a lot of stretch. I believe that most ropes, once they are done with the initial creep (set of the lay and initial lengthening) don't stretch near that much.

Another vote for the Senate - very stable in open water under poor conditions. Easy to recover from mistakes while in the course. I've never skied the Co-X, so I cannot directly compare.

The torque curves between the predator and the mcx are basically identical up to about 3000 rpm. The Power Slot does make a huge difference. If it were me, the Predator/Power Slot combo is hard to beat for the cash.

I added you as a person who is vocal, tying to make positive contributions, and have a vantage point different from mine. Your points are valid, worth consideration, and worthy of discussion. I may have a bit of a difference with you from perspective, but not from the goal trying to advance the sport. My goal was to go from "what" to "how" in detailed, concrete actions and policies. 9400: For a slalom-only class C, why does it take more time to get a Senior Judges rating than the average person takes to get an MBA? Driving takes practice, but understanding the basic rules and counting to 6? As a skier in a few tournaments, don't you have the basics down already? Get the rules and policies in alignment with what is really needed for recreational tournaments. Do we really need a Senior Judge? Maybe, maybe not? It is worth the discussion.

There has been a lot of discussion about the new driver rules, the roles of professionals, and how tournaments are run. Much of the discussion comes from the point of view of the relatively elite skier - and each of the skiers mentioned I place in that category. The sport, and any sport, is largely made up of the masses who will never be an elite skier. I put myself into the category - I will likely never run 35-off due to lack of training time. The rules set up by the AWSA, USA WS, and IWWF are based upon running a very objective, standardized competition. Whenever there was new technology or other methods to tighten the tolerances, it was done. Whenever there was an incident of cheating or unfortunate results, it was dealt with. It is natural for the evolution of any regulating body to introduce new rules over time. With the dwindling membership and participation in organized events, we are now at the crossroads - do we regulate ourselves into further obscurity or do we find a way to adapt to the culture? Marcus makes a distinction between the elite-level skier and the professional. Chet advocated more technology to provide more objective scoring for skiers. I advocate for less regulatory burden on the mass of skiers so they can participate, officiate, and host events easier. The current F tournaments don't work because there is no incentive for the aspiring Nationals qualifying skiers to either participate or host events. Aspiring skiers, of all types, need a C tournament that can be hosted with a driver, judge, and a few assistants. Elite tournaments (regionals, nationals, record capable, and cash payout) need to have full compliance with the highest standards. World Record tournaments need to comply with IWWF rules for recognition. In some areas with highly developed cultures, there are plenty of judges and drivers to go around. In most areas, there are insufficient numbers to be self-sustaining. We need to replicate ourselves rapidly. So, a few mistakes get made along the way. A few will cheat and get found out. So, we have essentially 3-levels of skiers: Masses, elite, and pros. Each with their own needs. Lets make the rules simple for the masses, tight for the elites and pros, and strive to give the pros the recognition they deserve. It is time for a shake-up of the system and recognizing the strata the naturally formed. So, what do you think?

Thanks. I'll send a PM when I know my travel dates.

I have a project near Boston and fly into and out of Logan frequently. Any place to ski around Boston?

Installing new hose: Heat gun, grease lube, and put the clamps in the middle of the hose, first. Taking off old hose, use hacksaw if necessary to cut into two pieces. You may also have to very carefully slice through the ends to relive the molding that took place over several years. Do not re-use hose clamps. Double clamp snug, run for a few hours hot, and re-snug. Place nuts where easy to get at.

16:1 until a depth of 18"-2'. 10:1 depth to 6'. 8:1 from 6' to project depth of at least 12' Use a granular mix - at least 40% small stone and less than 5% fines. Any more, and you will have problems. Copper sulfate can be used to control shallow weeds at a low cost. Purchase flakes at feed stores.

One of the main benefits of the INT it is ability based, rather than age based. You compete with other skiers of same ability level and make friends that way. You do end up with teens against middle-aged people, and that works well. The state tournaments do lead to a potential invite to the US Championships (or regional championships some years). It is an entirely different approach and vibe. Additionally, the INT does not have the same onerous system for the qualification of officials. It is much more participatory for newer people to the sport. The INT serves the towed water sports by putting together the disciplines that the public participates in on the water - slalom, wakeboard, kneeboard, wakeskate, and wakesurf. In general, ski jumps are absent from public water and trick skiing has been replaced by the wakeboard. INT reflects that the mass skiing culture has changed. It would be impossible for AWSA to change into the kind of organization that the INT is. The INT could morph into the AWSA, but why? We would loose the unique nature of the entry into the sport. When I was an INT coordinator I urged everyone to join USA WS just for the political clout that comes with numbers. I am not sure how many did, but several skiers are now competing in AWSA tournaments every summer in Michigan - including the collegiate level for many of the former young kids.

Coming from another angle, all towed watersports will live and die by regulation at the local and national level. If we segment, we loose political power and representation. Just try getting a slalom permit in a public lake in Michigan, get a marine event permit to have a tournament on public water, trick ski without a PFD on, ski within 100-feet of a shoreline on a private lake, ski short-line (anything less than 60-feet of rope), etc. All of these are issues in one jurisdiction or another. Breaking AWSA off from USA WS would lead to diminished representation as a special interest group and a slow death of our sport due to regulation. While I agree that AWSA pulls along most other sports, other than show skiing, we need to have everyone together to preserve the overall sport of towed watersports. In the long term, from a big-picture perspective, it is worth it. We really need to have a very low cost membership that gets more people on the rolls. The wakeboarding community has their own organization that does not participate with USAWS from a special interest perspective. It would be useful to have those people on the membership rolls - even though they will consume very few services.

First class person. If you can get her as a personal trainer for a session or two, it really helps. The lower back routine she gave me I still use and have greatly reduced problems and pain.

Whenever it gets lifted at the starting dock or cut by the prop. Usually once a year or so.

More accurately, what kind of spectators do we want to attract at our events? I propse that we really need relatively affluent boaters. The rent a crowd may not do anything for us in the long run.

Ice out, first slalom course in on Bay 1! Jump when the water warms up further. First event May 12 or so.