Thomas Wayne

Dale Sr., who refused to wear a HANS device (and lobbied strongly against NASCAR making them a requirement), would almost certainly survived if he had been wearing one. I guess one could say he learned his lesson... assuming reincarnation exists AND he comes back as a race car driver. As for announcer "overkill", if a skier is estimated to achieve wake-crossing speeds on the order of 57 mph (at -38' or so) then it seems the announcer would be within reason to say that the top slalom skiers often accelerate "from zero to 55 mph in about one second" - since the skier is traveling outward toward an apogee (at which time his outbound speed/direction reaches zero), and about one second later (at the wake) he's going ~55 mph the other direction (sort of). So, without spewing total bullsh*t, the announcer could reasonably claim the skiers "go from zero to 55 in about one second" (and in about 40 feet), which is quicker than any car the spectators will ever own. TWÂ

Tats? Here's a picture of someone with nice tats: http://www.freakingnews.com/Celebrity-Tattoos-Pictures--648.asp TW

"Refugee"? Ed Hickey is at least 6' 3" (or 4") and told me he weighs 168 lbs - in his own words, he's a "freak". I would more kindly describe him as "Mr. Baling-Wire"; there's not an ounce of fat anywhere I could see and his biceps look like uncooked hams. That said, he's a national champion and record holder; from the boat I've personally watched him run into -41' on a number of occasions... TW

Try moving the binding back a bit to "de-tune" the grabiness. TW

Unless you're asking him a question that concludes with his name. In that case it's "...Schnitz? ". TW

"Petron helps me out of my slump!!!" That's funny, 'cause Bulleit always helps me get into my slump! WWSFD*? TW *("WWSFD" = what would skiflyers do?)

"Is this Skifly?" No, silly, this is BallofSpray. Here's an easy way to tell the difference: look up near the top of your screen and you will probably see a little window containing a bunch of gobbledegook-like letters that begin "http://www...". That's called a "URL", and it tells your Internet browser where to go to find specific websites. It's also a handy reference for determining what website you are currently visiting. Because the text following that whole "http://www...." part reads "ballofspray.com" we know that this is the BallofSpray website, and not the "Skifly" website you reference whenever someone has an opinion that differs from yours. TW

"Cooler water ski adjustment would be .005 increase in DFT or you could try A wing angle increase instead (DFT is better though)." Yeah... I don't know. Some think the exact opposite fin adjustment is more appropriate - like Chris Rossi, for example, who writes: "... As the water cools down, we start to lose that space before the buoyand see a drastic reduction in buoy count. Lets take a look at changeswe can make to help keep some of those buoys we tend to lose. I havelisted the suggested changes in the order that I change them. Move the Fin Back: When distance from tail (DFT) is decreased, the tail of the ski slides out less in the pre turn. This helps to keep the ski out in front of the skier more. When the water cools down, the main thing I feel is that my ski wants to suck behind me much quicker after the edge change. This causes me to get too much of the ski in the water too early, taking away width and speed before the buoy. If I am too far forward coming into the ball, then I will have to rock back at the finish of the turn or I will blow the fin out and fall. By moving the fin back, more ski will be out in front of you in the pre turn, helping to set up the best turn possible. My general rule of thumb is to decrease DFT by 0. 003 inches for every 10 degrees of water temperature loss..."Clearly opinions vary. Who to believe... who to believe... TW http://www.proskicoach.com/gear/cold_water_ski_setup/

6'2" 215lbs, 46" chest 36" waist - tried every vest in stock at Miami Ski Nautique - including the largest Eagle models made - could not find a single one I could take a deep breath in. Meanwhile, the XL Elite vest I've got is almost too roomy for me. Go figure... TW

"Caddyshack 2 was maybe the worst movie ever made though." Superseded for that honor by Napoleon Dynamite - and that wasn't even a sequel. TW

We have an annoying problem with an '07 Nautique 196 Limited, PCM 330 HP.  At speeds under 30, engine cuts out randomly for a micro-second at a time. Not enough for skier to feel it, but very annoying to the boat crew. Problem occurs with or without the ZO turned on. We've tried: New cap, rotor, plugs, wires, "Heet" in the fuel, removing the anti-siphon device at top of fuel tank. So far nothing has improved the issue even a tiny bit. I'm hoping someone out there is familiar with this problem and knows of a fix - other than jacking it up and driving a new Malibu/Mastercraft/etc. in underneath it... TW

Andre, One of my long-time ski partners is on the 67" Strada. He weighs between 205 and 215 (depending on his current level of discipline) and he skis 34.2 mph through -32' into the middle of -35' on any given day (he's been all the way through -35" on occasion) He thinks the 67" is plenty big enough for him and that the 68" would be way too much ski. For a fair and balanced report I should note that Eddie Roberts thinks the 67" is too small for my buddy... TW

"if your married, a spouse that doesn't mind you gone skiing, even though there is more important chores to do."  "More important"? More important than skiing? What kid of kooky talk is that? TW

Having been to the Radar plant and having seen how many different hats Eddie wears all day long, I can understand why he sometimes drops the occasional ball. Overall, however, he's legendary for his customer service. My recommendation is before you write him off completely, try sending another email or two. My mother used to say: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" but I'll bet if you take a moment or two to drop him a reminder, Eddie will be more than happy to put on his paving hat... TW

Yawn. Nothing personal, of course. Just doesn't have enough edge. TW

Sadly, Gregory McDonald died a couple of years ago - but Fletch lives on. That said, I see absolutely nothing wrong with the terms onside and offside. If you have a toe & heel fetish like Horton you can always consider that those terms could very easily be referring to the side you are leaning onto your toes (onside) and the side you are leaning off of your toes (offside). As for the heel part of the fetish, JTH, you might have to be on your own with that one. TW

Do I hear .002 1/2? TW

Actually, if you do take it to a machine shop they almost certainly will use a "slitting saw", not an end mill. However, at typical shop rates I don't think you'll save any money over just buying it from the inventor (or one of his distributors), and you'll be demonstrating a higher level of integrity (IMO). TW http://www.slotcaliper.com/

Forget the epoxy and use a very thin, high-quality double-stick tape. You can find this at any well-stocked trophy shop. Make sure the aluminum piece is also baby-butt smooth on the bonding surface. TW

"[...] I pull out when the nose of the boat hitsthe 55's, and I pull about 3 - 5 feet past the buoy line. How do Ipull out farther AND softer?" This exact question came up at Palm Beach Training Center last time I was there, and Chet Raley answered it perfectly. He said: "Just point your ski a little wider, so you ski on a more outbound path." In other words... well actually, you don't need other words - when you initiate your pullout, just point your ski outward toward a spot further up-course than you have been. TW

"I just recalled that a friend's young son marked up his Nautique with aSharpie. After cleaning with various agents there was still a line. After 6-8 weeks it just faded away." So that would have been well after the ass beating? TW

"RPM's cannot ramp up or cut off immediately." While this is technically true, that ramp can be damn short. Get in a ZeroOff equipped CC 200, set the speed at 17.4 mph, and bury the throttle. As soon as you're up to speed (17.4) start hitting the speed-up button as fast as you can. The jump is acceleration is astonishing - you can hardly hit the button faster than the boat can respond. Once you're at 36 mph, start hitting the down-speed button - when we did this on a test drive it was almost like pumping the brakes in a car. Which brings me to: "I think I'd want any chart of what the boat does to be centered (in y)on the average RPM, and thus show what it's doing both when more RPM isneeded and when LESS RPM is needed." As hard as that CC 200 decelerated, I'm inclined to think the ECM actually forces an immediate drop in rpm sufficient for the prop to act like a drag brake. I have no idea if that's actually how it's accomplished, but I'm having trouble imagining any other way to slow a boat that quickly. What I can say is that it felt like we'd thrown a sea anchor out the back of the boat. TW

"DFT.734, L 6.808,D 2.504, Front of fin to back of ski 8.195."  Unless I don't understand the phrase "Front of fin to back of ski" correctly - or if the rules of basic math have changed - this doesn't add up (literally). I can only assume this odd value would have to equal the distance from tail PLUS the length of the fin, but .734" + 6.808" = 7.542" (NOT 8.195"). WTF? Inquiring minds want to know... TW

Don't know if it will work on ballpoint pen, but permanent ink (such as from a Sharpie or other permanent marker) can be removed - believe it or not - by heavily marking over it with a Dry Erase Marker and then wiping the combination off. Apparently the solvent in the DEM drives the "permanent" ink into solution and then everything wipes away cleanly. If you try this on the ballpoint ink be sure to test it first on an unimportant area of vinyl.... like someone else's boat. TW

No he does not still have it.  The guy who bought it got a smoking deal. TW