UWSkier

Going to be out of town unfortunately. Would love to go as it was a blast last year. Even better this year, on Saturday, the air show will be going on right over the lake.

The dealer at the link Sully posted is a total class act! I'd buy from Peter in a heartbeat.

Ergos seem to be a matter of preference. For instance, I don't think there's ever been a boat more ergonomically perfect than the 2002-2003 Response LX. I don't care for the ergos at all in most CCs I've driven. It's all what you're used to.

 

I like the new boat a lot. Looks great.

http://www.adrenalinewatersports.com/proddetl.aspx?ID=2516&CatID=4&SubID=133&pg=0

 Go with that setup.  Good price on clearance too.  Unrelated, but crazy good price on the A1 also.  I just bought a used one for close to their price.

Sethro is right.  Big headwind 41 for Willy in the Semis at Malibu.

If you're not a tournament skier, there are a handful of V drives that make nice slalom boats (Sport 200, Malibu Sunscape 20 LSV).  My biggest beef with our V drive versus the direct drives I ski behind is that the V drive feels a bit squishy at the ball.  That said, our 2001 Sunsetter VLX has a ridiculously nice wake that you wouldn't believe was behind a V drive as long as you're over 32 MPH.  It's not a terrible course boat.  Tracking and handling is on par with or better than some 90s and older DD's I've driven.  You mentioned kids though.  ANY V drive is going to make a big wake at slower speeds you use for training kiddos on the skinny sticks.  Drop ours below 30 and the wake gets pretty big.  Around 26 it's very big.

 

It's really going to come down to what you want to do with it.  Another boat I would recommend you look at if you are looking at tournament caliber wakes as well as a good family boat is the Response FXi.  This is built on a widened version of the Response LXi hull and delivers great, soft wakes.  What makes it a more versatile boat though is the wider beam and higher freeboard.  It's safer for kids and you can load it with a lot more ballast for surfing/boarding without having to worry about swamping.

Mark,

 You're not going to get a surf wave out of a tournament direct drive, so depending how much the surfing is going to be a factor, you may want to look at a different boat.  Sounds like you're more of a crossover type consumer unless you're going to be spending 60% or more of your time doing slalom.

The SL version of the CO-X has a PVC core.

So you're pretty much dead-nuts on with the stock settings.  I've actually heard from 2 different guys that 8 degrees and the bindings back 1/8" with everything else stock helps keep the ski traveling outward a little better.  I'm probably going to start out there then work towards stock if I'm having issues.

 Thanks!

Great job by the boat crew in that second video.

Chef, I got a good deal that I couldn't pass up on a A1.  Should be here early next week.  :)  That's not to say I won't try the other skis too, but that might be next season.

I'll be running Animals.  What do your numbers look like on the fin and where are your bindings?

Awesome.  And cold water skiing is always the most fun too.  Lightning-quick acceleration, your hands hold up for dozens of sets without blisters or callous issues, and incentive to not fall.  :)

Damn!  I was going to replace my HO Clutch gloves with these once the HO's are thrashed.  They are proving to be incredibly durable though...

Local pro shop deals both HO and Radar.  I'll see if he can get his hands on a 2011 Senate-C and a 69" Co-X SL for me.  Going to try those before looking at Goode methinks.  Thanks for the pointers and validation of my research.  :)

That's what I love about my city.  Do something cool and out of nowhere, someone presents you with a cold beer.  :)

Background:  6'5" 235-240.  Free skier since I could walk but minimal course experience.  PB is 3@28.

Current ride: 70" Monza with Slot Fin

Problem:  I'm just not consistent on course at 34 mph and 22 off or slower, which is where I really like to drill drill drill.  The ski just stalls in the turns and I struggle to generate width.  I can muscle the ski through the pass, but it's not how I like to ski.  I like to try to carry and maintain more speed than the ski allows me to at those speeds.  I free ski at 28 off and 34 or 36 and have no trouble linking beautiful symmetric turns all day with the speed those shorter lengths and faster speeds bring.  I put the slot fin on my ski to correct the finicky nature of the Monza with different water types, but since then I've struggled to progress beyond where I'm at.

What I'm looking for:  A ski that doesn't stall out at longer lengths and 34 MPH or slower, and something that generates more width, but that can also run 36 no problem and carry me past 32.  Also, would like the ski to be more consistent than my Monza on different water types.  This thing truly is as picky as an Italian sports car.

Would be a bonus if it worked with my Animal bindings.  Always been a HO guy, from my Mach 1, to CDX, to System 8, to Monza.  Not particularly brand loyal to them anymore after Radar came about.  Would have no problem making that jump.

Skis that have peaked my interest:  Senate-C, Co-X SL.  After becoming accustomed to the blazing fast acceleration of the Monza (when I'm free skiing), I'm not sure if I would like a Denny Kidder design, but the last one of those I was on was an X3.

Regarding the scores, moreso than it being rolly from waves bouncing back, which was an issue due to flooding we've had here recently, the water was just plain rough from a 20 MPH wind blowing straight down-lake.  That 41off Will ran was with a huge headwind.

 Scores in the qualifying rounds from Friday when there was less wind were quite a bit higher than final scores.

 Regarding Will trying to get the attention of the boat, that's true.  After he had dropped at 4 ball, they brought Jamie back around shore and introduced him as the winner while Will sat in the water holding his ski in the air and motioning aggressively for the boat to return to him.  I don't think they could see him very well though as it was fairly dark even with the lights and to the boat I'm sure it just looked like he was holding his ski up to avoid being hit.  He was definitely in the water for a while and I could see he was frustrated (this happened directly in front of where I was sitting).

 Jamie had been on the dock for several minutes before they decided to give Will a re-ride.  I didn't see him crack open a brew as the dock was 80 yards or so down shore from me, but that's what he said happened at the party later that evening when talking to him about it.  I think his biggest beef was that they told him he was the winner before they were sure about it, brought him in with all the hoopla and fan-fare, then after several minutes changed the story.

Interesting reading about this ski.  How sensitive is it to changing water conditions?  Reason I ask is because I ski in lots of different water types and I need something that works well in varying conditions.  I hated my Monza until I put a slot fin on it for this reason.  It would feel great in one lake and like crap in another.  Now it always feels good, but it's ready to be retired soon.

Talked to both guys about it afterwards.  They wouldn't really pin it specifically on a human error or anything.  Jamie felt like it was pretty lame that they had brought him in and introduced him as the champ, then 10 mins later after he'd already had a celebratory beverage told him he'd need to go back out.  There was something wrong with Will's pull though.  I didn't notice that the boat was going slower than normal, but he had enough time to read War and Peace coming into 4 ball.  Certainly didn't look like a hurried pass so something was definitely amiss.  He said his time to ball 1 was .14 seconds lower than Jamie's.

 

Too bad, cause it kindof put a damper on what was a phenomenal event.  As for Will winning like that, in my mind, he won it when he ran 41 off against T-gas.  He and Jamie weren't going to run 41 in their final pairing because it would've been a strong tailwind.  Would've been fun to see them try though.  Jamie had the craziest 1 ball turn at 41 with a tail-wind in qualifying I'd ever seen.  His fin was about 3 inches out of the water yet he still managed to land and hustle over to two.  He told me "yeah, I felt my ski catch air and was like 'wtf?  I'm in the air.  Wait, what?'"  He also mentioned that he tweaked his back on that turn.  Maybe that had something to do with his final decision also?