Thomas Wayne

Actually, we still have Pony Express... and here's a picture of one of the ponies taking a break in my backyard: http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/moose1-1.jpg TWÂÂÂ

There can be no doubt Bob LaPoint is a master of tuning and tweaking waterskis. Long before we had adjustable fins, Bob and his brother were experimenting with any idea or innovation that came along. Nearly two decades ago I spent some time skiing with Bob in Acapulco. After the first two days he told me there was something I was doing on my offside that he really liked. He was just recently divorced, but I don’t think he was coming on to me. Later that day he asked if I minded if he filed on my ski a bit.  Who was I to say no? The ski was a 67†O’Brien Competitor, and I can remember to this day watching the strings of filings curl off my bevels as he filed away on it. After he worked that ski over the most amazing thing happened. He got sick. I don’t mean “ooooh, my tummy hurts a little sickâ€ÂÂ. We’re talking doubled over, night sweats, blowing out both ends, sleeping on the bathroom floor sick. It lasted about three full days for him. Not that I kept too close track of his recovery, since I got that same sickness the next night. Freezing cold, all the spare blankets in the villa piled on me, blowing out both ends, quick get me a pen so I can write my last will and testaments sick. Then it started to rain. Rain and rain and rain. Didn’t stop raining for almost a week. On the third day of my illness I was finally alive just enough to risk getting more than three steps away from a toilet. I went down to the veranda, where Bob was sitting – he was fully recovered now - at the breakfast table. So I sat down with him and watched him eat breakfast. At one point he looked at me, rolled up onto one cheek and let out a glorious fart. He said, “I’ll bet you wish you could do that.â€Â I went back to bed. I got over being deathly ill just about the same time the rain stopped and my plane left Mexico. The next chance I had to ski on that ski was four months later, so I have absolutely no idea what effect Bob’s filing had on the ski or my skiing. But there can be no doubt Bob LaPoint is a master of tuning and tweaking waterskis.  TW

When you let go with the outside hand and extend you "lengthen the pendulum", which automatically slows your arc speed. The amount you extend is proportionate to the amount of speed you bleed off, allowing you to adjust your downcourse speed immediately prior to (or even slightly during) turn in. A second benefit of reaching is that you have more ability to adjust for any slack you may encounter due to a late (or overly aggressive) pullout. So, whether or not you are aware of it, some of the "room for error" you're noticing is based on the speed adjustment and slack "absorption" you're getting with your extension. TWÂÂÂ

lkb, Email me at twcues@gci.net and I'll send you back the entire enchilada info package. TWÂÂÂ

John,  Wow, thanks for the plug. I will personally NEVER ski without an ARM-GUARD™ on the handle again. There are two other options that are available to skiers; one is built by Chef Anton and one has been made in the past by Scott Rabineau. Chef can be reached at 800-679-3859, and Scott can be reached at srabeneau@earthlink.co. Below are three image links - #1 is Chef's device, #2 is Scott's device and #3 is ours. Also, the clickable link below is a shot of an ARM-GUARD™ installed on a 2008 13" Radar handle. 1) http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/antons_handle.jpg 2) http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/Rabeneau1.jpg 3) http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/ThomasWayne_2006/12inchStraightlineRADIUS.jpg

RE: changing out a handle with the ARM-GUARDâ„¢ installed... a picture is worth a thousand words:

We've all become accustomed to pushing the handle section through the mainline loop as part of changing handles, but this is often not all that easy. We have to fold the bridle up a bit, and if it has vinyl side tubes it can actually be a bit of a PITA. Changing out a US Gear handle, for example, is a downright bitch. Meanwhile, we also tend to disconnect the rope from the pylon after the last skier, so we can start our run at a longer line. Since we're taking the rope off the pylon anyway, why not just feed the mainline through the bridle loop? That's what we've been doing for a couple of years now, and it is as fast (or faster) than forcing the entire handle and bridle section through the mainline loop. Even feeding a mainline with shocktube through the loop is pretty quick and easy. Just remember, obvious is only obvious after it becomes... um... obvious. TW

I'm a Sig Sauer man myself.  The idea of a "break-away" is addressed in our patent application, as a subset mechanism involving one of the safety panel designs. Using a cam idea as mentioned above, the handle will separate into two pieces - each "half" (actually they overlap) remains attached to its own bridle rope. There are numerous problems involved with this design, not the least of which is that fact that it would be somewhat of a hassle to reassemble the handle every time before your deep-water start. Plus, a moment's inattention and you're holding an unusable two pieces as the boat is idling away. The cam-lock mechanism itself comes from an old patent for a show-skiing handle, which is cited on our patent and can be studied here: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=16&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&S1=((water+AND+ski)+AND+handle).TI.&OS=ttl/((water+and+ski)+and+handle)&RS=TTL/((water+AND+ski)+AND+handle)  (Patent #4,280,240) Thomas WayneÂÂÂ

Alex & Chuck - Email me at twcues@gci.net and I'll send you out all the info you need to know about getting an ARM-GUARD™. To answer Chuck's question, no I am not worried about getting a finger caught in the mesh, and the following photo should explain why. It shows the Lexan™ safety panel up close, along with a dime, which will not even come close to fitting through one of the openings in the grid. Being diamond shaped, the holes reflect a well-known optical illusion; they are actually far more restrictive than our brains can easily perceive.  A solid panel would sure be a lot easier and quicker to machine, but we found that design tends to act like a rudder in the water and a sail in the air. Not desirable either way. Thomas Wayne

I can't imagine using a rope release for slalom skiing - I ski too hard forthat. On occasion I have bitten off more than I could chew and have hadto let go as I approached the wake ("lean lock"). That is onepainful fall, and though I've never broken my ribs it is quite obvious that isa possibility. I've ruptured eardrums, blown out contacts and had my bellseriously rung with those types of falls, and I really am not willing to makethat a more regular part of my skiing. This is just my personalviewpoint, of course. The handle safety panel we've developed, the ARM-GUARDâ„¢, is not the ultimatesolution to slalom safety - only because there IS no such thing... and therenever will be. High end slalom skiing carries certain risks that areunavoidable. But putting your head through the bridle and dying from abroken neck or subsequent drowning IS avoidable, and the ARM-GUARDâ„¢ does apretty perfect job of preventing that, at little cost and pretty much zeroinconvenience. I have personally skied with one for most of last summer - as soon as mydoctor semi-approved skiing again - and all runs this year. For the last two seasons everyone whoskied at my site used one. Within the first couple of passes it became"invisible" to me, as far as having any sort of negative effect on myperformance. I will NEVER ski without one again. I believe with allmy heart that if I had been using one on July 30, 2006, I would not havesuffered the devastating injury that I did. Body-part-through-handle injuries are far more common than you mightthink. I have examined every safety study available, and I can tell youthat dozens and dozens of skiers are injured this way every year. Onaverage, more than a dozen skiers each year suffer this type of injury inCalifornia alone [according to safety studies from 2002 - 2007]. Deathsare more rare, but one thing to consider is this - no matter how unlikelyit is, if it happens to you it might as well be 100%! Survivinga head-through-handle fall is your least likely outcome. You can talk and brainstorm and argue forever about how to make our sportsafer, but at the end of day all that talk does nothing. Only actionyields results, and that's why we're doing something. I've said it beforeand I'm sure I'll say it many more times in the future: If Brett Yager had been using a handle safety panel on May 2, 2008 he wouldnot have died as he did. It doesn't get any simpler than that. Thomas Wayne

Watch this video if you want to see something quite cool. We build our patent-pending ARM-GUARD™safety panel using Lexan™, which we believe is the perfect choice of materialsfor the job. If you don’t know what theARM-GUARD™ is, check out this BallOfSpray link: http://ballofspray.com/vanillaforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=454 Lexan™ is one of the most shatterproof plastics on the planet, andwill withstand ANY impact that we are likely to encounter in waterskiing. After all, you don't get a lot morehigh-speed-impact action than a 9mm bullet or a 12-gauge shotgun blast at closerange – as the video linked below clearly shows! Thomas Wayne

Final Comments about the ARM-GUARD™ We firmly believe that the enhancements we've made to the basic bridle cover are significant, evident in our decision to pursue a patent. Currently, we have a stock of hand-machined panels, and we are approximately three weeks away from finalizing tooling for larger-scale production. The standard set comprises the custom-machined polycarbonate safety panel, high-quality steel-tooth wire ties, and the midpoint handle link, all depicted in our photos. An instruction sheet is included, and email tech support is available. The existing versions fit standard Masterline, Radar (and similar handles), and ARS (current HO configuration). Radius handles require a special panel, which we produce on a special order basis (at the same price as the standard design). The cost for our ARM-GUARD™ set is $45, inclusive of shipping and handling. Within the next two weeks, we will launch a website for order placement, with payment facilitated through PayPal. In the interim, while the shopping cart system is being developed, orders can be placed directly via email at twcues@gci.net. Regardless of whether you opt for alternative devices, create your experimental solution, or purchase from us, we strongly encourage all skiers to incorporate some form of a safety panel into their handle sections. It is an indisputable fact that if such a device had been in place on May 2, 2008, in Acapulco, Brett Yager would not have experienced the tragic outcome. If concerns for your safety and that of fellow skiers aren't motivation enough to address this issue promptly, here's one more reason: for the next two years, 10% of the gross sales of our device will be directed into a college fund established for Brett Yager's son, Tyler. Thomas Wayne

OTHER SOLUTIONS (Chef Anton) While we have applied for patent protection on several aspects and iterations of our invention, there are a couple of other solutions that have been tried and are currently in use. Chef Anton, a hydrofoil rider ( "Air Chair") based out of Canyon Lake, CA, is a professional entertainer, performing as a magician and a billiard trick-shot artist. He mentions that arm-through-handle injuries are very common among hydrofoil riders. To address this issue, he has manufactured a fabric safety panel, pictured below, designed for attachment to a barefoot jump handle. As of three days ago, the price for the device alone was $100. Chef also offers a service to sew his device onto your handle for a custom fee ranging from $50 to $75, depending on the handle configuration. Chef can be reached at 800-679-3859.

OTHER SOLUTIONS (Scott Rabineau) While we have applied for patent protection on several aspects and iterations of our invention, there are a couple of other solutions that have been tried and are currently in use. Scott Rabineau, who suffered two arm-through-handle injuries, designed a vinyl/fabric cover that slides over the bridle and attaches with Velcro and/or wire ties. He has made these for several skiers over the years, including Marcus Brown. I have no idea what he would charge to make one, but a local marine upholstery shop looked at the photo and quoted me $50. Scott can be reached at: srabeneau@earthlink.com, and here is a close-up of his device in use: [insert image here].

Based on discussions with skiers who have experienced arm-through-handle accidents, there are two distinct types of falls leading to such incidents. The more common one is a slow out-the-front or sideways lay-down fall near the buoy, where the skier releases the handle, but his hand remains close until both hit the water's surface. Occasionally, the hand cleanly enters the bridle's opening, allowing the handle to slide partially or entirely up the arm. This is how my injury occurred, and it's comparable to an "all-net" shot in basketball – you're unaware until the rope tightens. Alternatively, a skier may hold the handle loosely, and upon impact with the water, it's torn from the grip and slides up the arm. In cases where a skier gets their head through the bridle, as Brett Yager did, it often occurs when attempting to hold too much slack and experiencing a significant hit when the rope tightens. The skier's arms are violently jerked forward, and the body follows. Due to the elastic nature of our arms, as the skier flies forward (often out of the ski or skis), the arm snaps back toward the body, bringing the handle into a position for a head-first dive into the bridle. This is how injuries happen after landings, faceplants, or too-fast hook turns. The apparent solution is to introduce a shield into the triangular opening of the handle to prevent anything from passing through. However, skiers still need some opening to grasp the handle comfortably. Experiments indicate that blocking 65% to 67% of the opening does not adversely affect skier performance. Concerns have been raised about potential dangers if a skier gets their arm into the remaining opening. However, the likelihood of being aware of such a situation before it's too late is minimal. Closing off most of the bridle opening accomplishes two things: it significantly reduces the target area for the arm to enter, and it creates an opening too small for the arm to easily enter. In designing a safety device, we experimented with various materials. Traditional solutions involved fabric or other flexible materials, but these could act as a funnel, guiding the skier's hand into the remaining opening. Solid fabrics, like vinyl sheeting, don't allow water or air to pass through easily and can act as a rudder in water and a sail in the air. Our solution was to machine a safety panel from semi-rigid polycarbonate (Lexan), featuring vent holes and attachment points. This material strikes a balance between rigidity, porosity, and softness upon impact. These safety panels are now mandatory for all skiers at my lake and are used on several other lakes in the area, attached to various handle configurations, including "easy-up" bridles and radius handles. Thomas Wayne

Several years ago, we watched an episode of "Impact: Stories of Survival" on the Discovery Health Channel that featured the story of a 17-year-old girl who was injured while jumping in a tournament in Illinois. As reported in that story, she fell forward ("out-the-front") upon landing, and her head plunged through the opening of the handle, causing a "hanging-like" injury. Her trachea was severed internally, and the show went on to reenact how her life was saved through medical intervention. Since first seeing it, that episode has re-aired several times and will re-air on the Discovery Health Channel on May 27 and also June 1 of this year (http://health.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=62.10307.105905.26110.x). After I saw that show, I started thinking about how the ski handle could be redesigned to prevent such an occurrence, and I drew up the first of several ideas on my computer. That horrific accident, however, had occurred during waterski jumping, and I hadn't personally been off a jump in over 15 years. So, after a while, I lost interest in the issue. My original designs just sat on my hard drive, and I kind of forgot the whole thing for a while. In 2004, "Carl" started a thread on the old Nicholls forum describing an accident he had experienced where his arm went through the handle during a fall, and he suffered some serious soft tissue injuries (http://eclipse.nicholls.edu/cgi-bin/BBS/webbbs_archive.pl?noframes;read=3554). Within the thread, there are a number of responses that mention similar injuries and propose some possible solutions. That thread caused me to revisit my earlier designs and ponder the solution some more, but because the issue hadn't yet touched me directly, I again let it go dormant. In early July of 2006, a Pennsylvania state trooper died while waterskiing – a preliminary report stating that the handle "hit him in the head" can be found here: http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?S=3553483, but it was later determined that he was actually killed when [presumably] his face or head entered the bridle during a fall, breaking his neck and causing him to drown. After this horrific accident, I took the time to machine parts for my original design and showed it to some of my ski buddies, but ironically, I didn't bother to modify our handles. I say this is ironic because on July 30, 2006, I fell while waterskiing and inadvertently thrust my left arm through the handle section, severely breaking the arm and causing injuries from which I am still recovering. As soon as I got out of the hospital in August 2006, I installed my device on handles at my ski site, and we began the process of testing and refining the design. To date, this device has been used extensively in Alaska at a number of different ski sites by many skiers and on many different handle configurations. All skiers who ski on my lake use it as a matter of principle. The device has also been tested (somewhat secretly) in Florida and California. It is currently Patent Pending, and we originally had intended to release it later this summer. But now the tragic and untimely death of Brett Yager has greatly accelerated the need for awareness of the extreme danger posed to all skiers by the ubiquitous handle design that we have used since the sport began. Many years ago, Fine Woodworking Magazine conducted a study regarding the relationship between power tools and hand injuries. They arrived at some interesting conclusions; apparently, the power tool responsible for the greatest number of injuries is the table saw – simply because virtually ALL woodworkers own and use one. However, the power tool responsible for the WORST injuries is the radial-arm saw. Injuries incurred with a radial-arm saw are much more infrequent, but when they DO happen, they are almost always catastrophic, resulting in at least the amputation of a finger (or fingers) up to the loss of an entire hand! The ski handle is "our radial-arm saw"; injuries involving it are rare, but when they do happen, they are almost always serious, often devastating, and occasionally fatal. What may be most important to note, however, is that they are not as rare as you might think. Many skiers have experienced accidents similar to mine, and some of them are names that you may recognize. For example, Todd Ristorcelli – editor of "Water Ski" magazine – has written about being dragged down the lake with his arm caught in the handle. Scott Rabineau has done it TWICE (!), and according to what he told me, the second time he had to have his entire bicep surgically removed. Marcus Brown told me of a similar incident where he got hung up in the handle. In fact, according to safety studies in California, an average of a dozen or so skiers are injured every year in "body part through handle" accidents – and remember, those had to be accidents serious enough to be reported! At the Tenth International Symposium on Skiing Trauma & Safety held at Zell am See, Austria, May 17-21, 1993, the presenters concluded: "Interaction with the towrope is a common cause of water-skiing injuries. If a skier engages a limb in the towrope during a fall, severe injury can occur while being dragged through the water at high speed." In fact, such accidents are mentioned in virtually every safety study I've found that references water skiing. So the danger, while rare, is not as uncommon as you might think. If you don't know someone it has happened to, you almost certainly know someone who does know someone it has happened to. But no matter how infrequently it may occur, if it happens to YOU, it might as well be 100%. In the next several posts, I'll detail the device we've created, along with some other available alternatives. Thomas Wayne

Marco,  I'm waiting for JH to give me the okay to post the same info on this site. Also setting up a PayPal website asap. TWÂÂÂ

That first photo is of the west course. The one below is the north course, more popular due to it being so close to home - the 55m gates are shot from a dock that is close enough to talk to the skier during his pullout. The upside is having a completely private 156-acre lake with multiple courses; the downside is a 4 month season.

Paradise, that is... Just need the ice to melt off the top, and then we'll be good to go. In a couple of weeks, it should look like this:

One thought. Be careful you don't create a shape at the front of the boot that will produce some unanticipated hydrodynamic force (such as lifting the front of the ski while on edge) that could affect the way it performs. No matter what you do, make sure it is easily reversed... just in case.  TW

"I felt sorry for myself because I had no woman until I met a man who had no hands." Mohandas Gandhi TW

Funny... my build has been compared to Bob LaPoint's (in more recent years). I wonder if I can find any [current] videos of him to study? TWÂÂÂ

The "white undercoat showing on the edge" is far more likely to be a couple of hot spots caused by the camera flash. I've photographed a lot of pool cues, and this is a common result of non-pro lighting on a radiussed surface (the Connelly bevels are fairly round). Also, I very much doubt there is a "white undercoat" involved with this ski. In my experience the color of the resin in the bottom of a ski is usually consistent throughout, and you have to get all the way to the core to see a truly different color/material. Scratches and dings may give the appearance of "white", due to the way exposed fiberglass can reflect/absorb light, but I've haven't seen any "undercoat" in a glass ski since the early 70's.  TW

This agreement was undoubtedly a settlement result of the federal lawsuit initiated by Zero Off. It sounds very much to me as if Perfect Pass is agreeing to not pursue the DBW speed control market, and ZO won't be addressing the throttle-cabled-boat aftermarket. I have to think that both companies will continue to exist for some time to come, especially when you consider the vast number of pre-2006 boats that remain in use. Good inboard ski boats last a long, long time. While PP has been very successful in the marketplace, it's probable that the vast majority of these older boats do not yet have a speed control system - and that is the market PP will continue to serve. TWÂÂÂ

In the early 90's I used to ride my old trick ski in the slalom course now and then - 42" Kidder with Maha double overlays. We had an ' 89 MC and I skied at 18 1/2 mph. I could almost always run the shortest line we had - 39 1/2 off - and it was an extreme hoot. The entire ride consisted of building huge speed and angle toward the wakes, absorbing the wakes without losing too much angle, and then landing the resulting air as much on edge as possible. After that is was basically a high-speed sideslide around the ball and then a patient balancing act until the ski slowed enough for the down edge to get a bite... followed by another huge cut to the wake. It was hairy, but great fun. Because I was the only one in Alaska who could even ride a single trick ski, I had no idea what driving the boat for this effort was like (this was pre-PerfectPass days, of course). One day, out of curiosity, I asked my ski partner about it and he said it was a combination of constant throttle work and massive one-handed steering control. Apparently the boat didn't maintain its pull very well at those slow speeds, and loading up a trick ski from ~40' outside the centerline really pulled the boat around. He said it was a major effort just to keep it inside the boat guides. Today's boats are a much more solid pull, but I still have to think that the driving would be way different than most guys are used to. TW