Nando

To me the old O'Brien wood skis had even better inlay patterns than the others. For modern skis, the Vapors have been nice, as have a lot of skis, but the carbon fiber on a Sans Rival in the sunlight sure looks good...

My brother in law's parent's pontoon was one of the "neighbor's boats" Hank originally tried the stunt with on Crystal Lake in MN. Hank really didn't tell them what he was going to do when he lined them up and he scared the crap out of them when they saw what he was up to. Of course because Hank isn't stupid, the boats were lined up straight in front of the jump and the skier's path carries him outside the line of boats, so the chance of hitting one is slight. Nevertheless, it takes some nerve to even think about this. In the "That's Incredible" clip, he could have had at least a couple more boats, 'cause he really kicked that one... When Hank left the tundra for sunny Florida, I ended up with joint custody of his jump.

I haven't ordered my copy yet, but checked out a friend's copy and have to have it. What I'd say from what I've read so far is that the title is misleading- Skijay has written the comprehensive manual for total ski set up- to ignore his insights on the rest of ski performance short-changes the full value of it.

Sunvalleylaw's D3 gift from his bride is well-documented proof of her love for him, and though I didn't get anything like that from my spouse (though she did go for a boat upgrade this year), my brother in law built me this cool dock bench from a Cypress Gardens El Diablo and a World Skis Joe Cash signature model (fin numbers on the Joe Cash ski, just 'cause I had to check are: L= 6.749, D= 3.874, DFT= 3.839). Any other cool gifts out there?

Mine also replaced a Connelly Concept and was my first -35 @36 ski. Mine cracked and they sent a replacement that was nice, but didn't have quite the graphic impact...

Umm, yeah, I've done that from OTFs in both jumping and slalom and unfortunately, that injury lasts and lasts and there's not much you can do for it and every move seems to stretch it. Just don't catch cold, because sneezing is a bitch...

Can I change my mind about what I asked Santa for?

I free ski past my PB. My feeling is that you need to be able to ski comfortably at the line length to be able to ski it in the course. I'll free ski to get my technique cleaned up when having problems in the course. Too much of it can lead to some bad habits, though...

It was a good year- resurrected the permanent course on my home lake after several years of disuse and found it to be in good shape. It was verified as a record course when installed and still looks straight, but we'll try and get it surveyed next year. Coming back after several years of not much skiing due to injuries, injuries to my ski partners, lake problems, and too much work (!?!) was way tougher than I thought it would be- had a brief stretch in the middle of the year where I was actually consistent (and not consistently dreadful), but went into an end of the year slump. Still, great to be back getting consistent water time.

Use the PTM and like the field of vision and clarity, but since objects in the mirror are closer than they appear, hand signals are harder to see, which I don't. Stretching the topic a bit, mine came mounted right in front of the driver's seat and I can't decide if I should move it left towhee I'm used to the mirror being- opinions on that?

So many beautiful boats in this thread that mine pales next to many, but, after missing out on a bunch of nice boats, I was lucky enough to find this 2007 196 with ZO that I'm very happy with. Wasn't that enthused about the R/W/B color scheme at first, but it reminds me of my first Nautique, a '73, and it's grown on me. Got one last shot before it went away for the winter. Those of you from South Canada may recognize the setting...

Taken just after course was recovered last May

Just had to comment on the home page item on Jacinta Carroll's WR- Pretty amazing how dominant she's been and for how long. Incredibly impressive!

Thanks! It looks like a great system for stability, not so much for any kind of twisting release. My shins seem to take a beating every time I go out the front, as the Silvretta releases then my R-style and the front boot goes right back at my rear shin. Solution- quit wit the OTFs...

dchristman, how is it working out as far as duplicating the tension? Did you mark the ratchet or is it easier than that? Could you post close-up photos of the heel piece? It's lighter than the regular Fluid Motions, but it always seemed like the weight of their system came from having really heavy boots- can you compare the weight to a reflex? Also, in slalom (unlike in tricks) the shin damage seems to come not from the Silvretta, but from kicking yourself during the fall- I know that's how I got the huge bump & bruise on my shin that I'm wearing now...

Than_Bogan I forgot all about my HP, too- and I was on it for like seven years. I loved that ski! Mine was a special layup they did for Cindy Todd- the story was that they made four skis for her and she was to keep two, a primary ski and a spare. Mine was one she thought was too stiff. I got it through Wayne Hanzel at Connelly and he had my signature from the order and it came with my signature on the fin instead of Mike Hazlewood's- I thought that was so cool, at least until it wore off. Years later, when the Pro Tour came to town, I was working at it and Wayne flex-tested it and is still matched the delivery numbers. He was amazed, as it had a LOT of sets on it.

I broke a binding early this year and didn't have a replacement. As it was early in the year and I just wanted to get some conditioning runs in, I just ran to my garage and grabbed the only slalom I had with a binding on it-a 2002 HO Phantom. This was the ski I'd run my PB on, quite a few years ago. This was a ski I'd gotten a great deal on but never really intended to ski on- I'd bought it for the bindings and loved my old Goode, which was always the most natural feeling ski I'd ever been on. In the meantime, I'd been on a Monza and now a D3, and my water time had been really limited, so my skiing kind of sucked. But, being on that old Phantom, I remembered how difficult it had been to get dialed in and how good it was when I finally got it right- it still felt awfully good. I have a lot of skis in my past, but nothing ever felt as natural as my first Goode 9100 and I never performed like on the Phantom. So my question to you is: what's your favorite ski ever?

I was able to obtain liability insurance attached to my homeowners insurance and went with $2M. In the past we went through USA Water Ski and that worked fins, but my insurance agent suggested this as a more affordable option. Some jurisdictions insist on covering them as co-insured and that can get a little costly...

I found mine on Onlyinboards. I broke every rule of boat buying, but the seller provided extremely credible references, and since it's so easy to check people out on the internet, I creeped all over him. He's a pretty prominent businessman in his area, with a stellar reputation, so that checked out and he clearly had no need to scam anyone. So, after exchanging a lot of information, I both a boat sight unseen, 1,300 miles away. The seller of a boat I missed out on (his next door neighbor bought it) told me that I'd be able to figure out if the guy was a real skier and that was good advice- this guy is a real skier and he treated the boat right and treated me right- he split the transport, had it buffed out, and took it to get shrink-wrapped four the trip (at my cost, but he had to schlep it around quite a few miles). I was definitely lucky, but at some point in the discussions with the seller, it became clear that he was a good guy, so I took the risk and am glad I did.

WBLskier, Jerry's Upholstery on Hoffman Road and County Road E in WBL did a friend's Malibu and it turned out great.

Hmmm- formal wear!

Great guy for the job! Okay, Wish, what's the car?

Really like the SN 200 saddlebag storage. The old Nautique "rubber and rope" rub rail was the best- looked good and provided more impact protection than any rub rail I've ever seen and when it got grubby, five bucks worth of rope renewed it. Love the idea of a flat eight engine, but geez, BraceMaker- not a CVT- they're awful in cars and don't have the positive engagement we need- I imagine a pull like a rubber band.

Interesting to me that when I was getting started, I always watched the women ski for their slalom technique, while the men were kamikazes who just attacked and used brute force to get it done. Not that the top guys aren't going for it now, but the top two women (at least) today seem totally willing to splatter themselves for an extra 1/4. It's fun to watch them because they're incredibly competitive.

My wife always though it was weird that my brother and I don't say anything- we just look and nod. I would never do that with anyone else, but we've skied together so much that we absolutely know that when the rope is tight and we get the nod, it's time to go. The only verbal commands are usually "stop" or "I've got to adjust my binding", which means...