JAG

So we have a new to us, Wally Sinker Course. Our club members are half divided in 1) removing the balls or 2) leaving them attached. Removing the balls seems like a lot of work in the spring, trying to raise the sand bag laden arms. The thought behind taking them off is so they stay cleaner for next year. I'm of a single minority in removing the balls but attaching our worn, backup buoy's to ride out the cold. I was wondering what everyone else does. thanks,

@Rluthi If the PP is slalom edition, then it runs off RPM. So the speedo can fail and it will/should hold the set speed. Actually, this past weekend, I ran over a rope that was in our course. PP was set to 34mph. The speedo immediately dropped to 30 due to it wrapping around the prop (discovered later), but RPM's remained the same at 3400. That tells me my slalom edition PP works off RPM. I would be looking at your paddlewheel.

I started using Seth's drills after training with him earlier this year. I'm running the course much more consistently but more importantly, I feel much more balanced and athletic on the ski. When open water skiing, I'm doing the drills about 50% of the time. Its definitely helped. I'm a legend in my own mind. :)

our lake. First pass through our new course....all 6. It was a GREAT day!

So many great memories come from free skiing. the golden light that hits the lake at 6am the mist slowly rising off the 80F water the sound of a small block Chevy at 3600 rpm, at the far end of the lake waiting for it to come around the island to see your buddy throwing down huge spray the people out on their porches for early morning coffee, watching........

My buddy starting his pullout in a golden sunset. :)

@thager My mistake. I suppose we had an Accu-Float then. Our course was held up by the balls, errrr, I mean turn buoys, boat guides......:) No sandbags, or other jury rigged weight loaded systems.

since our lake is surrounded by seawalls, it's a perpetual washing machine after the 1st pass so I've gotten used to my teeth chattering. :( I wouldn't know what glass is, other than it might be too slippery.

@BraceMaker the depth varies across the length of the course so we have the weights adjusted at each section to give us sufficient depth below the water.

@thager "Why would you remove buoys?" Because our permit requires the course be lowered after use.

the only real problem with our Accusink was that it laid on the lake bottom and when raising, we were fighting the weeds that were devouring it. We'd use one boat to pull the mainline and another to attach the boat guides, turn buoy's at each section. It just got old year after year, weekend after weekend, fighting everything. We have the fill line about mid-course. So far, raise time about 10 min, and sink time about 30 min. And the big advantage, we can ski more consistently mid-week like hopefully tonight! :)

I stopped doing free weights many years ago, trying for the lean "skier" look, and adding flexibility. I lost over 30 pounds this spring, thanks to help from a good friend's diet tips, got into Pilates (try it, it's amazing) and started running about three times/week. Each morning I knock out about 30 chin-ups, pushups and a light stretching routine. I've never felt better.

Kudos to the guys in our ski club, who worked all Labor Day weekend, and all last weekend to upgrade our old Accu-sink course to a new Wally course. Its worth the money. Plug in the compressor, wait 10 minutes and voila! Instant Slalom course nirvana. No more pulling that damn mainline the full length of the course, entrapped in weeds, tearing up hands, lower backs....... We even saw fit to install the mini course where I suspect I'll be spending most of my time. :)

@Jaypro Enough with the "I've had it" :) Skiing is an amazing sport. It's high risk, and the rewards, when achieved make you feel amazing. It's uniqueness makes the achievements even more personal. We all get hurt. Seven years ago I broke my foot, after a bad OTF. After the cast was put on, I was so frustrated I literally got the dremel out and cut it off. (Brilliant, right?) I was on crutches, from July to November and in that time, seriously thought about quitting. But........., the camaraderie of the guys in the boat, the beautiful morning's on a glass smooth lake, the sound of that small block V8, cutting through unbroken H2O.....well, it wasn't long until I got my head straight again. And you will too. :)

You guys are an inspiration!

Usually from April to mid October. Advantages are waaaaayy less boats and traffic in the morning's.

The solid plate is what makes it work.

Hoping for a speedy recovery as well. Been there, about 15 years ago, in the course, went out the front and I too perforated my left eardrum. (Damn, that hurt!). The ENT suggested letting it heal on it's own, which it did in about a month.

When you get your tail out of bed early in the morning, rain or shine, ski late into sunset and dream about glass, you're a real skier. Your skiing ability should be second to your passion for the sport itself.

Thank You so much for posting this. I swim alot on the weekends, with my friend's and I starting to do longer, 1/2 mile, 1 mile swims across the lake. Although in a group, we seldom talk because we're too busy breathing. This is allows us to be better prepared to help should the need arise.

@SkiJay "How cool would it be to dump a box full of something like these (with soft tops) over the side of your boat then watch them spread out into a perfect course all by themselves wherever you happen to be?!!!" After trying to raise our course this past weekend, removing hundreds of pounds of weeds, ripping our hands to shreds, and then being too tired to ski, this would be better than a date with (insert hot supermodel's name here).

I am learning the course after years of free skiing, thinking I was "all that", "had big spray". Talking to a "pro" this weekend, he reminded me that open skiing, any speed, any rope length, YOU determine when to turn. In the course, the buoys determine it. The best way to improve is doing your training (there's several drills) in the course. It's a humbling experience, but stick with it. You'll come out the other end with great satisfaction.

Take the sport of motorcycling and add 2 deer crashes. Now that's extreme! :)

A big thanks to Greg, Dirk (Pine Lake Ski Club) and Seth. I got to do one set, mostly on a bum front leg (pulled hamstring), but I can only reinforce the great things everyone says about Seth and his style/approach. He has an easy, logical way of explaining things that makes you understand the concepts. I actually got my ski to turn more naturally on my offside with just one simple tip, and I'll be working on it the next time I get on the water. For years I've been trying to yank it, jerk it around after 1, always putting me in a terrible position. If I can get to SC later this summer, I'll be signing up for an extended session. JAG

Raised our course for the first time yesterday. A nice 15mph crosswind out of the south. made for a slight dogleg, driving. :(