GMC

Interesting, thanks for the responses. I'm kinda surprised (and kinda glad) that level of effort goes into powertrain matching.ÂÂ

Canada will win because they have our front office running the team and our coach behind the bench!!! If I was to contribute to this thread, I would just have to take a picture of my beer fridge. I just can't work out at home.

 My ski partner is way too modest to post his sick rig so I went through my phone looking for one. Chevy Tahoe with "The Boss" freshly dried off after a morning set. If I figured out how to post. http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/ski36short/Boats/the_boss1.jpg

John, do you mean the hardshells are coming out in "Early Spring"?

Recently a couple friends have purchased used MC Tournament Team boats - one with the 6.0l and one with the MCX. Apart from expected differences in propellers (the 6.0 had a jump prop on it), we've also noticed the slight difference in transmission ratio: the 6.0l apparently has a 1.22:1 and the MCX has a 1.26:1. Looking at the two MC's posted recently in the classifieds here, it's exactly the opposite: The 6.0l has the 1.26:1 and the MCX has the 1.22:1.  If the analogy fits, axle ratios on cars are much more coarse: 2.73, 3.08, 3.42, etc. In both cases, tire radius and propeller specs can be used for fine tuning. A 0.04 difference in ratio seems very, very small (almost insignificant?) to me. I'm also assuming both ratios are USAWS approved; I know they went from 1.5:1 to 1.26:1 in 2005 but when did the 1.22:1 appear and why? BTW I love that 190. If I was in the market for a boat, that would be very high on my list - if it didn't have that 6.0l. Then again, if that was your practice boat, everything would probably feel soft...

Boots 1 hole back, 6.885" long, 2.505" deep, and 0.750" DFT (head) is working pretty well for me on a 66".

We went last night since the wind was right - air 43, water 58. Some brutal weather coming this week, the end is coming soon...

I just set mine to "one hole back" (29 3/16") for tonight's run. I have always been running more DFT than that, up to 0.750 for tonight and it rocked. 66" ski, 175 lbs, 36 mph, RFF. I did back-to-back sets with my 9800 Monday night. I will not be going back. The Zed is really drama-free, changes edges and carries speed so much better. The tip stays down and it just stays with you. I'm not sure it's more "forgiving" than the 9800 but it takes alot less effort. It seems pretty sensitive to weight distribution but that could just be the cold, hard, fast October water (58 degF).

I was just about to post a thread asking this question, but maybe you can answer my question easily. How far is "one hole back"? 5/16"? I just got some numbers to try and that was the call for the bindings. Mine are on a sliding plate, I can put them anywhere, I just need a dimension.

Purdue comes to mind. No, I did not go there....

Thanks JD. Those settings turned it into the ski I expected it to be!  Hope the gambling tournament is going well today and Scoke leaves with enough money to get home...

Scot - are your bindings just Reflex boots bolted to a G10 plate with no release mechanism other than the Dual-Loc? How many times in a year do you think you have a fall justifying release (unless you're in the "I don't want to release camp")?

I now have 6 sets on my 66" Z7 that showed up Tuesday morning. I initially set it to numbers that were recommended to a friend (bindings at 29.5", 6.885, 2.510, 0.745 flat - it was delivered at 6.960, 2.520, 0.745) and went at it. First two sets were OK, but it overturned on my onside if I made any sort of aggressive move. Moved the fin back to 0.735 for last night's skiing and it was very poorly balanced - still overturning on 2-4 but now occasionally breaking me at 1-3-5 as well. Tonight I moved the bindings back to 29.125" and it started to show some promise, although it could still finish with more angle at 1-3-5. According to JD's range it looks like I'm starting to move in the right direction but I'm still too deep and too long. I'm getting the occasional 32 but my consistency right now is not where it was on the trusty 9800. I also think it's noteworthy that I'm using FM Quattros that are heavy and make alot of tip pressure - much more so than the average bindings, thus the binding move back. Any suggestions? My plan is to continue towards JD's range throughout the weekend, weather permitting.

I also love seeing Open "Pro" skiers posting scores in M1/M2. I get it if they are skiing overall but otherwise?? Addition to my original post:  Responses below are all good and frankly my only objection is being seeded with guys that ski for a living. If you have a day job and can get your open rating, that's sick skiing, plain and simple. I can worry about M3 vs MM in 11 months... And even then I am not worried because I won't be getting a sniff of 39 at 55k!

ktm - I share your suspicion that "weight in the center of the ski doesn't matter". Surely it doesn't affect the swing weight of the ski in the plane of the water as you are turning, but in the other two planes, that weight on your feet may be harder to move outbound. As for the Reflex boot not being flat on the bottom, I understand your point and if I order that system I will get the carbon U to improve lateral response. Not much we can do about the rest of it though. Roda - I thought the RS-1 plate was very smart and the boots fit nice but I couldn't get over the idea of rubber lace tension as a release mechanism. Also had concerns about a one foot in/one foot out release. Obviously I'm reconsidering these given my interest in the E-series and have given passing thought to the idea that I gave up on the RS-1 bindings too early. Ultimately it was just too much of a radical departure from what I was used to and as other threads discuss, it was not a blooming love affair. There was not a lot of trust in that relationship so I divorced them before the prenup expired. Can't disagree with all the comments that lots of good skiers ski a Reflex/rear rubber combo though!

The end of tournament season approaches and it's time to replace my aging Fluid Motions. At the top of my list right now are the E-series and a Reflex/Wiley setup. What I'm looking for is continued safety/release characteristics, edge/tip control, and LOTS less mass. Anyone care to comment on experiences with either system, including the transition process from the old bindings? I am sure someone is going to suggest RS-1s so let me just say that I tried them last year and didn't like them. Fogman is also out of the question, and I'm not so hot on Powershells either. That pretty much covers the hardshell market except the stuff just entering the market doesn't it? Thanks for your input.ÂÂ

There were similar scenes in MI this weekend. A fire was lit before the boat was even in the water. Shane by your definition I think we've had about 3 weeks of "spring" and the rest winter...

We may have actually sold our current club boat.  Given the quoted price for another Response LX, we are exploring other options like upgrading to a SN196 or an RLXi on the open market. Needs aren't much more than ZO and a trailer. If you are sitting on a boat, let me know and I will pass it along to the powers that be. If our boat does indeed sell, we will be scrambling to replace it ASAP. Sorry MC guys - I love the 197, I just don't think we can afford one!!

Wetsuit?? You bayou boys might want to bring a full-on drysuit!

Interested to see how this turns out, but perhaps you should add a question about amount of ZeroOff exposure. For example, I know that C1 hurts me the least so that's what I select at a tournament. I don't have regular access to it (yet, but it's coming) to attempt to see what's actually BEST for me.ÂÂ

Hey Roger - after a year, how long is the witness mark from the plate sliding over the offsets? I.E. how much is the ski flexing at the attachment points?ÂÂ

Sorry to hear that. I nursed a bad shoulder through the end of last year and my amateur diagnosis was a torn labrum. Thankfully I was wrong, it was just an impingement that PT worked out, but the shoulder is starting to bother me a bit already so by the end of the summer we might be in the same boat. Keep us posted on your progress...

...GPS becomes unreliable or has a period of dropouts/dead zones/etc.?  http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/20/govt-warns-gps-system-could-begin-to-fail-in-2010/ I do have to say that I agree with most of the commenters following this article: there's no way the government lets this happen. But just for fun, what would go down if this happened in mid-August 2010, say,  in the region of Nationals?!? Would ZO be rendered useless? I don't have enough knowledge of GPS or ZO to say for sure so it's just a hypothetical question from a lurker that is still skiing in a drysuit and enjoying hockey season. Go Wings.

LKB you forgot cheap. :) Or at least competitively priced vs. other systems currently out there... which like everything else has gotten a little high IMHO...

Scoke that is one sick looking site. Gun range and ski lake all in one. I like it.