Chef23

We ski without spotters regularly even though it is against the rules. There are rarely patrols on our lake and it is generally early morning or midweek when there is little to no competing boat traffic. In the last 15 years only once has one of our crowd been caught and it was a holiday weekend when he shouldn’t have been skiing without a spotter. I do drive my son doing toes without a spotter or as the release person when my wife is in the boat. I use a Masterline Robbins release and put an extra section of rope and hold it with my foot. If he falls I can’t possibly hold him in.

That is awesome. Great work.

Naked. I have an 02 LX and it is naked also. One of my letters peeled off so I removed them all.

The Strada bindings ran pretty true to size. I am a 10.5 shoe and wore a 10 Strada. The new Vapors run smaller. I have 10 Vapors also by they are very snug. I probably could have gone 11.

I have the Camaro and like the integrated back support. I have found it durable so far but I am pretty careful with my stuff. I also have an Eagle which is a little thinner but nice as well. As @lpskier said you should barely be able to zip it when dry. All the vests stretch out.

I think @Cent meant Camaro as the vest company with a built in back brace. I have one and it is very nice. The boat looks sweet. There are a ton of new skis you can ride that you will enjoy the hell out of that will be an improvement over the KD. Calling Performance Ski in Orlando could set you up with a vest and a ski.

@Orlando76 I think the wingnut is special kind of like a quadruple panda might be.

We ski a site that is short with a 6 buoy course and we spin into it without turn islands and we get a little backwash off a dam at one end but no issues with the wakes from the boats. A turn island might reduce the back wash but if you don't have the backwash issue I am not sure why you would put islands in.

As much as it pains me I agree with @Than_Bogan. If you are feeling the GTR pick one up. If you are a little uncertain H2OProshop does a try and buy program or call Performance and talk to them about what you are looking for. If you can ski already don't wait for Horton. If the water is still solid no harm in waiting a bit.

Sweet looking boat you will love it. One of my ski buddies bought a 2016 PS and the boat is awesome.

Skiing with better skiers than you is huge as well. It helps get some good feedback.

@DonT I learned the hard way as well. I waited until the end of my second day and my hands were a mess by then. After that trip I taped from the first set. Sometimes I still wound up with a small blister somewhere (I have crappy hands) but I could get through a week with 3-4 sets a day.

@philkyle I live in New England and in the Eastern Region we see H2OProshop who is based out of Lake Placid I think (4+ hours from where I live) at some events but in general there isn't another shop I am aware of where you could touch a high end piece of ski equipment before buying. I know some people that run mini dealerships for different brands that could arrange for you to get on a demo ski or get you a ski but there aren't stores where you can buy equipment like you see at Performance. It sucks but obviously the market isn't there to support them.

@Shell I still get blisters on my fingers when using your method and find it can bunch up at times. I have seen people do it the way you do. I picked up my method from April Coble when at t

@Fraser I tear finger width strips and wrap them over the top of each finger then run them along the length of the finger all the way through the palm down to the wrist. The glove holds them in place at the wrist. Don't wait until you have a problem tape from the very first set to prevent a problem.

I lost 30 pounds a few years ago and didn't pick up 6 buoys. I picked up maybe 3 on average. I did feel much better skiing and in general though.

Between a gym membership and potentially a trainer getting in shape isn't free. It could still be one of your best investments though. Not as easy or as much fun as buying a ski though.

I thought Malibu was pretty big in Australia because they manufacture down there. Seems like it may open the door.

I don't think this is something your average DIY person could do in their garage. Looks really cool.

Coble's Ski School in Lillington NC sells skis and would have hardware. They are a couple of hours from Charlotte. Great people and worth getting to know if you are skiing in NC.

@bigskieridaho if someone is trying to run a business or break even on owning a boat $50 a set isn’t that crazy. If just doing a favor $20 is reasonable. Owning a newish boat on a private lake in Az isn’t cheap.

This looks really cool. I could probably talk my family into something like this. My son and I ski and my wife and daughter don't.

@Horton if you got regular sets in the winter with coaching I think it would help. If you just went for a week or so maybe you pick up one or two things that help but I don't think it would make a significant impact. I agree I do like to get coached when I have been skiing regularly and am skiing at my normal level.

I am not one of the Radar guys but I would say the Katana is closer to what the P6 was but with a little higher envelope. The Union would be a great 30 mph ski. For me I started to struggle with slowing the ski down on the Katana at 32 off and 30 mph. I could run it but it wasn't pretty. I would imagine if I cleaned it up it would help me at 34 mph.

I have never been competitive to win anything that I have skied in so that never factored into the equation. I have been out of tournaments for 3 or 4 years due to illness/injury and I miss it. I miss challenging myself but most of all I miss the people. I did hit up one event this year just to hang out. I am working to get back to the point where I can ski again this year. I don't expect it will be back to my previous level but if my body holds up I am going to do my best to ski 2-3 events this coming summer and I am excited about it.