Nando

For what's supposed to be the most prestigious tournament in the world (maybe after the Masters, and maybe after Moomba, both of which don't have the greatest conditions), a suitable site should be a requirement. So, for a curious guy from South Canada, just how cold was it? Regina looks like it's the middle of winter in her interview...

My thin Reflex liners are about shot, as is my R-type rear liner. I have very little space between the shell and my foot, but the fit with the thin liners is great. The short Fluid Motion liner for my rear boot is tempting, but it's pretty pricey ($121 Canadian). Fluid Motion has a thin liner that's going for $25. At that price, it's pretty much a can't lose proposition, but does anyone have any experience with them? Also, any downside to using a high liner in an R-type rear binding? (I ski occasionally with a guy who does that and he says it's fine.)

A Worlds site should be capable of guaranteeing good conditions unless the weather is terrible. The poor conditions this year and the last minute change in 2015 are embarrassments to our sport.

KLP- or is it BLP? Given the year, the hair is to short and dark to be Kris.

Think about it- Mike and Rickey jumped 165' on WOODEN skis.

Of course, having Will Asher's core strength would be a huge benefit for mortals hoping to avoid the dreaded OTF...

We just used a plastic crow- mounted it to the spray bar and the geese went away. We were more than a little skeptical, but it worked.

@klindy, nope- we had considered getting them this year, but it's a public lake and we thought the cost/risk was a little high. We're just using regular buoys but are switching to Wallyskier next year, as our last two sets of balls have deteriorated over one summer. I don't see why it wouldn't work with Goodes, but because of the length of the Goode buoys, the subs would need to be pretty deep. Our lake has been at max depth for a couple of years now, so our subs are about 5.5' down, where ordinarily they'd be around 4'.

@JeffSurdej, we use 16 oz. plastic cups filled with concrete, with a rope loop stuffed in for attachment. Before the buoy dimensions were reduced a bit, we needed a bit more weight. That's for a standard buoy- for Polyfoam boat guides, you'll need a bit more weight. For a while, we simply doubled them up on the gates, but then a guy remodeled an old house and provided sash weights that worked. We also partially fill the turn buoys with water if they're floating too high- it's easier than replacing counterweights.

Unless you have huge level fluctuations, our subfloat/counterweight method works well and requires no adjustment. We use screw anchors, but anything suitable to your bottom works, then a rope up to the subfloat, with a counterweight that has adequate length to self-adjust to expected water level fluctuations, then just clip the buoy on (with a string or zip tie as a fuseable link). Getting the weight and buoy inflation correct to float them at the proper level is critical, but we have one course that has ropes 20+ years old and one that's about 10 and there's negligible wear between the subs and weights. My brother used to ski at a site that had massive anchors and really heavy chain up to their subfloats which were aluminum buoys. Above that their system was more or less breakaway, but from the bottom to subs, it was pretty much indestructable.

A BMX helmet works well- most have removable visors- which should be removed. They provide good protection and seem to hold up under skiing conditions.

@Mark_Matis- of course! Brilliant!

Here's a consideration: in most (all?) and on interstate highways, if you're over 102" (8'6") wide, you're considered a wide load and probably need a permit. Most comp boats are either 95" or 96" wide and many wake boats are right at 102", so they're just barely legal. An enclosed trailer would need to be pretty tight...

Cale Burdick looked awfully good this afternoon at the Midwest Regionals tying Nate Smith with 3 @ 41 before losing in a runoff.

Back to the boats, the Boesch "bulge rudder" is, um, interesting. The website doesn't give much detail, but it's definitely different. Weird interior layout for sure, but kind of makes sense from a storage standpoint, though I'd hate to have to stow everything between skiers. And DEEP!

So, in checking out their website, the most surprising thing to me was they're marketing double-handle ropes- are these big down under???

I consider any pair that doesn't balloon on takeoff lucky. Right now I have one pair of O'Neills that fit the bill and another supposedly identical pair (except the color) that catch every time- go figure...

Supply and demand- scarcity always drives up the price...

So I went to the website and took a look- graphics look nice, but about that price that's listed now...

Open bow and closed bow, or just open? I don't understand re-branding it as a Supreme, as my memory of Ski Supremes is certainly not going to sway me to buy one. In a short time, they have gained a ton of credibility as the Centurion Carbon Pro- I'm not the branding guru in my family, but it seems like a step backwards.

@JAG, you made a good point, then we kind of took it and ran it into the ground, but what was surprising was my experience in ordering the same product (different size, I'm guessing), apparently within minutes of your original post- it went from ordering to my mailbox in four days, with four e-mails to inform me of the order's status. Plus, we got the company owner to enter the discussion on BOS- clearly they're paying attention.

So, just about as this thread was started, I also placed an order for a carbon custom handle. Immediately after placing the order, I read the post and thought, "Aw crap, how long will I have to wait?" Well, now a couple of days later, I receive two e-mails from Masterline saying my handle was shipped- that was a pleasant surprise. Maybe they were only out of one size bar, but I'm pretty happy with Russell and his crew...

Touche, Thomas.

What dresses up a lake (public or private) better than a new set of buoys?

Can't remember the guy's name, but an ex- girlfriend of mine was EXTREMELY impressed by a Mexican team tricker who started in a back toehold position from the dock. So at least she really dug dock starts...