Lieutenant Dan

Wow. I love it. Where are the lakes from there @webbdawg99?

For what its worth, the instructions that come with the bindings specifically call out putting the "insole into the boot liner" after heating the liners for "custom molding".

Great discussion which I have come to very late. Just a comment about Nate Smith's centerline "stack". I just looked at some video I had of him that I took from inside the boat a couple of years ago. Even at 38 off he is just so quick that he has completed his acceleration / lean way before the center of the wakes and is changing edges already. And its that way on both sides. Incredible.

I can't wait to hear from the big brains on this forum (e.g. @Than_Bogan) who can explain why this new thing seems to work as well as it does. Seems counter-intuitive to me that by allowing the ski to flex torsionally it improves performance. Could be something to do with storing the energy up on the twist and then releasing it "later", e.g. a combination of the twist with the Zero-off hit. Dunno.

Also, they seem so relaxed all the time. No panicking, scrapping, etc.

@Marco tell us more, please....which suit? I'd really like to ditch my dry suit as well

Milwaukee is my home town (live in Cincy now) and I would so love to go, but can't seem to justify missing a whole weekend of skiing during the best part of the summer just to watch others do it much better. Man, I am addicted....

@skibumm What is the mount that you use / where did you get it from? Which iPhone do you use?

Will be in Hartland Friday to Sunday visiting relatives. Are there any Ballers in the area that I might be able to catch a set with?

I'm sure it all depends on how you use your boat. Myself, I use my "classic" Sunsetter LXi for all purposes - just as it was designed and marketed. It is my slalom course tug at the ski club and it is my air-chairing, wakeboarding, tubing, open water and cruising boat for all waters. For the wakesports and airchairing (off the tower) it is best to have more seating up front when you are out on the water all day. And kids like it.

Oh yeah...and one other key observation....they are dynamic in their position....it is not held static once they achieve their stack....they get on it early, accelerate the ski from white water to wakes and advance the ski through to "in front" of them early. These are the things I am working on this year.

@ShaneH Great observation on the hips. You say sternum but are you really talking about pelvis? Anyway...I am still a hack but had an "aha" moment finally this winter while studying slow motion videos of Regina Jacques and Terry Winter that I think is also evident with Nicole's skiing. They are "patient" with their turns, i.e. they keep the shoulders back - chest out stance (that even the guys in the side-by-sides show in the pre-turn and start of the turn) all the way through the turn and finish with good ski angle (under the rope and lots of ski in the water) and with the handle low and down by the "trailing leg" thigh. I am convinced that skiing all the way through the turns to that position is the key and can't wait to try to apply it in the course this summer (crappy spring and injury has kept me off the water so far). I think a lot of us guys want to jump on the handle early with the rope "in front" of us, which not only cuts off the end of the turn but also tends to put us in the butt back - bent over - straight leg - wheelie turn - crappy angle position.

@walleye I have friends that I ski with who are also -22. When I see them getting the slack at one, I tell them to just go easier (i.e. don't "pull" hard) through the gates. Works (nearly) all of the time.

@cragginshred I too am a 34mph / -22 to -28 skier. I find that you have to not get too pumped and actually go easy on the gate shot to set up a good one ball. Get wide on the pull out, turn in using the front of the ski (no tail turning), set a good angle and just hold it to the middle of the wake. You've got extra distance / time to get wide and turn around 1 ball. Easy does it!

I use a convection oven....Fluid Motion used to have some good videos on the entire process...

@gator1 Unfortunately I let my nerd card expire a long time ago (Masters in Aerospace Engineering in '87 followed soon after by a career change to the dark side, i.e. sales) so I am not quite following your item (1) and explanation of torque on the ski in acceleration (but for some reason really want to). Torque around what axis? Accomplishing what rotation? Are you saying they net some positive torque which results in the ski creating increased cross-course angle as they accelerate?

@phillips Not that I could really add anything more once you've got the word from @ChrisRossi but....per your comment on wanting them loose....not so much....you need to have the liners "snug" to your feet (heat forming them does the trick) because the liners themselves release from the shells when you do release. The looseness is at the laces, i.e. you don't want them too tight as to impede the release of the liners.

He's got to have incredibly strong abs to be able to be bent over like he is yet not get pulled further over the front.

@Steven Haines @PurdueSkier So, what was the process for installing them? Steam them then stretch and staple? What was the best way to steam them. Any "lessons learned" to share? Thanks.

@Steven Haines @PurdueSkier I am curious about the materials that Chee used. Did he use the older / smooth (and not so tough) materials that Malibu used to use, or is it the newer/"grained"/tougher material that Malibu uses today? I have a 2001 which is going to need redoing at some point soon and am wondering what I would get...

Dumb question perhaps but do you want the boat to steer left if you let go of the wheel of Malibu? Follow up....what side do you grind Malibu rudder?

In the recent video by Andy Mapple where he compares the path of 28 off versus 38 off, he remarks that his set-up for 38 off actually makes running 28 off harder for him. That sure has got me thinking! If this is the case then what changes do I, as someone who is struggling to get through 28 off / 34mph, make to the "recommended" settings? I just bought a left-over 2013 Radar Strada (68", I am 55 years old, 6'0" tall and weigh 190 - 195lbs). Chris Rossi's recommended settings are 2.5 depth, 6.845 lenght, 0.77 DFT, 29 7/8 binding with 9 degree wing. I assume that these are his recommended settings for an advanced short line skier, which, per Andy Mapple's statement, would make running 28 off even harder for an intermediate course skier like me. So, if my logic is correct, then there should be some "adjustments" to the pro-level recommended settings which would make running 28 off easier, right? What would those adjustments be? Thoughts?

@MISkier yes, carb'ed 310 HP engine was standard....325 Monsoon was the upgrade

@Mickey I don't where you are located but here is one in TN....a really clean looking 2000 SSLXI with low hours and only asking $21,750. The Monsoon 325 is a good motor. That's the one I have. You can put a 11.5 inch pitch prop on it to make it have more hole shot if that is needed. http://knoxville.craigslist.org/boa/4142043719.html

@Mickey For what it's worth, another good option (if you can find one) is the '99 - '04 Sunsetter LXI. A bit bigger than the Response LXIs but still a very good slalom wake. In fact, I'd say that my '01 SSLXI has a "better" 22-off wake than that of the '03 - '06 Response LXI. It is a touch bigger but softer. '04 SSLXI is the best (with Indmar Monsoon "340") if you can find one.