Marco

True, but MS probably deserves it more often than not... Do you know the story behind the cart fire? I have a friend who burned up a snowmobile trying to unfreeze a gas line with a torch. Does Robs story beat that?

To start, move your position prior to the pullout from the right side of the wake to the left side of the wake at the edge of the whitewater. That way you don't have to cross the wake on your pullout.  Second, buy a boat with a smaller wake, such as an 01 Malibu.../vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif

The beer cooler at the end of the dock!

Tuney- I sent you an email with his contact info.

Your'e being to hard on Rob. He's too nice of a guy for that. Years ago, we rented the Great Lakes rental lake for a week, and Rob came over to help coach us every day, just because we were good friends with a friend of his. He didn't even know us at the time. When my wife broke her ribs, he loaned us his brace he wore after back surgery and just asked us to send it back to him after she healed. Great guy! First going after Tadd, and now Rob... For shame, for shame

Tuney- One of the people on my lake in Colorado has an 01 Response (open bow) with somewhere in the neighborhood of 550 hours on it. It has only run on a private ski lake, is under cover while at the dock, and in a garage during the winter. I think he was asking in the neighborhood of $14.5K, but might be negotiable. Let me know if you want his contact info.ÂÂ

I'm on year 3 with the yellow Fish, and as far as I can tell, it hasn't lost a step. I'm 185is and typically ski 28 through mid 38 (on a good day).  Previously, I would only get 2 years out of a ski before it got that sluggish feel to it. I hope the Fish lasts another 3 years, casue I doubt I'll ever be able to buy another new one.

Leon...You may have a point. I hadn't thought about it before, but the drivers were different. I skied behind the same boat twice (with the same settings as before) at a different tourney this weekend, and the CC felt great. The timing was the same as the other 2, the only differece I noticed was the pull on the Natique felt much more "buttery". It felt like a completely different boat from what I described above, and I matched my TPB twice behind it. I never blame my skiing problems on driving, but it would explain why the boat felt so completly different from one weekend to the next, especiall at the gates.

GA...I completely understand the need to adjust to variables, it is the nature of the sport. My point is that it is difficult in a tournament setting to find out the pull of the boat is waaaay different than the pull of the previous boat, at the same setting. Skiing is a sport of rythm and finess, and adjuting to a variable that is completey unexpected can take more than a single pass. I had no problem adjusting from PP classic which I train behind to ZO with the BU and MC. The Natique was so different, it requierd more than a minor adjustment. Scoke- 5'-11" 185, 55K. The MC at B2 and B3 felt really strong from about 10' past the buoy to the wakes, setting up nicely for an early and easy edge change and good speed out to the bouy. The Bu's timing was about the same, but the intensity of the strength of pull was a little softer. The MC had more hp than the Bu. The Natique at B2 slowed after my pullout for the gates, which I corrected for on my second pass. What got me was the lateness of the pull out of the buoy. I was expecting the boat to be there for my hook up, but it hit me later. The lateness of the load prevented me from keeping a tight line, as my rythm wasn't set up for a late pull. Some of the better skiers at the tounaments I go to ski completely different settings with the CC than with the other 2 boats.  With limited sets behind ZO (tourneys only), I haven't had the chance to test many options. I'll be skiing behind the CC this weekend, and am at a loss as to which setting to choose.

I have been on the Reflex with rear high wrap for 3 seasons with no issues. As far as quality control goes, I have not had anything break in 3 years of hard skiing. The set up is very light, but not weak. The only wear that I have experienced is the top of the boot where it slides under the horseshoe. It created a little slop that was easily remidied by moving the horseshoe back on the plate. I assume that I will have to replace some parts at some point, but 3 years with no problems makes me a happy camper. I would have to work on my rubber bindings more often than that.

EF- Remi suggested I set the release setting at 5. I upped mine to 6 because I have a bad habit of causing tip stall on my offside at shortline, and I would release from the front binding at the ball, gashing my rear shin on the ski. I haven't pre-released since, but have released at the necessary times. Weight might come into play for setting the release tension. I would guess lighter skiers would not need as much tension. I am 5-11, 185 FWIW.

The only time I am able to ski zero off is at tournaments, which I only ski a few time per year. This year at regionals, I skied behind the Mastercraft, and ran in the neighborhood of my average. The next tourney, I skied behind the Malibu first, and again skied near my average. My second set was behind a Natique, with the same settings I used on the BU and MC, but on my pullout on my opener at 28, I had rope in the water, as if the boat slowed down during my glide. That has NEVER happened to me before. I was able to scrap through the pass, but went down coming back. I could get no rythm with the boat. I was blown away at how different the pull was between boats. The Malibu and MC skied similar, but the Natique felt entirely different. If I had time to practice behind ZO, I'd be able to figure out the different settings for each boat, but it is tough only having the opportunity a few times per year.  Its not that I don't like the change to ZO, it is just hard to get used to something you can't practice behind.

Thanks for the info. There is more information on the rankings site than I thought. I'm not planning on going to Nats, but was just curious to see if I qualified.

Does anyone know the Cut Off Average for Nationals for mens 4 this year? The rankings indicate 2 different scores, depending on if you filter by the ski year or the last 12 months. Also, I think the Cut Off Date was locked in on July 16th, the 3rd Thursday before the Thursday before the start of Nats. Any info would be appreciated. Thx

Speaking of Regionals, I am surprised that 38 was only run twice in mens 3 and 4 and once in mens 5 at Laku. I was expecting more. Nice sking Richard! Way to step up in the runoff. The Horton clan was well represented in Colorado, with one notable exception...

It asks the question in the online entry form portion of the Regionals application. In the registration status page of the tournament information, Record shows up as "R", and the only other designation for applicants I see is "S", which I assume is a result of clicking the "Premier" box on the application.

Just curious as to who will be traveling to Regionals/Nationals this year, and how far. This year, Regionals is in my home state (400 miles from home), so I will be going, but probably won't be making the trip to Fla. Also, can someone explain the difference in the entry classification at Regionals between Premier and Record? The tournament director couldn't tell me, and just recommended to sign up under the Record classification. (I definately won't be setting any records).

Roger- Great original post. The one thing missing from it though is a performance analysis. Can you (or JTH or anyone else) provide some input on how they ski relative to other binding sytems out there?

Roberto- Thanks. I'll look up the Tip Stall thread. And I know you are right about technique. I am doing (or not doing) something, more than likely starting at the edge change, that doesn't catch up to me until the shorter lengths. I should try to work through this at 28 and 32, not wait until 35-38.

Roger- My problem is more about burying the tip on my offside than tip rise. When I first got the ski, I was getting tip rise on my onside, but going to the settings I mentioned above seemed to solve that problem. I'm a little nervous about making irreversible modifications to a ski that can't even be replaced now. Eric-I like the idea of sanding down a thicker fin, so i don't have to make ski modifications that I can't reverse. I just wonder if sanding it down enough to fit will make it as flexible as the stock fin. I haven't heard of stiffer Fischer fin. Someone, Jodi I think, explained to me the flex of the stock fin is critical to the performance of the Fish. Maybe I just ought to work on my technique so I am not pressuring the tip so late in the turn. Maybe the answer is more forward pressure earlier, not later. I was just hoping there was a magic fin adjustment I could make that would fix my offside and help get me through 38. I guess if it was easy, they would call it wakeboarding./vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif

My understanding is a carbon fin is thicker, and won't fit a Fish which has a narrower fin, and I am hesitant to grind out the slot. (I know you would do it in a heartbeat). I did finish last year wearing a rash guard to help protect my rear leg. A shin guard would be better, but fixing my 2 ball would be best!ÂÂ

I have my own issues with my offside turn. What fin adjustment will prevent over-turning, (stalling) on the offside without changing much else? I don't notice any problems through 35, but almost always I stall at 2 ball at 38, sometimes to the point that my Reflex releases from the front while my rear stays in, leaving a nasty gash on my rear shin. The few times I don't stall, I usualy get to 4. Never seen 5. Fischer Yellow 68"- 6.927, 2.530, .690

There is a great old thread on fin settings for the Fish here on BoS. It is titled "Fischer Info", and I found it on page 15 of the All Discussion topics.

Besides what is mentioned above, be sure the rope is on the correct side of the ski. LFF the rope should be on the right, and vise versa for RFF. Also, try tilting the tip of your ski slightly to the front foot side before the boat is put in gear for stability. As the boat starts to go, the ski will straiten out as you start to rise. Be sure you have at least 8" of tip out of the water.

Ali- The skier in your photo really rips. Does he always ski without a vest (and shorts), or was the photo set up?