Bud Man

I watched the O’Brien video on the home page, and as old as it is, it make me want to get on the water and ski. I thought it was funny how they said we invite you to try our competitor’s skis and then they showed a bunch of people falling on the jump. I also noticed in the credits that some of the filming was done at Horton Lakes. And Stevie Boy, I see your point. I clicked on that other video before I read your post and left it before 30 seconds.

I don’t think your question can be answered as posed. I believe it would have to depend on the skier and their equipment. You have to know the problem before you can come up with a solution. Just like you can’t ask what is the best length ski. The answer will be different for different people. If your question was [should an average type skier just buy newer equipment in an attempt to ski better or visit a coach?] I think the answer has already been said, that a good coach should be able to diagnose the equipment and you to come up with an answer. Why throw away money on different equipment in an attempt to get more buoys if that is not the problem. The coach might help you ski better and save you money. Think about it this way: Should you switch your mutual fund or consult a good investment advisor in an attempt to make more money? The advisor might say stick with what you have because it is just as good as any out there. Or he might say switch and you gain a lot of money because of it.

WIskier, I tried the A1 and S1. I liked the A1 better. I tried the 66 and 65, and I liked the 65 better. I then tried the 65 Strada and liked it much better. Different people like different skies, but I suggest letting him try a 65 Strada. Great ski and great people standing behind it. I weigh about 140lbs, 5’ 10” and ski 55 kph.

The boat has PP Classic with a slalom switch

I wonder how a combination wing would work. The blades could be bent down like the ventral wing and you could adjust the forward angle as done now with a typical wing. Is there someone out there that can explain the dynamics of the ventral wing better than what I read about? I don't understand jet talk. It was over my head. (in more ways than one) Schnitz, are you reading this? You have probably experimented with ski stuff as much if not more than anyone. Can you chime in?

richarddoane, The point is to make it kind of feel like a real tournament. If yesterday was your first round, then you should post it. I plan to ski my first round this Wednesday. I skied yesterday and only got 1 ½ off the dock at 11.25m, then dropped back to run a few 12s then back to 11.25m and ran that pass that I now find out favored my on side. And the other day I got too aggressive and turned in front of #3 at 12m. So do what you want, but I suggest sticking with your preplanned schedule as if it were a real AWSA tournament not an INT. This is about all of us having fun and not just repeating our personal best every time we ski. I want to feel some of that tournament pressure and plan my sets ahead of time.

jdarwin, Where was your answer before I spent all that time doing side-by-side, frame by frame analysis and not finding any differences in what I was doing; just the same sloppy skiing. [smirk] No wonder it felt easier; with the position of the boat, at 1, 3 & 5, I basically had an extra foot on that side. I will have to say though, that I might see that going into the #4 buoy, my outside shoulder was not turned in as badly as it often is, and maybe that helped me to avoid some of the normal slack I seem to always get. As for the speed; I tried to hand time the video, and the exit gates appear so quickly, I did not feel I could stop the watch accurately. You were right about the path and I trust your timing also. I guess that is why it was easier to run. I guess I can stop looking for things I did right. The boat has PP Classic with a slalom switch and if I get real sloppy and start fighting hard, I can pull the time down a little, but she said when I finished that pass that I felt very smooth. bxroads, You are correct about the hull. My boat is a 1997 190. I think I’ve heard a lot of good things about the 1994 hull as well as the 95-97.

The first week of the April Virtual Tournament starts now. I have picked Wednesday to ski my first round and probably all four rounds. You can pick whatever days you want. I already have butterflies just thinking about it. Please use this format: Example: Jill, Girls 2, Wednesday April 6, 2011, 55 kph, 5 @ 15 off, 18.25m, 65 buoys, ZO Or if Jill has not gotten up to her max speed, and is at (28.6 mph) and is still at 18.25m, see below: Jill, Girls 2, Wednesday April 6, 2011, 46 kph, 5 @ 15 off, 18.25m, 23 buoys, ZO Or if Jill has not gotten up to her max speed, and is at (28.6 mph) and is still at full line 23m, see below: Jill, Girls 2, Wednesday April 6, 2011, 46 kph, 5 @ 0 off, 23m, 23 buoys, ZO I will post mine after I ski Wednesday. Come on everybody that can ski now, join in the fun.

H2Oskeefreak, No, I was just curious, but with the rise in gas prices, seems like it would be neat. It looks pretty different than skiing behind a boat. Looks like a different kind of fun.

Thank you MattP. That is interesting. I wonder how far off center the actual cable can be pulled. Does anyone know?

I don’t think I am alone when I say that I do a whole bunch of stuff wrong when I ski, but sometimes things sort of fall into place and a pass feels so easy, and I wonder why I can’t always do it that way. We sometimes have a good pass and a bad pass on video to compare, but the difference is often subtle and hard to I identify. The 38 off / 11.25m pass posted below does not look quite like it felt. It looks a bit sloppy, but it felt so easy. You can see me at the end trying to look into the boat to see what loop it is on. I started into the pass and it felt so easy, I felt sure my wife did not shorten the rope. I think I had a great four ball, but what did I do right during that pass that made it feel so easy? If I knew, and I could duplicate it, then maybe that line would stop being so difficult and hard on my golfers elbow. I am open for hearing what I did wrong, but I would really appreciate anyone pointing out what I did differently from some of the other videos on my You Tube page that made this pass feel so easy. And what did I do differently that helped me avoid my normal bad slack coming out of #4 buoy.

How do they change the degree of difficulty? Do they shorten the line? Do they increase the speed? What is the speed?

What are you switching to and why? If someone is thinking about buying these, I'll say that I really like my RS-1s and the company is great as well.

John, you do have an original head of hair for a water skier. If it were up to me, I’d buzz my head in the summer, but my wife prefers the hair more similar to what it was when we got married. She is an awesome boat driver as well as EVERYTHING else, so it is a very small concession for me to keep at least an inch or so hair of on my head. Come to think of it, I don’t think she ask anything else of me. Man do I have it easy. At the rate it is falling out, it will all be gone soon enough anyway.

Has anyone clicked on the Sans Rival link at the top of the BOS home page and seen the first few black and white photos? http://www.sansrival.eu/ I guess advertising is about getting people to talk and here I am talking, but not about the ski but their choice of pictures. The pictures seem odd to me. Does anyone like those black and whites? When I look at the other pictures they used, it makes me think that ski could really rip, and I think about skiing. When I see the black and white photos, it kind of makes me feel guilty spending money on a ski and I should use the money to help homeless drug addicts.

Thereis a new water ski talk show that will air tonight. From what I heard the format is not web-based like Marcus had, but is on national TV. The guest will sit across from the host, like the tonight show, to discuss a subject and the host attempts to prove the guest wrong. Any guest that can last 15 minutes is awarded a handle arm guard. There will be a call-in segment as well where the host will also tell the callers they are wrong. Be sure to check your local guide on 4/1 for your air time tonight.

Both training techniques are different and seem to have merit. I have through time tried both and I can tell you through my experience that ………………. I’m sorry, what was the question? Oh yea, that reminds me, I have trouble remembering.

Jim, To my understanding a ski’s flex is measured in 4 different locations from the tail of the ski. 17”, 25”, 33” and 41”. I have always wondered how they came up with the starting of point of 17” since the distances are all 8” apart, I would have thought 16” would have been a more logical start since it is two increments of 8. So it would appear; 17” 72.5lbs, 25” 109lbs, 33” 142lbs and 41” 169lbs. The 3lb 6.5 oz, sounds like the weight of the ski. I could only guess that when the ski is on a flat surface the tail rise is 1.965” high. But I have never heard that measurement before. Is that guess right Eddie?

I’m like you 6ball, it seems like the goal of a lot of people is to be a better survivor, where I really want to be a better skier. It is fun to fight for and get six buoys on the toughest pass, but it is also fun and easier on the body to ski any pass smoothly. But it is all good.

If we were as unfair with our wives, friends or family, as we are with ourselves, they would probably say were are unreasonable and just leave us. As skiers, we set the bar high, then push and push until we reach it, and when we do finally reach it, we say; “not good enough”, and set the bar even higher. Get a paper calendar and make a list of some small reasonable obtainable goals this season. Number your goals. After skiing, write the number representing those goals on the day. And when you look at your calendar, give yourself credit and feel good. Goal examples: 1) Run two consecutive passes of your next to toughest pass. 2) Run six consecutive passes of the line length under that. 3) Ski six pass of whatever line you choose with great form. The point is to make the goals reasonable. If you set goals like pick up six more buoy than last year, you are probably just setting yourself up for disappointment. We ski to have fun. So don’t ever get disappointed because you thought you should have skied better. In a way goals are just stepping stones through our skiing experience and we should enjoy walking along the stones in whatever direction our skiing skill goes. The reason this came to mind was; I had an off day today. I missed a pass a few times that I normally do not miss. I actually missed it one time yesterday also. So I let the line out some and had a lot of fun just skiing. We do not have to ski close to our toughest passes to have fun.

clemsondave, Look at the eight line down in the first post of this thread, then say oops I overlooked it, then say yea man I’m going to participate in this virtual tournament. The first time you posted those rules a while back I thought it was so cool. I would love to do that head to head. The closest I have ever come to head to head was runoffs at state championships. Once in M2 against Rick Anderson and second was M3 against Dean Collins. The crazy thing is that I rarely ski tournaments so I am first off the dock when I do ski one. Then when I tied those guys for first place, they had just skied. Before the State championship when I was in M3, I would practice 12m right off the dock. It paid off, because that is the loop we had to start on and it had been a long while since I skied and Dean had just skied. So are you in?

richarddoane, In an attempt to get a little tournament pressure; One round per week and pick the days ahead of time. First three rounds averaged and fourth round shows most improved over that average. Post from above: “How would it be as a motivator to start a thread where all interested skiers could post a score the four Wednesdays of a month; the first three would be averaged together for the handicap and the last Wednesday would be used for the most improved score. We could take our score from the (first off the dock cutting the rope.) Just like a regular tournament, but once you get your score, you can finish your set without changing your score. It would not matter what your level was, the handicap would level the field. If it works the first month, then we can continue.” jdarwin, You don’t need a third to judge. Your assessment is good enough. And use whatever boat and speed control you have. You post your speed control type by your score (see post above) and any other notes below your score if you wish. Let’s have fun everyone! This is about having fun and trying to put a little tournament pressure on ourselves. Also, the way the score is recorded, we should be able to freshen up the conversions in our heads. i.e. 14.25m = 28 off etc… Everyone that skis, wins.

The April tournament is on. My plans are to count my score on Wednesdays this April, (weather permitting) but you can pick your own days. I post the winning order at the end of the month. If you ski, you will be one of the winners. Please use this format for posting your scores so that I can transfer it to spreadsheet efficiently. Name, Division, Day, Date [April ?, 2011], speed [kph as shown in Slalom Buoy Quick-Count Chart] Speed control [PPC or PPSG or ZO or hand], number of buoys (see attached chart) Example: Jill, Girls 2, Wednesday April 6, 2011, 55 kph, 5 @ 15 off, 18.25m, 65 buoys, ZO Or if Jill has not gotten up to her max speed, and is at (28.6 mph) and is still at 18.25m, see below: Jill, Girls 2, Wednesday April 6, 2011, 46 kph, 5 @ 15 off, 18.25m, 23 buoys, ZO Or if Jill has not gotten up to her max speed, and is at (28.6 mph) and is still at full line 23m, see below: Jill, Girls 2, Wednesday April 6, 2011, 46 kph, 5 @ 0 off, 23m, 23 buoys, ZO Feel free to make notes below your post like: 15 mph head/tail. Or Stiff cross wind. Most scoring answers can be found on the attached Slalom Buoy Quick-Count Chart, and other things like ½ and ¼ buoys can be found in the attached Rule book. To help get the most out of the “tournament feel” plan ahead of time the days your score will count. This is all about fun, so you cannot really cheat anyone but yourself. Come on beginners and seasoned skiers, boys, girls, men and women. The more the merrier. I am open for suggestion on the way to do things. Post any question also. If you have any questions that you do not want to post, you can contact me at budlake1 at yahoo dot com.

I thought they were made by Square One Distribution C. in Issaquah, WA But you can call them and ask. They are very nice people. 1 888 766-4926 Just my thought.

Dusty, David Nelson did some great work that should address some of your questions. Here is a link to the thread and his attached file. http://ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/2771/skiing-strategies-path-speed-force