Bud Man

I am hoping to see more than just my path that the shadow box is supposed to show.  I want to see where I am in relation to the buoys and the angle of the ski. The path of the ski whether it is tracking straight or side sliding, etc…  My main thoughts are on the middle four lines right now. (14.25m, 13m, 12m, & 11.25m) But, once the camera is in the air, I plan on trying other lines as well. I’m turning 54 this year so it has probably been over 15 years since I have skied 36mph, but I am wondering if I should give that speed a try as well. I might want to save that speed test until last in case I break something. Then I can sit around in a cast while I compile all my data.

baumer, Better in what ways? What did you like about the A1, and what do you think is different about the A2? What speed and line lenghts do you ski?

Happy birthday to the two of you, and many happy returns.

Gern, Someone asked me to view that DVD last year and give my opinion. With all due respect to everyone that worked hard on that project, I did not give a supportive opinion off the ideas they were selling in that DVD. Â Â Also, I hate to say this, so please do not take offence, but what you said in your first paragraph is not at all what I am saying. I believe people do ski different paths which result in different average speeds from buoy to buoy at different line lengths, but I do NOT believe they are forced to ski a different path and average speed just because the line length changed. I hope to show that I can ski the ALMOST exact path and average speed at different line lengths. I do not want more angle and speed than necessary to ski efficiently. Â Â I do not recall a direct overhead shot showing an undistorted path in that video of any other either. I have never seen anyone run the test that I am planning to do. Â Â When I am through, I should have accomplished proving myself wrong or right. I can accept either result.

I use the Long Form on the logbook and simply copy/paste the first 11 items before the date column, then enter that new data. It really only takes about a second but having it there for sorting purposes is so powerful. Â Â I think the Short Form in the logbook is good, but not as powerful as the Long form. The way I wrote the Short Form allows it to be moved into the Long Form with a few simple strokes.

TNhsoskier, I had the very same issue. Just the liners alone seemed too short. I would like to have tried an 11 liner in a 10 shell, but they did not have it there to try. I did put on a neoprene bootie socks on my feet and then into the shells and it felt fine, like you said. Â Â The sport shop heated the liners and had me wear a stack of toe caps. The pain was excruciating while I waited for them to cool. I was so relieved to get my feet out. I think the only things it compressed were my toes, not the liners. They had ne come back and repeat with even more cap spacers. That still did not help. I do not recommend heat molding first. I suggest skiing in them first and then see what you think. Â Â I read something that someone wrote that they think your toes have to be at the end to keep your feet in place. Maybe they are right. Â Â Even though my big toe is uncomfortable, I like these RS-1s better than anything so far. The liners continue to give me a callous on the front corner of my two big toes, and I keep trimming them off and make sure those toenails stay trimmed short. Â Â You could always try on the next size up. But I have gotten use to the pressure on my big toes. There would be no way I could take a long hike in boots this short, but I only ski for 15 minutes at a time and it is a different kind of movement from walking. Also, the pressure is in no way painful, it is just something I am not used to in shoes. Now the excruciating pain from the cramping that the Animal bindings gave me was unbearable.

DW, That is useful information and what you said in your last paragraph hopefully will be covered by the logbook entries.

Maybe this could be used as a tail hook for very short lakes at the end of an 8 buoy course. Might consult OB about this being he has the experience flying and setting up an 8 buoy course. http://cid-3cc359cda510882d.photos.live.com/self.aspx/Pictures/IMG00176.jpg http://cid-3cc359cda510882d.photos.live.com/self.aspx/Pictures/IMG00176.jpg http://ldifrq.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pOSObENmt2z-cKsXGC9oKE3Qkcv5ykEMDYcqo8dT6ujVB37rYjsR3RCQNMXFfYvgeyB9kzAq_RyXz2oiRf0ER5YMJYjY51QCA/IMG00176.jpg?psid=1

Yes sir Klinger. I agree with you. Timing. As the rope gets shorter, I believe you have to be more patient coming out of the buoy to allow the boat to get down course enough for you to be able to use it to pull you in the correct direction which I believe is about 44°. If a skier learns this from the beginning then they don’t have to relearn it when the rope gets shorter. I believe the skier thinking of coming out of the buoy and turning far enough to put the handle on their hip can create too much angle and speed. Not efficient at all.  I believe a skier is better off: 1.     coming out of the buoy while riding under his own speed back toward the wake 2.     look at the path ahead of him that will take him efficiently to the next buoy 3.     place the handle down on the front of his thigh (off centered) 4.     feel more of a forward pull in the direction of your chosen path I do not think it is good to feel like you are turning yourself and ski sideways to the boat with a great force like you are going to rip the pylon out of the boat. A good feeling to me is that the boat is slightly pulling me forward (direction of travel, not direction of lean) adding to my speed out of the turn and along my chosen efficient path.

I said this up earlier in this thread: “My theory for the single most important thing that is affected by shorting the rope is t-----.â€Â  Did everyone know what I think it is?  What do you think is the biggest effect of shorting the rope? Again, in reference to the middle four lines.

It was fun hanging out making the commercial and also fun at the party they threw for us when the project was complete. All the girls were nice, but I remember the girl seen in the yellow suit was one of the sweetest. They had a Raga band setup at the water’s edge and everyone had a blast drinking and dancing to the music of the steel drums. If I find the tape of the aired commercial, I’ll try to upload it. At some point I had to do a body double for a local celebrity that could not ski and was supposed to be learning.

Sometimes adjustments are not much more than a placebo, and other times they kind of bump you out of a rut (like a stuck needle on an old record player.) Surly they have an affect on the dynamics of a ski and the effects probably magnify the faster you ski. The funny thing is we seem too often to adapt to those changes and eventually ski the way we did before. It is so easy to change equipment and settings but it is harder to change old habits. Â If you have a friend that you can trust in making changes for you, try this: Write down the changes you want to try and have him pick the change he moves it to and video the results. It needs to be blind to you. If there are screws holding your bindings down, you may want to put a piece of black tape across them when you put them on or just try to not look. Also, instruct him to occasionally NOT make a change at his desecration. Download the logbook from the front page of BOS and let him fill it out. Tell him what you felt after each possible change and have him write it down. All this is best to be done while videoing because what you think, is often not what you see. Again, you are not to know what changes, if any, were made. You might be surprised in the results when you go to read your logbook after this goes on for a while. Â Added note: You may want to start each new pass at either a slower speed or a longer line in case something feels very different. If anyone is up to this challenge, please post your results on this thread.

I’ve run Rossi’s and Rini’s numbers and really don’t think I noticed a difference. I think it might be that the ski has a long flat spot and also that I ski slow, only ski 34.2mph. As long as you are videoing each pass, I would not be worried about moving things and check the results.

Sully, Sorry to hear of your pain. I hope you feel better soon. I have hurt tissue between my ribs in the past and it took quite a while to completely feel better.

What am I doing wrong????? Brent, I put a check by "Use old embed code" I must be doing something wrong.

PBD, Speaking of the water ski tour on ESPN; here are a few snippets of some rough footage given to me by a film crew that produced an ad for Howard’s Sports. I’d like to find the footage of the complete commercial that I taped off of TV if I can. Funny how I seem to have kept some of my bad habits but lost a lot of my hair.  I’m not in the bikini, I am the one skiing. <object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwzKSW88iiQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwzKSW88iiQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="390"></embed></object>

Skoke, I wish your comment were not as true as it probably is. But you are right from what I hear people saying on the forums. I will work towards running the test with a ZO boat.  Also, if my theories are correct, they should work behind any speed control. And from the complaints I’ve read about the problems with ZO, skiing the way I am proposing should be the best way to ski behind ZO.  I am hoping that when I’m through with my test, the results will apply to longer lines as well as the middle four. As much as I want to help short line skiers, I hope to help entry level even more. We need to re-grow this great sport.  Think about how many people get discouraged and quit because they feel like they are not progressing. And those are people still on long line. Even people that finally run a 12m line and cut to 11.25m, will pound away for a decade or more before finally running it. I have a feeling that it has mostly to do with perspective. I think that if I can correct the perspective of the skier, I can help them to progress faster and ski better.  One of the biggest problems for a skier, might be them thinking about a pendulum and skiing what they think they see from the boat. I hope to change that and help them ski better.

dsmart, When you said you could follow the boat path; what did you mean? Do you have one of those helicopters? If so, are you near South Carolina.

Thank you Brent.

dsmart, I had a surveyor last week shoot some reference points around the lake. My plan is to use four measured fishing lines on reels and shoot straight overhead (possibly 300 feet) and move it to three locations. I will mount the camera in a cradle and suspend it from helium balloons. 1st location is centered between #2 & #3 (#4 & #5) which will give me my off side paths. 2nd location is centered between #1 & #2 (#5 & #6) for my on side paths. 3rd location is about 7m past (inside) gates for my approaching path to gates and approach path to #1.  I should be able to: ·        Superimpose all the paths on top of one another and on a grid. (Different line lengths and different skiers) (I need volunteers) ·        Measure angle of ski at any point in course. ·        Prove the slide theory wrong. (see paragraph below) ·        Measure length of paths and length of sections of paths. ·        Calculate speed at different segments.  I have read that some people think that a slalom ski slides sideways somewhat as you cross the wake and as you travel down the course. I think that the overhead video will prove that mostly wrong. I believe that current slalom skis track more in a path where the ski is pointed with ALMOST no side slide. I expect to see some slide in the turns.

Are we not able to imbed videos anymore? If we can, what am I doing wrong?

Man does this bring back memories to me. Before I got into the course, a friend got the Tony Klarich Hotdog video and we had a blast learning those tricks. <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HR3yj55-ujE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I would think that the same model ski, but different lengths would have different flexes. So, the question comes to mind; does it feel better or worse because of it being a different flex.  A friend of mine liked the 66†Strada, but liked the 65†Strada much better. I flex tested those two lengths and the 65†was a softer flex than the 66â€.  I heard someone say that the Warp is a very soft flex but with strong rebound.

OB, I’m hoping for ALMOST exact. My skiing is inconsistent enough to not get the exact path even skiing multiple passes at the same rope length. But I am also excited to see if my theories are correct. I don’t know what to do about ZO thought. I don’t know anyone in the area that owns a ZO boat. I might try your suggestion of contacting a dealer and see if they would like to be involved in the test. It would be interesting to also video someone with a style like Marcus Brown skiing the middle four lines, and shorter.   How about you Ed, would you be up for a trip to SC to ski under aerial video?