Bruce_Butterfield

My thoughts on the subject: http://www.ballofspray.com/tech-articles/785-staying-open Nate is a textbook example. Wish I had some photos of him when I wrote the article.

The Duvall skis were built in the Kidder factory and have many of the traditional Denny Kidder traits. Its probably an excellent choice for a skier under 110 lbs or so. As always, the only way to know is to try it.

The Duvall skis were built in the Kidder factory and have many of the traditional Denny Kidder traits. Its probably an excellent choice for a skier under 110 lbs or so. As always, the only way to know is to try it.

I flex tested both of mine. The 67 had 2 months and the 68 had a full season. Both were dead on the original numbers.

I have 2 on SIA with a handful of inquiries. Seems like when Andy quit promoting them, the interest dried up from pure perception. The Elite really is a great ski. http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Slalom&postid=16638 http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Slalom&postid=16637

Horton, I was just picturing the veins in JD's head popping with "what the *#&$ are those @#$%* at USAWS thinking now" for about 5 seconds until he gets to HOLY #*%#" The first time I saw this video, I thought there was a serious crash coming, but it really does look like fun.

I have heard from a very reliable source that USAWS will be requiring all current and aspring Senior drivers to pass a more rigorous practical driving test effective immediately after the 2012 Nationals. The effect of this test is expected to weed out the less qualified drivers, result in a significant reduction in insurance costs (once the driver passes the test), and most importantly improve each driver's ability to safely handle the boat in the course and in tight quarters typical in tournament ski lakes. The first driver demonstrating the practical test can be seen in the video below. Ya'll better start practicing!

Use to hunt a lot of these. I think they learned and are mostly gone now. Switching to wild pigs......

Horton, what about Lucky Lowe, Mike Morgan, Ben Favret, Marco Betosini (sp) and Kris LaPoint? There are many other "retired Pros" who play in the Big Dawgs as well. Why is it ok for them to ski the Big Dawgs, but not Andy or Jeff? Several of the above have done well in at the BDs, but they were far from "running the table". The competition is fierce and very deep. The criteria already laid out is fair (haven't skied a pro tournament within the last 3 years) is objective and reasonable in my mind.

OB, I don't think Jeff has repeated running 41 since 1997. He would have been about 30 at the time. I was at Trophy Lakes when he set the record - it was very impressive. And yes, he was in really good shape then. Are you asking a question or making a prediction? I think Jeff is the most likely to run 41 at 55k. I also think his chances would have been much higher when he was 36 than they are now in his mid 40s.

OB 11:53AM Flag Member "How come 41' has been run numerous tines at 58k and NEVER officially at 55k? Hack skiers at 55k?" Good question OB. I have 2 answers: 1. With the exception of Jeff Rodgers, all the others who ran 41 at 58k were "professional" skiers. That's what they did for a living. That's what they did all day long. The should be better than the working stiffs. 2. Age happens. Running 41 at any speed requires exceptional skill AND physical conditioning. Even for world class athletes, their physical condition over 35 won't be as good as just a few years younger. Every little detail comes into play at that level.

Plan for a depth of at least 8' if you can at all afford it. It will ski much better than 4-6' and give you some margin if you get a really dry summer. If you are loosing 1.3-2.5 inches a day, its more than evaporation - you've got a leak somewhere. We loose right at 1/2 inch/day in Texas in July and Aug. You are much better off with north-south. Sun glare on an east-west lake will stop you from skiing for ~1 hour most evenings during prime ski time. Turn islands are a personal thing. I like them. If you put the rip-rap out before the lake fills, your maintenance will be minimal. You can go shorter and probably save slightly on excavation if you do the islands right. All the other comments have been good ones, but the best advice I've heard is to get several estimates and then double the highest one.

Yes, the idle flare on the '97 GT-40. It was corrected in '98 with updated SW in the ECM. Wish, it was several years ago when I checked and can't find the email. Not sure if PCM still offers it, but you can try PCM here: http://www.pcmengines.com/contact/

There is a revised software load for the ECM. PCM offers it free to the original owner of the boat, but charges several hundred bucks after that. I chose to live with it.

Ski breakdown depends on many factors with the primary ones being exposure to sun (excessive heating) and repeated extreme flexure (heavier short line skiers). If you are light, smooth, and keep your ski out of the sun, it will last longer. Breakdown will show up as a drop in consistency, falling for no apparent reason, or having to pull your guts out to accelerate.

I skied at John's lake many moons ago. At the time they did tournaments running only 1 direction. I understand they later did an 8 buoy course and did some record tournaments going both directions. Long before speed control and 55m buoys, but very workable even then. 1350 and an 8 buoy course will work as long as you start going away and turn in.

For kids at slower speeds, the best size ski is very dependent on the speed. If she is not on the slalom course yet, I'm guessing you are pulling her somewhere less than 20mph? If she is at 90 lbs, she definitely needs something bigger than a 62" and your best bet is to find a 64 or 65" adult ski that is a few years old. You should be able to pick up something for a few hundred bucks. I'm a fan of D3/KD skis for kids since they are very stable and easy to ride. However, the correct size is much more important than the brand. If she gets to the max speed of 30 mph in the next year or 2, she might be better on a 62" at that time, but not before. By then, she may be in the weight range at 30-32mph for a 64" anyway.

We dug ours our a few years ago and most of the excavation was outside the course area. You will still have the same issues with shoreline erosion as a new lake. If you want the lake usable when its 3 ft low, then you will either have to have really long slopes or do something like rip-rap on the shorelines. Dredging and moving mud are at least twice as expensive as moving semi-dry dirt. Shoot me an email at bruce dot kim at texoma dot net and we can chat.

From the skier's end of the rope, Accuski is a far better pull than perfectpass. From the driver's end, it takes a handful of passes to get use to the foot switch and how to match up the throttle at the end of the pass, after that its a non-issue. The ability to store up to 10 skiers in memory is much faster than changing skier weight, crew weight, Kx, Px between skiers. It also stores the times for the last 10 passes so you know if the driver was being nice or not:) I have an Accuski system that I no longer use, but it needs a new button on the display module to get started. Probably a $2 part, but I haven't messed with it. Make an offer.

Thanks guys. Its good to know my contributions are appreciated and help out. Than, in the Open article, I'm the ugly guy demonstrating the wrong way to do things! IMHO, the black top Monzas are the best ski built to date. The magic was lost after that run. Still looking for the 2nd best one, or one that can replace it...... Brent, I like GOOD beer, GOOD wine, GOOD Gin...... Ham and the rest of you can have all the PBRs you want.

Excellent perspective from Trent. As for "how", you just need to dig into the archives..... http://www.ballofspray.com/tech-articles/87-what-the-heck-is-handle-control

Only as old as you act? That dog looks dead.......or did you just feed him too many PBRs?

Those speeds are definitely for jump. Slalom speeds for Boys through M2 was 36, Junior boys 34. Girls (I think) through most of the older Women's divisions was 34. Don't know about junior girls, but it may have been 34 as well. It wasn't until they separated the kids divisions from 2 (junior and boys) to 3 (B1, B2, B3) in the mid 90's that the slalom speeds were moved down for the kids and really old folks.

What size are you looking for? I have both a 67 and 68 that need new homes. Both skis are like new.

Seth, As Gloerson calculated out, the fundamental difference is that as the line gets shorter, the skier's path IS longer. While most of the other points are true, this is the fundamental reason why shorter lines are harder – you are traveling a longer distance in the same amount of time, therefore your average speed HAS to be faster. Generating more speed requires more tension on the line. There is no way around this fundamental point of physics. Of course generating this extra tension and speed efficiently (feeling easy) and staying in control are the hard part. The rhythm, timing and mechanical alignment are critical to stay in control, but if you can't / don't generate more speed to begin with, none of that matters. For those who's heads start to spin (or fall asleep) with the math, spend 5 minutes and try my little experiment. If a picture is worth a thousand words, that exercise is worth 10^6 words from the math geeks.