Thomas Wayne

I skied for about half a season with the speed slotfin, and then switched to the 106 ReDim, with a stock HO wing on my Monza. Didn't break through -35' this summer, but I had the best and most consistent -32's with the Horton special. The slotfin worked... but I just never got the smooth finish or the angle off the turn that I got with the ReDim. TWÂÂ

Many bindings - HO and Radar, for example - that have aluminum plates also have an additional plastic plate underneath the aluminum that adds a bit of rise to the binding. At each screw location the plastic is absent, allowing access to the screw heads when the plate is removed from the ski. While the purpose of the plastic is probably to allow the plate to slip against the ski [as the ski flexes], a secondary result is to space the aluminum off the ski by some amount. Perhaps some ~ 0.060" UHMW (or whatever thickness is required) and double-sided carpet tape would be the easiest solution here. TWÂÂ

I don't think a complete effort has yet been applied to any speed control algorithm. The best drivers - as already stated - are skilled at anticipating the individual skier, but that is something they "learn" from the skier as they are pulling him/her. Each skier pulls at a different moment and with a different amount of force. How can a electro-mechanical system possibly do THAT? And the answer is, probably pretty easily. Suppose we had the option of putting a magnet on the 55m gates, and a utility in the speed control that would recognize that magnet. Now, suppose the speed control could measure the force exerted by the skier during his/her pullout and also during his gate, and use that information to interpolate when and how hard that skier is likely to pull after the 1-ball - and after each subsequent ball. Our slalom courses are functionally identical, and the speed control knows when it will be reaching the next set of boat gates. Surely the initial data can be used to build an expected profile of the skier's actions throughout the rest of the course. And, with the ability to check and adjust speed at 400 times per second, the system ought to be able to refine its skier profile as the run progresses. 16 or 17 seconds doesn't seem like a long time, but on the scale that PP or ZO are functioning it's a huge amount of time in which to adjust and make corrections. All it would take is a company that is not too lazy to conduct the experiments and calculate the correct algorithms to make it happen.  What skier wouldn't love a speed control that could truly control the throttle like a top senior driver used to? Wouldn't it be nice to have throttle applied with the correct anticipation, rather than as a reaction to the skier? It's certainly possible... it would just require what a lot of companies seem to be afraid of these days: some hard work. Thomas WayneÂÂ

Bading on the nib-nob, and we'll have to glong to the freebat too. Gonna GGS as soon as my BM says COAFM. Dry suits are best worn to church. TWÂÂ

Schintz is clearly a demented genius - with emphasis on "demented"... and on "genius". TWÂÂ

Here's the best answer I can imagine to your question. Below is a composite photo of Scott Tynan (top) and Chet Raley. Scott wasthe no. 1 seed in today's Big Dawg finals and Chet was no. 2 seed, so it iswithout question that they are both at the very top of their games in terms of skiingability. I'd guess if you suggested to Tynan he could raise his score bychanging his grip he would laugh at you. I think the idea of "right grip" versus "wrong grip" was much more relevant in the days when closing your body to the boat during your pull was promoted as best form. With the advent of such concepts as "open to the boat" and "load both arms equally" it's likely that coordinating your grip to your foot placement is less important than it used to be. http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/Rightgripvswronggrip.jpg [It should be noted both photos are copied from Steve Schnitzer's website - legally - per theFair Use Doctrine of U.S. Copyright law. For the time being they may beviewed in their original form on Steve's site at:http://www.schnitzskis.com/pages/460743/index.htm . Steve changes hissite often, so I copied the photos here to support the ongoing existence ofthis thread.] TW

As a friend told me when I got engaged (many years ago): "Oh well, you can't be happy all your life." TWÂÂ

Who's the lucky fella? TWÂÂ

The first time you don't feel any load on the line until you're hitting the foam near the wake you'll probably freak a little. You'll be expecting some kind of slack "hit" that doesn't happen, you won't feel much load to speak of and you'll be amazed by a sight you may not have seen before - the next ball way out ahead of you. If you can consistently repeat the process you'll get to see the 6-ball from farther away than you ever have in your life. Then you'll immediately and unconsciously morph your old techniques in with a pale version of what you just did, producing a highly diluted version, and spend the rest of the summer trying to recapture that incredible first, perfect experience. At least, that's how it was for me - lol TWÂÂ

Even back when Kristi Overton set the record the split and full course times were digitally recorded to the hundredth of a second. Automatic speed control makes it easier for us mere mortals to get accurate times (and therefore good speeds), but the better drivers of the day could drive as accurately as any current computer. In fact, many experienced skiers are of the opinion that speed controls still have a ways to go before they can compare to some of the true driving legends.  TW

NICE ski collection. So what's your address and when are you not home? TW (PS: I'm kidding of course... since I don't see a 68.75 A1 in the pile.)ÂÂÂ

Find out if he wants tickets to our annual Duct Tape Ball.  TW

All I can say is I would love to see someone ski with that. As part of a larger annual festival there is a popular Alaskan event called the "Duct Tape Ball", wherein the attendees dress in outfits that made partially (or entirely) using duct tape. This ski handle would fit right in. TW (PS: As I understand it, the Rabineau device is made out of sturdy fabric and has been used (off and on) by a number of well-known skiers, including Marcus Brown and Gordon Rathbun. We consider the ARM-GUARD™ to be a superior design, but anything is better than nothing at all.)

Jim, Don't feel alone in your karma/irony experience. After Scott Worthington (PA State Trooper) died as a result of a head-through-handle accident in 2005 I went to the trouble of re-fabricating the safety panel design that we had been working on for the past two years. Everyone who saw it - including me - was a little dubious about the need for such a "contraption". The following July, while a perfectly viable ARM-GUARD prototype was languishing in my machine shop, I put my left arm through the handle and spent the next year+ recovering before I could ski again. I'm still nowhere near 100%, and will be likely dealing with the fallout of that incident for the rest of my life. TW

I personally love the claim: "The original FM handle guard was cool back then...".  In mid-2004, long after we created and documented our first design (which was remarkably similar to our current version), FM posted a photo of a proposed handle safety device on the old Nicholls forum. At the time, FM mentioned that it was their first attempt at such a device. Rumor has it the plastic was cut out of an old milk jug. Below is the photo of that early attempt, which FM now apparently feels was "cool": http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/OriginalFMVSHield.jpg Regarding the center member, here is the answer(s) to that question, taken from the FAQ in the current ARM-GUARD™ manual: Do I really need the center attachment member? Without the Nitrile center attachment you run the risk of striking the safety panel with your hand in such a way as to flex or bow it, forming a sort of "chute" that could conceivably guide your hand into a now-much-larger opening. This is somewhat theoretical, and would require an unusual direction of force to occur, but is not a completely impossible occurrence. Won't the center attachment member interfere with grabbing the handle? It is possible to accidentally grab the center member with a finger or two during the normal course of skiing. While this can be distracting the first few times, it is usually a rare occurrence and most skier learn to ignore it on the few occasions that it does happen. Most importantly, the safety benefits far outweigh this small and rare distraction. But what if I catch a finger or two on the center member “often� This actually was happening to me (TW) on a regular occasion, and it was always my small finger (and sometimes my ring finger also) of my right hand. I resolved this by first sliding the center member zip-tie to a position that is about ¾ inch off center - away from the fingers that might catch it before I ski. I always slide it back to the middle when I am finished with my round. Each ARM-GUARD™ safety panel is custom machined for your specific handle. If your handle has a radius the safety panel has a matching (offset) radius, allowing for a consistent opening across the width of the handle. We have yet to run into a handle we can't machine a perfect fit for. Thomas Wayne

We have several customers in the UK, one of whom reports that he hit the safety panel with his hand twice and thereafter removed it from his handle. All others that have reported back are not experiencing that conflict and seem to be happy with their choice. The nearly universal response seems to be that the skier almost immediately becomes unaware of the ARM-GUARDâ„¢ being in place. I feel a great deal of sympathy for Aidan Willers, as his accident seems disturbingly similar to mine - though our injuries differ. He will, however, be likely to face the same challenges I faced on the long road toward recovery. I have shared my thoughts, condolences and emotional support with Aidan in a recent email. Financially speaking, however, he will have to be on his own. Our contribution to Tyler Yager's college fund is a unique action to which we committed in response to a public outreach by Gordon Rathbun. If you are an ARM-GUARDâ„¢ customer then you have already contributed to that worthy cause, and - if not - we would encourage you to contribute directly anyway. We all choose to participate in a sport that carries with it certain dangers. Many of those dangers we can do nothing to prevent and must simply live with the risk, but handle entanglement is not one of them. There is something simple and inexpensive that you can do to greatly reduce that particular risk, and - now that you are informed - if you should choose to ignore that risk you do so at your own peril. Thomas Wayne http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/Neveragain2.jpg

According to their website, the FM imitation of our invention is sold as a "Decorative handle insert" and is specifically not intended as a safety device. Additionally, there are only three sizes offered - two different stock shapes and a third, "generic" one that the end user must cut to fit his own handle section. Also, the pricing on FM's site does not include shipping from Canada - and that can be very expensive and time consuming (depending on your location). Our ARM-GUARD â„¢, which predates the FM imitation (released many weeks after we introduced the ARM-GUARD â„¢ to the waterskiing community), was invented by us and is patent-pending. It was designed to be a safety device and is specifically meant to increase the safety of any waterski handle it is fitted to. We solidly promote and stand behind the ARM-GUARD â„¢ as a safety device. Unlike FM, we have years of design and field testing with our product, and we know it makes the handle safer. Each ARM-GUARD â„¢ safety panel is custom machined to fit your specific handle section. To date we have designed and machined dozens of different safety panels, and each one fits the particular handle it was designed for. This is because handle manufactures seem to have a great deal of variation in their handle configurations - even among handles of the same brand and model! Recently a customer lost his handle section and asked us to send him a new ARM-GUARD â„¢ set to fit a handle he had on order. Because he had ordered the "identical" handle (Masterline Mapple Custom) that he'd had before he assumed the same ARM-GUARD â„¢ safety panel would fit perfectly. We asked him to wait until he received his new handle so he could measure it (just to be sure) and - not at all surprisingly - the measurements were different enough to require a panel of different dimensions. The handle opening is a triangle, and anyone familiar with simple geometry will realize that a 1/4" difference in height or base (width) makes a tremendous difference in the shape of panel that will fit that triangle. FM's 'one-size-fits-all' concept makes their imitation virtually useless for the vast majority of handles sections that are out there. Unless the fit is absolutely correct the end user will have a handle that is either difficult to use (hand opening too small) or just plain unsafe (handle opening too large). No wonder FM disclaims their imitation as a "decorative insert". As for shipping, that is included in the ARM-GUARD â„¢ price, and we strive for 100% customer satisfaction. To resolve handle fit issues we have re-machined and sent new panels out to some customers as many as three times (!), always at our expense. Note that this has only happened a few times, and mostly it was because of a customer measuring error - nevertheless, our goal is a perfect fit for the safest results. With the exceptions of Carbon Finsâ„¢ (now defunct) and Eddie Roberts (Radar Skisâ„¢) I doubt you're going to find comparable customer service in this industry with any other company. Thomas Wayne

No website yet. Hope to get on that part after October. This is actually the busiest time of year for me (unrelated to waterskiing) and I have to take time away from my business schedule for matters pertaining to the ARM-GUARD project. If it weren't a matter of skier safety I would simply dial it back until next spring, but I feel a bit of a responsibility to any skiers who are looking to make their handles safer.  If you need more info about the ARM-GUARD email me at twcues@gci.net TWÂÂÂ

This is just a guess, but perhaps the catchphrase was suggested by the person Steve's sleeping with... Now that might actually make some sense. TWÂÂÂ

But he's probably not liking life very much right now. I just received this update from a customer in Aukland: FYI, see below an extract from www.nztwsa.co.nz - a kiwi slalom skier had a serious accident in the UK last week while training on the 11m line..... "Best Wishes to Aidan Willers Aidan has had a horrendous water skiing accident at Princes Club on Friday last. He put his arm through the ski handle while training for the Princes Pro-Am. He has sustained serious injuries to his right arm. He ruptured the artery in his arm up under his armpit. He has been to surgery 4 times in the last 3 days and at this stage he does still have his arm. His parents were told yesterday that the artery graft is looking good. They have had to remove a lot of muscle and he is going to be looking at many months of treatment, therapy and reconstruction etc. At this stage we have been told he is not out of the woods yet and it is imperative that he does not get an infection. Any NZTWSA members who would like to send their best wishes to Aidan can email WILLERS@xtra.co.nz or text Aidan on his mobile phone number which is 0044 7846583841 but please remember the time difference - if its dark here its ok to text. Many people from the water ski world at Princes have been of great support to him. Nicole, Aidan's fiancé is back in London after the Europeans and is currently with him. We all wish Aidan a speedy & full recovery." All I can add to that is:  http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/ARM-GUARDBanner.jpg

 Forget ordering a new rope. You can easily splice up a 3-foot section with loops at each end - bigger loop at one end for linking onto your rope, smaller loop at the other end to slip onto the pylon. When you're ready to go from -22' to -25', just have your driver (or boat "crew") slide the large loop [of the 3-foot section] over the mainline from the long-line end until it just passes the -28' loop. Then feed the body (small loop end) of the 3-foot section through the -28' loop and onto the pylon. You're now skiing at -25', and if you make it the boat crew can simply pull in to the -28' loop and away you go. Easy peasy, and not too sleazy. TW (PS: the 3-foot section doesn't have to be pretty - you can even get away with just tying a couple of figure-8 knots at each end of a scrap of old ski rope, as seen below) http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/figure_8_knot.jpg

Best private site in the state. 156 surface-acres; two long channels and one larger body, allowing for three independent slalom courses; 100% private to me and mine only. http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/Northcourse.jpg

It really sounds like a classic case of too much depth and/or not enough length - except that your length already seems generous (assuming you're measuring with the caliper tips).  There's another thread on the forum about shimming up one side of your binding plate(s). You might want to look at those posts. TWÂÂÂ

If you typically start at -15' and then take three "form" passes at -22' - thereafter not quite making -28' - you would be much better off going -15', -22', -25', -25' and then -28 (in my opinion) TWÂÂÂ

I think half loops are a great training aid, but I would suggest using them a little differently than most. The typical use goes like this: say you've got a -30' loop and you're trying to gain ownership of -32' - so you ski -22', -28' and then go to the -30' loop, trying to master that before you tackle -32'. Assuming they can make 90%+ of their -28' passes, I think that's how most guys would utilize a -30' loop. Instead, try this: run your -22', and then go directly to -30'. Your initial consistency will drop off - remember, you're usually running -28' - but soon you'll be nailing most -30' runs. Now -32' is only 2 short feet away. Same process applies to shorter lines; once you "own" -32' you skip it and go straight to -33.5' (on the way to -35'). When you own -35' you skip that and go straight to -36.5', because you're trying to sneak up on -38'. In other words, instead of using the half loops as extra passes (intermediate "baby steps"), try using them to make a length you have already mastered harder, thereby reducing the gap you have to jump to get to the next loop. That's the funny thing about rope - most people want more, but we [skiers] want less. Go figure. TW