bishop8950

Terrible thread title. Not sure if you need a doctor or a mechanic

Nov 1 in norCal, 82 Air and ~70 water.

Thank you all promo owners, I get it and appreciate it. Going forward, someone has to pay for the boats we use in events. Seems like there are 3 options for subsidy: 1) boat companies 2) the promo owner or 3) the skiers in the events. Perhaps 1 is fading and 2 are justifiably growing weary. I am fine with 3 personally. This fall I used my personal non-promo boat to pull a local class C. I was chief driver and it would have been hard to get promos to our lake. Everyone in the tournament was a friend of mine so what the heck. But I would not want to do this all the time.

I needed an Animal heal rubber because I messed one up modifying it, and the boot is otherwise new. I call HO, get a human on the phone immediately, Austin had the part in stock and I had it the next day. It seems that this level of service is rare these days and I really appreciate it HO!

I would ride a 67” D3 and did so for many years. I am now on a 67.25 Revolution and it feels like exactly the right size. I am 6’ flat and 185.

@MISkier we got to ski there a bunch in the late 90s. Such a cool lake. I just stopped by there a few weeks ago and was sad to see it unused. @klindy Goode lake is much crazier now. Instead of the boat going left at the end of the first video, it goes right into this tiny hole where you and the skier drop. When they showed me this is where the boat and skier go I said “no way”. And yes they do. On the far end you drive pretty close to shore before you can turn and it’s a bit nerve racking. But, a very cool site and a fun place to ski. Plus it’s 5 min from the Goode factory which is handy

Goode ski lake in Ogden has a pretty crazy set up. Pictures don’t do it justice. I should have gotten video of the boats spinning in on both ends.

@lpskier need gates for the full effect. I would drop in 6 extra balls and go for it.

I would love to try it. Maybe I will get around to it one day.

Looks great. I always liked my 2000 LX. It will be interesting to compare this boat to the newest Malibu. Pros/Cons

I am glad it’s happening. If you can partner to build 200s then why not. Other option would be to expand capacity but often that makes less $ sense than partnering. One concern would of course be canibilization of sales for the new boat. But, Nautique have been at this for a while and I trust they have thought it through. Think there will be any 200s on the promo team? Plenty of boats are USAWS tested and never see a tournament.

I would be shocked if it was not branded Nautique

If it’s a 6.0 it’s not a promo

@gdetray those will be nice improvements to the lakes. That will be a sweet set up.

Like what @brettmainer said, I dont think we all turn in at the same place. What do we mean by turn in? The instant we roll the ski from the glide onto the right side like in the pic of Andy? Or a few frames later when he has rolled his ski under the rope and is building angle? Interesting what @adamhcaldwell said "The trick is to turn in as early as possible on zero (maybe even before it) and still sneak the ski inside the right hand gate ball. " Looking forward to trying that different mindset.

Lake with the jump looks like ~2,500. The others are pretty short for straight in, ~1,800

Post season reflecting got me thinking about this. Beyond great social culture, being outside, having a "hobby" and the addiction of improving... I think the core reasons I love the ski are the feelings of: 1) Intense acceleration as we blast into the wakes 2) The feeling of being free as we fly from the center-line to the apex and back to the handle 3) The drastic change in direction as we make our carving turns 4) The satisfaction coming from a pass with great rhythm while being ahead of the boat, yet dancing with it at the same time I am currently digging myself out of a long running slump. Yesterday I finally came off the dock with a few passes I was really proud of and found my self super happy at the end of the lake, mostly because of point 4 above. Because of how that felt, I cant wait to get back to the lake to feel it again. Enter the addiction.

No worries @Drago Agree it is hard to explain and teach. I have worked with several drivers (especially those driving me :-)) by watching a set of end course, discussing adjustments, then drive again and watch again. I think its the best way. As I think we all agree, the most important thing is to adjust to the skier in real time. Stay in rhythm with the skier. But one thing you said I will challenge: I am not sure there is much difference in strategy to pull a skier at 28 or 39. I approach it exactly the same way. Yes, the timing may be different but that is all captured under "adjust to the skier in real time". Generally, we wait longer as the rope gets shorter, but the way I move the boat is the same.

@drago nope. Not serving or weaving. Got plenty of record endcourse to prove it. And why would you not help the skier if you do so while keeping the pylon in the middle?

Thought about this as I was driving today. Definitely more blocking than crabbing. Like 80/20. But the momentum of flipping boat and skier from blocking one side and getting ready for the other side, I feel like we slip the boat sideways a bit. But you obviously can’t stay there that long. I go from block, to swing, to crab, to esentrially straight but ready to block (like there is no slack in the steering), then block again and repeat. Everyone welcome to their own theory and beliefs. But I trust those that tell me I am doing it right.

I don’t know how much the boat actually crabs, or that if it just feels that way. Skier goes from 2 to 3. Right when the skier crosses the wakes you slightly point the nose of the boat towards to the left. As the skier is approaching 3, the boat is crabbing / drifting / yawing counter clockwise as you move up course towards the 4 ball boat guides. At the moment the skier starts to load the line, the crab ends and the block begins. All this just my view on how I get down the lake in the drivers seat.

Blocking = holding the boat away from the skier as they load the line. If the skier is turning two, you point the boat towards 3 and hold it (or add more) as the skier moves towards the centerline.

Crab = rotating the back of the boat towards the skier while leaving the pylon in the middle. I believe it’s called “yaw” as well

Crab after the skier crosses the centerline and until they are around the buoy. Block as the skier loads to keep the boat in place. Flip the skier out to the next buoy as they pas through center. You transition from blocking to crabbing as the skier moves through the centerline into he next buoy. Adjust to the skiers rhythm. Pylon can stay in the middle while you do all this. I can feel where the skier is and how the pass is going. I adjust the boat according to what I would want to feel as the skier. I once went to ski with a Into 41 skier friend of mine and pulled him through his first 39 in a while. He said “man it’s nice to have a driver who waits for me”. He was down course and I just waited (while crabbing) and did not block until he was ready. If you have not seen your end course video get somewhere you can. From there it’s pretty easy to see.

@Bruce_Butterfield I had hair before the weekend, then spent too much time with Horton