ToddL

If anyone needs a used Ram-Lin fixed bow stop for a trailer, I have a galvanized one I'd let go for a reasonable offer. Buyer would need to also pay for shipping from 78681, or make arrangements to pick up from Central Texas. It comes with the mounting receiver and all hardware. It does NOT include the bump pads and their hardware. This would be great for someone who's bow stop frame was damaged. Also, Ram-Lin sent me a new receiver mount part but it wasn't the configuration I needed. Let me know if either or both are of interest.

So, I just attempted to estimate shipping on UPS.com. $585!?!?!?! Does that sound right?? Here's the dimensions and info. The skis would ship from Round Rock, Texas, USA 78681 to London, England SE182UL. The box weighs 12.5 lbs (5.6 kg). The Radar box dimensions are 73 x 8 x 6 inches ( 185 x 20 x 16 CM ). Declared value: $800 Any way to get this from here to there for less? @swbca

I have some skis and a buyer in the UK. He is willing to pay for tracked shipping. It seems that USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL all ship. I haven't started the quoting process for a ski box, but I was wondering if anyone has been there, done that, and has lessons learned to share.

I prefer to coach narrow width for beginners and focus on tall posture with controlled crossings. Then, only add angle incrementally. If the skier adds width too soon, their position often degrades as they approach the wakes. This hinders confidence. Rather, we want them to gain confidence crossing the wakes. The reality is that with tall posture and a little bit more angle, the skier will gain momentum and thus width for free vs. artificially adding it. I say let momentum from posture and incremental angle increases generate width for the skier. Its a subtle difference but one that seems to drive confidence and progress for the beginners that I've coached.

My 2006 SN196 appears to have been modified (intentionally) so as to take some mass away from the lock tab. I can't find that part alone anywhere. I may have to buy the whole assembly. (GRRR!)

In the audio world, sound attenuation takes into account the frequencies and wave lengths to be controlled. Very thorough studio or installed solutions would require customized products of differing mass with varying void of air between them to achieve the goals. One can surmise that similar physics would and should apply to wave attenuation in water. I wonder if the averages and range of amplitude and frequencies of adjacent watercraft, etc. could be measured and any solution optimized to disrupt those specific frequencies.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScown1CBUO9G8LgRusmFnmwWIosCJTSL7KpjjLgNzNuUS813A/viewform

Please consider voting for @MattL for NCWSA Male Leader of the Year: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScown1CBUO9G8LgRusmFnmwWIosCJTSL7KpjjLgNzNuUS813A/viewform

I've had Graston done. Use Arnicare gel to minimize bruising. Yes, it sort of hurts while being done. I have let a few choice words fly. My chiro (and friend who slalom skis) said that's his affirmation that it is working. LOL. Seriously though, once the soreness of the treatment passes, the original issue is resolved or greatly improved. It isn't really done on the tendons unless there is some mild adhesion to address. Rather, it restores full movement and function to the associated muscles so that the tendons can go back to just being connectors and not straining so much.

I recall that back in the early 90s there were companies making poly with a few strands of Kevlar line inside the poly braids. I had a trick rope made of that stuff. The idea was that the Kevlar strand would add just a bit more rigidity to the rope.

@customski - yes. However, he has bumped up to a 2020 Vapor Pro since then.

Walley Buoys make knowing more difficult. I have hit a buoy in a tournament, but not enough to lose direction or balance. So, I kept skiing. I ran that pass. At the end of the lake, the boat driver asked me what I thought about that buoy. I honestly said, "I felt it but I don't know how narrow/late it was, so I kept skiing." The judges decided it was a good pass. There is totally a difference between selling a known inadequate performance and just skiing knowing that the performance may or may not have been enough. After all, it is the judge's responsibility to make that determination as they have a 3rd person vantage point.

Ski Season 2022 is winding down. As I look back on this year, I am reminded about how lucky I am to have such a great son. Please excuse my proud dad post, but I want to brag on @MattL for a bit. He's become quite a leader in our sport. What does an outstanding leader do? He or she enables their team to succeed, grow, and persevere! That is what Matthew Leach has done since his start with the Texas State University (TXST) Water Ski Team. Did you know that TXST Water Ski team added 20 new members in 2022, 11 of those new members competed in NCWSA tournaments for the first time this year? Did you know that at SCR Regionals 2022, TXST competitors skied 16 Personal Best Tournament performances??? One would assume that only the new skiers got PBs, but in fact, Matthew Leach skied a slalom PB that tournament. TXSU achieved all of this despite losing access to their training site for over 1 year during COVID, losing all but a couple of existing competitive-experienced skiers, losing all financial support from the university, and many other hurdles. Their team leadership nearly completely turned over in 2020/2021. The only remaining officer was Matthew Leach, Team Captain. Matthew had to negotiate a new contract with their host site, SMRR. Matthew also served as SCR Regionals Tournament Director for 2022 and 2021 Regionals (when they had to move the site from Houston to Austin the day before due to flooding!). In both SCR events, the skiers proclaimed the tournaments as huge successes both competitively and in terms of camaraderie. Matthew serves as primary coach for the team and the interface between the SMMR site and the team. He is also as NCWSA SCR Membership committee representative. Matthew is a rated official 3 event judge, 3 event scorer, rated safety official, and trained driver. Despite missing team placement by only 80 team points to qualify for Nationals hosted at their home site, Matthew showed up to help work the event anytime he wasn’t in classes. His team is constantly putting out positive posts on Instagram and social media. This team is rebuilding fast and furiously, and Matthew is the driving force. He should be recognized for his undeniable commitment to growing this sport. Please join me in encouraging Matthew to continue to be and grow as an ambassador for competitive water skiing.

Thank you, @jhughes and @buoyboy1 for taking the time to share your experience!!!

So this winter, I am going to tackle new bunks for my 2006 SN 196. The Ramlin trailer is one where the bunks sit along top of the frame. As such, I assume that there is no way to carpet the bunks before installing, unless I want to pierce the carpet to set the lag bolts. I don't want to do that. The holes in the carpet would just create a weak point for it to later tear. So, I assume the process is to install the bunk wood, then carpet them after they are in place. The trailer currently has no carpet. It has a PVC dock trim double D style mounted to the bunks. It seems to work. So, I have searched and Gatorback seems to make a legit solution for bunks. FWIW, I found the following advice, which would apply regardless of the bunk covering: "Remove the carpet, remove the countersunk bolts, some if not most will snap, get some new treated 2X4's and new screw bolts. Don't try to screw into the existing trailer holes, drill new ones, add the countersink and then screw the new bolts in. My experience in redoing multiple Ramlin trailers is that they do not put enough screws into the bunks. I double the number when I put them on. Loading the trailer, especially when you power on, puts tremendous lateral force on the bunks as the boat moves forward up the trailer. This is when the bolts break and putting in extras will make the bunks much more secure."

They didn't publish team results on waterskiresults.com before the banquet so as to keep some element of surprise for the banquet.

They didn't publish team results on waterskiresults.com before the banquet so as to keep some element of surprise for the banquet.

D1 2022 National Champs: ULL Ragin' Cajuns, SCRD2 2022 National Champs: TAMU Aggies, SCR

D1 2022 National Champs: ULL Ragin' Cajuns, SCRD2 2022 National Champs: TAMU Aggies, SCR

Maybe a trick judges' database is in our future. It would be good to see analytics which find bias or outliers in trick calling. It could identify if 1 judge is more frequently the outlier vs the others present during an event. This could suggest a training opportunity. Also, if a judge is consistently cutting T5B more frequently than his or her peers, and so on. It could highlight opportunities for conformity, education, and training. It could also track skier-judge pairs to see if there is an outlier of potential of bias in favor or against the skier vs other skier-judge pairs.

I think mine is the CMD4 or CMD4A.

2nd BOS Cash Prize in Austin at Aquaplex. Oct 1&2 2016 (2017 ski year). I ran 32 off for the first time in a tournament, (1 @ 35 new PB). Then I did it again, 1.5 @ 35, another PB! Prior to this tournament, I was getting 2 @ 32 off occasionally. Doing this in the first 2 rounds was not ideal for the format. Ideally if I had done that in the last round, the 1st place check would have been for sure! But, one never turns down an opportunity to run their hardest pass for the first time ever for the purpose of sandbagging... Still, @Horton felt compelled to adjust my ranking average score going into the 3rd round. I ended up skiing 4 @ 32 off (still above my prior performances, but the adjustment made had me settling for a little less cash. I was asked how/where did those scores come from? Well, two things:1) I got a great setup/coaching tip from @SkiJay 2) I did what he said and only focused on that What was it? Get the inside hip (left into 1 ball) up over the front foot early during/conclusion of the edge change. I still come back to that tip from time to time, but injuries, life has not let me train at the level I was those years. Maybe next year I can get there again.

I have a 2006 SN 196 that came with the Clarion radio deck with remote control panel to the left of the steering wheel: The LCD is no longer readable. All the controls/buttons work. I am looking for a replacement panel. Or, if someone has successfully replaced the LCD, insights on that process would be helpful, too.

For those who have never seen this...

@Inboardfix - Skiing is risky. We should all know that. You described a very unique set of circumstances whereby an issue could occur. This is all over our sport. There are circumstances where each and every binding system can and might fail. This is why we love our sport. There is some risk. There is some excitement. US Gear handle (which I also use) does not have those corners. So, I guess I am at a little less risk. ;-)