ski4xtc

What I find interesting is that his hands are right on top of each other as he is pulling out for the gate. Once he initiates his turn in for the gate, he slides his left hand over to the other side of the handle. I first noticed this on the webcast at Moomba but could not see it as well as on this video. Any ideas of why he does this or the benefit?

If you would like to advertise your promo boat for sale on the AWSA West website, go to awsawest.org and under promo boats you will find a link to send me an e-mail. Send me a good photo along with the details of your boat. There is no charge for the ad. The only requirement is that the boat is an official promo boat that is being used in the AWSA Western Region tournaments. Give me a few days to get your ad posted. Thanks, Laurie Liddell

@Horton, what characteristics do you like about the HO 41 Tail gloves? How is the grip? When they are dry, the kevlar palm seems like it would be somewhat slick. Have you tried the Radar Strada gloves? If so, how did the grips compare between the two gloves? Thanks!

@MattP, we had 6 out of 7 that were dead on between our tournament ropes and my personal ones. One rope was about 3-4 inches short but well in tolerance and it was very easy to fix. The first year we bought them, a couple of them were just a little on the short side. Over the years I have seen ropes from every manufacturer that are out of tolerance. The most important things is if the rope can easily fixed and/or if the manufacturer will replace them without a lot of grief. I have found Radar to have unbelievable customer service and that is why I try their products. D3 has the same great customer service too. I hope you were able to get a replacement for that rope.

Radar makes a pretty good rope for a very reasonable price. We have used them in our tournaments for the last several years. They have measured dead on and feel pretty good out of the box. They do not have a lot of excess bungee at -15 when new. They have lasted really well too.

@davemac, the mirror brackets were install directly at Malibu. This is clearly a better position for the mirror. If a passenger is sitting in the middle seat, their head is not in the middle of the mirror. With the old windshield it was tricky to install the brackets this way. With the new windshield, I have heard it is not as difficult. We have had a lot of wind lately so I have been actually loosing the wing nuts and taking the mirror off when the cover has been on.

@scotchipman, I was able to mount the mirror with the RTS-100 bracket on the Malibu. Here is the link: ptmedge.com/store/#ecwid:category=1946203&mode=product&product=8366583 It took just a small modification to get it to fit the TXI mirror bracket. The only small hitch we found was to not over tighten the allen screws on the bracket or you cannot lower the mirror to put the cover on tight. Other than that, it works great for the Malibu with the existing hardware. I do not have a good photo of the RTS-100 bracket on the TXI but here is the idea. I will try to post a better photo next week.

Have used the mirror several times now. The wide field of view and clarity is incredible. I notice it not only in the course but also at the ends of the lake when the skier is pulling out. It takes little adjustment between when I drive the boat and when my boat partner drives the boat who is significantly taller than me. My boat partner skis at -15 off and I have been able to catch a couple of things with his skiing with just a quick glance. In the last few weeks I have been driving our boat with it and a CC200 without it. You do not fully realize how good the mirror is until you go back and drive another boat without the Protomet. It was definitely a great purchase. I would sure like to see the boat manufacturers go with these mirrors from the start.

I had a severe case several years ago. Lasted over a year. IBU helped to calm it down and I also went to a radius bent handle with the anti-roll. I do not know if the anti-roll had anything to do with the recovery but I do believe the bent handle did. I also try to never take a hit out of the buoy. Has not come back since.

John, I too have really enjoyed your ski reviews. Reading a new review on the front page was almost like the old days of getting our regional guide in the mail. Your reviews helped me evaluate the couple of skis I tried and also helped me find the one that works best for my style. It takes a lot of time and energy to really evaluate a ski. Thank you for the great reviews. This year we will let you get back to concentrating on your own skiing.

John - which skis do you have lined up to test this season? What are you skiing on now?

This is the unofficial order I have come up with from the list above. I changed Parrish's score to what was tweeted. Do the top 8 go? Maybe Nate is in? Travers 4 @10.75 Parrish 3 @ 10.75 Jason 3 @ 10.75 Wing 3 @ 10.75 Corey 3 @ 10.75 Carlo 2.5 @ 10.75 Nate 2 @ 10.75 Larkin 2 @10.75 Ty 5.5 @ 11.25 Julio 3 @ 11.25 Brooks 3 @ 11.25 Adam 2.5 @ 11.25 Nick 2.5 @ 11.25 Will .5 @ 11.25 Efverstrom 2.5 @ 12

UPS just delivered my new mirror from PTM Edge. I can't wait to put it on our boat. I set the mirror outside to take a photo to send to my boat partner and it was like everything was in high definition. They have clearly put some thought into both the mirror and bracket. At first, I was a little hesitant to buy an additional mirror but I can clearly see this is a no brainier. I wonder what it would take to get the boat manufactures to put these mirrors on from the start?

I switched to the Radar Strada's last season and could not be happier. The gloves are great out of the package, the grip is great, they fit good and they seem to be longer lasting than anything else I have used. The boa system is slick. As the gloves start to stretch out after months of use, the boa system can be tightened to compensate. I have not been able to do this with other gloves such as the HO and Connelly. They are a little more expensive but make up for it in durability.

Didn't they use the 6.0 CC200's when the Big Dawg was at Laku in Colorado a couple of years ago? I am sure they used at least one. You have to have a 6.0 engine in the 200 at altitude. This is especially true if you have any kind of a short setup.

Traci is a total class act. Extremely hard working person not to mention she always had a positive attitude every time I talked to her. What an incredible person!

I just went for my yearly check. They took two biopsies and treated one pre-cancerous spot. Just wanted to refresh this thread to remind everyone how important it is to get checked.

A for me. More like the real thing.

We use the Flip and Trakker and it works pretty good. On occasion, there is a little digital hitch in the video but not enough to be annoying. To protect your recording device, I would recommend using a shock tube and extend it with a rope 18" off the pylon. We did not use the shock tube at first and my ski partner ripped his Flip off the Trakker with a pop of the handle. The rope went around the camera, pulled the Flip right off the mount and stripped the threaded insert out of the camera. The camera almost flew out the boat.

I am wondering if anyone has a great design or idea for judges towers? Looking to do in metal, would like shade on top, easy to climb in and out and be able to sit two people comfortably. Have seen the metal towers in the Newberry Springs, CA area. Any photos out there of other metal towers? Anyone have any plans they would share? Thanks!

@scotchipman, I think the reason why the water temp is higher than you is we started later and did not ski very many spring days. I used an additional water thermometer compared to the boat. Our Malibu was usually pretty close. The club boat seemed to vary a lot.

If you logged your ski sets, what are your numbers? What did you keep track of and what helped you the most? Here are my numbers which include tournaments: 84 Ski days, 125 sets, 672 passes, 3376.5 total buoys, 5.02 average buoys per pass, 71.8 average water temp, 80.5 average air temp, 04/01/2011 was first ski day, hopefully a few more days left this year and12 different boats (all with Zero Off but one.) The number that helped me the most was average buoys per pass. I tried to keep that above 5 by skiing many early and smooth passes before going to my maximum pass. Thank you Horton for the idea of keeping a log.

Thanks John and Chuck for having the contest. It has been a great year. Ball of Spray has really added to my skiing. Everything from the articles, the forum and the ski log has helped add buoys to my score. Can't forget to mention my new D3 X7 and great ski partner too. Laurie

This season I have found the best handle / glove combo yet. I am using the new Radar Strada Boa gloves which I got at Marine Products. The grip is amazing and they were perfect out of the package. I really like the tightening system and the curved fingers. My only complaint is the pinky finger is way too long. For the handle, I got a custom tied one from Laura at Sunshine Water Sports in Miami. She was able to do a 13" bent radius, elliptical and ARS. The grip is amazing and so far it is not showing any wear. Her price was very reasonable and it was quickly shipped.

I am a local and have worked with Marine Products many times on everything from skis, ropes, gloves, clothes and binding parts. In the last couple of years, they have really worked on having great customer service and increasing their industry knowledge. I usually work with Jeremy. He may not be a tournament skier but he certainly does his research and knows his stuff. A good example is I talked to him last year about the Radars, specifically the Strada 55. He knew all about it, what it was made of and knew how the new 2011 Senate C was to based on the Strada55. He also knew about the difference in the core's between the two skis. How many non tournament skiers would know that kind of stuff?