boarditup

I designed what I believe to be the first private lake for heavily loaded wake boats. If the shoreline contour is correct, the depth is good, and you have larger granular bottom material, the results are good. Shoreline vegetation, clay, steep slopes, or shallow water will show up as erosion or murky water conditions. The typical slalom lake design can quickly show erosion and damage. If you want details, PM me.

An easy test is to fill in the area between the rudder bolting plate and the pocket with silicone. If you have caviation that is in that area filling in where the "bubbles" hang out may change it a bit. I also noticed a ding in your prop, that can also cause similar issues. Try the quick and low cost thing first. If they did take out the "hook" in that area, you may have some grinding ahead of you.

Spectra works great for tricks and wakeboarding. It is very difficult to use for slalom as you don't get and stretch and recovery. With wakeboarding and tricks, loading the rope allows the stored energy to be released in the air - without the rope pulling you toward the boat at increased speed. This gives you extra height and length to the jumps and better stability on the landing (only word that is commonly used, but really does not make sense). In slalom, the stretch of the rope softens the hit by extending the time when you apply load and then it recovers during the transition - you get a bit of a "slingshot" effect. Slaloming with a specta rope is very difficult because the hookup after the buoy must be perfect - and the timing is different. It is a fun experiment - try it with a wakeboard rope.

I have slalom skiied behind the 205V hull in the X-1 configuration. I chose the later X-2 for wakeboarding and skiing. The 205V hull throws a wake that has a great lip at slower speeds - it is steep and can really help the newer rider get extra lift for great air. The transition is about at 26 mph. At 30 mph the wake is a bit hard. The newer X-2 has a "wake plate" that is a trim tab that allows the hull to be trimmed down and the wake is still big, but softer and easier to cross. The downside of the X-2 hull is that it wanders a bit more than the 205V hull in the course and it does not have tracking fins. Both hulls can be ballasted down well for good boarding and surfing. The 205V hull is narrower and can be ballasted down with less ballast.

Consider the Radar P6. I have taken that trough the course as slow as 24 mph and as fast as 30 mph. Nice and stable. Ride it flat to the wake and you can get admiration from a wakeboarder for a wake-to-wake jump.

Some soleniods are sealed and are the same as the marinized versions. You can cross-check part numbers to be sure. The typical "Ford" solenoid is fully sealed and is safe. However, some others are not. When in doubt, get the marine version. Autozone and Advance do have the ability to verify the marine application of some parts if you get the right person on the computer. NAPA is much better at marine-specific parts and even has their own catalog.

I spend a lot more time surfing with the kids than I get to slalom. I enjoy both.

For those asking what the big difference is, here is the scenario: Gasoline vapors will collect at the lowest point. In a car, the engine bay is open to the atmosphere and the vapor dissapate quite easily. The vapor concentation will never get to the Lower Explosive Limit - the minimum amount of gasoline vapor needed to have an explosive mixture. Boat motors are in the hull have a bottom - where the vapors will collect. If there is a leak of fuel, and the primary candidates are hoses, connections, fuel tanks, and pressure relief valves (found on automotive carbs and fuel pumps), the drops of gasoline will vaporize. You can have one of three conditions - concentrations lower than the Lower Explosive Limit, concentrations between the Lower Explosive Limit and the Upper Explosive Limit, and concentrations above the Upper Explosive Limit. If there is a spark - typically from a non-marine grade starter or alternator - and the concentration is below the Lower Explosive Limit, you are safe. The mixture will not ignite. That is why we run the blower for a full two minutes. If the mixture is between the Lower Explosive Limit and the Upper Explosive Limit, the mixture may, or probably will, ignite causing a explosion and likely a fire. The force of the explosion is in direct relationship to the amount of gas vapor available and the amount of confinement it has. Most of the time, it is impressive to watch. If you have a mixture above the Upper Explosive Limit you will not have the explosion as the mixture is too rich to ignite. However, you are not safe because as soon as the air moves and sufficient oxygen replaces the gas vapor, the mixture will then be between the Lower Explosive Limit and the Upper Explosive Limit and it will ignite if you have a spark. This can be seen at fueling docks when the boat goes a short distance and then explodes. This is where most of the deaths and serious burns occur as the boat is typically loaded with people. The United States Coast Guard has standards for many of the critical items that carry fuel or electrical current. Some automotive parts are identical, but some are not. Early boats had lots of fires until the culprits were engineered to be safer. In general, if the part carries fuel or electrical current, make sure it is marine grade. Be safe out there. An emergency on the water can ruin more than your whole day.

Word to the wise. Former USCG here and have seen similar results - with people in the water. Fuel, ignition, starting, hoses, electrical are all marine specific for a reason - paid for in blood and burns. Worst offenders - starters, alternators, fuel pumps, and carbs. You will pay the money either way - up front or on the back end, like in the photos. Great post, Jody.

Getting back to the original question - I don't think we need either a revolution or abandonment. We do need a return to basics - the fun of waterskiing and the organized elements of the sport. What happens in every organization over time is that the rules, expectations, and bureaucracy get built up over time. Situations happen and they have a rule or a control measure to prevent it from happening again. That creates structure and burdens that prevent flexability and innovation. What people are asking for is the adaptability and fun back. The various officials and reps see a return of the "cheating" or the "wild west" of the early days. But, the early days of any sport is what people long for - to be on the cutting edge, the early adopter, the pioneer. Getting that feel back is tough in a mature sport. Other sports create new events, packaging, and allow for innovation. Skateboaring was dead until vert was introduced. That brought along street riding and make it "cool" and popular again. Originally, skateboarders had to compete through a slalom course for time - everyone hated it except for the judges and leadership. The organized sport almost died until a young man - Tony Hawk - brought it back on vert. AWSA and USA WS have to be responsive to the two biggest events out there - slalom and wakeboard. Most families that have more than one sport have those two in the family. Keeping 3-event on life support is great for the traditionalists, but it does not have the legs to adapt to the changing times. Wakesurf will get nearly as big as wakeboarding was in a short time, and then it will fade a bit, too. So, we need to make it easy for the Local Organizers to put on events that cross disciplines and don't rely on so many people with qualifications that take longer to achieve than a MBA. Strip it down, get back to basics. Sure, people will get it wrong sometimes. Extreme Type-A personalities will find a way to game the system and cheat. It will come out in the end - and they will be mocked or taught. This is supposed to be a fun sport. Only a few (pros? what does that really mean) have money on the line and we have a highly developed system for those tournaments. We need the flexability of the F(un) tournments with the recordkeeping of the CELR. Have a rule that you cannot get to nationals without at least one ELR tournament for verification of the other scores. Otherwise, lets get people out of the towers and socalizing with the new skiers and riders. Head to Head, yes. Turn and burn, yes. Two-event with slalom and wakeboard, yes. Let have more fun (and not just for 30-60 YO, Type-A males) and draw more people in.

We are getting very close to the INT formula. Slalom, wakeboard, perhaps some other popular events if there is demand. Recognition of the individual successes. Get people involved. Large banquet. It does work. Towed watersports are participatory - not spectator. While the big wakeboarding events can draw a large crowd, they are a lot like surfing contests where the festival is the draw - a big party with wakeboarding as the reason for the party. Lots of very fit young people in swimwear, music, food, and refreshments. The AWSA and most event organizers work for PLM - People Like Me. The most successful event organizers work for the targeted crowd - a demographic that works for the business model in the short and long term. In my opinion, we need to really look at recreational boaters, wakeboarders including cable park riders, and casual skiers as our recruiting pool. We need to have events that appeal to them - giving them something that they want - a community of skiers and riders, an identity, a social group. This is hard to do - it takes deliberate action on the part of the event organizer and the established skier group. It is what I belive we have to do for our sport to flourish.

When working with the federal government, if it is not documented, it did not occur.... they don't care if they are occupying the building, if the documentation is not produced correctly, the building does not exist. For kids, if it is not on Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat or other forms of social media, the event never happened. It is a whole new world socially from "Hot Summer Nights" and we need to adapt as a sport or the next generation will not know about us other than family and tribal knowledge.

Every competitive field will have the participants sort themselves out over time and the elite will form. Competitive advantage will come from training, technique and the application of money. The AWSA has become the tournament sanctioning organization and has largely abandoned most other elements of towed watersports - like expansion and marketing. The overall social culture has also changed dramatically and there are many more options than trying to break into a mature sport with a highly established elite. For most newcomers and kids, the excitement is in the social aspect of a new activity and in being on the leading edge - being the new adopters - bringing the fad into the mainstream. That was part of the appeal of wakeboarding and now wakesurfing. Wakeboarding has peaked and so will wakesurfing. The curve will be the inverted "U." However, the board sports have a vibrant social aspect that can carry them like sufing has been carried for so many years by its social culture. So, the AWSA has not found a way to make the newcomers enjoy the sport ruled by the elites or to have the excitement of a new adopter. The social aspect of the sport is also difficult - it lacks the vibe of the big ballasted boats with the speakers pounding. It is much more isolated and technical. There are good ideas that will work on some demographics, but those were ignored. Perhaps another year of struggle and pain will do us some good.

@mwetskier +1 on your procedure. I've been doing that for years. Also, use tap water with waterbed conditioner in it. Your buoys will stay more consistent as bacteria will not decay over time and increase the pressure inside the buoy. Bleach does not work as well.

You would need stone an 8:1 slope. Sand would be to mobile. Large particle size sand (gravel) stays put at 10:1. Fine sand (beach sand) needs flatter.

The kids have left the slalom skis on the rack. They are all wakesurfers now. So, I also wakesurf with them. Towed watersports for me was a means to enjoy my family. Slalom is and always will be my favorite sport, but the time and resources go with the family. I do slalom whenever I get the chance - but not nearly as much time as with the kids.

Wakes are traveling waves. Think of a sine wave drawing with the zero being the water surface. When you have a gentle slope under the water line, the pressure from the wave pushes the wake upward and spreads it out - typically the crest of the wave will begin to curl over and then flatten out. This dramatically dissapates the energy that can cause erosion. The particle size of the soil also has a huge impact on the rate of movement and erosion. Clay and slits are very small particles and will erode and move quickly. Sand is a much heavier particle and stays put better. Rock, depending on size is better, but it reflects more energy back into the body of water. Rooted plants will cause "shelfing" as the water erodes the soil around them and will reflect wave energy back into the body of water and cause rollers just like a seawall. Fabric with rock on top will avoid most erosion. You can use smaller rock and even sand to make the rock walkable. Peastone is great for this. However, if you do not have fabric to separate it from the substrate, you will lose all of your small rock very quickly. If you have sand that is fine, you can put some peastone in the sand to hold it in place a bit better. The stone will sink down, but you will find that it will "resuface" as it does its job. You will loose smaller sand particles over time. So, you first have the proper underwater slope and then amend the top layer as necessary to give you the best option for avoiding reflective wave energy and erosion. The best solution is the below water contour. The depth from 0-3 feet is the most critical. The waterline to the potential wave height is also critical. The longer and more gentle the underwater slope, the less out-of-the-water height is necessary.

You have other options. If the grade is 10:1 or even flatter 16:1 below the water, the wakes will lose most of their energy before it gets to the shoreline. You can use sand for the shoreline without erosion. If you have slopes that are steeper, then you need to have the energy absorbed by the shoreline above the waterline. If you put down some geotextile fabric that prevents the rocks from descending into the soil, you can use a much smaller rock. As another alternative that I have not used, but have seen, you can use astro turf (same as on football fields, not outdoor carpet) starting below the waterline and up beyond the wash line for the wakes. As for the kind of geotextile fabric and the size of the rock, you need to know the slope of the shoreline and what kind of rock is available. The geotextile vendor can help without hiring an engineer.

Unless it is warranty service, I do it all.

Fuel lines are typlically nitrile rubber - a few other synthetic compounds are also used. Some of the older hoses did have a neoprene covering over the reinforcing, but I don't think you can find those anymore - nothing with a USCG stamp, anyway. Look at the recommendations for protective gloves - neoprene is not rated for any gasoline contact. Both gasoline and alchohol are hard on neoprene.

Neoprene is degraded by contact with gasoline. You may be able to ressurect it by the cleaning methods above, but do not be suprised if there is permanent damage.

OCD Outlet

Just a guess, but I think you may see some more combined events to draw together all of towed watersports. Also, you may see the boardsports tied to other events - X-games style. I would guess they want to expand the brand and not have the same formula year after year.

The trait I look for is the ability to keep going and not "stop" if I make a mistake. Some skis tend to stall if you get too far forward, back, or overturn on the edge. Eddie Roberts designs, at least for me, tend to be extremely forgiving. I also tend to ski well on the Dennis Kidder designs. Never had a lot of success on a few other well known designers. So, the ski that compensates for my lack of technique at the moment.

That is the likely culprit and coils do "wear out." Heat is their enemy. Fuel line can component alcohol absorbtion issues can be similar in symptoms, but I think you are right with the coil.