Nando

I also have been using the Reflex R-style for about four seasons and the transition from double boots was fairly easy. This summer I tried going back to a kicker with terrifying results. Try the R- you may like the freedom of movement it gives.

Here's one from the past that probably the only Baller who will know about is @thager . This was known by skiers as first "Lake X" and later as "Lake Saucier". You'l notice that Google has another name attached to it, which was NOT the name, but is slightly less offensive than the real name, which was changed to "Burns Lake" about just a few years ago. Most of the land around it was owned by Dave Saucier, also owner of Saucier Skis and later, for a short time, Kahuna Skis. It hosted a lot of tournaments back in the day and skied great. What got skiers was that the starting dock was at the far northeast of the lake and you'd hop off and hit the extremely mucky bottom at about three feet but sink in up to your neck. Occasionally a newbie would dive in and come up covered in muck, which was endlessly entertaining. Dave eventually changed it to a floating raft at the west end. I recall once having to swim to the starting dock because I was late and setting a (very poor) PB and ending my short career in the novice division.

In support of Eric's position, see the "Hardshell vs. Shin" thread.

I've tried my brother's Fluid Motion and it's definitely wider than a Reflex, so if you have either a wide or narrow foot, that may influence your decision. The FM is way heavier, but that depends a bit on what release option you choose.

Jeez, @thager, they call them "ailerons"- that should be right in your wheelhouse...

This used to be a ski site in Twig, MN (northwest of Duluth). It was an old gravel pit. Now the owner's kids have homes on it. The course was on the east section of lake, offset to the south, and you shortened (or spun) west of what looks like a fairly wide opening in the photo but always felt narrow. Entering the course from the west, you couldn't see the course until you were through the narrows and then it was time to pull out NOW! Despite the odd setup and cold water, the place skied like a dream.

Got a nice new scar from that this season- it happens. Tried the soccer shin guard and it just spun to the back of my calf- just one more risk, I guess....

Regarding the "permit vs. forgiveness" question, I'd go with the permit. For one thing if you go to the effort of installing a course and get called on it, the agency that issues permits may be pissed off enough to not issue one and then you're out of luck. If you try the "I didn't know..." excuse they'll most likely just be more irritated either because they've heard that before and don't like liars or because they don't like dealing with ignorant people who are too dumb to ask the right questions. Do it right- you won't regret it and may have recourse if someone does mess with it.

No heater, no shower, no PP (ZO). It was -50. I think I'll be pulling the block plugs...

@Jmoski- cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. In South Canada. My boat came from real Canada (though south of me) and has a thermostatic marine heater in the bilge that would prevent freezing, except there's no electricity where I store it. Ironically, the location of that heater is one of the reasons it's so difficult to get to the block plugs. I had also thought that keeping antifreeze in the block would help prevent corrosion, to some degree.

Boat was warmed up, pulled intake hose off water strainer and poured 4 gallons into intake hose while running engine at about 1500 RPM. I figure that with a warm engine if it was pure antifreeze coming out the exhaust, I’m good, but there’s this lingering doubt...

When winterizing my boats, I've always run antifreeze through AND drained everything. I used 2 gallons of antifreeze and all that came out when draining was antifreeze. This year, mainly because the block plugs on my 196 are so difficult to get at, I decided to fill everything with antifreeze and leave it. I used 4 gallons and did drain the water pump and manifolds, mainly because I wanted to make sure any scale came out (virtually none). What came out of the manifolds and water pump was pure antifreeze. Now I'm afraid of cracking my block. Will it be safe? Was 4 gallons adequate? Should I climb back in and drain the block?

Seen 'em, look kinda cool, but how is it attached?

Those look like nice, durable attachment loops.

I always thought one of Scot's better ideas was the "universal" jump. If I remember, it was about 4' longer and 5'6" or 5'3" high, so the angle was abut what the "normal" 5' ramp was. I think it may have also been wider. (or maybe not) I think he had it figured out so that it was easy to graft onto a regular ramp. Anyone remember what Scot had in mind?

Might have been someone who wanted nice buoys to mark something or maybe the theories about them being taken just to mess with you. Weirdest thing we had happen with a public course was we once came out to ski and every ball was tied about a foot under water. Someone took a lot of effort to do that! We never did figure out if it was vandalism or one of our buddies messing with us. We had a theory that it was a kid we skied with occasionally who we had mentioned removing turn balls on weekends to and he took it upon himself to prevent the wallys from skiing our course. If it was him, he never let on...

The crux of the problem is that an honest guy would charge you what he advertised his product for and keep his advertised price up to date.

We use @Drago's often- "Don't think, meat, just ski".

@vtmecheng, I’m with you- I was making progress getting back after some down years and then I decided I had to mess with my setup. I went back tonight and am back to my usual mediocre skiing. Time to work on the part between my ears- that’s the problem, not the part that’s on my feet- nothing wrong with that.

@skialex, the fit is good (I tried on a medium I had on hand and switched to a large I also had). One thing that bothered me was that my big toe was right under the release arm- not uncomfortable or anything, but I was aware it was there. The Maha heel actually kind of works like a shoehorn to push your foot into the loop. It is also angled to allow some upward heel movement. It doesn't interfere with the toe loop at all and only prevents your foot from slipping backwards (except when it didn't ;) ). What I've found with the Reflex R-style is that cranking the buckles inhibits my ability to shift my weight without rocking forward, so I run that pretty loose. My big reason for posting this is I was just surprised how much this threw me off- literally in the case of the big OTF. Then it started pouring so we didn't take a third set...

@WoodySkier, I used one of those many years ago, before I switched to double boots and really liked it, so I found one and put it on. I can say that it doesn't change the feel from just the toe at all. I couldn't believe how weird this felt- way back when I first tried double boots, it took me maybe two sets to feel comfortable, then when I went from Animals to the Reflex with R-style, it took about four sets, but this surprised me by how alien it felt. Scared the crap out of myself just taking it easy.

After all the discussion of the benefits of freeing up my rear foot, I figured I'd give one a try. I assembled the RTP and old school Maha heel holder as shown, replaced my Reflex R-style, and headed to the lake. After SEVEN tries I got up. First set (out of course) felt awful. Second set, got up on the first try- progress! Felt a little better, so I shortened to -32 and on my third turn launched myself OTF- the kind where the driver was still laughing as he asked me if I was okay- I only wish I had video, you'd be entertained. So, do I give it another try or go with my instincts and bolt the R back on?

@Wish, if you're heading to Big Lake from the airport, give me a call and we'll give you a pull- it is on the way. My skiing is defiling your former board, but even though my performance is stuck in a horrible rut, I love that ski.

@jercrane, we used to use those for boat buoys and have them as subs on our jump anchors. Though they seem to be the same material as the subs the muskrats devoured at our lake, these have not deteriorated in a lot of years- plus they're big enough to find. Good choice, I think.

From another thread- try chewing gum. I thought that was nuts and mentioned it to my brother who said he always chews gum while skiing. I had never noticed it before- huh. He did say he kind of choked on it while tricking once, but claims is helps him breathe naturally during his passes.