lkb

Damn dude, you sure are a tease/vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-yell.gif

For my money, Chet's the best. Just got back from three days with him. It was awesome.

I generally think that Nautique has the smallest softest wake. I am Nautique through and through and as long as the price stays w/i reason will always buy them. But if you put away your brand loyalty for a minute and look at it strictly from a skiers' performance  standpoint can you honestly say that one manufacturer truly has a better wake than another? When I ski as technically correct as I can, and slice through the wake with good outbound energy I end up thinking that if there is a difference that it just isn't enough to matter. What do you'll think?

Thank you for your efforts...the BS that the no-namers post needs to stay elsewhere

Rod A, I'm 155 34mph and have always used a 66(currently on an MPD which rocks!!). Before I bought it Rossi said that was the size I should go with. However, it's always puzzled me a little as to how we determine which length is right because when you look around you will see small guys on big skis and bigger guys on smaller skis. So I think different things can work. As far as waiting on the 08's, if you're not getting to ski much because of winter I would wait. LKB

still have it. it's like new. skied about 8 sets on it. I 'd just like to get back what I have in it which is 95 when you figure the shipping.

Thanks for the info guys. The area where the beach is/was has some steeper slopes rising pretty quick as you get away from the water. Cutting it down to a 15:1 there would be a pill considering all the sidewalks and patio, etc. that I've already put in. You know when you think about it the underwater retaining wall idea would probably end up getting the sand to about 15:1. If it just wasn't so hard to build a wall underwater. I would lower the lake level temporarily but I'm scared to since were in the middle of the worst drought ever.

biggest story of the year...I finally ran 35 in a tournament/vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif

At my lake the boathouse/dock is about 100 feet before you get to the pregates. The banks were built on a 10:1 slope which runs 20 out underwater before dropping of on a 3:1 slope. When I built the lake 6 seasons ago, I had a nice sand beach on either side of the dock. Now the sand is gone and the bank has steepened to something more like a 6:1 slope. The slopes are still good everywhere else. I'm thinking of stacking bags of quickcrete to build an underwater retaining wall. The top of it would be about 1' underwater. It would run parallel to the shoreline about 15' out from the water's edge. Then I would dump fresh sand to make a new beach. My hope is that this wall would hold the sand in place this time and it would also break some of the boat wake energy before it hits the sand making it even more likely to stay in place. The soil here is Alabama red clay. Everytime somebody walks out of the water the mud gets tracks and stains everywhere. I'm desperate to cover up the mud and to get that portion of the bank back to a 10:1.Does anybody think this will actually work? Any suggestions? Thanks

As far as my skiing goes, I suspect that entering the course with more speeed equals a better pass for me. I would like to be able to verify that with speed data from the gate and throughout the pass. If that proved to be true, I would like to see how much different that path is compared to a slower later pass. So, I would be happy just to have speed and path data. It would just be nice to see if perception is reality. Doesn't somebody make something to strap in a race car that tracks speed around a road racing circuit and also the line that the car ran? Seems like that would be out there somewhere.

Garmin makes some wearable gps receivers that an athlete puts on while running or cycling, etc. They apparently store data during the workout/race. The data can later be downloaded to a computer program that garmin has out and it gives you a lot of ways to analyze your performance. It's tantalizingly close to what we need but it's just not there. For skiing it would need to record a data point every tenth of a second.

Horton, you mentioned Kent WHite's GPS system. Is that what I have heard called "Lisa"? What does it do?

If anybody is looking to fly to Florida to escape the cold this winter you may want to check out Allegiantair.com They are offering a non-stop out of my home airport(which is not a major hub) to Ft. Lauderdale for about $150. It's too good to pass up so I'm going to Chet Raley's place in December. They also have some flights to Orlando.

Thanks for the info. I think I may try the 116 if I can sell my 106. Anybody want one?

Chuck, do you think that the 116 on an MPD would work for a light person? 155 lbs...I know Horton says that the 106 is more appropriate for my weight, but when I tried it, I didn't have a great result. Also what numbers did you use? Thanks

Maintain speed into the point where the boat picks you up. Without enough speed the whole pass is like a fight against the boat...and it always wins.

When I tried to set the redim to the numbers I have been using on my MPD(.760, 2.490, 6.835), it just didn't look right. The long straight edge of the fin's trailing edge was slanted (in relation to the bottom of ski) a lot. Seems like this edge is basically perpendicular to the ski bottom on every other ski I see. Anyhow, it just didn't look right. Does anybody know what's up with this? Thanks

Chuck, based on the crashes I took I don't think mine would release when I go OTF. That's what has me thinking about reducing the amt of velcro. The force from an OTF would pull the plate from the back ankle. There is a lot of sq inches of velcro aft of that "pulling point" too which seems like it would make it even harder to start a release. Not sure but those are just the thoughts and concerns of somebody who has busted an ankle once before.

Is mineral spirits the best thing to remove the gray foam backed 250? I could have sworn I saw a 3M product specifically for removing the stuff but I can't find it now. Has anybody seen that or did I dream it? Is anybody running less than the factory amount of velcro on double powershells? I just started using them 2 weeks ago and have taken three hard falls w/o a release. On each of those falls I pretty sure my fogman would have released. I don't want to prerelease but I'm considering cutting back on the amount of velcro to just the strip down each side of the plate. And maybe not even let those strips go all the way back to the end of the plate. Thanks-lkb

rryker, didn't get back with Doug but I did just have an eye opening set on the MPD. To give some background, this is my 5th season of skiing, I have never been much of a fin tweaker. I have been trying the ski for a week, moving the fin and bindings around w/o much success. Yesterday was awful. I busted my *$$ hard twice and couldn't even run 28. Today, I left the fin alone and just decanted the rear binding a little. I had a friend watch my set and he helped me stay countered, balanced and use only my lower body to turn the ski. Holy Crap! The difference was literally incredible. I have never felt a ski get back to the wakes so fast. I think this ski gives big big rewards for proper technique like the style Chet R teaches. All in all, today made me feel dumb for all the fin moving I have been doing, today the difference was me.

Cool. Not sure if you remember but you told me about Doug at Liquid Edge selling them. Thanks for that hookup. He gave me a good deal on it. I have had some good skiing with it but I changed boots also(let me tell you that changing boots and ski in one move is not something I highly recommend) so I'm slow to get dialed in on it. Where did you set your boots?

Eddie e-mailed me back. He said 2.500, .770, and 6.845. Hope it's not long 'til vive la MPD!

Horton, do you know what he recommends for a 66? gracias-lkb

sounds kinda like some of my guys...they don't know how to set kx/px...i frequently get unwanted plus plus pulls/vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-surprised.gif anxiously awaiting zero off

yeah man...if you ever come through Alabama look me up. Got a sweet lake here, with new nautique ready to lower, and beer in the fridge...even if it is the cheap stuff