Razorskier1

Scoke,  I figure as long as I don't tip over on my face after my set that my heartrate is in an acceptable range. So far neither skiing nor any of my workouts has caused me to tip over on my face, although following me through my workout has caused several of my workout partners to lose their lunch (then they usually quit working out with me, go figure?).  Seriously, the pre-set rise is probably consistent with what happens prior to making an important presentation or doing any other type of performance. Normal case of nervous energy (hopefully just the right amount!). Interesting dataset all in all.

This is a bad cancer to get. Given the amount of time I spend in the sun I generally have my doctor give me the "mole once over" every year. I have anything suspicious removed (just had one cut out a few weeks ago and it was benign, as most are). Just goo policy to have a full body once over every year.

Your feet are going to be so much warmer this spring!

I agree with MS on most things too, but am reticent to say so lest I be banned.

I agree with Rossi in that the intensity should be the same for all passes. I think the trick is finding that "right" level for each skier. I started out as a heavy loading skier. You know, one of those guys who used to beat the old Perfect Pass into submission as a way of catching back up in the course. That was way too much intensity for modern boats with strong motors and ZO or SG speed control. So the right level of intensity was to be less intense from 28 off through 38 off.  I also agree with Rossi about the turn. When I get it right I don't turn my ski. I'm riding the arc of the handle (and ski) in such a way that it just comes right in on the backside of the ball (if you trust it). I come out of the turn with speed and angle, a tight line and a light load. Now, as MS can attest, when I don't get it right I can and will still do my best to put a hurt on the boat! (see Razor ski messy 35s!). Funny thing is that those can be followed by really nice, light 38s. Go figure. Can someone just make this sport a little easier?????

Damn this is good fun! I like being early of the ball (back toward the gates) and "wide enough" (east-west) because it makes me ski more relaxed, and the more relaxed I ski, the more often I'm on the purple loop. Now this will sound really odd (typical for those who know me). First, the earlier my edge change, the earlier and wider I am at the ball. Interestingly, I find this to be true even when I come off the wake later than I'd like. I used to use that as an excuse to pull harder and longer. Now I just swing the edge big off the second wake if I'm late and am surprised to be early looking at the ball. Second, speed management seems most critical to me. The handle is taking me up the bouy line. What I want is the right amount of speed such that I maintain speed through the entirety of the pre-turn, turn, and hook up. Too much speed and I'm slack after the ball -- too little and I don't get there. That's why I focus on handle pressure as my guide for speed.  Third, I think about movement. If I'm going to be early, I can't stop moving. By this I mean that in the "old school" days, I would get wide enough and early enough and then just hang there waiting for the ball with my ski running straight down course. Now I try to focus on keeping the ski moving either outbound or inbound, with the apex representing the only point where the ski is momentarily running straight down the buoy line. Finally, sometimes it helps me to ignore the next ball until AFTER I've already changed edges. Sounds odd, I know, but we all know the ball is there and intuitively we know precisely where it is. Looking at the ball tends to cause me to "freeze" my position rather than continuing to move. Once the ski has changed edges and is swinging, then see the ball. In a perfect world (correct speed, line tension, etc), the natural arc of the ski will result in a finish on the backside with almost no effort at all (vs a "turn and load" style of skiing).  Rambling . . . I know. Thanks to everyone for all the input on this. Talking about skiing is what gets me through winter!

When I started this thread it was because I have found that oftentimes how we say things makes sense to one person, not to another. There are so many different ways to say the same thing. The only way I could get to the objective everyone is talking about here was light handle pressure. The other thought I have used is to "stay away from the ball". The fact of the matter is that the handle is going to take you upcourse to the ball whether you like it or not. I try to stay focused on not going up to the ball before the handle takes me there. That keeps my outbound momentum after the edge change, and facilitates the ski's ability to swing as I hit the point where my direction (outbound) deviates from the handle's direction (up course). One of the more interesting things about water skiing is that sometimes when someone tells you to try something, you have no idea what the heck they just said. Then you hear the same tip with different wording, and it makes perfect sense. One of the great values of BOS is that you can listen to lots of skiers putting what they do into words, and every once in a while a bell goes off and it makes sense!

Another option I have seen used that was really fun is to group skiers by a ranking of their 3 best tournament scores in the last 12 months. You group kids, men and women by their average scores and have each of those groups ski together. 3rd round you do a head to head with the top two in each group.Â

6balls -- that would be all the PULLS! Sorry, I'm getting a little hard of seeing and missed my typo!

MS - you're still my 38 off good luck boat judge! 6balls - thanks for all the pus and coaching.

ral, 35 and 38, into 39 right now

Just reading an archive discussion about keeping the handle close at the edge change. Totally agree with the concept. The harder thing is learning how to execute. I have found that for me it is all about maintaining "light handle pressure" from the moment I turn in to the moment I release the handle. The biggest "aha" moment for me in the last 5 years of skiing has been handle pressure. As a relatively strong guy, I can put a fair bit of load on the line without trying real hard. Coaches like Jodi Fisher would keep telling me to pull softer (I thought I was!). Last season I started thinking about how the handle feels in my hands when I turn in for the gates, and I kept telling myself that once you feel the handle pressure, that's all you need. Then I just try to ride that amount of pressure through the wakes and out toward the ball. It is very, very light (for a 200lb guy). The result is exactly what Bruce talks about. Instead of loading the line, which forces the handle away from you as it unloads after the second wake, I have taken to trying to never put load on the line at all. Now, when I leave the second wake I'm light on the handle and can easily maintain the tighter handle as I head out to the ball, make a shorter reach, and get back on the handle in a balanced position again. This process also helps me to be "quieter" on the ski. In short, line load is bad! The less hard I load, the better my technique, the less wear and tear on my body, the more sets I can ski without getting worn out, and the higher my scores. It's only taken 20 years or so of slalom course skiing and endless coaching from pros and friends, but I think I've actually learned something!Â

Four shoulder surgeries, two knees, one ruptured biceps tendon (also a surgery), and one ruptured disc later I think ibuprofen is really, really good -- cuz I'm still skiing!

Lithium ion batteries help, but even they wear out. Pure electric cars generally go through a battery pack every 6-7 years, at a cost of around $10k. Like electric cars, I suppose it all depends on your usage. When I have friends over to ski we run the boat for 6-10 hours a day -- electric doesn't work. Even on a typical ski day we have 3-4 skiers doing 2 sets each. Again, this doesn't get you there. For someone who skis a set a day it might work just fine, but are they going to be willing to pay the premium over already inflated ski boat prices to do it? A low volume platform with expensive technology is going to cost you. Boat manufacturers have focused for the last 15 years on increasing power in the standard marinized V8 without any regard for fuel efficiency whatsoever. This is where we coudl see some real gains.  High performance V8 engines in automobiles have seen significant horsepower increases alongside significant improvement in fuel economy during the same time. While there are obvious differences with respect to transmissions, etc, some of these changes are adaptable to the marine environment. You can buy a 400 hp four door sedan and put up 22-25 mpg. 10 years ago a car with that kind of power would have gotten 12 mpg. I'd rather see all the manufacturers focus on known technologies for improving fuel economy in existing internal combustion engines -- that could provide a real and immediate benefit to all skiers.Â

Personally, I wouldn't spend the R&D dollars here until the battery technology improves. Getting 4 sets and then having to recharge your boat isn't practical. Hard to say if battery technology will ever become practical given the limitations of storage and charging. Same problem with autos. Electric only makes sense as a short commuting vehicle given the limitations of the technology, and hybrids frequently deliver mileage only marginally better than efficient all gas engines at a premium of $5-10k per vehicle. I'd rather the manufacturers spent their time on internal combustion, hull and drivetrain efficiencies than burn cash on all electric. Let someone else like GM or Ford spend the capital to make the technology viable first, then integrate it into a ski boat.

Can I get banned for agreeing with MS?

I agree with MS (wait, this is becoming a trend!). The ski lake market is oversupplied and overpriced. Not sure what it is going to take to bring prices down other than projects going bankrupt. Developers seem to think prices will rebound if they just wait long enough. I don't see it. Surveying just a small slice of the ski lake market, there are markets that have as many lots as they do skiers, and not all skiers can or want to live on a ski lake due to $$, location, etc. I think this ends badly.

1. Pick up some more buoys 2. Have fun skiing and relaxing with my ski pals 3. Don't get hurt

I agree with MS. Build a quality boat and price it right. I'd even say $30k is OK given the current prices for the "big 3", which are obscenely outside the budget of almost every skier in America. On the interior focus on the ergonomics for the driver, observer, and skier. It sounds dumb, but some of the boats out there (Malibu) have really lousy driver ergonomics. The throttle and wheel position and forward visibility relative to seating position suck. Still pulls a nice slalom set, but I don't want to drive it.  Given that the wakes are so good across the board, it really comes down to doing these little things right to make a boat great.Â

I would buy one if it didn't weigh a ton. Most of the composite wood materials I have seen are very heavy and have too much flex in them. Not sure what material you are using. Maintaining teak sucks.

Low back is tough. I ruptured L4-5 a few years back. Nerve impingement caused a loss of about 70% of the strength in my right leg. Neurosurgeon wanted to do surgery (of course, that's how he pays the bills!). My PT, who I have gone to for over 15 years, encouraged me to just let him work it and then had me continue on with core flexibility and strength (both planks and mobile strength exercises). Even with this I get a week or two every ski season where I am out of commission, but because of it I come back much more quickly than I used to. I still only have about 90% strength in my right leg, but have been skiing ever since. Surgeon told me to never ski again (my orthopedic surgeon says the same every time he fixes a shoulder). My PT tells me to keep going as long as I can (I like him!). Long story-short, I agree with everyone above. It is all about core strength and flexibility. Do it every day. It will take a while before you notice things getting better, but they will.

MrB, I've used Radar RS-1 and now Strada front with RTP for the last 3 years. I find it to be a very good combination. You will come out of the Strada on a bad fall if you don't pull it too tight (which is what they recommend for all skiers). I was on an Animal front before that. The RS-1/Strada gives you much more edge control without needing to be so tight.Â

Seems like there are a lot of other variables, including how much sediment is suspended in the lake. I ski a deep, spring fed public lake and the water feels "fast" and "hard" even when it warms up in the summer. Spring and fall I ski in 45 degree water, summer it might get to mid-70s. It is very easy to ski and get wide if you just relax and let the boat do the work. Going from that lake to any of the local man-made ski lakes, the water on those feels very "slow" and "soft". My ski sinks in and feels like it is carving through the water more. Some of that is temperature and water depth, some of it is sediment (I think). Whether it is because of temperature or sediment, my best scores are on warmer or more sediment filled waters. They feel easy after skiing on my lake.

DanE, I started on my Razor A68 the first week of September. It's good fast. More importantly, it does everything else well too. Turns are very symmetric both sides of the boat, and it carries out wide and early. It also keeps speed very well through the turn and runs very smooth and quick out of the turn. By way of background I'm six feet tall, about 190lbs and was on a Fisher Orange.  In less than a month on the ski I was skiing at my PB.  The ski is put away for the long MN winter now, but I suspect it keeps getting better. I run the ski on their (Razor's) recommended shortline fin settings and binding placement.Â

Yep, I end up in the gym in the winter too. Try to get my shoulders and core worked pretty hard along with the standard "fun" stuff like bench press, arms, legs, etc. Up here in MN winter is just too long. This was a better than average year in that I put the boat in on April 2 and took it out mid-November. Early and late season skiing the water and air are really cold, but as a public lake skier I get the benefit of zero traffic, which is nice. I also agree with Ed that the keeping the wife happy thing works better when I'm not asking her to drive me skiing every morning at 6:30AM or pestering her again whenever the lake gets calm! Good thing she likes to drive, and even seems to like me OK (most of the time)! Would love to head south and west to ski more in the winter, but that gets back to the keeping the family happy thing, so it doesn't happen often enough. Ah well.Â