dbski

Pulled the balls yesterday, always a sad day but I think my body may be cheering a little bit! Had a bad OTF in July that strained the left shoulder and had to take 3 weeks off. Fell off lift and dinged ankle that is still hurting. Add to that the previous years strains and pains, maybe its good that our season isn't longer in MI. At 61 skiing with pain is a given. Just so happy I can still do it and can"t wait till April! Time to dust off the snow skis.

I echo being careful as you get older. I was putting the cover on the boat today as we have weather coming in and before you know it I'm half hanging from the crossbeam and half in the water. I'm ok but banged up my ankle and lower back, could have been alot worse.

They need a hard surface to adhere to.

The first year they hit our lake was bad. Dock post, pontoon boat bottoms, lifts, rocks and anything hard was covered. That was around 2000 and it looked bad. Flash forward to now and I can't remember the last time I saw one. I have no idea how or why they disappeared but I'm not complaining!

@Duskier, Thanks for the shout out on my skis. Got great feed back from all the skiers on them. This was my third year helping out at the Malibu and it gets better every year! The jump final was unbelievable, 238 by Ryan Dodd on the third jump to beat Freddie by a foot. You can watch Nate on video all day, but to see him from the shore run 41, its not right. It looks like any of his other passes! Just a fantastic tournament, great setting, great weather, great organization and great skiing!

Since I'm in my shop making 22 trophy skis for it I better show up! If you're going, stop by my tent and say hey.

I build a wood box when I ship my decorative skis. I use 1/8" plywood for the top and bottom and 1/2" pine for the sides, cost about $5 for materials. I nail the pine and the bottom and use screws to secure the top. I wrap the edges with shipping tape. It is barely heavier than cardboard and provides a lot more protection for the ski. I use USPS and the cost is around $25 in the US.

I ski mostly 15 off/32mph and ride a Radar Senate-C. Highly recommend it.

First job was washing dishes at a Country club for a whopping $1.25/hr. Will never forget getting my first paycheck after 2 weeks for around $75 take home and going to the local K-mart and buying a "mini-8" 8 track tape deck for my 62 Falcon, cost $75. I was only 15, couldn't drive but had my tunes! Second job was washing and prepping cars at a Ford dealer. Being a young gearhead this was like heaven. Most of the cars were boring but occasionally got to drive a Boss 302 or a 428 Mach 1 into the wash bay. Had to make sure the rear tires were dry when you pulled them out!

Two years ago I had my dock in and had skied several times by March 16, yesterday I iceboated on 20" of ice. Gotta luv spring in Mi.

When I ship my DBskis I construct a wood box using pine planed down to 1/2" for the sides and 1/8" luaun plywood for the top and bottom. I wrap the skis with bubble wrap and pack the box with newspaper or extra bubblewrap. With this set-up I don't have to worry about crazy handlers or sharp objects. It cost about $10-15 per box. I use the post office as I have found it the cheapest and insurance I believe is $1 per $100. The cost to ship is usually around $30. I also heard that Fed Ex and UPS will not accept a wood box.

I'm truly am one of the lucky ones. My wife only gets mad because due to her schedule she can't ski as much as I can. She has also improved her driving skills to the point I no longer worry and can concentrate on my skiing. Double bonus!

My iceboat does 50 easy and its only 8 ft long!

In southern MI today water is still pretty nice. @TWB skied in just shorts and a heater top, I'm more of a wuss so went with the full wetsuit. Using the hot water shower on board takes that first chill out when you hit the water. Supposed to be in the 80's this weekend so it looks like at least another week before the drysuit comes out. We usually ski until the first week of Nov.

We use the flexiable plastic cutting boards you can buy at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I got a pack of four for $14. I use my CNC but I'm sure you could cut them by hand with sharp scissors. We use small zips along the sides and a bigger one in the middle of the handle. I reinforced the hole for the center zip by epoxying a small washer on both sides. Minimal investment for the protection and they been lasting over a season.

150 feet to the Malibu at the end of my dock on a public lake with a course, but due to all the lake traffic its been off the lift 3 times this summer. That's O.K. as four of us are fortunate to lease a 2100 ft. private lake with a Nautique 10 min away. It actually works out great as we sail, kayak, swim and float on the public lake and still have amazing skiing close. In fact as I write this I'm waiting for my wife to return from her after work walk and we going out for a moonlit putt putt around the lake on the pontoon!

I lost my Dad several years ago. He had a prolonged 5 year battle with strokes that progressed to the point his death was a blessing. It is really hard thinking about going on in life without your Dad! Time is a healer and now years later the great thing is that when I reflect upon him all I remember are the great times and how lucky I was to have him. My sympathies for your loss and all of you that still have your dad give him a big ol' hug! (Seriously wiping eyes!)

Eric just texted me to say that e-mailing him at eric@boaterschoiceonline.com is a better way of reaching him. Sorry about the confusion on the date, it was the 26th originally but Wade had to change it to the 25th.

Times right now are morning or afternoon. I don't think Fri is happening, call Eric to verify. I think times will firm up next week, I'm not the organizer just the messenger!

We have a few slots open to ski with Wade Cox on Thurs. the 25th. The cost is $75 a set. Our private lake is located just north of Tecumseh, Mi. Call Eric at 419-601-2608 to reserve a spot!

@mzito I'm located about 5 miles from MIS

I can relate, the first sunny calm night in days and everyone has commitments, maybe tomorrow.

Stop by my booth and check out the new products I developed for all you ballers! If you can't make it, look for them on my revised web site, DBski.net. Also check out the trophies for the pros and the juniors.

Retired high school teacher. Now doing carpentry and woodworking on my own schedule. Wood is good!

@jwroblew are you close to North Cape Y.C.? A friend sails out of there, maybe I'll bring my ski the next time I go sailing. You must have skied our site, Rip moved south but Damon and 3 of us still ski there. If you are up by us stop by.