danbirch

Has Andy ever expressed a desire to ski Big Dawg's?

Think I'd rather just ski for $20...(but thank God for the guys who are willing to dig). Actually, the guy at http://lsfdev.com/ has it right. Build the lake, and plot out the lots to be sold to various owners. Why hoard it all for yourself, when you can make $$ from others (if you can find the buyers). Looks like Scot Chipman's map showed it was done that way as well.

700k to build a lake...now let's see, how much is that per set?

The deeper the better.

The PV is unbelievable help in getting easy deep water starts, and pulling out at the end of the course. The timing of it, when inside of the course, is a different feel, that I have a hard time getting used to. It's just a different feeling, and if you get the vest loaded at the wrong time, you'll get quite a "ride"... That said, certain aspects of the pv are brilliant (like the padded "wings"), and some could use some future improvements. I wish their belt would go around the outside of the vest plate, so that it would wench up to your body when you tighten your belt. The way they are now, you cannot tighten the belt too much, or, you may pull the washers right through the belt. Other than that, I've seen some skiers do very well with this vest. It's a personal preference thing, I suppose.

I understand that on a recent Animal Planet show, they showed that an alligator has a textured skin which help it slide through the water. It was compared to a golf ball, which has dimples all over it, and those help it slide though the air. Apparently, those textures are better than smooth.

The machine work looks great! The $430 for both mirror and bracket seems a little bit steep. Maybe they'll be available on SIA in a couple of years.......

Come on out, John. I'll be skiing today with K. Hyatt. 10-12 ish.

Check out the video of the exhibit they had... http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/16505350/water-tank-collapses-at-atlanta-boat-show-causes-flooding?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6633328

Plenty of skiing at Canyon Lake, about 75 min. North of San Diego... Current water temp 56 degrees and temps around 80.

I don't know, but I do know that Scott Larson really likes (and skis very well on) one of his older D3 skis. (very old compared to the newer skis). If he hasn't broken it down, then I doubt I can break my skis down either.

Interesting thread. Very good points in both directions. The only thing I don't get, is in watching Seth's video, he REALLY jumps the wake high. I don't think most beginners would have the balance and experience to come out of that wake jumping alive....

OMG, I feel so spoiled. 85 degrees here (California), 58 water and I was complaining that the water was cold. After watching Richard Doanne's 80 rule, I'm definately a wus. I can't even touch a "100" rule... Good Job, Richard. You guys are inspirational!

I appreciate both of your positions. They both shed light on different aspects of the sport, both from people who are passionate. It seems to me that this is a somewhat "dis-jointed" sport. By that, I mean, it is expensive, you must (typically) travel to some rural area to ski, have ALL of the water to yourself (for your turn to work), likely have other friends that like the sport to ski with, and at best, it's a poor spectator sport (long waits between skiers, repetitive and boring for non-skiers, poor conditions for spectators (too much sun), etc. For me, to grow the sport, would be to educate the public. Imagine an infomercial, where MasterCraft would show (educate) what it is like to be involved in the water ski lifestyle. The benefits for families. Interview the many great water skiing families. Show the tournaments, and people who really have a great time at them. Introduce it as a sport & lifestyle that would look attractive to people who have no idea about it. As things are now, without major television exposure, the sport seems to me to be dead-locked. And with so few of the younger skiers, I fear the future. IMO, Nate Smith is the greatest story to come to this sport in a long, long time. I'm hoping he can break the World Record this year, while he is young. That is a story that could make it to the media. Other than us skiers, who has heard of him??? Hopefully, opportunities like this can be seized to help grow the sport. Krista is a great person to be involved, and who knows...maybe some day....things will change....(or I'll just continue being a "dreamer")....

@Sethski A BIG thanks to Seth. That was very well explained and appreciated!

I appreciate hearing everyone's perspective (especially the pro's). It helps to hear about different methods, so I can decide which works best for me. The most important thing, is to ski safe/smart, since, MOST of the people here will never earn $1.00 from their skiing, and as we have seen, some injuries can be very, very serious.

It would seem to me that Nate must ski on his front foot. How much rear foot can one ski on with a RTP? Also, Reginas latest tapes look like her style is changing...ALOT. Looking more like Nate. Awesome!

Sorry to hear about this. That sucks. Did the bindings release?

Sorry to hear about this. That sucks. Did the bindings release?

.....Oh No. Have you changed your impeller? ....Oh look! The trees are starting to blow!

Just put a triangular gas tank in the bow, and run a line back to the engine. Be sure you don't hit anything head on...or BOOM!

@ Wish: Good question. The Hydrophase owner's manual says it will only work on the Mechanical Throttle type boat. I'm just guessing here, but maybe since PP has sold it's "boat speed control" patent rights, it can no longer defend it's exclusive right to the product?

Chef, yes, you are correct. I have a friend who had an 09 MC TT, and wanted to have SG put onto it. The local MC Dealer said they would not do it, BUT, it probably could be done for around 5-6k. I'm not sure how they came to that figure. I think it would need a new module, and not sure what else? The strange thing (to me) is that when I got ZO put on my 07 MC TT, it cost about $800 for the new module, and the cost of ZO, so around $2200 w/labor. Not really sure why they quoted my friend 5-6 k to make his 09 go back to SG. Maybe someone else (like Jody Seal) could shed some light on this?

@ Wish: I don't know why they took so long. They claim to be still working on it. I recall them saying that they were fairly busy with the non-dbw boats. @ JC: That agreement was published on their websites (the final agreement). You cannot put SG on a 09 and later boat (w/o spending A LOT more than anyone would want to). 07's and 08's, yes, you still can. I've heard that newer wakeboard boats can have SG on them.

PP owned the patent on speed control (in boats). ZO owned the computer systems in the boats (E-Controls). ZO began making speed control systems, then PP sued ZO (for infringing on their speed control patent), but soon realized it was a useless battle, as EControls could/would simply write their speed control out of the software, and it would not work anyway. Long story short, PP ended up selling their DBW speed control rights to ZO., while PP maintained the older/Mechanical speed control systems.