Simojo

@ral, people think they produce too large of wakes and will ruin the seawalls and shorelines. Our lake organization put on a boat test last year and demonstrated that the wakes were no larger than those of the big pontoons pulling tubes or SeaRays loaded down with wake boarders that are currently allowed, but to no avail. Others think that it will open the door to allow jet skis and wakeboard boats.

@bogboy: Our lake doesn't allow inboards so my ski buddies and I own 4 different Hydrodynes/DynaSkis with outboards. Great wakes for -15/-22 off from 26 mph to 36 mph. One guy tricks behind them all with no issues (as far as I know..). Several kids have skied behind them and love them compared to other boats they have skied behind at tournaments. All of the videos on my channel are from some version of a Dynaski. My boat, shown in the end of course video link below, even has PerfectPass set up now, thanks to some help from @Ryno!

 

We have a portable course that we install in our semi-private lake. The lake is approximately 25-30' deep in some areas and when the wally's come out with their tubes they have a tendency to knock off buoys. Unfortunately, when they knock off a turn buoy, the end of the pipe sinks to the bottom and causes the other end of the pipe by the diamond to stick up out of the water. This creates a potentially dangerous situation for skiers, tubers, or boats and if someone/something were injured/damaged by the pipe, we may lose the privilege of putting the course in our lake. Are we missing something or installing it incorrectly? We do have the open-cell foam strips inside one section of pipe per turn buoy, but I assume that is just to help keep the sag out of the pipes, not float them.

 

Any suggestions?

 

I suppose we could lengthen all the ropes on the buoys and boat guides to 10' or 15' so that the pipes don't have so far to pivot to reach the bottom, plus it would give the other end by the diamond more room to come up without breaking the surface. Or we could go to the time/expense of putting in a permanent course.

 

Thanks for the help!

Chris,

I set up my ski to the numbers you posted above & tried to focus more on keeping my tip down. Things felt a lot better, but as you can see from the video, I still have a lot of tip rise. Is there any merit to moving my front boot to 29.75" but leaving my RTP where it is? I usually move them together. Thanks a lot for the help!

 

I donated to Horton's tip jar, but feel like I should donate to yours as well! Like @Bruce55 said, it is awesome to be able to speak directly to the guys who are designing and riding these products; providing us with your time and patience is truly fantastic and much appreciated!

 

 

Chris,

I set up my ski to the numbers you posted above & tried to focus more on keeping my tip down. Things felt a lot better, but as you can see from the video, I still have a lot of tip rise. Is there any merit to moving my front boot to 29.75" but leaving my RTP where it is? I usually move them together. Thanks a lot for the help!

 

I donated to Horton's tip jar, but feel like I should donate to yours as well! Like @Bruce55 said, it is awesome to be able to speak directly to the guys who are designing and riding these products; providing us with your time and patience is truly fantastic and much appreciated!

 

 

My Venom front boot and HO RTP fit on my 2010 Strada. FWIW I started my course work last fall on a 69" HO Charger @ 28 mph. I switched to a Radar Theory after a month and used that until I was fairly consistent at 32 mph. Just made the switch to a used Strada and am working to get it setup/figured out.

Chris,

 

29.75

2.500

6.851

.775

9 deg

 

I tried to adjust the stock numbers based on your comments for skiers using a RTP ( I can only move my FB in 1/4" increments). The tail of the ski feels very loose and slides around more than what it did in the first video; I can't tell if its skier, cooler water, or what. Thanks for your input; it's much appreciated!

 

I saw Rossi's post about binding & fin adjustments for skiers using a RTP. I use a Venom front binding and RTP and can only adjust my FB in 1/4" increments; any recommendations as to whether to move forward the 1/4" or stay @ 29.5" (for a 67" 2010 Strada). I'm skiing @ 32 mph and in choppy conditions the tail of the ski wants to slide around a lot and I'm having trouble finding settings that feel comfortable. I don't understand binding placement very well, but it seems moving forward may have the opposite effect of what I want. Can leaving the FB @ 29.5" (stock) but moving the RTP help the tail slide?

 

I just picked this ski up a couple of weeks ago and have been playing with different "stock" numbers (Radar's website, Rossi's posts in this thread, Deanoski's posts (not necessarily stock, but we have a similar build)) but have only found 1 set that was marginally comfortable. Those were 29.5, 2.495, 6.84, .77, & 9 deg. In the video below the water was about 10 deg warmer and I didn't notice the tail slide.

 

Then:

 

 

Now:

 

Any recommendations?

 

Thanks! Like I said, it's probably more skier than ski, but what if......

@patrick- it just sits there, nothing complicated.

 

The picture shows the last loop for simplicity sake, but in reality the rope going out to the skier, the rope going back to the longer rope sections, and the velcro strap for the shock tube are all coming out of the slot.

and how cool your ski buddies are..... Thanks Rodito and Crazy Larry!

I can't take credit for the design; I think I saw it on PSC. Once you get the hang of it, its pretty fast to slip off and change rope lengths. All depends on how much you want video! :)

DW,

Here is a couple of pics of the one I made; its rudimentary (just like my skiing) but it works for what I need it for.

 

Starting from the bottom: 1' piece of 3" PVC pipe (whatever size fits over your pylon) with slot cut all the way through except for last 2". Slot size is critical and depends on the inside neck of you pylon; slot should be slightly smaller than the 2 strands of the loop coming off the pylon since this tension is what determines how well it tracks the skier (last pic). 3" cap on top with 2" bolt sized to fit your camera. Bolt has a lock nut to keep it tight on the cap. Camera is held on by a rubber-backed washer and a wing nut for adjustment. There is also a piece of PVC pipe inside the 3" PVC to act as a spacer so the mount doesn't rest on the rope, but rests on the top of the pylon (last pic). Cap and spacer are screwed, not glued, to pipe in case you have to remove the cap at some point.

 

Here is video from the mount:

 

 

Hope that helps!

Jon

Do these settings apply for the older version Stradas as well or just the 2012? I just picked up a used Strada this week and matched my PB the first set off the dock!

 

I also want to thank Chris for his input on BOS and putting up with all of our questions!

@MS, familiar with the site, just thought you meant the tourney was last weekend. A good buddy of mine, Jeff McC... will be skiing there as well, look him up and say Hi.

Not as warm as it has been; you can actually feel the water now when you get it. @MS - What part of Nebraska? There's a few Ballers between Omaha and Lincoln just off I-80. If you're going to a 6 round though, you probably aren't needing a place to ski.....

We're spending a week on a houseboat on Dale Hollow Reservoir; has anyone seen any courses set up there? I looked at the GoogleEarth ski site file and found a couple of clubs north of the lake but didn't know if there were any on the lake itself. Thanks!

Thanks for all of the advice so far; much appreciated!

 

We are 20 minutes outside of Omaha; if any ballers come this way, let us know and we'd be happy to pull you, old school!

 

I worked on body position and getting stacked all spring and then went to Mike's clinic. I specifically asked him about how I work on keeping my hips up while trying what he was telling us. His response was "it didn't matter, don't worry about keeping your hips up".

 

This morning I went back to the things I was working on before the clinic, as well as advice from above, and things felt much better. Thanks again!

Started skiing the course last fall, went to a Mike Suyderhoud clinic in June, and am now struggling with connecting the dots between what he told me and what I read on this forum and in the tech articles. Sometimes things feel easy and work great, lately it has been a struggle. Any suggestions on what I can do to improve would be greatly appreciated!

 

6'3" 195 lbs

67" Theory, no wing

all passes @ 15 off

started @ 28mph, can run 30 mph pretty consistently, 32 mph seems like a whole other world!

 

Yes, yes, we are the only lake left in the US that doesn't allow inboards; we ski behind a Hydrodyne (in video) and several new Dyna-Skis.

 

Phatty,

I apologize; as Jim pointed out the 67" Theory and the 69" Nitro are the same width at the widest point. The Nitro also appears (I didn't break out the calipers) slightly wider (1/8") than the Theory under the rear boot. Regardless, the 67" Theory still feels "easier" than the Nitro did. Hope that helps.

Definitely wider, I'll dig the Nitro out and compare, but off-hand I would say the Theory is 1/4" or so wider. The Theory feels "easier" to ski on in terms of technique, fatigue, and starts and I wouldn't hesitate to try it, if I were you.

BX,

Besides all of the stuff I whispered you, we're on the same ski!!! Love the Theory!

I went from a 69" Nitro to a 67" Theory and love it! The Theory has been great for slowing down to 28 mph to learn the course but still is a blast to freeski on at 32 mph. I'm 6'3, 195 lbs.

I built one for a client; cost was around $30k. Shingled roof, pvc (azek) decking, lights, fiber cement siding, aluminum soffits,not capable of supporting a hoist, similar size, terrible sight access. That didn't include the cost of the lift. Pm me and I can send you a link to pics.

Haven't upgraded boots yet; I bought the Theory blank and mounted my HO Venom and RTP.

I'm 6'3, 195 and ski on a 67" Theory and it works great. I went off the advice of Ed O & h20dawg, who both recommended the 67. You'll love the Theory; mine is the red/white 2010 version and it has been fantastic for helping me get started in the course at 28 mph. Free skiing on it at 32 mph "rocks", if I may borrow the phrase from some of the original ballers!